The Law of Reciprocity
By Brian Tracy
People have a deep subconscious need to reciprocate for anything that is done to or for them. The Law of Reciprocity is one of the most powerful of all determinants of human behavior. This is because nobody likes to feel that he or she is obligated to someone else. When someone does something nice for us, we want to repay that person, to reciprocate. We want to be even. Because of this, we seek an opportunity to do something nice in return. This law is the basis of the law of contract, as well as the glue that hold most human relationships together.
Concessions
The first party to make a concession is the party who wants the deal the most. You must therefore avoid being the first one to make a concession, even a small concession. Instead, be friendly and interested, but remain silent. The first person to make a concession will usually be the person who makes additional concessions, even without reciprocal concessions. Most purchasers and sellers are aware of this. They recognize that early concessions are a sign of eagerness and are prepared to take advantage of it. Be careful.
Equal or Greater
Every concession you make in a negotiation should be matched by an equal or greater concession from the other party. If the other party asks for a concession, you may give it, but never without asking for something else in return. If you don't request a reciprocal concession, the concession that you give will be considered to have no value and will not help as the negotiation proceeds. If a person asks for a better price, suggest that it might be possible but you will have to either decrease the quantity or lengthen the delivery dates. Even if the concession is of no cost or value to you, you must make it appear valuable and important to the other party or it will not help you in the negotiation.
Small Concessions lead to Large Concessions
Small concessions on small issues enable you to ask for large concessions on large issues. One of the very best negotiating strategies is to be willing to give something in order to get something. When you make every effort to appear reasonable by conceding on issues that are unimportant to you, you put yourself in an excellent position to request an equal or greater concession later.
Use Reciprocity to your Advantage
Use the reciprocity principle to your advantage. Before negotiating make a list of the things the other party might want and decide upon what concessions you are willing to give to get what you want. This preparation strengthens your negotiating ability considerably.
Action Exercise
Prepare your best price or offer before you begin. Then, think through your first "fallback" position and how far you are willing to go to make a deal. Prepare your final fallback position as well, along with the maximum you are willing to concede. This exercise of thinking through these issues in advance will make you a much better negotiator.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Heart of the Sale
The Heart of the Sale
By Brian Tracy
What is selling? In its simplest terms, selling is the process of persuading a person that your product or service is of greater value to him than the price you are asking for it. Our market society is based on the principles of freedom of choice and mutual benefit. Each party enters into a transaction when he feels that he will be better off as a result of the transaction than he would be without it.
Convince the Customer
For the customer to buy your particular product or service, he or she must be convinced, not only that is it the best choice of product or service available, but also that there is no better way for him to spend the equivalent sum of money that it costs. Your job as a salesperson is to convince the customer that these conditions exist and then to elicit a commitment from him to take action on your offer.
The Critical Factor: Risk
The critical factor in selling today is risk. Because of the continuous change, rapid obsolescence, and an uncertain economy, the risk of buying the wrong product or service has become greater than ever before. There are four main factors that contribute to the perception of risk in the mind and hear of the customer.
Size of the Sale
The first factor that contributes to risk is the size of the sale. The larger the scale, the more money involved, the greater the risk. If a person is buying a package of Lifesavers, the risk of satisfaction or dissatisfaction is insignificant. But if a person is buying a computer system for their company, the risk factor is magnified by hundreds of thousands of times. Whenever you are selling a product that has a high price on it, you must be aware that risk enters into the buyer's calculations immediately.
People Affected by the Decision
The second factor contributing to the perception of risk is the number of people who will be affected by the buying decision. Almost every complex buying decision involves several people. There are people who must use the product or service. There are people who must pay for the product or service. There are people who are dependent of the results expected from the product or service. If a person is extremely sensitive to the opinions of others, this factor alone can cause him or her to put off a buying decision.
Length of Life of the Product
The third factor contributing to the perception of risk is the length of life of the product. A product or service that, once installed, is meant to last for several years, generates the feeling of risk. The customer panics and thinks, "What if it doesn't work and I'm stuck with it."
Unfamiliarity
The fourth major risk factor is the customer's unfamiliarity with you, your company, and your product or service. A first-time buyer, one who has not bought the product or service before, or who has not bought it from you, is often nervous and requires a lot of hand-holding. Anything new or different makes the average customer tense and uneasy. This is why a new product or service, or a new business relationship with your company, has to be presented as a natural extension of what the customer is already doing.
Action Exercise
Identify the risks that a customer might find with your product or service. Once you had clearly defined those risks it will be easier to find solutions to them to ease nervous customers.
By Brian Tracy
What is selling? In its simplest terms, selling is the process of persuading a person that your product or service is of greater value to him than the price you are asking for it. Our market society is based on the principles of freedom of choice and mutual benefit. Each party enters into a transaction when he feels that he will be better off as a result of the transaction than he would be without it.
Convince the Customer
For the customer to buy your particular product or service, he or she must be convinced, not only that is it the best choice of product or service available, but also that there is no better way for him to spend the equivalent sum of money that it costs. Your job as a salesperson is to convince the customer that these conditions exist and then to elicit a commitment from him to take action on your offer.
The Critical Factor: Risk
The critical factor in selling today is risk. Because of the continuous change, rapid obsolescence, and an uncertain economy, the risk of buying the wrong product or service has become greater than ever before. There are four main factors that contribute to the perception of risk in the mind and hear of the customer.
Size of the Sale
The first factor that contributes to risk is the size of the sale. The larger the scale, the more money involved, the greater the risk. If a person is buying a package of Lifesavers, the risk of satisfaction or dissatisfaction is insignificant. But if a person is buying a computer system for their company, the risk factor is magnified by hundreds of thousands of times. Whenever you are selling a product that has a high price on it, you must be aware that risk enters into the buyer's calculations immediately.
People Affected by the Decision
The second factor contributing to the perception of risk is the number of people who will be affected by the buying decision. Almost every complex buying decision involves several people. There are people who must use the product or service. There are people who must pay for the product or service. There are people who are dependent of the results expected from the product or service. If a person is extremely sensitive to the opinions of others, this factor alone can cause him or her to put off a buying decision.
Length of Life of the Product
The third factor contributing to the perception of risk is the length of life of the product. A product or service that, once installed, is meant to last for several years, generates the feeling of risk. The customer panics and thinks, "What if it doesn't work and I'm stuck with it."
Unfamiliarity
The fourth major risk factor is the customer's unfamiliarity with you, your company, and your product or service. A first-time buyer, one who has not bought the product or service before, or who has not bought it from you, is often nervous and requires a lot of hand-holding. Anything new or different makes the average customer tense and uneasy. This is why a new product or service, or a new business relationship with your company, has to be presented as a natural extension of what the customer is already doing.
Action Exercise
Identify the risks that a customer might find with your product or service. Once you had clearly defined those risks it will be easier to find solutions to them to ease nervous customers.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Top 5 Mistakes Made in Marketing
Top 5 Mistakes Made in Marketing
By Laura Lake, About.com Guide
http://marketing.about.com
A properly developed marketing campaign can not only connect you with the right prospects, but it gets everyone talking about your company, your product, or your service. However, marketing mistakes can just as easily cost your business thousands of dollars. Here is a checklist of 5 mistakes commonly made in marketing.
1. Lack of Research and Testing
Research and testing should be done to determine the performance of every marketing effort. This takes the guesswork out of what your potential customer or client wants. Always make sure you have done your due diligence when it comes to testing different offers, prices, and packages. Get the input of your customers.
2. Improper Focus and Positioning
Don't market to build up the company, but approach marketing to demand an immediate response from the recipient. Improper focus and positioning can be avoided by following the proper solution positioning of marketing.
3. Marketing without a USP
Your USP is your unique selling proposition. It is the one single statement that will single you out amongst the competition. It should be used in every piece of marketing material. Think of your USP as the philosophical foundation of your business. Don't market without it!
4. Failing to Capture Repeat Customers
Keep in mind that when marketing 80% of your business comes from existing customers and 20% comes from new customers. Failing to resell to your current customer base could have a detrimental effect on your profits. It will cost you 5 times the expense to sell to a new customer than to sell to an existing customer.
5. Lack of Focus on Potential Customer's Needs
Do you really know what your potential customers need and want? If so you are ahead of the ballgame and probably don't need to be reading this article. Truth is very few businesses have a good grasp of what it is that their customer needs from them. The secret to avoiding this common error is to find a need you can fill and then fill that need better than anyone else.
By Laura Lake, About.com Guide
http://marketing.about.com
A properly developed marketing campaign can not only connect you with the right prospects, but it gets everyone talking about your company, your product, or your service. However, marketing mistakes can just as easily cost your business thousands of dollars. Here is a checklist of 5 mistakes commonly made in marketing.
1. Lack of Research and Testing
Research and testing should be done to determine the performance of every marketing effort. This takes the guesswork out of what your potential customer or client wants. Always make sure you have done your due diligence when it comes to testing different offers, prices, and packages. Get the input of your customers.
2. Improper Focus and Positioning
Don't market to build up the company, but approach marketing to demand an immediate response from the recipient. Improper focus and positioning can be avoided by following the proper solution positioning of marketing.
3. Marketing without a USP
Your USP is your unique selling proposition. It is the one single statement that will single you out amongst the competition. It should be used in every piece of marketing material. Think of your USP as the philosophical foundation of your business. Don't market without it!
4. Failing to Capture Repeat Customers
Keep in mind that when marketing 80% of your business comes from existing customers and 20% comes from new customers. Failing to resell to your current customer base could have a detrimental effect on your profits. It will cost you 5 times the expense to sell to a new customer than to sell to an existing customer.
5. Lack of Focus on Potential Customer's Needs
Do you really know what your potential customers need and want? If so you are ahead of the ballgame and probably don't need to be reading this article. Truth is very few businesses have a good grasp of what it is that their customer needs from them. The secret to avoiding this common error is to find a need you can fill and then fill that need better than anyone else.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Seven P Formula for Marketing Success
The Seven P Formula for Marketing Success
By Brian Tracy
http://www.briantracy.com
Once you have developed your marketing strategy, there is a seven P formula you should continually use to evaluate and reevaluate your business activities. These seven are: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning, and people. As products, markets, customers, and needs change rapidly, you must continually revisit these seven P's to make sure you are on track and achieving the maximum results possible for you in today's Market.
Product
To begin, develop the habit of looking at your product as though you were an outside marketing consultant having been brought in to help your company decide whether or not it is in the right business at this time. Ask critical questions such as: Is your current product or service, or mix of products or services appropriate and suitable for the market and the customers of today?
Prices Deserve Attention
The second P in the formula has to do with price. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services that you sell to make sure they are still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise your prices. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services does not justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate for you?
Promotion
The third habit in marketing and sales is for you to develop the habit of thinking in terms of promotion all the time. Promotion includes all the ways you tell your customers about products or services and how you then market and sell to them. Small changes in the way you promote and sell your products can lead to dramatic changes in your results. Experienced copywriters can often increase the response rate from advertising by 500 percent by simply changing the headline on the advertisement.
"Increase Your Sales and Income Immediately!"
Do you ever wonder how luxury cars and designer handbags continue to fly off the shelves…even when the economy is bad? It's because price isn't the only reason why people buy.
Learn how to separate your product from the competition and give your clients great reasons to buy—that have nothing to do with how much it costs! Click for more >>
Place
The fourth P in the marketing mix is the place where your product or service is actually sold. Develop the habit of reviewing and reflecting upon the exact location where the customer meets the salesperson. Sometimes a change in place can lead to a rapid increase in sales.
Packaging
The fifth element in the marketing mix is packaging. Develop the habit of standing back and looking at every visual element in the packaging of your product or service through the eyes of a critical prospect. Remember, people form their first impression about you within 30 seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Small improvements in the packaging or external appearance of your product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from your customers.
Positioning
The next P is positioning. You should develop the habit of thinking continually about how you are positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers. How do people think about you and talk about you when you are not present? How do people think and talk about your company? What positioning do you have in your market, in terms of the specific words that people use when they describe you and your offerings to others?
People are Everything
The final P is people. Develop the habit of thinking in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are responsible for every element of your sales and marketing strategy and activities. Your ability to select, recruit, hire, and retain the proper people, with the skills and abilities to do the job you need to have done, is more important than everything else put together.
Action Exercise
Position yourself in everything you say and do as the most credible and believable supplier of your product or service to your ideal customer.
By Brian Tracy
http://www.briantracy.com
Once you have developed your marketing strategy, there is a seven P formula you should continually use to evaluate and reevaluate your business activities. These seven are: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning, and people. As products, markets, customers, and needs change rapidly, you must continually revisit these seven P's to make sure you are on track and achieving the maximum results possible for you in today's Market.
Product
To begin, develop the habit of looking at your product as though you were an outside marketing consultant having been brought in to help your company decide whether or not it is in the right business at this time. Ask critical questions such as: Is your current product or service, or mix of products or services appropriate and suitable for the market and the customers of today?
Prices Deserve Attention
The second P in the formula has to do with price. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services that you sell to make sure they are still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise your prices. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services does not justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate for you?
Promotion
The third habit in marketing and sales is for you to develop the habit of thinking in terms of promotion all the time. Promotion includes all the ways you tell your customers about products or services and how you then market and sell to them. Small changes in the way you promote and sell your products can lead to dramatic changes in your results. Experienced copywriters can often increase the response rate from advertising by 500 percent by simply changing the headline on the advertisement.
"Increase Your Sales and Income Immediately!"
Do you ever wonder how luxury cars and designer handbags continue to fly off the shelves…even when the economy is bad? It's because price isn't the only reason why people buy.
Learn how to separate your product from the competition and give your clients great reasons to buy—that have nothing to do with how much it costs! Click for more >>
Place
The fourth P in the marketing mix is the place where your product or service is actually sold. Develop the habit of reviewing and reflecting upon the exact location where the customer meets the salesperson. Sometimes a change in place can lead to a rapid increase in sales.
Packaging
The fifth element in the marketing mix is packaging. Develop the habit of standing back and looking at every visual element in the packaging of your product or service through the eyes of a critical prospect. Remember, people form their first impression about you within 30 seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Small improvements in the packaging or external appearance of your product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from your customers.
Positioning
The next P is positioning. You should develop the habit of thinking continually about how you are positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers. How do people think about you and talk about you when you are not present? How do people think and talk about your company? What positioning do you have in your market, in terms of the specific words that people use when they describe you and your offerings to others?
People are Everything
The final P is people. Develop the habit of thinking in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are responsible for every element of your sales and marketing strategy and activities. Your ability to select, recruit, hire, and retain the proper people, with the skills and abilities to do the job you need to have done, is more important than everything else put together.
Action Exercise
Position yourself in everything you say and do as the most credible and believable supplier of your product or service to your ideal customer.
Prospecting From Your Customer Base
Prospecting From Your Customer Base
Written By : Carleadbest
It's easier to keep a customer you have than to get a new one. However, many salesperson get so caught up in the 'excitement of the chase' - the pursuit of new clients - that they forget about the client base they already have.You want to do more than just keep your current clients-you want to expend the amount of business you're doing with them.
It take work to keep any relationship going and growing.You can't depend on your product to keep your customers loyal.Currently, there's so much product parity that if you want to keep the competitive edge, you've got to provide the one thing your customers can't get from anyone else-personalized service.Your present customers can be the best source of future business. Here are some suggestions for prospecting from your customer base:
1.Make personal contact a priority.
Keep your best customers on speed dial so that you can call them when you have a free moment to say hello.This serves as a constant reminder of who your key contacts are and that you should keep in touch. With the press of one button, you can call to say hello, find out what's new with their business and see if there's any way you can be of further service.
2.Keep your customers in mind
If you see an article in a newspaper or magazine that might be of interest to them, send it to them. It could be some relevent industry news ( theirs or yours), or it could be something related to a sport or hobby that interests them.
3. Follow your MAP
Use your MAP ( Management Account Profile)board to keep track of customers' buying cycles. Then send out mailings to them every three, six or 12 months ( or whatever their cycle is ) announcing a new product or development, or to find out if there's any way you can be of service
4. Implement customer satisfaction surveys.
Many customers who have a minor complaints will never say anything about them , they just won't buy from you again. If you ask them for their opinion, however, they'll be glad to give you the chance to solve the problem. Call your customers and ask,"Is there anything we're not doing we should be doing?" Or, every few months, send current customers a one page survey about how you and your product or service are performing. The survey has two function: It give you a chance to correct any problems and it can be used as a selling tool for prospective clients. A positive survey from a satisfied customer reassures a prospect that he, too, can expect satisfaction.
5. Build a reputation as a problem solver
Problems are opportunities. Research conducted by the United States Office of Consumer affairs showed that of consumers who complaint and receive a satisfactory response, 70% out of them become the company's most loyal customers. If you should receive a compalint, go beyond the customer's expectations in solving the problem.
6. Learn about your customer's business and think of way to help their business grow.
Help your customers in any way you can, whether or not it has anything to do with sales. You might run into someone who could benefit from your customer's product or service. You might be in position to help get your customer some publicity or have some promotion ideas. Whatever you can do to help your customer's business will help yours as well.
7. Remember that customers buy from people they like, trust and respect.
- Like: A customer doesn't necessarily want to become your friend but she does want to feel comfortable with you.She has to feel a connection with you.She want to know that you are being yourself and that you can listen and respond to her needs.
- Trust: The basis for all sales relationships, especially those that entail ongoing and long-term sales cycles, is trust. TRUST is an acronym for the critical elements of a strong relationship:
Truth:Be totally honest
Reliability: Never promise something you can't deliver
Uncommon effort: Go the extra step to earn the business
Service: Superv service builds trust
Truth:Openness and honesty, start to finish.
-Respect:Customers will respect you when you are knowledgeable about your product or service and when you're prepared and professional on your calls. But they'll respect you even more when you take the time to learn their business and their needs and show your commitment to helping them achieve their goals.
Written By : Carleadbest
It's easier to keep a customer you have than to get a new one. However, many salesperson get so caught up in the 'excitement of the chase' - the pursuit of new clients - that they forget about the client base they already have.You want to do more than just keep your current clients-you want to expend the amount of business you're doing with them.
It take work to keep any relationship going and growing.You can't depend on your product to keep your customers loyal.Currently, there's so much product parity that if you want to keep the competitive edge, you've got to provide the one thing your customers can't get from anyone else-personalized service.Your present customers can be the best source of future business. Here are some suggestions for prospecting from your customer base:
1.Make personal contact a priority.
Keep your best customers on speed dial so that you can call them when you have a free moment to say hello.This serves as a constant reminder of who your key contacts are and that you should keep in touch. With the press of one button, you can call to say hello, find out what's new with their business and see if there's any way you can be of further service.
2.Keep your customers in mind
If you see an article in a newspaper or magazine that might be of interest to them, send it to them. It could be some relevent industry news ( theirs or yours), or it could be something related to a sport or hobby that interests them.
3. Follow your MAP
Use your MAP ( Management Account Profile)board to keep track of customers' buying cycles. Then send out mailings to them every three, six or 12 months ( or whatever their cycle is ) announcing a new product or development, or to find out if there's any way you can be of service
4. Implement customer satisfaction surveys.
Many customers who have a minor complaints will never say anything about them , they just won't buy from you again. If you ask them for their opinion, however, they'll be glad to give you the chance to solve the problem. Call your customers and ask,"Is there anything we're not doing we should be doing?" Or, every few months, send current customers a one page survey about how you and your product or service are performing. The survey has two function: It give you a chance to correct any problems and it can be used as a selling tool for prospective clients. A positive survey from a satisfied customer reassures a prospect that he, too, can expect satisfaction.
5. Build a reputation as a problem solver
Problems are opportunities. Research conducted by the United States Office of Consumer affairs showed that of consumers who complaint and receive a satisfactory response, 70% out of them become the company's most loyal customers. If you should receive a compalint, go beyond the customer's expectations in solving the problem.
6. Learn about your customer's business and think of way to help their business grow.
Help your customers in any way you can, whether or not it has anything to do with sales. You might run into someone who could benefit from your customer's product or service. You might be in position to help get your customer some publicity or have some promotion ideas. Whatever you can do to help your customer's business will help yours as well.
7. Remember that customers buy from people they like, trust and respect.
- Like: A customer doesn't necessarily want to become your friend but she does want to feel comfortable with you.She has to feel a connection with you.She want to know that you are being yourself and that you can listen and respond to her needs.
- Trust: The basis for all sales relationships, especially those that entail ongoing and long-term sales cycles, is trust. TRUST is an acronym for the critical elements of a strong relationship:
Truth:Be totally honest
Reliability: Never promise something you can't deliver
Uncommon effort: Go the extra step to earn the business
Service: Superv service builds trust
Truth:Openness and honesty, start to finish.
-Respect:Customers will respect you when you are knowledgeable about your product or service and when you're prepared and professional on your calls. But they'll respect you even more when you take the time to learn their business and their needs and show your commitment to helping them achieve their goals.
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