Are Your Prospecting Results Disappointing?

Are you struggling with prospecting? My last post, "Stop Selling and Start Succeeding" was about relationship selling for sustainable, profitable sales results. Building quality relationships is a step-by-step process. The first step is prospecting, and getting it right is critical.

When I first began selling, I was not achieving my sales goals. My prospecting results were dismal. And if you can't get to first base, bringing the sale home is impossible. Prospecting is one of the most challenging stages of the sale. Laborious hours of cold calling, emails, and handshaking at events that result in many no's and few yeses is frustrating.

Acting on the belief that prospecting is a numbers game, I relentlessly pushed the stone uphill. I was convinced that my optimism, enthusiasm, confidence, determination, and persistence were the keys to my success. While a great attitude is necessary to become a top sales producer, more is needed.

My pitch and presentations were about my products and services, our impeccable values, and promises of successful outcomes. This me-centric sales practice was common. Our manager preached it, and we followed the plan, but I was not getting the desired results. Back then, there was less sales material available than what is currently published on a daily basis. I was in the dark searching for a solution.

Bill, a retired entrepreneur who led me to my career in sales, gave me the answer to my prospecting problems. He went back to the first time we met and showed me how my curiosity, fascination, and sincere interest in his colorful sales stories, inspired him to share with me. Bill explained, "This is acustomer-centric approach. And this is why I was motivated to encourage you to become a sales professional."

Bill showed me how the company I was working for used a sales-centric approach and he helped me understand the difference between the two. Focusing on client's stories, needs, wants, and problems, the customer-centric method; improved my prospecting dramatically. And my sales skyrocketed. Instead of feeling like a prisoner on a chain gang breaking rocks, prospecting became fun!

Sales-centric selling is a problem that persists today. Just this past month, I have been discussing this issue with a group of top sales and marketing consultants. We all agree that the vast majority of prospecting calls and emails we all receive are sales-centric messages and pitches filled with "me" statements, "my products, our services, our existing clients... " you get the picture.

An author recently sent me a short announcement for a book launch that concisely illustrates the sales-centric approach. To use it as an example, the title has been changed and body modified to protect the author:

"How to Prospect Successfully" - Book Sale by John Doe

My book is available!!! I'm so excited. I hope everyone will support me and enjoy their own copy of my book. Please share with friends and family. I am so passionate about prospecting and I am thrilled to be able to reach out to so many with my book. Proceeds from this month's sale of the book will support the "Alzheimer's Foundation of America." Please help support this worthy cause!! Use this link to order yourcopy today!!

Stats for this Sales-Centric Message:

• 8 "Me" words - sales-centric
• 1 "You" word - customer-centric
• 5 of the first 21 words are "Me" words
• Nearly 10% of the entire text is "Me" words

This is my rewrite:

"How to Prospect Successfully" - New Book by John Doe

Are you looking for a prospecting method to help you and your sales team achieve and surpass your revenue targets? Early in my career, prospecting was a struggle for me too. Forty years of my prospecting success is now available in this new book, written, just for you.

Proceeds from your purchases this month will support the "Alzheimer's Foundation of America." Please help support this worthy cause and improve your prospecting skills with a purchase at the link below.

Stats for this Customer-Centric Message: 

• 7 "You" words
• 3 "Me" words
• 4 of the first 20 words are "You" words
• Nearly 10% of the entire text is "You" words

How do you change from sales-centric to customer-centric prospecting?

If your prospecting messages are sales-centric, you're not alone. But now you know a major road block to prospecting success that is easy to fix.

To create powerful, customer-centric calls and emails you must "Know thy Client." Learn about their industry, who the decision makers are: their needs, wants, goals, and pains. This is the knowledge you need to create customer-centric messages that will attract your clients to want to do business with you.

"Me" messages say to your client, "You're not important, I just want the sale."

"You" messages say to your client, "You're important to me, and I'd like to do business with you."

Which type of message do you think will lead to greater sales success?

HTC One - Is It Really the "One"?

HTC One is a name which seems to be hanging on the tip of every smartphone lover's tongue these days, and rightly so, as this Android phone single-handedly managed to not only slow down HTC's downfall as a smartphone manufacturer, but also to revive a bit of their old glamour, by showing a reasonable profit. This requires some further explanation, and we'll be more than willing to oblige; Most of the users must be aware of HTC's resources dwindling during the last couple of years. Though the Taiwanese firm managed to launch quite a few handsets in the past couple of years, none of them showed the leadership quality which would make them being termed as the "Hot-Favorites" of the season. To add to this blow, a couple of HTC's high-ranking officials left their jobs earlier this year, stating they didn't see any future in the company.
When it seemed that all was lost, and the hour of the "Armageddon" was just a stone's throw away, the company launched the HTC One. When this device was first introduced to the market, it had to face an enormous amount of competition in the form of iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, but still it managed to sail through and create a fan base, in fact this underdog even managed to outshine the above mentioned handsets in many countries. Though the heroic tales of this handsome piece of machinery are never-ending, this is not the reason why one opts for this device, the real reason why this head-turner is held in such high regard is because it looks awesome, and works even more efficiently.
When it comes to smart features in an Android phone, this device just falls short of slaying a dragon by converting into a Jedi sword or something, it supports BlinkFeed which makes you be a part of Social Networks or news and feeds, you want constant updates about, by placing them conveniently on your Home screen; the other important features included are Zoe which makes your very own live breathing gallery, which though seems freaky, is actually really awesome, it also features BoomSound, interactive TV guide, and Sense Voice which ensures call clarity, even when a "flash-mob" is performing right next to you.
The outer frame of the handset is pure aluminium, which makes it tough as well as gives it a really rich feel, something which was found lacking in the Samsung S4. The front of the frame has two stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers fitted right-above and just-below a massive 4.7 inch Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen, which feels ultra-responsive to use. This screen offers 469 pixel density and has been protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 2 while it is powered by HTC Sense UI v5. The front of this LTE supporting handset also offers a 2.1 MP secondary camera, which besides being brilliant for video chatting, also supports HDR, although the whole phone has proven to be something refreshingly new, the main innovation by HTC has been in the form of a rear 4 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, which comes installed with something called the Ultra-pixels, though many users argue that this sounds a lot like Nokia's PureView technology, which was introduced more than a year back, let us assure you it isn't! The ultra-pixels just fill in extra pixels wherever the camera couldn't manage to place them, making the picture a lot more lifelike by adding a whole new dimension of colors.
At the time of its launch this handset came running on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS, which can now be upgraded to the latest version of Android which is being called the 4.2.2 Jelly Bean from your app store. Whether you want to juggle your way through screens, or load heavy websites, or open and use huge apps, you can do all this within a blink of an eyelid, as it is powered by a massive 1.7 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Krait 300 Snapdragon 600 processor with 2 GB of RAM and Adreno 320 GPU.
If you are planning to go in for this device, then you will be able to own it in either of the two 32GB or 64GB variants whose memories cannot be expanded, and in three colors which reportedly are Black, Silver and Red (which is a new addition). Using this phone even for a small duration is enough to make you realize that it is the 'One' you won't mind if not your entire life then at least the next couple of years with.

Avoid Mistakes, Confront Your Game Plan and Strategy

People are attempting to better their lives and circumstances by trying to make money online and ninety-eight percent are failing miserably. The only way to lower the odds against your success is by avoiding the twelve most commonly made mistakes that will lead to failure. Right now, it's time to confront your game plan and business strategy and get you on the right path! The third most common mistake I see is poor or non-existent game plan and strategy. Right now, it's time to confront your game plan and business strategy and get you on the right path! The third most common mistake I see is poor or non-existent game plan and strategy.

Take football and basketball for example. In them you see the chalk board filled with the team's game plan for the players to follow so they will succeed in their efforts of winning the game. Sounds easy enough but, what most don't realize is that plan on the board, consists of researched, studied and practiced strategies that have shown themselves proven to work. Even though there are many differences between sports and business, this concept is a necessity for both. Your business is no different!

I've noticed three different mistakes quite often made in this area of business. This first one, I find very irritating. The people that jump online one day and just decide they want to make money online. They have no proven strategy and no game plan. They expect to "fly by the seat of their pants" and get rich quick. Then there are people who have the game plan but don't have a proven strategy to base their plan on. Granted, this doesn't mean they are doomed for failure. It does mean that they will be more stressed and it will undoubtedly take longer for them to reach their goal. Finally, there are those who have a proven strategy but don't make a game plan with it. Taking action here, taking action there. Throw in some sporadic "BIG" actions and you'll have a great recipe for a big mess.

Having a proven strategy for success and a game plan to put that proven strategy in motion are two of the essential components to a business's foundation. These work as a guide, helping to keep actions consistent and on track. With-out these established in your business's foundation, your efforts will be scattered and inevitably leading your business to a path of disaster.

Your efforts don't have to be big or grand to help and make a difference in your business. They only have to be consistent. If you want to lower the odds against your success, you need to find your proven strategy and establish a game plan that is filled with actions you're able to do consistently. If you already have these, confront your game plan and find areas that can be improved.

Remember, you don't have to be a failure, when you can enable yourself for success!

Practice Your Communication Skills On Strangers

One of the best ways to improve your communication skills is to engage in conversation with complete strangers. Everything starts from scratch and it's easy to practice being curious, which is one of the best communication skills to master.

As an entrepreneur you should always be looking for opportunities to build your network and reach out to potential clients. And when you're clear on all of the aspects of your business, you can have an effortless conversation with anyone about what you do, who you work best with and the results clients get from working with you. If you have your 60-second commercial practiced and ready to use at all times, it's becomes natural. And you never know who might discover that your business is the answer to their need.

Consider this story. While sitting on the airplane on my way home from NYC I started a casual conversation with the person sitting next to me. I considered reading my book for a while and then working on my laptop, but I decided to engage in some friendly conversation with my seat mate to help pass the time. We talked about how great it is to have a direct flight, how long we have each lived in Hawaii, the people that we know, and he ended up asking me what I did for work. I described who my clients are, how I help them and the results that they get; he immediately identified himself as a potential client of mine. My intention was not to have a "sales" conversation at all. I just wanted to break up the time with some friendly casual conversation for a little while.

I'm innately a friendly and personable person, I don't shy away from talking to people and I'm genuinely interested in people's story. So when I have the opportunity to get to know someone, whether I will ever see them again or not, I take it.

Being open, courageous, and curious is something that I highly recommend that every entrepreneur be in the habit of. Talking with someone for the first time is a great way to practice all three! Even if the conversation doesn't offer an opening for you to share about your business, it's still a great opportunity to practice being curious and being interested.

Many people don't strike up conversations with strangers because they are shy and it's out of their comfort zone, or they are preoccupied doing something else at that moment. But we really do become best at the things we make a point to practice and if you try to engage in a conversation with a stranger, you'll be surprised at how easy it becomes.

Not just as an entrepreneur, but as a person conversing with another person, you want to focus on really listening first to what they are saying before you respond in any way. Your goal should be focused on making them feel important by asking questions that allow them to share something they are passionate about and, if appropriate, create a call to action such as meeting again sometime for coffee, a phone conversation or email follow up.

As you practice being more bold and courageous by taking the initiative to start a conversation, this will also boost your confidence. And you never know, you could discover a new business contact or potential client out of a casual friendly conversation.

Most Popular Websites Developed In Joomla

Are you a new Joomla developer? In that case, you must be knowing that Joomla is among the most popular CMSs preferred by developers across the world. If you do not believe that, then just read the following article. It features some of the most popular websites aropund the world, that have been developed in Joomla.

Linux

Linux is a popular example of high traffic Joomla based websites. This site is the central source to get any type information related to Linux. It has a simple, light and neatly designed interface interface with minimal menus, a pleasant slider showcasing images, another slider displaying articles, latest stories, latest questions, tutorials and other multiple modules, videos, social media integration and much more. Community Answer feature helps the Linux users to quickly find answers to their questions in different categories from visitors and other users.

The Hill

This one is a reputed electronic news website in Washington, D.C with 11 blogs dedicated to specific political and policy issues. This website has around 1 million unique visitors and over 5.6 million page views per month. It is loaded with lots of articles along with featured images, videos and social media integration, multiple modules, blogs and much more. It sets a perfect example to show that how easy it is to work with Joomla to execute loads of content in a much organized and efficient way. Each section is listed in the drop-down menus at the top left of the page. The site has a 'Disqus Comment' tool that enables the readers to comment on their page.

Harvard University

Harvard University is the oldest institute for higher learning in the US. Gsas.hardvard.edu (a sub-website of Harvard.edu) is the website for Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website. From here, the user can access directions, parking information, facts about the University, listings of events and exhibitions and much more. It has K2 extension installed for creating website content for news and information, images of university etc.

Joomla!

The official website of Joomla! itself is also built on the Joomla CMS. It is one of the most popular websites among the Joomla community. It has an average of 2.6 million monthly unique visitors and 61 million monthly page views. Any person who is a Joomla user, must certainly have visited this site many times. The site is loaded with numerous extensions like Phoca Documentation, K2 and many others.

These were just a few examples, numerous other popular sites have also been developed on this CMS. So now, you must be proud that you are into Joomla development services, which is considered as the best option when it comes to CMS based web development.

Search Engine Marketing: Exploit SEO Paid Search to Boost Your Profits Today

Paid search marketing (SEM) should be an integral part of every marketing campaign. It attracts prospects faster, achieves high ROI, and enables testing.

You may have heard about or read the many discussions of SEM vs. SEO. That's a misleading topic. SEO paid search and search engine optimization (aka organic search) offer pros and cons and complement each other.

Search engine marketing differs from or organic search in that it's paid advertising. Organic search generates lots of traffic, but it's not all encompassing. That's where SEO paid search or pay per click (PPC) advertising comes into play.

Let's look at the pros and the cons of employing search engine marketing.

Advantages of Search Engine Marketing

· Attracts Prospects Faster - Paid search marketing is as fast as search. Its immediate. In addition, it doesn't take long to create and optimize PPC campaigns. Whether your goal is to generate quick traffic to boost your website's popularity, broadcast a newly published white paper, or announce your company's participation in a trade show, SEO paid search gets the job done - fast.

· Achieves a High ROI - Your boss will love this one. Because it doesn't take more than one person to write pay per click banners, SEO paid search is inexpensive to implement. Besides this, PPC banners produce a high-level of clicks. According to research by Wordstream, SEO paid search generates 89% of traffic outside of organic reach.

· Targets Prospects Efficiently - With proper paid search management, you can target customers by geography (local, regional, national), by time (week days, weekends), and by platform (PC, laptops, tablets, mobile). Google provides these features in a recent upgrade to AdWords called Enhanced Campaigns. These changes allow marketers to adjust their settings to maximize the effect of all their pay per click banners.

· Enables Measurement to Improve Effectiveness - As pay per click banners grow excessively, standing out becomes more difficult. However, Google's Enhanced Campaigns offers improved measurement and reporting. It introduces more granular detail, down to the keyword level by device. Also, you can optimize PPC ad groups at the extension level: Sitelink, Call, App, and Offer. Previously, changing one extension reset your entire ad group data.

Disadvantages of Search Engine Marketing

· Difficult to Master - Writing pay per click banners appears deceptively simple. In reality, they're difficult to master. You must optimize PPC banner ads as well as write persuasive ads.

· Mitigation: Essentially, practice makes perfect. Including keyword-rich text, writing attention-grabbing headlines and testing often helps ease this task. Testing allows you to tweak and further optimize your PPC ads, selecting those with the highest click-throughs. Direct marketing techniques, supported by careful testing outperform. Don't try to be creative.

· Limits Textual Description - You're probably already aware PPC banners have limited space for your advertising copy. Specifically you have 135 characters to grab a prospect's attention and produce the desired response. You have 2 characters of text for your headline; 35 characters for your 2nd and 3rd lines each; and the rest for your URL.

· Mitigation: Being pithy is a must. Practice writing succinctly and persuasively. By that I mean writing both for the right brain as well as the left brain. Address emotions first and then logic. Howie Jacobsen recommends practicing by writing Haikus.

· Highlight Website Weaknesses - Once someone clicks on an optimized PPC ad, it should take your prospect to a landing page. Landing pages pay per click banners should look and feel alike. Unfamiliar looking landing pages make a prospect may feel lost resulting in a lost sale. Similarly, a weak call to action will cost you a converted prospect.

· Mitigation: You must write compelling, engaging and actionable copy.

All in all, search engine marketing extends your reach and compounds your results when combined with organic search. Clearly, SEO paid search has pros and cons. However, you can amply mitigate the disadvantages through careful paid search management.

Effective paid search marketing works quickly targets your prospects like a laser beam and does so affordably, even on a lean budget.

Work SEO paid search into your marketing mix, and you'll achieve measurable results that help you boost you're your profits sooner rather than later.

5 Most Important Marketing Pieces For Your Small Business

Business Cards
The humble business card is often considered the cornerstone of any marketing strategy. A business card serves many different purposes. It tells people who you are, what you can do for them and it gives them something to remember you by. It's best to have a powerful design so that the card can stand out among all of the others that the person has.

While the design should be powerful, the text should be simple. Just tell people what your name is, your occupation and how they can reach you.

Postcards
Direct mail advertising is still alive and well. Many businesses have exponentially increased their sales with a good direct mail campaign. While you can send letters, it's in your best interest to send a postcard. This allows the person to quickly read your message and see your design. Much like business cards, a good design will ensure that people notice your postcards.

You need a strong message and discount on your postcard. This will ensure that people read the message and buy whatever you are selling. Just adding a coupon code for 10 to 20 percent off will work wonders for your campaign.

Banners
Most small business owners don't understand just how powerful the large banner can be. It can easily attract someone's attention and it's much more noticeable than a small business card or postcard. The problem is that the banner is wasted if you don't use it properly.

If you have a physical store, then you should add signage around the store to make people buy certain items. If you are at a tradeshow or expo, then you'll need a banner to tell people who you are. Most people will only glance at the tables. Having a good banner can turn this glance into a new client.

Flyers
Flyers are similar to postcards because they need a strong message and a coupon to make people quickly buy your product or service. The only difference between them is that the flyer is bigger. This gives you more room to talk about your business, but you should still be brief. It also allows you to use a larger design, which can be beneficial.

These are used to make people buy now. They can also be used to tell people about an event that you are hosting.

Brochures
Many people don't understand the difference between brochures and flyers because they are similar. Everyone knows that brochures are folded and flyers aren't, but that's not their major difference. The brochure is used to educate the prospect. Instead of making him or her buy right now, this is for people that are unsure about your business.

You can use these to show prospects why you're the best choice. Coupon codes are a good idea, but they aren't essential. Brochures give you the opportunity to write a long message that people will read from beginning to end.

Conclusion
If you want the best marketing campaigns, then you need these five printed marketing materials. Not only have they proven their usefulness throughout the years, but they continue to help business owners make more sales. While there are many other useful marketing materials, these five are essential if you want new customers.