If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost. — Zig Ziglar

I have been watching the NBA playoffs and since I live in California, I am pulling for the Los Angeles Lakers. Throughout the playoffs, I have noticed how each team seems to make adjustments to their strategy to win the next came. There are 48 minutes to each basketball game and these are divided into four quarters and over the past few weeks, I have noticed how each quarter seems to be played differently. I have watched the game change as players are substituted and adjustments made in how the players approach the changing situations. This really is a great strategy that seems like a chess match among the coaches and players.

In business, we should be making similar adjustments to our game of selling. Unfortunately, many business owners and salespeople are not noticing how the selling and business games strategy has changed and so they are not making any changes. This lack of change and learning will only lead to defeat.

The Losing Recap Meeting

When I watch the playoff basketball games, I watch with greater interest as the teams close out each quarter. I know that I’m watching the best of the best in action. At each quarter, the coaches and players get together to discuss strategy changes. This is the right thing to do. Adjustments need to be made to win the game and adjust to the changes the other team has made. I thought it would be good for us to look at some of the changes in the game of selling.

• What do you do now that buyers aren’t returning telephone calls?
  
• Are the letters, email and communications we send matching our objectives and are they relevant to the situation at hand or - should they be changed?
  
• What do you do now that the marketing campaign is 4 months old? Is the campaign working the way you intended or should you modify and change the way you are selling or marketing?
  
• Is the selling process you follow working? If it isn’t, should you modify the systematic approach you are following. If you don’t have a selling process, should you adopt one that will work better.

We could go on and on with more questions and the important thing for us to do is to learn from each selling situation and grow closer to the perfect winning combination. If we are not looking at each defeat and asking the right questions, we will have to keep learning the same defeats over and over again.

Asking good questions and changing strategies is important in basketball. It is just as important in selling and we should ask questions about our strategies and recap how we are doing on a consistent basis.

By: Steve Martinez from Selling Magic 951-277-0080

Posted under sales lessons

If my Selling Robots could talk, I think they would have a lot to say about humans and how humans could improve. If my robots could really talk, I know one of the first things I would do is turn the darn thing off, tell it to shut up, roll over and take a nap or go out and play for the day - hey, I’m human. I was built to play, not work and that is part of the problem.

GM - the automotive giant can’t blame robots for its problems.

If my robots could talk, they wouldn’t take the blame. They would be quick to tell you - it is the humans that miss managed the business and humans that made poor decisions. The automotive robots improved what humans could do and made it easier for humans to perform simple and complex tasks.

Robots and automation can help us do more in less time and we are influenced by and benefit from robotic systems and automation every day. The coffee maker turns on in the morning before we wake up to brew a fresh pot in the morning. The computer we use at work helps us automate, create and generate work that would have been impossible a few decades ago.

How My Life as a Stripper Changed with Automation

You might know that I was a stripper for many years in the printing business and I used to strip negatives on layout sheets to burn printing plates. I was a journeyman stripper in fact and my job was to perform about 8 different tasks to burn a plate for the printing press. All that changed with automation.

If I tried to compete with the technology of the Computer-To-Plate (CTP) systems of today, I would be, well - a dinosaur and my production couldn’t compare with the quality, speed and output of a CPT system. What would take me a few hours and eight steps to produce one plate, someone could push one button on their computer to produce a better, more accurate plate in a few minutes. Ahhhh - this is the power of a systematic approach to plate making.

The Amazon Proof Source

I think that if my Selling Robots could talk, they would be quick to tell us that humans are taking the salesman element out of sales. They actually have good proof for this too. Look at Amazon! Humans are making more decisions on-line and we don’t always need to speak with or interact with a human to make a purchase decision.

In the old days, well, maybe not that long ago, we needed salespeople to keep us informed about what was new. We have so much information available to us on the Internet that we can find almost anything we want online. Sure, humans can help, but because so much information is on line, people can research the decision to purchase something can be made without a salesperson involved and just push a button to order online.

Are You up to the Robot Challenge?

My Selling Robots are wondering what takes some humans so long to make a decision on hiring a Selling Robot. Do you know? When someone takes a close look at the reasoning behind sales automation, it becomes a logical choice. A Selling Robot can do about 10 times what a human can do to communicate more effectively and efficiently.

Selling is a process and when you streamline sales like you can build cars or make offset printing plates, you have the advantage. We invite you to see how a Selling Robot can make a difference in your business and give you the advantage over your competition. Take the Robot Challenge and see how you compete with Sales Automation.

By Steve Martinez - Head Robot Trainer and programer at Selling Magic 951-277-0080

Posted under Sales Automation, sales lessons

“Wow, this place is great. How did you say, you heard about this place. The food is amazing and the service is fantastic. I want to come here again.”

As I left the restaurant, I was thinking of when I might return to enjoy another feast of this magnitude.

Two weeks later . . . I find myself asking the question at a gathering of friends - “Hey, have you been to the Grist Mill on Lincoln street?” I begin to explain the fabulous meal that we experienced a few nights before and my friends listen to me describe the experience. As they listened, their mood changes and they absorb my description of a fine dining memory with the hungry eyes and mouth watering expressions of people who haven’t eaten in days. I could see it in their eyes, they want to experience what I savored a few weeks before.

Now, don’t you wish people would talk about your business and the experience they have from doing business with you? I know I do. Fortunately, I get this excitement from time to time and I always like to listen to the excitement of a new clients who has positive impact from using my selling system.

The Secret of Bridging the Gap of Referrals - ASK and lead by example!

One of the things that creates and sparks the referral conversation is the simple act of asking for the referral in the first place. When I was at dinner the other night, the manager came to our table. The food was certainly good but not really that far over the top and the pricing was in line with a good meal.

However, something was different. The fact that the manager came over to our table and talked with us for a few minutes, created the added pleasure and a memorable experience.  He did one thing that made a BIG difference.He asked us to tell our friends about his restaurant. In fact, I remember him saying - “If you like our food, please tell a friend, if you don’t please keep your mouth shut!” We laughed at his humor and we shared our delight in the meal right there. This planted the seed of giving a referral and we sat at the table a little longer talking about how much we enjoyed the meal.

This seed of asking for a referrals is what many of us miss. We should ask for a referral many times and get our clients talking about us. When we get a written referral, we should let others know about it and publish it so others will see how it is done. This is leading by example. The bottom line is this - - you won’t get referrals unless you ask for them - - ask for them, and ask for them often!!

By Steve Martinez - Selling Magic  951 277-0080

Posted under Motivation, sales lessons

I was reading an article about a Doctor. who wanted to some thing different in medicine. He really wanted meet with and listen to his patients to solve their problems. Now, I have a great relationship with my doctor and he and I laugh together. I see him at least once a year and follow his advice whenever possible. The only time I hate being with him is when he asks me to drop my drawers and bend over while he puts on his plastic gloves -  As long as he doesn’t smile, I’m OK with the exam. Anyway, I digress.

The doctor that I was reading about had invested in technology to cut costs with staffing and better communications. WOW! This is a great idea and I thought, what a great example of using technology to become more effective and efficient. This doctor actually had more time to make in-home visits and spend time with patients because his office could run more effectively without him in the office.

One example of what he is doing could be considered, well, just logical. He is automating many of time consuming tasks that eat up the time that most Doctors spend each day. With his practice, he can eliminate a few payrolls in his business and run his practice more smoothly.

The article I was reading cited a story about how the Doctor visited a patient in their home and took an inventory of the medicine cabinet and discovered that some of the pills were expired and some of them should not be taken together because they would be dangerous to the patient. The doctor is someone that listens to patients and discovers where the pain is and how the impact of certain medicines is having on them. From this analysis, the Doctor can prescribe the right formula to a healthier patient.

The point I want to make in this blog post is that we should take time to automate and have better systems for our business and focus on listening to our clients. When we do this, we will have happier and healthier clients.

Unless you are not familiar with my business, Selling Magic, you know we focus on automating the selling process and the clients who use the Selling Magic system correctly can attest to a better run business. My business is also one that runs better and more effectively because of the systems we employ.

By Steve Martinez, http://www.sellingmagic.com (951)0277-0080

Posted under Motivation, Sales Automation, sales lessons

I have been pruning my contact list recently and it has been refreshing to get rid of my dead weight. It really is empowering to make a telephone call and get down to the real fact. I want to know that the person on the other end of the telephone wants to do business. If they don’t, I cut them out.

What sparked this concept? Well, I have a fruit tree in the back yard and it has some fruit on it that keeps growing and the fruit is growing at a much more rapid rate than it did last year. The reason the fruit is growing better is because I pruned the heck out of the tree earlier in the spring and eliminated the excess buds on the tree.

The difference between this year and last year is quite amazing and I notice the difference.

I know that if I prune my contact list the same way, I will generate fruit that is healthier and more profitable to me. Once you get the hang of the pruning of your contact list, it gets easier and you are not afraid of cutting something off. The great thing about a contact list is that you can add more prospects to your list by simply adding new prospects.

However, you must be intelligent about how you prune the prospect list so that you are keeping the good prospects in your sales pipeline. The idea is to get rid of the prospects that don’t have much of a chance of buying. I know, I know, this might might be difficult at first. But, face it, there are plenty of prospects out there and we just have to prune away and maintain the good prospects. There is only so much time and we only have so much resources to keep up with the best prospects.

The secret to pruning your prospect list is to have a profile you can measure against. Think of my fruit tree. I will cut off the little fruit that doesn’t measure up to the size I want. The same is true with my prospect list. If the prospect doesn’t have  certain criteria, I will need to cut them out or move them to my sales pipeline so they can be contacted automatically with my selling system. If you have a good sales pipeline, you know what I’m referring to. If you don’t, you should create a customer profile you can measure up against and then create a sales pipeline for the customers that should be kept in a sales pipeline so you can develop a relationship with them. A sales pipeline is one of the greatest assets of a company.

By: Steve Martinez - Selling Magic 951 277-0080

Posted under Sales Automation, drip marketing campaigns, sales lessons

Do you think that having choices will make a difference in success?

Yes! The answer is yes in more ways than you might think. Let me ask you a question, what is your favorite ice cream flavor? My favorite is Cherry Garcia from Ben and Jerry and I have to be very careful if I walk down the frozen food aisle, because the ice cream section has been know to draw me in like a magnet. I am powerless for the attraction and I have taken a few late night drives to satisfy my hunger. I have a habit of narrowing my choices down to three items before I decide on one. If I had to narrow my top choices down to three, they would be Rocky Road, Chocolate Mint and Cherry Garcia.

Sales TIP for Today - The Power of Three!

Choices, give your customers choices to select from and they will find it easier to make a decision. Research has found that choosing between three is the right number. Three also makes it easier for prospects when you give prospects three reasons to buy from you. One reason might not do it, two might be better, but three is the key to success.

Your customers are thinking the same way when they are looking for a solution to their challenges and problems. It is one of the reasons that many government institutions require what? you guessed it - three bids. Having a few choices will help us make a decision faster. What do you do when you are at a fast food place? if you are like most people, you scan the menu and try to reduce your choice down to three and then select one of the items out of three or more selections. Try this out the next time you are trying to pick out paint for a room, a shirt, tie or shoes, you will probably narrow it down to three and then decide on one of them. Three makes it easier to decide.

Why does House Hunters have Three Choices?

I was watching House Hunters on HGTV the other night. You know, the show where you watch a couple decide which home is the right one for them. What do they do? You watch the couple narrow the choice down to three and select one out of three homes. My wife and I try to pick the one that we think they are going to select. It makes the show more fun that way.

Are you providing your prospects with different options and choices to make it easier for them? If you don’t, you are making it harder for them to choose which one they should purchase. If you make it too hard, they won’t buy. Pospects need to be led to a decision and choices helps them decide.

By Steve Martinez, President of Selling Magic http://www.sellingmagic.com  951 277-0080

Posted under sales lessons

Become Accommodating to Your Prospects

There are three guys at a restaurant and one of them has a wallet full of cash. Another has a gift card and the third one has traveler’s checks. If you own the restaurant, you will serve all of the clients and accept payment in each of the ways they have. You have to, if you want to be accommodating to your customers, right? Right!

The same accommodation guidelines are true with our communications and it is important for us to understand how our customers are different in so many ways. Like you, I deal with all different types of prospects and clients. Some of my clients want to call me on the telephone and talk, some want to reach me through emails only and some want me to stop in and visit with them. Since there are four main ways we can communicate, email, telephone, letters, and personal visits, we need to be accommodating to our clients.

Making Yourself Easy to Reach

If you are like me, you deal with all age groups and perhaps you find it interesting that you are different that some of your friends and family. I have one brother that doesn’t want anything to do with the internet and Facebook. My sister, on the other hand, enjoys the interaction and so do I. We must understand that our contacts are different and we must be reachable. My brother does not understand the romance or value of Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIn or Blogging. However, many of my key contacts do and so I must use these mediums to communicate.

Just because my brother doesn’t want to communicate with me online doesn’t mean that I need to shut him out of my life just as I could with prospects and clients who have the same feelings. We need to take age and differences out of the equation of communications and match the preferred method of communications that our prospects and clients want.

There is a convention I will attend in June and the primary reason for attending is to shake hands with clients, prospects and develop stronger relationships. I can’t get the same response on the internet and I enjoy the interaction. Even though most of my sales come directly from the Internet I still enjoy meeting someone in person. Since most of my business is done online, I try to break the barriers of communication by using my picture on as many communications as possible. I want my clients to recognize me if we bump into one another at an airport or train station.

What do you think? Are you reachable? Do you reach out to all your prospects and customers in the ways they want you to? Are you accommodating? If not, how will you change?

By: Steve Martinez, your sales magician for business development. http://www.sellingmagic.com (951) 277-0080

Posted under Sales Automation, Sales Management, drip marketing campaigns, sales lessons

By Steve Martinez

If you want to win more sales, the little things will make a BIG difference in your results. Last night, I was watching the NBA Playoffs. These playoffs have been very exciting and it seems like any team can win from one night to another. The little things are making a huge difference in the outcome of each game and it is the same scenario in almost any sport including the game of selling.

In sales, we use words like a paint brush on canvas to illustrate our points and deliver convincing reason prospects should trust and invest in us. It is the consistency of our message, sales skills and the selling process we follow to win sales.

When John Wooden, the winning coach for UCLA would meet with his team for the first time, one of his first lessons was on how to put on socks. The rational was that if he could prevent blisters from developing on his players, they could play longer and harder that the other team.

John wooden would focus on 5 key skill points in practice to develop player skills. The points were, dribbling, rebounding, passing, defense and shooting. Once these key skills are mastered, they create a complete basketball player and a winning team.

Developing the Complete Salesperson

In sales, what do you think the keys skills of selling are? Sales skills can include cold calling, listening, qualifying, closing, networking, presenting, referrals and building relationships? [[firstname]], a salesperson must develop selling skills that are both defensive and offensive in the game of selling just as in sports.

John Wooden would teach his players the details of how to stand, flick the wrist and watch a basketball go in and practice shooting for hours. John’s focus on the details of the shot would help his players develop into champions. John had a systematic approach to basketball and it delivered championships for UCLA.

It is the small things that make a difference in developing relationships and building trust with clients too. We must script our sales calls, communications and practice how we enunciate the words so we sound confident in our presentation. The details are what will make us better.

Follow a Systematic Approach to Selling

At Selling Magic, we create and implement a system that develops a pattern for success. [[firstname]], too often I come across a business that just wants to wing it in sales and marketing and operates with out a sales plan. We help these businesses with our selling system.

We focus on the selling process with over 200 letters and emails that communicate automatically for a salesperson. We want to create a system that develops a complete selling process for a business and the sales team. Our system now includes eight modules including drip marketing.

We invite you to join a Top Sales Expert International Webinar, Thursday May 28, 2009 on “How to win the game of selling”. This session will help you identify the secrets to wining more sales.

Register for the Webinar here!

Posted under Sales Automation, sales lessons

TSE Roundtables

Four of the world’s top sales gurus gather together every month to present timely, relevant, and specific advice, all in one 60-minute highly interactive online-show.

Each TSE Roundtable addresses issues being faced by sales professionals everywhere, as we face up to the severest economic downturn ever. Just $99.50 per Roundtable, unless you are a VIP member, in which case, you can tune in to every single session for FREE.

Can’t make a live Roundtable?  No problem! We’ll have those recordings waiting for you in the “Archive” section over there in the left-hand column - in fact, why not listen in to previous events today?

Harness the Power of Referrals Tuesday May 26th 2009 1.00 PM EASTERN $99.50 non-members/FREE VIP members (take the VIP Tour) In today’s fast-changing world dominated by social networking and the explosive nature of virtual relationships, people are making ever more buying decisions based on the recommendations of people they know and respect. Do you know what it takes to build a referral business? Join five Top Sales Experts share their techniques that turn up the heat in prospecting by harnessing the power of referrals. Joanne Black, Jonathan Farrington, Paul McCord, Steve Martinez and Nancy D. Solomon present this 60-minute roundtable on Tuesday May 26th. Your current clients are your most under-leveraged referral source. It doesn’t have to be that way. Learn where traditional referral training falls short, why it is so essential to understand your ideal client profile and recognize your ideal referral source, how to overcome referral roadblocks and how to develop a process that does “what it takes” to build a referral business.
Speaker		Joanne Black Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling. A captivating speaker and innovative seminar leader, Joanne is changing the business of sales. Referral selling generates revenue faster than any other business development method—while decreasing costs, acing out the competition, and gaining new clients more than 50 percent of the time.
Speaker		Paul McCord Paul McCord’s extensive background as a salesperson, manager, executive and business owner encompasses the spectrum of sales – from retail to wholesale to direct-to-business sales and sales management. He is the author of two best-selling sales books: Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals and SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar. McCord is also the author of the highly popular Sales and Sales Management Blog which is o
Speaker		Nancy Solomon Nancy D. Solomon, MA is a human potential expert best known for melding psychology and spirituality into business. After 18 years in the fashion industry (VP of Sales) Nancy left to pursue her dream of becoming a psychotherapist and coach. Integrating proven principles of human potential with her business expertise, Nancy inspires thousands every year to turn their potential into performance, and to remove the obstacles to their success. Microsoft, Nordstrom, Acura, and Westin are amon
Speaker		Steve Martinez Steve Martinez is an author, sales mastermind and e-marketing consultant. He is the founder of Selling Magic, a business development company that specializes in email drip marketing strategies and eliminating sales failure with automated sales action plans. Steve is the chief architect of a selling system that streamlines and automates the selling process for business and is passionate about the importance of the selling process and CRM automation to achieve better results.
Chairman		Jonathan Farrington Chairman of The Sales Corporation and CEO of Top Sales Associates based in London and Paris. He is also the author of the upcoming “So You Really Want To Be A Top 5% Player In The Game Of Sales?”
Host		Paul Simon Paul is Communications Director for Top Sales Experts and owner of SharperContent, an editing service that refines written messages within websites, newsletters, blogs and books. Through TSE, and as contributing sales editor for AllBusiness, he works closely with sales experts throughout the United States and in other countries.

The last Roundtable is now available free toVIP members only in the archives

Posted under sales lessons

When my daughter, Charity, was little, she asked me - “Daddy, where do babies come from?” I knew I was in trouble, but I answered the question with a clear explanation she could relate to. Little did I realize that years and years later a similar question would come from her about sales when she asked me - “Daddy, where do sales come from?” I should tell you that my little girl has grown up and she sells wine and beverages in Texas. I answered her question using the selling process as my foundation in ways she could relate to. Here are the key points of our discussion.

Systematic Follow-up Generates Sales
Honey, I said, “a sale comes from systematic follow-up on every sales opportunity that comes your way.” I wanted to make sure she understood the power of a complete sales system and how a systematic approach to selling is something that cannot be under estimated. We talked about how as a business grows, it will need a sales and marketing system that keeps track of and monitors all the sales opportunities, even the sales opportunities with prospects that might seem distant in the future.

Click here to see the Sales Map

It is the system that makes a difference and you must be tenacious about follow-up. I explained that customers will want you to communicate with them in different ways and so you must adapt to their preferences with a very flexible and versatile system of consistent communications. Your customers will want you to reach them by email, letters, telephone and some will want you to visit them in person. The important thing is to be systematic and unrelenting in you quest for sales.

Charity, I said, the ideal sales and marketing systems will allow you to track and monitor the customer response rates. Measuring response rates is important, because you can’t manage what you can’t measure. It is also critical that you personalize your communications so you reach contacts on a personal level. In today’s world of technology and communications, creating a personal relationship isn’t easy. One key to success is embracing technology to maximize your time and personalize everything you can to create a brand for yourself. Sales automation will allow you to out smart and out wit your competition.

Build and Maintain Relationships to Duplicate Sales
As I spoke with my daughter, I had to stress that people buy from people they like and every business should build strong relationships with all prospects and customers. As a salesperson, you will need to duplicate yourself and your efforts with enthusiastic clients who proudly speak about your exceptional customer service. One of the best ways to duplicate business is to create an army of fans within the client base that consistently generates referrals so clients refer friends and associates. One of the key points about referrals is that you must ask for them and build a culture in your business that clients want to recommend you.

Follow the Selling Process like a Map to Success
Lastly, we talked about the selling process and how important it is to follow a consistent and systematic approach to sales. If my daughter can understand this principle and sharpen her personal sales skills she will truly understand where sales come from. We mapped out the selling process so she could see where and how sales are developed and how selling is a constant strategy process that can be duplicated and mapped out.

Sales come from a consistent and systematic approach of communicating with the right contacts, using relevant personal messages so contacts are influenced and motivated to do business with you, when they are ready to purchase.

What are your thoughts and what would you tell your son or daughter about where sales come from?

By Steve Martinez, President of Selling Magic (951) 277-0080

Posted under Sales Automation, sales lessons