Monthly Archives: June 2010

Social Networking Tip: If you’re going to write me, write to me

By John Aberle | heart-centered , Social Networking

Social networking can be a blessing or just another annoyance. Used properly, it’s a wonderful tool for heart-centered, soft sell salespeople and marketers because it shows you as a person. Prospects and customers want to come to know, like and trust you. When they discover you’re a person too, it can help you to connect with them. Done wrong it merely shows you lack good sense and manners so it will hurt your ability to connect in a positive way. Remember, social networking is about being social and interacting with people. Which brings us to today’s social networking tip: If you’re writing “me” (anyone you want to join your network) to become my friend or make a connection, then write to “me.”

LinkedIn and Facebook as well as most other social networking sites have marvelous tools for inviting everyone in your different mailing lists to join you on their sites. If I know you personally, especially in the non-virtual or physical world of daily living, then you can get away with an impersonal automated request – and I will probably join you because you are my friend out here.

Even then, however, taking a moment to write a little bit extra about why you want me, or everyone else in your database, to join you on this latest social networking site would be nice. For example, “I find that LinkedIn is really popular with business people and has lots of useful forum or groups that I think you might find as useful as I do” would help me to understand it’s value to me.

To connect, make it personal

If, on the other hand, we’ve never met, then I would appreciate knowing why you want to be friends. What do we have in common? Are you a Continue reading

Old Selling Secret Improves Sales

By John Aberle | heart-centered , Sales and Marketing , Soft Sell

Are you looking for a way to really impress your prospect? Here’s an old sales secret; it’s one of the simplest ways. Send a handwritten thank you note after your meeting.

Thank you notes work following job interviews too

I had the pleasure of attending a networking group meeting last night for the Career Marketplace Search group that meets at the Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena California. When the guest speaker on Emotional Intelligence had to cancel because of illness, the group coordinators substituted a session on job search skills. I suggested that one technique that works really well for those who actually get the interview is to remember to send a handwritten thank you note. Sandy Edge, the program facilitator, reinforced my point by reminding the group that a couple members of the group had come back to report that they got their job offers because they were the only finalists to send thank you notes.

Use handwritten, personalized thank you notes to differentiate you

While this blog is about sales and marketing, remember that job-search candidates need to sell their perspective employers just as much as you do your prospects. A handwritten note will set you apart. Most people won’t make the effort.

Sending a hand written thank you note isn’t a miracle worker. But it does Continue reading

Increase Sales through Package Pricing

By John Aberle | Pricing , Sales and Marketing

I recently encountered a vendor who could not understand one of the basic concepts in sales and marketing: people love a bargain and are inclined to buy more if there is a special. I’m sure you are familiar with this idea as many successful marketers create package prices to encourage buyers to purchase more. Interestingly, I’m usually at the other end of the spectrum wondering if merchants understand the other basic of business, i.e. that you have to make a profit (or at least break even) to survive.

Not everyone accepts the value of selling a package of products

One of the easiest ways to increase sales is to offer bundled packages. Yet the management of this company refused to give customers a choice of buying several pictures at a reduced price once they’d bought the first one. It would appear that they wanted the full profit on each sale.

Here’s the problem that comes from holding the line on prices in this unique case:

• They have a fixed number of prospects, only those attending this event.
• Their labor costs are already spent – I call this sunk costs – because the photographers already took the pictures “on spec,” i.e. hoping to entice buyers to purchase them, and already printed them up so the customers could see them.
• Their material costs to print up the pictures are also spent as the prospects wouldn’t purchase without seeing the pictures.
• Their overhead was a fixed expense regardless of how many pictures they sold.

Here is the basic profit formula:

Continue reading