The 4 Keys to Success - Marketing, Planning, Prospecting, and Implementation       

By Rita Santamaria

Marketing, planning, prospecting, and implementation are the four keys to success.  The most important key of all is implementation because the other three are useless without taking action.  It helps to have a checklist that contains both interactive and lead generation activities.

1. Marketing

It is important to regularly showcase your company and also let your customers know you are thinking about them.  Having a client appreciation event at least once per year is a great way to do that.  You need to be “touching” them as often as possible through weekly blogs, monthly newsletters, brochures, emails, holiday cards, and anniversary and birthday cards.  Social media and e-blasts work when marketing to those you already know.

When you personally go into your business farm area and attend functions where people already know you (called centers of influence), this is an example of marketing.  Volunteering to help a group is another example of marketing.  If you do a good job, people will call you because they already know you, trust you, and see you as the “go to” person in your industry.  In addition, they are more likely to refer others to you.

2. Planning

Do you know your geographic area?  You must establish and work a geographic area so you get to know the results or metrics of your success in that specific area.  What is your territory?  How would you rank yourself on a scale of 1 – 5 with 5 being excellent?

There are also demographic farm areas.  These areas are identified by age, activities, and community involvement.  This is where understanding generations and the difference in selling, advertising, and networking make a huge difference in your success.  The way one generation values your expertise can be different from another generation.  You need to know the difference in techniques and stereotypical expectations based on generational expectations.

3. Prospecting

When you personally work to expand your personal sphere of influence into a group of people who do not know you, this is known as prospecting.  Prospecting involves calling on people and being prepared to hear why this customer will not use you; rejection is a normal occurrence.  They are going to tell you why they use someone else.  This is great information as it will help you overcome objections from the next person while giving you valuable insight as to what is important to this customer.  The law of averages demonstrates the more persons we call on either in person, on the phone, or with social media, the greater the percentage increases for new business.  Instead of texting, personally call potential clients whom you’ve met but have not yet established a business relationship.  It is far more effective.

4. Implementation

Your personal advertising budget and the implementation of that budget may move your direction to personal marketing and prospecting.  This produces a higher metric for success than impersonal or spending money.  Contests and giveaways where you have personally been visible are good examples and the return on your investment will pay off in referrals.  Even though many companies and individuals are marketing through the development of a personal monthly newsletter, it is an impersonal way to market.  In addition, direct mail pieces for a targeted market is still impersonal and perhaps not worth the investment.

Always write 10 personal notes per week to people who know you.  This is personal and works well and the return on investment of stamps and time is impressive.  Volunteering for marketing and recruiting events is personal and a wonderful return on your time with potential referrals.  When you attend local and national conventions, this only works for obtaining business if the educational seminars you attended gave you good insight into better business performance.  Be sure to always prospect while you are attending these events as well as attending sessions.

These tried and new initiatives will help you achieve the success you desire; it is all about implementation.  Without implementation your success is limited to luck. Work your plan.

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Rita Santamaria is the owner and CEO of Champions School of Real Estate which was founded in 1983 and is a five time Pinnacle Award Winning School.  The Champions School of Professional Development was founded in 2012 and has grown in a short time to be a leading development venue for individuals and companies.  For more information, visit their websites at www.ChampionsSchool.com or www.TheChampionsProfessional.com

Networking Blunders That Cost You Money

By Gail Stolzenburg

 

Why are some peoople more successful using business networking than others? Maybe it is because they have eliminated blunders and eveloped common sense practices.  There are many networking blunders and we can only cover a few, so stories about the types of people we’ve met at networking events might serve as good examples.

Whenever you meet this type of person at a networking event, they always seem to make the conversation about themself and they only reach out when they need something.  If they would just spend more time listening, maybe you would help them without them even asking.  They also are the type that when you do help them, they don’t act appreciative or even say thank you.  They need to develop an attitude of gratitude.  Another practice that would benefit them is developing an attitude of giving back, also known as the law of reciprocity philosophy.  The more one gives to others, the more they are likely to receive in return. 

Have you ever met someone at an event who then asks to get together and talk more over a cup of coffee?  When you do get together, the first thing they ask you is what you do.  With all of the tools available, such as Google, couldn’t they have found this information ahead of time and then asked more pertinent questions?  Before attending an event, do you take the time to find out who is going to be a guest there and determine in advance who you’d like to meet? Always have an agenda.

Do you have a friend who attends every networking event, especially ones where there is complimentary food.  However, these events always have the same group of people who are looking for work or referrals yet she complains about never getting any work or referrals from them.  One of the keys to networking effectively is to attend events which are attended by your target market, the people with whom you can do business.  Your time is valuable, so be selective. Also, consider attending events where you could be the guest speaker.

Do people you meet seem distracted, always looking over your shoulder for other people and paying little attention to what you are saying?  Is it somethinig you said?  When you ask people questions, rather than trying to sell them about you or your company, they will stay more engaged and you can uncover opportunites to provide solutions.  Asking about their problems or challenges is always beneficial.

Have you ever met someone who immediately asked for business?  It is disrespectful, impolite, and ineffective.  Networking is about farming rather than hunting.  You are connecting and cultivating relationships.  It is a personal growth activity rather than a transaction.

Social media is an important part of networking.  People do business with people they know, like, and trust.  So, people want to know who you are.  Some people only post advertisements for their business rather than sharing information and eventually their sites are ignored.

Do you have friends who use you?  They find out who you know that could be their prospects then contact those people using your name as an introduction? Dropping names of friends without their permission will undermine a friendship. On the other hand, a personal referral is one of the most powerful assets you can have in networking.  It increases the success rate to about 80%.

People who fail to follow up may be committing the most serious blunder of all. They follow the grip and grin, meet and move strategy - collecting business cards without arranging for contacting them shortly after the event at a agreed upon time and place.  Also, giving them a gift is powerful such as a referral, a resource, the name of a book that would be informative, or a link to information they could use.  Following up is more than a one time action.  If it has been more than six months since you have contacted a customer, you are invisible.  Create a follow-up system and use it.

Remember, the law of reciprocity:  “You can get anything you want in this life by helping others get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar.

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Gail “The Connector” Stolzenburg’s new book, “CONNECTIONS:  Contacts to Clients” was just released.  For more information, Gail can be contacted by phone at 281-493-1955, by email at Gail@GailStolzenburg.com, or visit his website at www.GailStolzenburg.com. 

 

March 2015 Publisher’s Column

 

Your One Thing - A Business Lesson from the Movie “City Slickers”

I love the scene in the movie “City Slickers” where Billy Crystal's character, Mitch, is alone with Curly who is played by Jack Palance.  Curly is giving Mitch some worldly advice that may just prove to be the greatest advice ever given for one’s self and business. 

Curly asks, “Do you know what the secret of life is?” Holding up one finger, Curly then answers, “This.” With a puzzled look on his face, Mitch asks, “Your finger?” Curly responds, “One thing; just one thing.  You stick to that and the rest don't mean s**t.” Mitch again asks, “But, what is the one thing?" Curly replies, “That's what you have to find out.” 

What's your one thing regarding you and your business? Let me go ahead and give you the answer. - It’s your WHY.  Why did you start your business?

Most of us started our business because we wanted that business to work for us versus the other way around.  We started that business with a dream and a belief that our business could get us to that dream as we serve others.

Zig Ziglar often said, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.”  But somehow on our way to that dream we lost focus on the WHY.  A business plan doesn’t mean a thing unless it is tied to our dreams.

So get out a piece of paper and write down your WHY and post it in as many places as possible so that it will serve as a constant reminder of why you started that business in the first place.  That is your one thing!

Our cover honorees this month are the Reyna-Lara-Torres families that make up the leadership of Impact Stone.  Joel Reyna started Impact Stone with a WHY that others thought would be impossible for him to ever achieve.  After working for several years for a granite fabricator and doing jobs on the side, Joel had saved up enough money to buy a small saw and gave his supervisor two weeks notice.  His supervisor told him that he didn’t speak English well enough, that he didn’t know enough about the business, and that he was not going to make it.  His coworkers also laughed at him when he told them that one day he would buy a machine like they had at his job that cost about $130,000. 

Four years later, the company that Joel had worked for had gone out of business.  Not only did he buy their machine at auction, he took over the location where the company had been, and also hired some of their employees!  Joel’s WHY has continued on to include the next generation in his family who have taken the helm.  They work alongside each other in harmony as they build a legacy for generations to come, all the while making an “impact” on so many lives. 

It is time to let you get started on this month’s inspiring and informative issue.

 

Good Reading, Good Sales, & Great Success to You,

 

Steve Levine

President/Executive Publisher – Small Business Today Magazine

 

 

Your Next Step

How to Take the CHILL Out of Cold Calls (Part 4)

By Jack Warkenthien, CEO of NextStep Solutions

Timing Is Everything!  Zig While Others Zag.

Over the past few articles, I hope you have seen a pattern; the more information you know about your candidates, the warmer your sales opportunity.  Conversely, the more meaningful intelligence your candidate has about you and your company, the more likely they are to do business with you.  Timing is everything and your job is to deliver the right information at the right time using the right media.  Many of you who have been in sales for decades will attest to the fact that you enjoyed information disparity.  Sellers had far more information/data/research/etc. than buyers.  Thus, there was more of a need for you, back then.  Now, welcome to information parity where buyers have as much information in which to make an informed decision as sellers.  Are you ready for a "touching" solution?

Touch 12 System


If you had to bet next year's sales quota, on a maximum of 12 relationships including your top opportunity decision makers and centers of influence (COI), are you able to draft your short list right now?  If you can, a hearty congratulations to you!  Now is the time to create your personal Touch 12 System; a system where you will begin to "touch" your 12 top sales sources once a month in one of four ways:  Information, Education, Recognition, and Entertainment.  For you math geniuses reading this article - 12 people, touched 12 times, equals 144 touches in a given year.


Information


This is where you provide some fresh, insightful, meaningful information that will be appreciated by your "touchee".  Whether you're informing a decision maker, COI, or whoever is on your Touch 12 list, this is about them and not you.  There's a time to sell and a time to inform.  In fact, when you send your information, you can do it anyway you want - except by email.  Old school is new school, so I suggest you use a note card with a real stamp and a handwritten note.  Even though you'll include a business card with the note, you should never ever mention your desire to sell something or ask for a referral.  Information is all about them.


Education 


This is where you share what is newsworthy.  What is new with your company, your value suite, your professional advancement, etc.   Your firm may have announced a new product, service, executive, office, or solution so this is the time to blow your own horn.  Education involves teaching your contact the “what, how, and why” surrounding your solution.  Of course, it's important to know where you are in the sales process, so the education creates a more informed buyer.


Recognition 

Funny thing about your centers of influence and even a few of your decision makers, they're probably in the news occasionally.  Many times, I see pictures of my group in the Society Pages of the Houston Chronicle (yes, I do have the daily paper thrown on my driveway every morning) wearing their finest penguin suits with an attractive spouse on their arm.  I neatly clip their picture, append it to a note card with a personal message (e.g., “You definitely married up...."), and voila!


Entertainment 


As one of your four options this month, you may want to call your contact and invite them to lunch, golf, a sports event, or even to Top Golf (a new popular alternative).  Nothing builds relationships better and allows people to bond more than when they are at a non-business meeting.  You are able to get to know each other a lot easier in a casual setting.  Of course, your territory may be the world; and it's difficult to meet someone at your favorite restaurant when they're located in San Francisco and you’re in Houston.  Entertainment for you may be clipping an especially relevant Dilbert comic (the only one I read in the paper) and sending it with a note that states, "I thought about you when I read this".  This is a simple yet powerful technique.
By touching 12 people once a month for a year, you will be truly amazed at how often your touch will solicit a phone call from your target saying, "Hey, thanks for the note. We've been thinking about bringing you in and speaking to our group".  Timing is everything and if you can make it easy for them to find you when they have a need, it is goodness all around. There's no better way to become "top-of-mind awareness" than executing this system.
Disclaimer:  Being the tech-savvy guy that I am, I'm going to share the intricate method of keeping track of my own Touch 12 contacts.  Are you ready with pen and paper in hand?  Okay.  I have 12 green Pendaflex® files labeled January through December. Then I take my 4 x 6 index cards with all the contact information on them and move them from one month to the next until all cards are touched. Then, I start the process all over again. 
Regardless of the system you use, be vigilant with it, and enjoy the benefits of touching your best contacts at least 144 times in 2015.  Have a great year!
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Jack Warkenthien, CEO, NextStep Solutions, can be contacted by email at
www.jwarkenthien@nextstep-solutions.com or call him at 832-344-6998.  You can also visit his website at www.nextstep-solutions.com.