Successful Blog

Get Personal in Training Your Sales People to be the Best

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Business People Waiting For Job Interview. Four Candidates CompeFor those business owners just starting out or only in business for a short period of time, does your sales training have a personal touch? If it doesn’t, it could set the stage for some long days down the road.

The aim of sales training is to equip your sales team to do their best for your business. Well-trained sales people will pursue the best leads and communicating effectively with customers, ultimately improving your sales and conversions.

By adding a personal touch to your sales training, you increase the chances of success for your sales team.

So just what does a personal touch mean in terms of sales training, and how can you implement it in your business?

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

When it comes to sales training, it’s all too easy to take a one-size-fits-all approach.

You set up a training day or give your sales team an e-course to complete on their mobile devices, delivering everything you think they need to know. However, this may not be the most effective approach for your business.

Here’s why:

  • Different people have different learning styles;
  • Different people learn at different speeds;
  • Some team members will already be familiar with some of the material;
  • Team members will have different gaps in their knowledge;
  • Some people will learn better at different times of day;
  • Some people will respond better to specific content delivery methods than others.

Understanding the different needs of your sales team members is vital in creating sales training that has a truly personal touch.

What Does Personal Training Look Like?

Personal training is focused on what is best for each individual learner.

Personal training can include:

  • Offering different learning options (such as videos or interactive quizzes);
  • Breaking training down into bite size pieces so learners can choose where to go next;
  • Recommending new training modules based on each learner’s history;
  • Giving learners a chance to focus on problem areas;
  • Delivering different content based on each learner’s progress.

The Benefits of Giving Training a Personal Touch

Adding a personal touch to your sales training means you’ll be offering the best training for each individual member of your sales team.

By focusing your efforts on adapting your training to be appropriate for each individual learner, you increase each team member’s chance of getting maximum benefit from the training.

As the article “Modern Pharma Sales Training Deserves a Personal Touch” points out, customizing training to each learner’s needs improves the quality of the training.

Each person will receive the best content for them, in a way that they can personally work well with. Their engagement with the content will be more meaningful.

Making Training More Efficient

Adding a more personal touch to your training also means your training will be more efficient.

When you deliver the same training to everyone, some people will receive training in topics they’re already well versed in. As well as wasting time, this is likely to bore learners.

By personalizing your training, you let each employee skip over areas they are already familiar with.

More personal training also lets you see where each member of your team is struggling, giving you the chance to offer them support. Learners can put their focus on the areas they most need to improve.

Finally, by personalizing your sales training, you can pay attention to each learner’s preferred method of learning, for example by reading, answering quizzes or watching a video.

Targeting a preferred learning method is much more efficient than having everyone wade through material that doesn’t gel with their personal learning style.

When you add a personal touch to your sales training, you are essentially delivering the very best training for each member of your team.

The result is the best-trained sales people, who are an asset to your business.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a variety of topics including social media, how to build customer relationships, content marketing and how to offer the best training to your sales people.

The Right Way to Ask for Referrals

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When I left the car dealership, my sales guy had put a little stack of his business cards in the glove compartment.

“You’re going to get attention in this car, and when you do, I’d love it if you’d share my card.”

My shiny Z3 convertible has now been replaced by a minivan, but the lesson stuck with me. (And I did end up handing out a few of those cards.)

That salesman had fulfilled my car dreams, and in my moment of euphoria, made it easy for me to share the love.

Are you doing that with your customers?

Some people are afraid to make the “ask,” thinking that it might harm their relationship or might feel weird.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE sharing useful tips with my friends and colleagues. If there’s a technology I’m excited about, or a new movie, or a fantastic local restaurant, I enjoy spreading the word.

But there is a right way and a wrong way to ask for that referral. Let’s start with the “don’t go there” list.

The Wrong Way to Ask for Referrals

Asking before the customer has had a chance to use the product or service. It’s a waste of time to ask me to Tweet out your app before I’ve even finished downloading it. I value my relationships too much to blindly recommend something. (Yet this is done all the time.)

Monetizing the referrals right off the bat. If I feel a strong relationship with a brand, and they immediately try to make me an affiliate or network marketer for them, I almost feel insulted. Sometimes, tangible rewards can actually demotivate people who already like you.

Making me blast out emails to my contact list in an online form. If I want to email my friends, I’ll compose my own message, thank you very much. I don’t need to be strong-armed into giving up my friends’ email addresses.

The Right Way to Ask for Referrals

Catching me when I’m at maximum happiness, or I’ve just complimented you. This is the ideal time to ask me for a referral, for a written review, or a customer interview. Go for it!

Giving me a brief, memorable phrase to connect with you and your service. I need to fill my mental Rolodex with names attached to simple categories. If my friend is in need of a PR agency, I know I can send them to XYZ Agency. If someone is looking for a freelance business writer, I know so-and-so is the right person. What’s your category?

Considering the context and your relationship with the person you’re asking. The looser the relationship, the simpler the “ask” should be. There’s definitely a sliding scale between asking someone to forward your newsletter to a friend and asking them to give you their friend’s email address or phone number.

Being judicious with your requests. Treat your stored-up goodwill like “Whuffie” gold, and use it sparingly, when it will have the most benefit. Don’t hassle your customers constantly to write reviews and share your content.

 

Referrals can be a wonderful way to expand your business. Are you asking for them?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

 

Image via Flickr CC: Scott Cresswell

Businesses That Market Efficiently Typically Come Out Winners

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Conversion Funnel - Leads To SalesWhat are you doing to market your brand?

In the event you have trouble answering that question, your business could already be in trouble. Those who fail to properly market their brands end up oftentimes on the outside looking in when it comes to being successful business owners.

Think about it; today’s consumers have a wide-range of products and services to choose from, both in-person and by shopping online. If you’re failing at getting your brand noticed, you stand a very good chance of getting passed over by the consumer, with him or her going to your competition.

So, how can you best spread the word about your brand?

Market Regularly and Effectively

In order to properly market your brand in 2015 and beyond, keep the following in mind:

  • Have a purpose – Whether you are marketing home furnishings, real estate, entertainment systems for the home, insurance or any number of products or services; make sure you market with a purpose. Having a purpose means making sure you know your demographics and the message you want to send them. It could be anything from get satellite tv service at this site to buy the cheapest auto insurance and still get the best coverage. If you’re marketing home entertainment, you could market to a wide array of people. On the other hand, you’re less likely to market auto insurance to elderly drivers who likely have a policy they’ve been with for years;
  • Don’t Be a Pest – One quick way to turn off both current and potential customers is by being a pest. While you’re undoubtedly looking for sales, don’t come across as too sales hungry. Most consumers don’t want to feel like you’re reaching into their pockets all the time for more money. One way to offset this is by offering stellar customer service and truly “listening” to what the customer wants. When you offer good products and services and actually hear what the customer wants, you won’t always come across as that guy or gal who is always bothering them;
  • Get More Mobile – Especially with the holiday’s right around the corner, your brand’s mobility truly does matter. With mobile marketing continuing to grow in popularity, offering your current and potential customers deals and special holiday shopping specials can be a boon for your business. That said keep the mobile marketing non-intrusive, meaning make sure the consumer signs-off on you contacting them;
  • Be Able to Adapt – Finally, effective marketing also includes being able to adapt to changes in the market. Customer needs and wants will change, so you have to too. When you have a product or services that adapts with the changing times, you are much more likely to have a brand that customers will desire, so go with the flow.

If your brand has been in neutral recently, get to marketing it more efficiently and see your revenue stream more than likely increase.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: John Peters covers the world of marketing on the web.

Book Your Small Business for Success in 2016 and Beyond

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Group of business people face team collage.The right trade show can do wonders for your small business, which is why it’s so important to attend the best events.

All across the country, small business owners are attending trade shows to help boost their brand presence and so can you.

Here are just a few of the many trade shows worth attending in 2016:

The Small Business Expo

If you’re looking for a trade show that features a diverse number of networking opportunities, then look no further than the Small Business Expo.

This massive trade show covers consulting, start-ups, finance, insurance, real estate, non-profit, education, marketing, advertising, technology, ecommerce, and a number of other small businesses.

In terms of an all-in-one trade show, the Small Business Expo focuses on a variety of industries, which can really help you increase exposure for your brand.

Another benefit of this trade show is it takes place throughout the year in 14 major cities including New York, Chicago, Houston, San Diego, and Atlanta just to name a few.

ASD Market Week

The retail and consumer goods industry is competitive and if you’re in the retail business, then you already know the importance of brand presence.

The ASD Market Week trade show in Las Vegas can help you hone your retail sales skills and stay ahead of the competition.

This trade show invites both small businesses and distributors, which creates an effective networking atmosphere.

As the following article looks at, along with the 2 philosophies that ensure tradeshow booth success is taking advantage of future distribution.

ASD Market Week, which takes place in late February and early March each year, segments attendees based on the products they sell.

This makes it even easier for distributors to seek out your small business during the trade show.

Pubcon

If your small business needs a hand with marketing and SEO, then Pubcon is an absolute must.

Part trade show and part conference, Pubcon brings together online marketers, social media experts, and SEO masterminds for the benefit of your small business.

At this trade show, you can improve your own marketing tactics while increasing the visibility of your brand through networking and workshops.

Pubcon takes place in Las Vegas and Austin, Texas every October.

CES International

Consumer technology is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

Whether your small business builds smart devices or improves technology that’s already on the market, the CES International trade show can help you build a strong following for your brand.

CES International takes place every January in Las Vegas and features small tech companies and innovators from all across the globe.

If you’re looking for a trade show where you can market your consumer tech innovation while networking with distributors and investors, then this trade show is a must.

America’s Small Business Summit

Having a relationship with your local chamber of commerce is an important part of running a small business.

America’s Small Business Summit connects business owners with state chamber executives in order to help build lasting business relationships. The summit takes place each June in Washington, D.C. and features discussion panels from chamber policy experts.

If you’re ready to book your small business for success in 2016, then consider some of the trade shows mentioned above.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including trade shows and small business.

Let SMS Marketing Serve You More Clients

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Pizza Diavola SalamyIf you run your own restaurant (or even something outside the dining industry), then it’s time to start serving up some SMS marketing campaigns.

That’s right; restaurants all across the country are using SMS marketing to better reach their patrons.

Here are a number of restaurants going the SMS route and a few ways your restaurant can do the same:

Restaurants Using SMS

SMS marketing is a great way to reach customers when it counts most: in the moment.

No industry benefits more from this on-the-go marketing platform than the restaurant industry. That’s why a growing number of restaurants/fast food eateries nationwide are already using SMS marketing to their advantage.

Among them:

  • Taco Bell – In order to increase customer outreach, Taco Bell began an SMS campaign that offered free food items with each opt-in. The mobile marketing campaign resulted in more than 13,000 opt-ins within a five-week period.
  • Carl’s Junior – In an attempt to compete with the larger burger chains, Carl’s Junior began an SMS opt-in deal that offered a $6 combo meal for just three bucks. The campaign not only had a 19% redemption rate, it also increased sales and generated a huge following for the fast food chain.
  • Papa Murphy’s – This new take-and-bake pizza chain is in the process of franchising across the country. To increase its visibility, Papa Murphy’s began an SMS campaign that offered five-dollar pizzas to first-time customers. The campaign resulted in a 17% redemption rate and more than 100,000 new mobile subscribers.

Now that you have an idea of how the major restaurant chains are using SMS, here are a few ways your restaurant can take advantage of mobile marketing:

Promoting New Menu Items

Whether your restaurant is new or established, it’s always a good idea to get the word out about new menu items. This is exactly where SMS marketing comes into play.

The article “We’re Open: How to Use SMS Marketing to Give Your New Restaurant a Boost” mentions the importance of engaging customers.

With SMS marketing you can feature new menu items in your campaigns as well as announce exciting menu changes.

Promoting your menu items will put your restaurant on your customers’ radars, which is especially effective when it comes to recipients who are already out and about.

Spreading the Word About Specials

Food specials are the restaurant industry’s bread and butter.

When you take an SMS approach to your restaurant marketing, you can promote your food specials like never before.

Whether it’s a buy-one-get-one deal, a drink special, or a blue plate special, using SMS marketing is a great way to keep your patrons updated on all of your delicious deals.

Gathering Feedback

The key to feeding your patrons the food they love is by gathering feedback on their dining experiences. SMS marketing allows you to send text surveys to your patrons while their meal is still fresh on the mind.

You can send a brief questionnaire, a multiple-choice survey, or you can simply ask patrons to describe their dining experience.

No matter which route you take, SMS surveys make it possible to gather feedback that will help your restaurant thrive.

If you’re ready to get more diners through the door, then satisfy their appetites with SMS marketing.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including the restaurant industry and mobile marketing.

Add Value Through Love

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Sometimes we get discouraged that we can’t do the grand things we aspire to and in our discouragement, we don’t even attempt the small things. The problem with that is that often it’s the small, non-glamorous acts that can make all the difference in our organizations.

I experienced it several years ago. I had been working for one week cleaning classrooms when my boss decided to join me. I was immediately intimidated as she took up a rag and wiped down tables with me. I was sure she had a bigger agenda – maybe to reprimand me for an earlier performance or maybe to lay down the law of the land. I wasn’t sure, but I was cautious and careful as I continued to clean.

She asked me about myself and it seemed like she actually cared. She cleaned diligently. She spent several hours with me and I found she didn’t have any agenda except to get to know me better and to serve me. I felt incredibly loved.

That one sacrificial act by my boss set the tone. I was inspired to give my absolute best. I felt safe and cared for. I felt served and seen.

A small act of love can set the tone for those around you. But love always costs us something. It might mean you have to set aside your busy schedule for a morning. It might mean you stay late so your co-worker can leave early. Maybe it means that you humbly do work you feel like is beneath you. Ultimately, it means that you don’t exercise all the rights that come with being a leader, but instead you serve in love.

When we’re focused on adding value to the bottom line, we may miss opportunities to add value to those around us. It’s really hard to rip ourselves from our never-ending work (and there are times when it may be unwise to do so), but if we’re always inescapably swamped, we’ll always miss out on bettering our organizations by serving others.

When you love, you change things. I worked harder and more sacrificially because of my boss’s leadership. I respected and trusted her much more than many other bosses I’ve had. And my boss didn’t just serve me, she poured herself out for many others as well. She has added so much value to the world through her sacrificial love. The world is unmistakably better because she’s in it.

Let’s add value to the world, not take from it. Let’s make sure that those around us are seen, loved and served. Yes, it will cost us. But I bet the benefits of our sacrifices will far outweigh the costs.

 

Image info: Original image by Ed Gregory.

About the Author: Lindsey Tolino comes alongside artisans, craftsman and people monetizing their passions to help them create healthy businesses. She shares her heart at ToBusinessOwners.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyTolino or connect with her on Google+ .