The basic selling process is simple and is as follows:
Get their attention, secure their interest, give them a convincing reason to buy, arouse their desire and then close them.
Super Job Information gives information on how to get a job and how to hire good people. If you are looking for Zinc Die Casting Jobs look at this website. This Zinc Die Casting Blog will give you more information you can use for zinc castings.
In his bestselling book, “Good to Great,” author Jim Collins mentions a simple and effective tool called the “Stop Doing List”. In this article, I would like to provide a practical way for you to get started on your own “Stop Doing List” to business people interested in ending bad business practices.
Lose the Baggage
Most everyone has friends, coworkers and even family members who aren’t going anywhere in life or in business. They aren’t accomplishing anything except for getting older, one day at a time. Perhaps these people are satisfied to be in their comfort zones, but you are not, as you hunger and desire for getting more out of life.
Start limiting the time, effort and energy you expend upon these people. I have come to the realization that people either help you or they hinder you, and if you are a person who is going somewhere, you need to be around people with whom you are like minded.
Have you ever thought about the individuals with whom you spend time and whether they are going anywhere? Answer that question and you have started creating the list of people you don’t need to be investing in.
Toss Your Junk
One of my brothers has a simple philosophy that if he has not used something in the last six months, the chances are that he doesn’t need it, so he tosses it. That strategy keeps things from piling up, even if you are a junk collector.
Some people are pack rats whose desks are covered with paper, drawers are filled with junk, and bookcases are stuffed with unread magazines, books and periodicals.
To be effective and efficient, your work area must be clean and tidy. It is a direct reflection on you, your employees and your business. When was the last time you set aside some time to clean up your office?
This doesn’t only mean your desk and work area, it refers to the entire workplace, including walls, ceilings, closets, floors, windows, doors, storage areas, computer files, filing cabinets, meeting rooms, and so forth.
Lose the Losers
Some clients are just not worth having, and you know who they are. More than likely, you can recite a list of them from memory and you probably spend too much time talking about them. They demand the highest quality, the lowest prices, the best possible service and, even when you do provide it, complain anyways.
They are unrealistic and unprofitable. To move ahead and become more profitable, you must proactively eliminate clients not worth keeping.
Use whatever tools you choose to determine who these clients are, but don’t delay. When will you do something about your problem customers? There is nothing like doing this today to make yourself and your organization feel better in a hurry.
Stop Chasing the Wind
When should you give up on a prospect? If you are like most people, you will continue to contact a buyer until you somehow come to the realization that they aren’t interested in doing business with you.
Your prospects aren’t bad people, but more often than not, the delays mean that they just can’t make a decision or they don’t want to level with you.
Very few people want to be the bearers of bad news, and this includes your prospects. As a result, most salespeople waste time on endless voice messages, e-mails, and visits, hoping that they might somehow gain the prospect’s business.
Give your prospects enough time to do what they need to do to make a decision. Until that time, stay in touch with them, providing them with the assistance and knowledge to make an informed choice.
Once you reach that point, tell them to call you when they make a decision. You will be able to stop badgering them about making a decision they have probably already made—the decision that leaves you on the outside looking in.
Stop Eating Poorly
One way to lose weight, be healthier and set an example to those around you is to stop eating fast food at lunch. By making the decision to eat healthier, you will start feeling better not only in the afternoon, but all day long. Bring a brown bag to lunch and eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water.
Stop Doing What You Don’t Like
Too many people wake up each morning and dread going to work. Perhaps they are working in an industry that does not interest them, or they don’t enjoy the people with whom they work. Maybe the fire has gone out. If this is a description of you, then you need to consider finding another line of work.
Life is so short and fleeting that we need to wake up and look forward to what we are doing with our lives. We need to have a passion for what we are doing. We need to have a sense of purpose, fulfillment and accomplishment for some greater good besides getting a paycheck. To help you with your passion go to the library and pick up the book, “What Color is My Parachute”.
Whatever you do, stop doing what you don’t like. I am sure you have made everyone miserable around you.
Stop Making Promises
Gerald Ford was an honest man who practically “happened” into the presidency in the summer of 1974.
As he ran for reelection in 1976, he stated that he would “Never promise more than I can deliver; and to deliver more than I promise.” We could all learn a lot from this simple statement that addressed the issue of honesty within the government.
Are you honest with your clients? Far too many people promise to return telephone calls and write letters when they know that (for whatever reason) it is not something they really intend to do. Business owners must follow through on the promises they make. The world will be a better place for it, and so will business.
You can begin to improve your business and your life by taking a few minutes to create your own “Stop Doing List.”
Share your stop doing list with a few people who will hold you accountable, or by posting it on a wall so that everyone who comes into your office can see it.
Cast Parts
Marketing seems to be a difficult concept for many owners.
It is part art and part science. The Valley Economic Development Center in Van Nuys, California offers a program called the Entrepreneurial Training Program (ETP) to help business owners improve their business. Over twelve weeks, the participants cover strategic planning, competitive advantage, sales, finance, human resources, operations, leadership, and marketing.
If you asked the individuals that participate in the ETP why they are there, they will tell you that they need help marketing.
Yet, the two workshops on marketing (competitive advantage and marketing) are the workshops most often missed. It has nothing to do with the date, the time, or the location of the workshop.
It has everything to do with the subject matter.
The owners I speak with who are not happy with their business condition have told me in effect, “I already know that marketing stuff.”
My standard response is “If that is the case, why is your business in such lousy shape? Why are you here?”
This article can serve as either a refresher course, a wake up call, or validation for what you are already doing regarding marketing your business.
People
Marketing, like most disciplines, requires getting and going along with people. Make no mistake; every single person in an organization is in marketing. From the receptionist to the custodian, impressions are formed when someone representing the organization does something either well or not so well.
The bottom line: make sure that your people understand they are marketing the business. This occurs every single minute, every single day.
Problems
If your business does not solve problems, you are going to go out of business. People have needs, wants, desires, urges, and impulses that they want filled. That translates to you being a problem solver. The more problems you solve, the higher the need.
The bottom line: make sure that the problems your business solves are at the top of as many lists as possible. Your business will grow as a result.
Product
Your products and services have to solve problems and satisfy needs. What quality level will you offer? Is it your name or someone else’s? Will you guarantee what you deliver?
The bottom line: make sure your products solve problems and build equity (name recognition) in your business.
Positioning
How do you wish to appear and be perceived by your customers and your competitors? Are you a leader, or follower? Are you high priced, low priced or somewhere in between?
People equate pricing and quality with positioning. Think first class on an airliner. Now think economy. Which better fits your organization? Does each product also have that same positioning?
The bottom line: Position yourself before your competition positions you.
Promotion
This is how to get the word out about the business. What works well for your target market? Chances are, you are a follower, so see what the leaders are doing so that you can avoid the mistakes of wasting precious resources.
Testimonials are among the strongest of tools. Scientific research (“9 out of 10 doctors recommend…”) is a good selling weapon. Whatever claims you state, be sure that you can back them up.
The bottom line: Spend resources wisely when promoting your business. Money can disappear very quickly with no results to show for it.
Prospecting
If there is one part of selling that people hate, it is prospecting. The sales cycle begins by prospecting. Without taking this step, repeatedly, your business will die.
Prospecting brings new customers into the business as well as new money (Yes!). You should take the time to learn how to do it, and do it well.
The bottom line: If you fail to fill the gas tank, the engine will stop running. Prospecting equals putting gas into the tank for your business.
Place
This refers to how you will distribute your products and services to your customers. Will you do it directly, through wholesalers, through retailers, or use the Internet? How many locations will you have? What images will those trucks, delivery people, stores, bags display? If you are selling in more than one area, or in different channels of distribution, who will manage each channel?
The bottom line: Start out in one channel and do it exceedingly well before you move to another channel. Do not lose sight of the objectives of each channel, because cannibalization of sales can happen very quickly.
Price
I am a bit leery of telling people how they should price their products, because they know their industry better than I. But regardless of how you position your products, price every item so that it is profitable. If customers can “cherry pick,” (and they will) you will lose!
The bottom line: if you charge more than a competitor, have at least ten easy to understand reasons for doing so. People are usually suspicious of low prices.
Process
Marketing is a process, yet most people do not recognize it as such. The process is in effect from the time you start marketing, using whatever means you need to acquire customers.
To improve your marketing, you need to know what your process is, and how long it takes from the time you start the process, to the time money ends up in your bank account. That way you will not be discouraged when your efforts do not show immediate results.
Your business model should be set up so that you don’t just sell the customer once and never have a transaction again. Set up your business so you secure repeat business from the same customer.
The bottom line: learn the marketing process for your organization; create if it does not already exist.
Priority
No successful businessperson I have ever met got that way by putting marketing on the back burner. Marketing is, and should be, your highest priority. If you are in a slump or riding high, the only way to get what you want is to market.
The bottom line: Spend at least 40% of your time marketing and it will only be a matter of time before the results kick in.
Super Job Information gives information on how to get a job and how to hire good people. If you are looking for Zinc Die Casting Jobs look at this website. This Zinc Die Casting Blog will give you more information you can use for zinc castings.
What is your organization’s overall vision? Where are you going to be in three to five years?
What are your specific financial, marketing, sales and operations goals for the current fiscal or calendar year? Do you have a financial plan for the year? Marketing plan? Sales plan? Operations plan?
What is standing in the way of having these plans developed? What is your company theme for the year? Does everyone know what the theme is?
What is your “game plan” on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly basis to help you achieve your goals for the current year? How often is this message communicated to managers? How often is the message communicated to employees?
What is the level of trust that you have with your managers? What is the level of trust within the management team as a whole? Do your managers trust the employees? Do the employees trust the managers?
Are people treated fairly in your company? Does everyone adhere to company rules, policies and procedures? Which managers or employees do not adhere to company norms? What is being done about this?
Are you holding effective meetings that get the results you desire? Are your managers holding effective meetings that get the results that they desire? How often are agendas developed and handed out prior to a company meeting? How often does someone take notes of the decisions made and issues the meeting minutes to those impacted?
What is your organization’s mission statement? Are you still passionate about it? What about your employees? Do they know what the mission is and are they “buying in” to it? Are your employees passionate about the organization’s mission?
Is it acceptable to take risks in the organization? If someone makes a mistake, how is that addressed?
Does open dialog take place at your company? How does this take place? How often does this take place?
Are the people that work at your company being given opportunities to learn and contribute?
Who has the ability within the organization to make decisions and do the right things to achieve goals that all have agreed to?
What does the company training calendar look like? Does it exist? Is every employee being trained or educated on something new on a regular basis or is training exclusive?
Is everyone at the company professional in their behavior, dress and communication to others inside and outside the company?
What are the top five values of the organization? How many people know what they are? How many people abide by them?
Who are your strongest employees? What is being done to make sure that they are happy and motivated?
Who are your weakest employees? What is the plan for them?
Do you have a disaster plan in case of fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, windstorm or earthquake? What is your plan to communicate with employees, clients and suppliers in the event a disaster takes place?
What is your plan to keep the business going and your clients loyal if your facilities are destroyed or rendered useless?
Who are your top five clients? How often is someone from the senior management team from the company in contact with these clients?
Can people at your organization admit they made a mistake? Has anyone ever shared what they learned from a mistake they have made?
Do you have a mentoring program in place for new hires? Those recently promoted? For those that seek to be promoted?
Is your place of employment a cool and fun place to come to work everyday? Are you allowing your managers and employees to be part of something significant? Can your managers and employees grow while working at your company?
Is the company culture an open one, where people freely share information with others in order to get to the desired results?
