7 Sure-Fire Ways to Build Your Referral Business...

Growing a business is tough work. The sales function is a time consuming task with a constant need to fill your "sales funnel" with fresh, qualified prospects on a regular basis. Finding the best qualified leads from your business does not come from a cold contact situation but from building a strong referral business. Discover the the benefits plus 7 tactics to drive the referral marketing for your business.

Referral Marketing Benefits....

The business of referrals makes sense for most companies for the following reasons:

·  Referral marketing reduces your sales expenses and sales cycle. With less time calling cold prospects, your small business can focus on customers and their circle of influence.

·  Referrals can build your level of satisfied customers. The cycle self-perpetuates with more satisfied customers referring others to your company.

·  Referrals increase your sales revenue. According to world-renowned sales trainer, Tom Hopkins, in "Sales Prospecting for Dummies"; your closing ratio for non-qualified leads is 10 percent versus a 60 percent close ratio with referred leads.

If the prospect of building the referral end of your business is so enticing, why do so few businesses do it? Because they use the wrong approach in building referrals and have limited success. To ensure your business is on track to building referrals, follow these 7 tips:

7 Sure-Fire Ways to Build Your Referral Business

1. Set A Target: In business, measure the results to improve performance. Set a clear goal with a time line. Example, 10% increase in referral business over the next 10 weeks.

2. Timing: Conventional sales wisdom claims the best time to ask for the referral is immediately after the close. This tactic is far too aggressive. Give your clients time to experience your service or product before asking for a referral. Ask for the referral at close only if your client is already delighted with your business.

3. Top 20: Not all customers are referral candidates. Find the top 20% that are ecstatic about your business and ask them for referrals. Make sure their network is the type of client you want.

4. Give and You'll Receive: Give your clients extra service and follow-up support before asking for referrals. When you give willingly to your customers, they will return the favor.

5. Type of Customer: Inform your referring clients of the type of customers you can help. Provide a clear picture of the customer demographics will help your referral marketing.

6. Rewards Program: Provide special rewards to your referring customers on a regular basis. If a customer provides you with 5 sales, offer them something special, e.g. discounts.

7. Thank-You: Lisa A. Maini, President of my Marketing Manager, recommends businesses need to establish trust to build referrals. Lisa says, "Create a basic thank you letter that can be personalized and sent to each referral you receive. Treat your referral sources with the utmost of care and you will not only build a foundation of trust but keep hot prospects coming to your door."

These tips are simple but when executed on a regular basis they can drive your referral business and build sales revenue. Start today and watch your referrals grow.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga

Develop, Implement and Reinforce a Pay-for-Performance Culture......

The importance of having the best people in key areas is critical to the success of your business. It's no secret the key to retaining the best and brightest talent is recognizing and compensating top performers. According to Giga Information Group, retention can be improved by meritocratic management–or pay-for-performance - by up to 27%.

Establishing an employee pay-for-performance culture is considered the #1 tool for achieving financial results by leading executives. Today's HR technologies now give managers easy access to all the information they need to reward individuals for actual performance–360 degree feedback, goal alignment metrics, review data and performance notes taken throughout the year. This allows managers to make consistent, quantifiable and fair decisions, and avoid compensating the wrong people. Other positive benefits include the ability to:

·                                 Track employee progress against pre-agreed performance goals.

·                                 Identify who is delivering against expectations, and contributing the most.

·                                 Improve ongoing employee job satisfaction, productivity and retention by recognizing and rewarding exceptional effort.

Avoid ‘salary bracket creep’ overcompensating by seeing  exactly where compensation and performance are not aligned.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

Dogs, cash cows, problem children & stars.
Examine each individual product or service group in your range and place it onto the matrix. Where are the products/services of your rivals in this matrix?

Each cell has its own name as follows.
Dogs
These are products with a low share of a low growth market. These are the canine version of 'real turkeys!'.  They do not generate cash for the company…. they tend to absorb it. Get rid of these products/services!!
Cash Cows
These are products/services with a high share of a slow growth market. Cash Cows generate more than is invested in them. So keep them in your portfolio of products for the time being.
Problem Children
These are products/services with a low share of a high growth market. They consume resources and generate little in return. They absorb most money as you attempt to increase market share.

 Stars
These are products that are in high growth markets with a relatively high share of that market. Stars tend to generate high amounts of income. Keep and build your stars.
                Look for some kind of balance within your portfolio. Try not to have any Dogs. Cash Cows, Problem Children and Stars need to be kept in a kind of equilibrium. The funds generated by your ‘Cash Cows’ are used to turn ‘Problem Children’ into ‘Stars’, which may eventually become Cash Cows. Some of the Problem Children will become Dogs, and this means that you will need a larger contribution from the successful products to compensate for the failures.
Here are some definitions of the four terms above. Which is which?
(i) Low market share and low market growth
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?

(ii) Low market share in high growth markets
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?

(iii) High growth markets with relatively high share of the market
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?

(iv) High market share, but slow market growth
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?


Can you employ this matrix in your business?

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

   

Are you making the same sales presentation to all your customers??  (Many sales people do).

Segment your customers into 4 main buying styles and adapt accordingly.

Presentation Tips that influence the Dominant high 'D' buyer..(no nonsense, big shot type company president).

Don’t waste their time.

They won’t want lots of facts and figures; just hit the high points and get to the bottom line quickly.

You and the product must appear credible.

Can be difficult to switch from current, trusted suppliers. But, once switched will remain highly loyal as long as you provide service.

Will not want to see many testimonials, research, data, etc. May delegate this research to subordinates.

Will be impressed with an efficient, no-nonsense, business-like manner.

Will be interested in new products.

Be concise and business-like. Short, bullet type presentations are better.

Don’t waste their time with idle talk.

Get to the point quickly, solve their problems fast and make the sale and get out!!

Presentation Tips that succeed with the high  'I' Influencer types (sales people).

Spare the details; they will not want to hear them.

The buyer will often buy easily from you with only a minimum presentation. But beware! The competition can steal the buyer away from you just as easily. So give plenty of follow-up service.

The buyer will be interested in new and innovative products. They will try almost anything under the right circumstances.

The buyer will want to talk a lot,  laugh, joke & socialize, etc. Buy him lunch or a cup of coffee and you’ll have him sold.

Eliminate lots of details. Just hit the high points.

Show him new products, socialize and provide plenty of follow-up.

Presentation Tips that work best with the high 'S' supporter team player types.

Take it slow and easy; if you go too fast, you’ll lose the sale.

Provide plenty of proof and statistics.

Earn their trust and friendship by visiting about family and hobbies.

May require additional visits for reassurances before the sale is made.

Emphasize your proven products.

Earn their trust with facts and figures. Take it slow and easy.

Make repeat visits and be sure ALL questions are answered.

Presentation Tips for the fearful 'C' compliant buyer.... (engineers, accountants, technicians)

Needs lots of proof, background information and proven results before making a purchase.

Needs to take time, absorb details and digest facts before going to the next step.

Highly suspicious of new and unproven products.

Use testimonials or plenty of research information to back up your presentation.

Don’t rush, but don’t waste time with small talk.

Get right to the point with plenty of facts and figures.

Be sure all questions are answered.

Don't stand too near & avoid physical contact

Happy  & successful selling!

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

How to Respond to an employee Request for a Raise......

It’s that time of year again: the annual salary budget has been set, performance evaluations are done, and suddenly managers are hiding behind closed doors, anxiously dreading “the talk.” The annual compensation conversation doesn’t need to be a daunting, mysterious process, either for managers or the staff they supervise.

Employees will ask for a raise. They will. In fact, it’s their job to ask for a raise. It’s also their responsibility to come to the conversation prepared with a clear and well-thought-out rationale for why they believe they deserve one. With a little preparation, managers can head into the annual compensation meeting feeling competent, knowledgeable, and unafraid of the inevitable ask.

Three Steps to a Smooth Compensation Conversation

1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Once managers accept that the employee will ask for a raise, it’s easier to prepare for the conversation. 

Know the market: What’s going on in your market in general? Examine companies with a similar industry, size, and location. Are companies giving 3 percent raises? Or, are they still in the hazy minimal raise days? Have reliable market data for each position on your team. Your HR or compensation professionals should be able to provide you with this information. 

Know the organization: How is your organization performing as a whole? What has your organization decided around raises this year? Has the budget been determined? What are the business priorities for your organization and what are you trying to reward? Performance? Tenure? Certain roles or hot jobs? 

Know the team: Money is a finite resource. If your raise budget is 3 percent and you decide to give one employee 5 percent, someone else is getting 1 percent. Knowing the ins and outs of your team will help you determine who should be getting above average raises and who should be getting below. Be able to articulate, at least for yourself, why each person is getting above or below and make sure you have a concrete rationale. 

Know the employee: How long has the employee been with the company? Does their performance meet or exceed expectations? Do they perform a job that has high intrinsic value to the company? 

2. Listen Actively, Communicate Assertively, and Own Your Decisions 

When you sit down for the meeting, try to pick a time and place that minimizes distractions and interruptions. Make sure that the employee feels like you have heard them, and, of equal importance, you will want the employee to hear you. 

Listen Actively: Most employees who deserve a raise have put time and effort into preparing their rationale for why they believe they do. Hear them out. They may be asking for the moon, but if they can clearly and concisely show you their contributions and accomplishments, listen. You may find out more about them in this section than you did during the performance evaluation meeting! Many times, in their anxiety to get through the salary negotiations, managers forget the simple step of listening to their employees, and you can’t expect them to listen to you if you don’t model that behavior first. 

Communicate Assertively: When it’s your turn to talk, be clear about what you can and can’t do. Don’t promise them the full enchilada if what you can give them is a piece of cheese. These days, many managers are people-pleasers, eager to get their employees what they want. Yet, it’s important to be firm, direct, and honest about what’s possible. If it is within your organizational culture, share the market data both overall and for the position. Consider sharing the organization’s budget for overall increases. If appropriate, explain the process for determining salary adjustments to them. 

Own Your Decisions: As a manager, you are often one of the largest influencers of an employee’s pay, whether you’re making the decision yourself or passing along information about performance or skill-level to others. Even if you’d like to do more or less for a staff member, but the powers that be feel otherwise, you help determine the salary for your employees. However the exact salary adjustment amount is determined, back it up and communicate it to the employee as though it were your own. It will help the employee accept the decision, and may gain you management points with the higher-ups. 

3. Follow Up

Whatever you talk about in your compensation conversation, be sure to follow up. If questions were raised, get the answers. If concerns about the process were communicated, pass those along to HR or your compensation folks. And perhaps, most importantly, whatever you agree to pay the employee, make sure it shows up on their pay check. 

Whether you’re a manager who has a lot of flexibility or one who is given salary increase amounts for each employee, you can expect that your employees will be looking to you for answers. Won’t it feel better when you have them? 

Chris Wilkinson.

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

Get (profitable) old customers back…….

If people have bought from you before, they may buy from you again. You need to find out why they stopped buying from you and apply that knowledge to regain their custom.

Find out what changed

Identify why customers stopped buying from you. Consider whether your product or service is:

·                 no longer necessary

·                 too expensive

·                 unsatisfactory

·                 being beaten by a competitive offer

Rebuild contact with your customers

Research suggests the reason many customers stop buying is because they don't feel that they have sufficient contact with their suppliers. 

Try to have some form of regular contact - eg monthly or quarterly phone calls, formal or informal visits to customers, mailshots or email newsletters - so that customers don't feel they are being ignored and look elsewhere.

 If you have lost a customer for this reason, your first step is to rebuild contact and prove that you understand and are focused on their needs - eg a letter expressing regret that they have stopped buying from you and making them a time-limited offer.

It's worth trying a few times, but don't persist if you aren't getting any response. Many businesses have a limit to the amount of times they contact lapsed customers - usually five or seven times.

Make an offer to tempt them back

When you know why the customer is no longer buying from you, consider ways to make your business more appealing.

For example, if your price was viewed as too high, consider a time-limited discount to encourage them to start buying again, eg 20 per cent off for three months.

If your service was unsatisfactory, ask what you could do to make it meet your customer's expectations and assess if it is possible and profitable for you to adapt your service for the former customer.

Be realistic

While you may be able to tempt many customers back, remember that you don't want them at all costs. You want to build a long-term profitable relationship. It's not usually a good idea to make long-term offers that don't contribute any profit just to get a specific customer back, unless there are compelling strategic reasons to do so.

All these actions should be built into your marketing plan. The faster you contact a lapsed customer, the greater the chance they will come back to you

 Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

10 Sales Kickoff Meeting Ideas for 2012

We're nearing that time when we need to finalize 2012  sales budgets, new compensation plans and something most sales managers don't take enough time in developing: their 2012 sales kickoff meeting.  

Already, many larger organizations are booking their sales conferences for the first quarter. That's where they will invite their sales teams, vendors, resellers and partners to hear their plans to make 2012 the best year ever. Keynote speakers, breakout sessions, new marketing plans and product demonstrations will all be coordinated to boost enthusiasm and excitement in what the new year will bring. 

However, just because larger organizations are planning their formal conferences, it doesn't mean as a sales leader you shouldn't be planning an event for your sales organization.

A yearly sales kickoff meeting can be organized as an off-site or overnight two-day program, or as a simple half-day event. You should schedule them no later than mid-February. However, the basics of any sales kickoff event should include the following planning ideas.

1. Announce a theme for the new year. This should be a positive statement of your major objectives and something that can be reinforced throughout the year. "Be Brilliant on the Basics" or Nike's "Just Do It!" are two examples. 
2. Include time for sales training on sales skills. You might hand out a sales training book as a gift to each salesperson. This will be your first-quarter "must-read" book. You can use the book for extended sales training during your meetings. Also roll out your first quarter sales training plans.
   
3. Announce a first-quarter sales contest.
   
4. Announce a 2012 year-long sales contest, with a big prize for exceeding quota. Examples include a trip to a resort, a cruise or a trip to an island. Remember, these kinds of incentive programs are not expenses but paid out of incremental revenues/profits. The rollout should include written rules and pictures of the location.
   
5. Describe and show your marketing plans for the first six months. This will show the salespeople how your organization is planning to support the sales team.
   
6. Schedule the president of your company to give a short message on his/her philosophy on sales and the culture of your organization.
   
7. You may or may not announce your new compensation plan at this event; it all depends upon the degree of change you are making. With minor changes, it's a great time, while major changes schedule a separate meeting. Hint: Do not roll out the new compensation plan as the last topic of the meeting. Schedule it early in the afternoon, if your event is a full-day meeting.
   
8. Make sure you make the meeting fun!  As the sales leader, work on activities that create the right culture and teamwork. Create a game that everyone participates in during the event.
   
9. Make sure each salesperson presents their business plans for the year. Based upon the number of salespeople this can be done by breakouts into regions, smaller groups or as a single group. These business plans include not only forecasts but personal commitments to activity levels and professional growth.
   
10. Bring in an outside speaker. This could include a customer telling of their satisfaction with your firm, a sales trainer or a motivational message that propels your team to excellence.

This is your time to bring a coordinated program that sets the tone for the new year. Make sure you take the time to do it right. What additional ideas do you have?

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

How to stop excessive employee private cell phone use at work…..

Thanks to smart phone technology, it seems like everyone is “plugged in” to 24/7 web access, texting, and e-mail; not to mention phone conversations. In some cases, people have become so addicted to their phones that they’re texting constantly, even while driving, having dinner with their families or using the bathroom!

Clearly these devices can become a major distraction at work, causing major problems with productivity, especially if you want your staff to be focused on getting critical projects completed accurately and on time. But mandating a “no cell phone” policy may be too harsh. So where’s the balance? Here are a few tips:

1. Implement a personal cell phone usage policy in writing. Taking a personal call from the daycare about a sick child may be acceptable, but spending 3 hours plus organizing a wedding is not. This should include certain etiquette rules, such as turning the ringer off during meetings or speaking softly to avoid disrupting others. If possible, get your employees involved in creating the policy; explain why you are doing it and that you want to make it fair and reasonable. Usually there are only a small percentage of employees who truly abuse the system, so you’ll find most employees will be on board with the policy and happy to provide input.
2. Post this policy throughout the office as a reminder.
3. Review this policy with each employee and have them sign it.
4. Provide some flexibility for those in unusual circumstances, such as an employee with a sick child or with a recent death in the family.
5. Enforce the policy so everyone knows you are serious about it. One of the best ways for management to do this is by walking around. Since personal cell phones are not connected to the company’s network, you really won’t know if anyone is violating the policy unless you physically walk around to check on them from time to time.
6. Lead by example! Don’t expect your employees to stay off their cell phones if you are constantly texting and talking on yours.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

Time to freshen up your web site……..?

When's the last time you read your own website? No, seriously -- the last time you looked at every page, clicked every link and read every word on it.

If it's been a while, it's probably time to refresh both your site's content and its look. Here is a seven-step program for giving your site a tune-up 

1.  Simplify. Do you have three sidebars crammed with different widgets? Look at each page of your site and ask yourself what one action you'd like visitors to take -- sign up on your email list? Pick up the phone and call you? Whatever it is, make that the only action to take on that page. Too many choices cause confusion and make prospects leave.
 

2.    Fix the problems. As websites get updated, things tend to get hinky in the design. One page uses a different color or font. Another has different margins or a different template. Links get broken. The next thing you know, the whole site looks chaotic or sloppy. Take the time to check each page, smooth out the bumps and make sure information is accurate and links are working.
 

3.    Get a makeover. If your site hasn't gotten a new look in several years, it's probably starting to look dated, Rusenko notes. Customers become bored and feel nothing new is happening at your company. Consider a redesign that reflects your company's current direction and attitude.

 

4.    Add news and stories. Want some free media coverage? Start putting out press releases and posting them on your site. When reporters visit, they'll scan those and get the sense that your business has a lot going on. Each of those releases might spark media interest on their own, too. For extra credit, post a specific media contact name, so reporters know just who to call.
 

5.    Refresh the About page. Your About page is usually the second-most visited page of any site, which means it's an important page that needs to put a friendly 'face' on the company. Rewrite it to include fresh company news -- awards won, new products introduced, offices opened or new team members who've joined.
 

6.    Blog -- or don't. If your business website has a blog that hasn't been updated in three months or more, it's time for a serious talk. Blogs can drive new prospects to your site, but a dusty, dated blog doesn't send a good message. Make a decision to either kick that blog back into gear -- posting at least once a week -- or get rid of it.
 

7.    Don't be mysterious. You wouldn't believe how many business websites I've scanned where the phone number, address, contact names, product prices and hours of operation are either hard to find or missing altogether. Check your site to see if your vital info can be easily found. Get those contacts in bigger fonts, up higher, and visible on every page of your site, not hidden under a 'contact' tab.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

Human Resources: Long-Term Employee Retention Key to Business Success..........

Occasionally, we have the opportunity to have a prospective customer visit our manufacturing plant in Toronto. As we escort each visitor through our plant, the clean, organized facility with late-model automated equipment speaks for itself. Therefore, our focus of conversation always turns to our people. One stop we always make is at the photographs hanging on the wall of the hallway that leads into our manufacturing plant. We take great pride in sharing photographs and conversation about our 40 employees with more than 20 years of service to our company. This leads me to our secret of success for printers and manufacturers—do everything you can to retain and hold in high regard your long-term employees. This isn’t really a secret at all, because every general manager or plant manager at one time or another has been keenly aware of the value of knowledge available in their long-term employees. Today’s business world tends to make it easy for us to forget.

The following four benefits of retaining employees should be in the back of managers’ minds at all times.

1. Long-term employees have a strong knowledge base. As a custom manufacturer, employee longevity plays an important role in our products getting produced accurately and of the highest quality possible. Being an industry leader requires a structure of knowledge and directive that builds over time. Long-term employees have a wealth of knowledge in manufacturing techniques, materials and production procedures. When a manager strives to retain and put this valuable knowledge to use in their daily operations, productivity naturally increases. Success becomes routine and easily becomes part of day-to-day business.

2. Long-term employees pass down their skills to new employees, and operations run more smoothly. When problems arise, long-term employees most likely have seen those same problems in the past and know exactly how to overcome them quickly without slowing down production. In turn, waste, errors and spoilage is kept to a manageable level. Veteran employees skills are invaluable in a manufacturing environments, especially when they can use their knowledge gained over the years to benefit new employees who may still be green to the ways of the business.

3. Long-term employees create better productivity. Knowing the ropes, and showing them to co-workers, makes long-term employees invaluable in the production process. Long-term employees know that, for example, an order e-mailed to the production people is taken care of faster than one that is faxed. Years of experience in the company have shown them shortcuts that lessen the time it takes to get a myriad of things done. In addition, long-term employees have a better knowledge of how to reduce waste in the production process, and therefore increase productivity.

4. Long-term employees add stability to the workforce and build confidence and morale. An employee who has been with a company for a number of years shows newer employees that the company has a good working environment. If it didn’t, surely he or she would have found employment elsewhere. Confidence in one’s job not only provides an employee with a feeling of stability, but often times means they work harder for a company they know they will be with for the long haul. Happy long-term employees show co-workers that a job can turn into a career, and employees often have more of a vested interest in the company’s success.

What are you doing to ensure that your new employees turn into long-term employees? What kind of working environment are you creating for them? How can you build confidence with all employees, both new and seasoned? Addressing questions such as these with the goal of keeping employees as long as possible is one of the easiest ways to increase productivity, grow your business and raise confidence with your customers.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net