If you can’t answer this question, perhaps you shouldn’t be selling! I know this might be a little blunt, however, it really is a waste of time to try and sell to someone or a business if you don’t have a customer profile to measure against.

Too often a salesperson will hit the streets or get on the telephone and try to sell to anyone who will listen to them. This is a such a waste of time and it gives a bad name to salespeople for everyone. I had such a telephone call the other day and the salesperson on the telephone didn’t ask me any questions nor did they have any idea that I wasn’t a prospect for them. Naturally I didn’t spend much time with them on the telephone. However, if this was their strategy for growing sales, they were going to lose a lot of opportunities with this non-measurement method.

Every business should have an established profile for the type of customers that best suit the business. This profile will help any business and salesperson pre-qualify prospects before they spend a time on them.

Imagine if you were a real estate sales agent who was selling a million dollar home. Would you waste your time or a buyers time if you knew they didn’t qualify for the home? No, you wouldn’t unless you wanted to make a point or something.

Your time is valuable and so is your prospects. Salespeople should be careful about how they spend their time and who they spend their time with.

By Steve Martinez, Selling Magic (951) 277-0080

When you ride a motorcycle, you learn to focus on where you want to go. If your head doesn’t look ahead to a curve in the road, you won’t follow the road. My brother, a Los Angeles Fireman helped me learn how to ride my bike. He has a Harley Davidson and loves to ride. He rode from Los Angeles to NYC for the 911 memorial a few years ago.

Watch the short video below to better understand what I mean.

How to ride a motorcycle and get where you want to go

The point I want to make is simple, you must focus on where you want to go and the rest will take care of itself. This is like basic goal setting.

If you were headed down the road and a tree was in your path, you must adjust your focus on something other than the tree or you will run smack right into the tree. Riding a motorcycle is based on where you focus your attention. It is the same in life and your goals.

By Steve Martinez, Selling Magic 951 277-0080

My wife, Sallie and I drove to San Antonio, TX to meet up with Charity, our daughter and her family. We then drove to Mount Rushmore and back. I was also able to make a few business connections along the way. This made the trip both business and pleasure.

On this trip, I had a tough time getting an internet connection. So, I didn’t try to connect with my laptop and update this blog. I was able to post some things to my facebook account and twitter. However, it was more relaxing to just enjoy the time with family and take a break from business.

It was unusual and I tried to do some work while I was away. There were times when the bars on my ATT iphone just didn’t show up. After a while, I grew tired of trying.

I put about 4,446 miles of windshild time on either a rental car or our family car on this trip over two weeks and it was fun. We got lost a few times, had a flat tire and created some great memories of the great American Road Trip.

We traveled through California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and back. I thought there were 10 states, but after looking back at our trip, we only ventured into 9 states.

Now that I’m back, I’m looking forward to a fresh start in work and I’m ready to go.

I have been watching the NBA playoffs and since I live in California, I am pulling for the Los Angeles Lakers. Throughout the playoffs, I have noticed how each team seems to make adjustments to their strategy to win the next came. There are 48 minutes to each basketball game and these are divided into four quarters and over the past few weeks, I have noticed how each quarter seems to be played differently. I have watched the game change as players are substituted and adjustments made in how the players approach the changing situations. This really is a great strategy that seems like a chess match among the coaches and players.

In business, we should be making similar adjustments to our game of selling. Unfortunately, many business owners and salespeople are not noticing how the selling and business games strategy has changed and so they are not making any changes. This lack of change and learning will only lead to defeat.

The Losing Recap Meeting

When I watch the playoff basketball games, I watch with greater interest as the teams close out each quarter. I know that I’m watching the best of the best in action. At each quarter, the coaches and players get together to discuss strategy changes. This is the right thing to do. Adjustments need to be made to win the game and adjust to the changes the other team has made. I thought it would be good for us to look at some of the changes in the game of selling.

• What do you do now that buyers aren’t returning telephone calls?
  
• Are the letters, email and communications we send matching our objectives and are they relevant to the situation at hand or - should they be changed?
  
• What do you do now that the marketing campaign is 4 months old? Is the campaign working the way you intended or should you modify and change the way you are selling or marketing?
  
• Is the selling process you follow working? If it isn’t, should you modify the systematic approach you are following. If you don’t have a selling process, should you adopt one that will work better.

We could go on and on with more questions and the important thing for us to do is to learn from each selling situation and grow closer to the perfect winning combination. If we are not looking at each defeat and asking the right questions, we will have to keep learning the same defeats over and over again.

Asking good questions and changing strategies is important in basketball. It is just as important in selling and we should ask questions about our strategies and recap how we are doing on a consistent basis.

By: Steve Martinez from Selling Magic 951-277-0080

GM - the automotive giant can’t blame robots for its problems.

If my robots could talk, they wouldn’t take the blame. They would be quick to tell you - it is the humans that miss managed the business and humans that made poor decisions. The automotive robots improved what humans could do and made it easier for humans to perform simple and complex tasks.

Robots and automation can help us do more in less time and we are influenced by and benefit from robotic systems and automation every day. The coffee maker turns on in the morning before we wake up to brew a fresh pot in the morning. The computer we use at work helps us automate, create and generate work that would have been impossible a few decades ago.

How My Life as a Stripper Changed with Automation

You might know that I was a stripper for many years in the printing business and I used to strip negatives on layout sheets to burn printing plates. I was a journeyman stripper in fact and my job was to perform about 8 different tasks to burn a plate for the printing press. All that changed with automation.

If I tried to compete with the technology of the Computer-To-Plate (CTP) systems of today, I would be, well - a dinosaur and my production couldn’t compare with the quality, speed and output of a CPT system. What would take me a few hours and eight steps to produce one plate, someone could push one button on their computer to produce a better, more accurate plate in a few minutes. Ahhhh - this is the power of a systematic approach to plate making.

The Amazon Proof Source

I think that if my Selling Robots could talk, they would be quick to tell us that humans are taking the salesman element out of sales. They actually have good proof for this too. Look at Amazon! Humans are making more decisions on-line and we don’t always need to speak with or interact with a human to make a purchase decision.

In the old days, well, maybe not that long ago, we needed salespeople to keep us informed about what was new. We have so much information available to us on the Internet that we can find almost anything we want online. Sure, humans can help, but because so much information is on line, people can research the decision to purchase something can be made without a salesperson involved and just push a button to order online.

Are You up to the Robot Challenge?

My Selling Robots are wondering what takes some humans so long to make a decision on hiring a Selling Robot. Do you know? When someone takes a close look at the reasoning behind sales automation, it becomes a logical choice. A Selling Robot can do about 10 times what a human can do to communicate more effectively and efficiently.

Selling is a process and when you streamline sales like you can build cars or make offset printing plates, you have the advantage. We invite you to see how a Selling Robot can make a difference in your business and give you the advantage over your competition. Take the Robot Challenge and see how you compete with Sales Automation.

By Steve Martinez - Head Robot Trainer and programer at Selling Magic 951-277-0080

As I left the restaurant, I was thinking of when I might return to enjoy another feast of this magnitude.

Two weeks later . . . I find myself asking the question at a gathering of friends - “Hey, have you been to the Grist Mill on Lincoln street?” I begin to explain the fabulous meal that we experienced a few nights before and my friends listen to me describe the experience. As they listened, their mood changes and they absorb my description of a fine dining memory with the hungry eyes and mouth watering expressions of people who haven’t eaten in days. I could see it in their eyes, they want to experience what I savored a few weeks before.

Now, don’t you wish people would talk about your business and the experience they have from doing business with you? I know I do. Fortunately, I get this excitement from time to time and I always like to listen to the excitement of a new clients who has positive impact from using my selling system.

The Secret of Bridging the Gap of Referrals - ASK and lead by example!

One of the things that creates and sparks the referral conversation is the simple act of asking for the referral in the first place. When I was at dinner the other night, the manager came to our table. The food was certainly good but not really that far over the top and the pricing was in line with a good meal.

However, something was different. The fact that the manager came over to our table and talked with us for a few minutes, created the added pleasure and a memorable experience.  He did one thing that made a BIG difference.He asked us to tell our friends about his restaurant. In fact, I remember him saying - “If you like our food, please tell a friend, if you don’t please keep your mouth shut!” We laughed at his humor and we shared our delight in the meal right there. This planted the seed of giving a referral and we sat at the table a little longer talking about how much we enjoyed the meal.

This seed of asking for a referrals is what many of us miss. We should ask for a referral many times and get our clients talking about us. When we get a written referral, we should let others know about it and publish it so others will see how it is done. This is leading by example. The bottom line is this - - you won’t get referrals unless you ask for them - - ask for them, and ask for them often!!

By Steve Martinez - Selling Magic  951 277-0080

The doctor that I was reading about had invested in technology to cut costs with staffing and better communications. WOW! This is a great idea and I thought, what a great example of using technology to become more effective and efficient. This doctor actually had more time to make in-home visits and spend time with patients because his office could run more effectively without him in the office.

One example of what he is doing could be considered, well, just logical. He is automating many of time consuming tasks that eat up the time that most Doctors spend each day. With his practice, he can eliminate a few payrolls in his business and run his practice more smoothly.

The article I was reading cited a story about how the Doctor visited a patient in their home and took an inventory of the medicine cabinet and discovered that some of the pills were expired and some of them should not be taken together because they would be dangerous to the patient. The doctor is someone that listens to patients and discovers where the pain is and how the impact of certain medicines is having on them. From this analysis, the Doctor can prescribe the right formula to a healthier patient.

The point I want to make in this blog post is that we should take time to automate and have better systems for our business and focus on listening to our clients. When we do this, we will have happier and healthier clients.

Unless you are not familiar with my business, Selling Magic, you know we focus on automating the selling process and the clients who use the Selling Magic system correctly can attest to a better run business. My business is also one that runs better and more effectively because of the systems we employ.

By Steve Martinez, http://www.sellingmagic.com (951)0277-0080

What sparked this concept? Well, I have a fruit tree in the back yard and it has some fruit on it that keeps growing and the fruit is growing at a much more rapid rate than it did last year. The reason the fruit is growing better is because I pruned the heck out of the tree earlier in the spring and eliminated the excess buds on the tree.

The difference between this year and last year is quite amazing and I notice the difference.

I know that if I prune my contact list the same way, I will generate fruit that is healthier and more profitable to me. Once you get the hang of the pruning of your contact list, it gets easier and you are not afraid of cutting something off. The great thing about a contact list is that you can add more prospects to your list by simply adding new prospects.

However, you must be intelligent about how you prune the prospect list so that you are keeping the good prospects in your sales pipeline. The idea is to get rid of the prospects that don’t have much of a chance of buying. I know, I know, this might might be difficult at first. But, face it, there are plenty of prospects out there and we just have to prune away and maintain the good prospects. There is only so much time and we only have so much resources to keep up with the best prospects.

The secret to pruning your prospect list is to have a profile you can measure against. Think of my fruit tree. I will cut off the little fruit that doesn’t measure up to the size I want. The same is true with my prospect list. If the prospect doesn’t have  certain criteria, I will need to cut them out or move them to my sales pipeline so they can be contacted automatically with my selling system. If you have a good sales pipeline, you know what I’m referring to. If you don’t, you should create a customer profile you can measure up against and then create a sales pipeline for the customers that should be kept in a sales pipeline so you can develop a relationship with them. A sales pipeline is one of the greatest assets of a company.

By: Steve Martinez - Selling Magic 951 277-0080

Yes! The answer is yes in more ways than you might think. Let me ask you a question, what is your favorite ice cream flavor? My favorite is Cherry Garcia from Ben and Jerry and I have to be very careful if I walk down the frozen food aisle, because the ice cream section has been know to draw me in like a magnet. I am powerless for the attraction and I have taken a few late night drives to satisfy my hunger. I have a habit of narrowing my choices down to three items before I decide on one. If I had to narrow my top choices down to three, they would be Rocky Road, Chocolate Mint and Cherry Garcia.

Sales TIP for Today - The Power of Three!

Choices, give your customers choices to select from and they will find it easier to make a decision. Research has found that choosing between three is the right number. Three also makes it easier for prospects when you give prospects three reasons to buy from you. One reason might not do it, two might be better, but three is the key to success.

Your customers are thinking the same way when they are looking for a solution to their challenges and problems. It is one of the reasons that many government institutions require what? you guessed it - three bids. Having a few choices will help us make a decision faster. What do you do when you are at a fast food place? if you are like most people, you scan the menu and try to reduce your choice down to three and then select one of the items out of three or more selections. Try this out the next time you are trying to pick out paint for a room, a shirt, tie or shoes, you will probably narrow it down to three and then decide on one of them. Three makes it easier to decide.

Why does House Hunters have Three Choices?

I was watching House Hunters on HGTV the other night. You know, the show where you watch a couple decide which home is the right one for them. What do they do? You watch the couple narrow the choice down to three and select one out of three homes. My wife and I try to pick the one that we think they are going to select. It makes the show more fun that way.

Are you providing your prospects with different options and choices to make it easier for them? If you don’t, you are making it harder for them to choose which one they should purchase. If you make it too hard, they won’t buy. Pospects need to be led to a decision and choices helps them decide.

By Steve Martinez, President of Selling Magic http://www.sellingmagic.com  951 277-0080

Become Accommodating to Your Prospects

There are three guys at a restaurant and one of them has a wallet full of cash. Another has a gift card and the third one has traveler’s checks. If you own the restaurant, you will serve all of the clients and accept payment in each of the ways they have. You have to, if you want to be accommodating to your customers, right? Right!

The same accommodation guidelines are true with our communications and it is important for us to understand how our customers are different in so many ways. Like you, I deal with all different types of prospects and clients. Some of my clients want to call me on the telephone and talk, some want to reach me through emails only and some want me to stop in and visit with them. Since there are four main ways we can communicate, email, telephone, letters, and personal visits, we need to be accommodating to our clients.

Making Yourself Easy to Reach

If you are like me, you deal with all age groups and perhaps you find it interesting that you are different that some of your friends and family. I have one brother that doesn’t want anything to do with the internet and Facebook. My sister, on the other hand, enjoys the interaction and so do I. We must understand that our contacts are different and we must be reachable. My brother does not understand the romance or value of Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIn or Blogging. However, many of my key contacts do and so I must use these mediums to communicate.

Just because my brother doesn’t want to communicate with me online doesn’t mean that I need to shut him out of my life just as I could with prospects and clients who have the same feelings. We need to take age and differences out of the equation of communications and match the preferred method of communications that our prospects and clients want.

There is a convention I will attend in June and the primary reason for attending is to shake hands with clients, prospects and develop stronger relationships. I can’t get the same response on the internet and I enjoy the interaction. Even though most of my sales come directly from the Internet I still enjoy meeting someone in person. Since most of my business is done online, I try to break the barriers of communication by using my picture on as many communications as possible. I want my clients to recognize me if we bump into one another at an airport or train station.

What do you think? Are you reachable? Do you reach out to all your prospects and customers in the ways they want you to? Are you accommodating? If not, how will you change?

By: Steve Martinez, your sales magician for business development. http://www.sellingmagic.com (951) 277-0080