Very quick (but very good) interview with sales guru, Jeffrey Gitomer from SalesRepRadio.com.
"The salesperson, man or woman, who walks into the potential buyer's office and starts to puke all over them about how great they are and how wonderful their product is... they're going to lose, or they're going to fight the price because they haven't differentiated themselves in any way."
~Gitomer
Click the PLAY button below to hear the short audio interview:
Sell Smart - Not Hard
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Monday, December 22, 2008
$1 Billion in Sales. No Advertising Required.
Good article from AdWeek covering some of the reasons why Zappo's didn't need traditional advertising to create a company with $1 Billion (with a "B") dollars a year in sales.
Some insight from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh...
"One of our core values is being open and honest. It ends up creating more trust with our customers... It's the opposite of what most businesses do."
"One disgruntled or happy employee can write something on a blog and have that read by millions. It's the same thing with a customer. Our belief is a company's culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. You can't control every touch point like you could 50 years ago."
"About 75 percent of our orders are from repeat customers. We've grown from zero to $1 billion in gross sales in 9.5 years. The No. 1 driver has been from repeat customers and word of mouth. It lets us to spend less on customer acquisition."
"There will be less reliance on advertising for a long-term, enduring brand. Word of mouth is so effective right now."
"If you go to twitter.zappos.com, you'll see all the employee Tweets. We have lots of stories of employees meeting up with each other outside of work because of Twitter. With customers we find it's good for building a more personal, emotional connection with them."
"With most Web sites, it's hard to find any contact information. We put our 1-800 number at the top of every Web page because we want to talk to our customers. It's our best branding opportunity. We have 5-10 minutes of our customer's attention where we can let our true personality shine and develop that personal connection."
The scary part?
Zappos just started a consulting group specifically created to teach other companies their method of growing business using their (proven!) non-traditional means.
The takeaway?
It's more important than ever to be perceived as a marketing and promotions expert/consultant/resource rather than a plain old media salesperson.
Facebook is free.
Twitter is free.
Domain names are less than $10 each.
Site hosting can be had for $5/month.
YouTube hosts videos for free and a myriad of sites offer podcasting and blogging options at no cost. (And we all know traditional media costs are falling like a rock.)
Your value comes from having a sound strategy to grow profits and build business for your client.
Everyone has access to the same tools.
It's what you do with them that counts.
Some insight from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh...
"One of our core values is being open and honest. It ends up creating more trust with our customers... It's the opposite of what most businesses do."
"One disgruntled or happy employee can write something on a blog and have that read by millions. It's the same thing with a customer. Our belief is a company's culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. You can't control every touch point like you could 50 years ago."
"About 75 percent of our orders are from repeat customers. We've grown from zero to $1 billion in gross sales in 9.5 years. The No. 1 driver has been from repeat customers and word of mouth. It lets us to spend less on customer acquisition."
"There will be less reliance on advertising for a long-term, enduring brand. Word of mouth is so effective right now."
"If you go to twitter.zappos.com, you'll see all the employee Tweets. We have lots of stories of employees meeting up with each other outside of work because of Twitter. With customers we find it's good for building a more personal, emotional connection with them."
"With most Web sites, it's hard to find any contact information. We put our 1-800 number at the top of every Web page because we want to talk to our customers. It's our best branding opportunity. We have 5-10 minutes of our customer's attention where we can let our true personality shine and develop that personal connection."
The scary part?
Zappos just started a consulting group specifically created to teach other companies their method of growing business using their (proven!) non-traditional means.
The takeaway?
It's more important than ever to be perceived as a marketing and promotions expert/consultant/resource rather than a plain old media salesperson.
Facebook is free.
Twitter is free.
Domain names are less than $10 each.
Site hosting can be had for $5/month.
YouTube hosts videos for free and a myriad of sites offer podcasting and blogging options at no cost. (And we all know traditional media costs are falling like a rock.)
Your value comes from having a sound strategy to grow profits and build business for your client.
Everyone has access to the same tools.
It's what you do with them that counts.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Web Terms in Plain English
I found a great resource that explains web terms in plain, simple english. Play the videos below for an easy explanation of some common terms that are integral to our client web strategy. It will be easier for you to understand, and better enable you to pass along that knowledge to your clients.
Blogs in Plain English
RSS in Plain English
Podcasting in Plain English
Blogs in Plain English
RSS in Plain English
Podcasting in Plain English
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sales Resources
90% of successful selling comes from continuing to educate yourself and staying self-motivated. Sales guru and best-selling author Jeffrey Gitomer calls it "kicking your own ass." Here's a list of some super sales resources that will help you improve in these all too important (and all too often overlooked) areas of sales success.
The Brand Called YOU
The Earth-shaking article that EVERY salesperson should read as they seek an identity in their industry.
SalesCaffeine eNewsletter
Weekly sales advice from Jeffrey Gitomer.
NametagTV.com
Scott Ginsberg is the master of approachability. Tune into his new web TV channels on Sales, Marketing, Service, and Entrepreneurship and be inspired by his fresh approach to business.
SalesRepRadio.com
Weekly online audio interviews with sales leaders.
JustSell.com
Daily inspirational quotes and lessons on how to be a better seller. Be sure to take a look at their archive of desktop wallpapers and free ebooks.
PromoXtra eNewsletter
Excellent daily e-blast with news on all things promotional. One of my favorite resources for ideas and sponsorship leads.
The Advertising Show
Weekly audio program on selling, marketing, and product development.
3-Minute AdAge
Daily video reports from AdAge.com
MarketingProfs "Get To The Point" eNewsletters
The MarketingProfs new "Get To The Point" series of newsletters are brilliant bite-size bits of marketing insight.
I have dozens of other favorite resources, but this is the short list. Use the comments section below to add YOUR favorites to this post.
The Brand Called YOU
The Earth-shaking article that EVERY salesperson should read as they seek an identity in their industry.
SalesCaffeine eNewsletter
Weekly sales advice from Jeffrey Gitomer.
NametagTV.com
Scott Ginsberg is the master of approachability. Tune into his new web TV channels on Sales, Marketing, Service, and Entrepreneurship and be inspired by his fresh approach to business.
SalesRepRadio.com
Weekly online audio interviews with sales leaders.
JustSell.com
Daily inspirational quotes and lessons on how to be a better seller. Be sure to take a look at their archive of desktop wallpapers and free ebooks.
PromoXtra eNewsletter
Excellent daily e-blast with news on all things promotional. One of my favorite resources for ideas and sponsorship leads.
The Advertising Show
Weekly audio program on selling, marketing, and product development.
3-Minute AdAge
Daily video reports from AdAge.com
MarketingProfs "Get To The Point" eNewsletters
The MarketingProfs new "Get To The Point" series of newsletters are brilliant bite-size bits of marketing insight.
I have dozens of other favorite resources, but this is the short list. Use the comments section below to add YOUR favorites to this post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)