Blogging for Dummies. Idiots Guide to Blogging. Both in one. And Free. If you are in business and not yet blogging, you need to get started now. There is no less expensive way to talk to your customers. You will see upcoming posts on this subject.
But here is a great place for you to start if you don't have a blog, or if you've been putting up posts for a while, but need a quick tutorialJakob Nielsen's Alertbox
I have already applied some of the advice found at Alertbox in this post. See if you can spot the new approaches.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Landing the BIG Account
How to Sell the Majors
Every sales professional who is interested in earning a substantial living salivates at the idea of landing the "big account."
For most of those same salesfolks, however, the idea of making that call is about as appealing as eating crushed glass. The best part of such a fear on the part of most means that the few who are willing to take the risk of rejection at the top levels have fewer competitors.
I first learned this concept in high school. I wasn't the prettiest face on campus, didn't letter in any sports, and weighed a wopping 105 pounds at 5'10" when I graduated. Somehow, though, I was able to date all the most prized young women. As I reviewed this unlikely combination, I could see that most of my male friends didn't even have the nerve to approach the top prospects.
So, lesson one - Make the call. The worst thing they can say is, "no." But they can't say, "yes" until you make an offer.
LESSON TWO
Be prepared. Know your stuff, and review sales motivational literature before a major call. This buyer is used to hearing from people who are professional. Make sure you know obvious things about the company, and maybe hit the internet in advance to learn some less obvious things. Be certain to ascertain the need. Do not just jump in with product ideas or details of how you can offer better service or price or terms or whatever. Find out what this buyer needs that he isn't getting or may not have even thought about before you arrived.
Buyers in big companies are more likely to be interested in their job track than in the company. Be sure as you listen to the needs, you take into consideration how this will make him look good. How will you save him time? Who, exactly, will be interested in his success or failure on this project?
LESSON THREE
Make sure that your company is prepared to deal at this level. Are there demands and requirements that are beyond the scope of your company's infrastructure? Can you handle the financing? Will they require so much of your time that you will mishandle your smaller accounts? Have you established a solid base of Suppliers who you can count on for quality, on time delivery, and rushes.
LESSON FOUR
Do you have a large enough base of business to be able to not be dependent on a single account. When we first opened our business, we decided we would not go after any majors until we had $1,000,000 in sales from solid small and medium sized accounts. From that point forward, we also have tried to limit our exposure from any one account to 10% of our total business. That way, if they change buyers, go out of business, or have a very bad year, we still have 90% of our business coming in strong.
Every sales professional who is interested in earning a substantial living salivates at the idea of landing the "big account."
For most of those same salesfolks, however, the idea of making that call is about as appealing as eating crushed glass. The best part of such a fear on the part of most means that the few who are willing to take the risk of rejection at the top levels have fewer competitors.
I first learned this concept in high school. I wasn't the prettiest face on campus, didn't letter in any sports, and weighed a wopping 105 pounds at 5'10" when I graduated. Somehow, though, I was able to date all the most prized young women. As I reviewed this unlikely combination, I could see that most of my male friends didn't even have the nerve to approach the top prospects.
So, lesson one - Make the call. The worst thing they can say is, "no." But they can't say, "yes" until you make an offer.
LESSON TWO
Be prepared. Know your stuff, and review sales motivational literature before a major call. This buyer is used to hearing from people who are professional. Make sure you know obvious things about the company, and maybe hit the internet in advance to learn some less obvious things. Be certain to ascertain the need. Do not just jump in with product ideas or details of how you can offer better service or price or terms or whatever. Find out what this buyer needs that he isn't getting or may not have even thought about before you arrived.
Buyers in big companies are more likely to be interested in their job track than in the company. Be sure as you listen to the needs, you take into consideration how this will make him look good. How will you save him time? Who, exactly, will be interested in his success or failure on this project?
LESSON THREE
Make sure that your company is prepared to deal at this level. Are there demands and requirements that are beyond the scope of your company's infrastructure? Can you handle the financing? Will they require so much of your time that you will mishandle your smaller accounts? Have you established a solid base of Suppliers who you can count on for quality, on time delivery, and rushes.
LESSON FOUR
Do you have a large enough base of business to be able to not be dependent on a single account. When we first opened our business, we decided we would not go after any majors until we had $1,000,000 in sales from solid small and medium sized accounts. From that point forward, we also have tried to limit our exposure from any one account to 10% of our total business. That way, if they change buyers, go out of business, or have a very bad year, we still have 90% of our business coming in strong.
Seasonality
Much of what I write in this place is advice that is well researched and tested by blood, sweat, and tears. Today I take on a topic which I know a lot about, but which continues to be a thorn in my side. From talking to many of you, I know that most, if not all, advertising specialty professionals also fight the battle of revenue fluctuation by season.
As of today, our company only sells bicycle style water bottles. If this product was only used by bicyclists on bicycles, it would be pretty clear that sales would be much stronger in warm months than in cold. However, as this product became a major player in the promotional products industry, the usage changed dramatically. Our bottles are now seen in gyms, offices, warehouses, kitchens, living rooms, and autos. They are used by golfers, toddlers, walkers, oldsters, and even teenagers. Our largest end user categories are home centers, pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, banks, transportation companies,military recruitment, and fast food chains.
So we thought (silly us) that our seasons would flatten out. Honda should need just as many bottles in January as they do in July. Of course, many of you could have warned us that November to February is not so terrific for mugs or pens either.
So what are the answers? Do we get used to the idea that we will buy our Christmas gifts on credit cards that offer no interest/no payments until April? Here is my short list. I'd be interested in hearing what you've come up with.
1. To some extent we may have to live with seasonality. That may mean that we lower overhead during those months, or that we squirrel away money during the good days.
2. Offer discounts to major customers who will warehouse product for year round use anyway. We have several customers who buy 100,000 or more bottles per year. We offer them better pricing to take product October-February when our equipment and people might otherwise be idle. This frees up our resources for those who can only take product in season.
3. Develop specific off season markets. For water bottles we found that gyms, schools, military recruiting, and retail promotions were year round businesses. We put more emphasis on these groups. This year we have started to develop concepts that turn water bottles into gifts, greeting cards, and calendars.
4. Get a part time job at Macy's for the Holidays. (Just kidding.) But that is my whole list of ideas. This blog can be a place where we in the industry share ideas that can benefit everyone. So just hit the comment button and tell us how you manage your off season.
As of today, our company only sells bicycle style water bottles. If this product was only used by bicyclists on bicycles, it would be pretty clear that sales would be much stronger in warm months than in cold. However, as this product became a major player in the promotional products industry, the usage changed dramatically. Our bottles are now seen in gyms, offices, warehouses, kitchens, living rooms, and autos. They are used by golfers, toddlers, walkers, oldsters, and even teenagers. Our largest end user categories are home centers, pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, banks, transportation companies,military recruitment, and fast food chains.
So we thought (silly us) that our seasons would flatten out. Honda should need just as many bottles in January as they do in July. Of course, many of you could have warned us that November to February is not so terrific for mugs or pens either.
So what are the answers? Do we get used to the idea that we will buy our Christmas gifts on credit cards that offer no interest/no payments until April? Here is my short list. I'd be interested in hearing what you've come up with.
1. To some extent we may have to live with seasonality. That may mean that we lower overhead during those months, or that we squirrel away money during the good days.
2. Offer discounts to major customers who will warehouse product for year round use anyway. We have several customers who buy 100,000 or more bottles per year. We offer them better pricing to take product October-February when our equipment and people might otherwise be idle. This frees up our resources for those who can only take product in season.
3. Develop specific off season markets. For water bottles we found that gyms, schools, military recruiting, and retail promotions were year round businesses. We put more emphasis on these groups. This year we have started to develop concepts that turn water bottles into gifts, greeting cards, and calendars.
4. Get a part time job at Macy's for the Holidays. (Just kidding.) But that is my whole list of ideas. This blog can be a place where we in the industry share ideas that can benefit everyone. So just hit the comment button and tell us how you manage your off season.
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