Sales skills – relationship building, problem solving and service skills – outweigh product knowledge importance.

In short order, your task list to close a sale is:

• Get buyer attention
• Tailor and deliver an enticing marketing message
• Build the relationship, as well as your credibility, trustworthiness and likeability
• Coach the sale through to completion
• Follow up when promised

Of course you want to have a good understanding of how the product or service works, and more importantly, how it will solve the prospect’s challenges, wants and needs. And you want to sound knowledgeable and professional, but the specifics about the product or service process aren’t as important because you can call on others in your company to answer those questions, if needed.

Researching info and getting back to the prospect in a prompt fashion with the requested data can even aid in building credibility. It’s much better to double-check something than provide incorrect, conflict or confusing information.

Happy Sales!
Jason

Do you agree or disagree? Please post your thoughts and experiences.

Please discuss….

You can learn to do workshops, teleclasses and keynotes much more easily than you might realize.

“But public speaking scares me to death!”

Even those of you that get terrified at the thought of speaking in front of others can become great and really enjoy this by taking a few very easy steps:

• Speak about topics that you know very well
• Speak about what you are truly passionate about
• Speak to people that you really enjoy helping and working with
• To start, speak in an environment that makes you most comfortable - and you can create, mold and shape that environment in several ways
• Practice, practice, practice

Not only is speaking great advertising for you both pre-, post- and during the event, but it also helps generate cash flow from speaking fees and sales you make because of it.

Ok.. so now I have a topic and an offer to speak, but what if no one shows up?

A lesson I learned a while ago (the hard way) is that it’s  important to help promote the event, so it’s a win-win for you and the event organizer.

One of the first times I was asked to speak, I felt great, and I was very honored. But I didn’t feel humble at all.

I thought, “Finally, here is something I am going to get paid for, and I don’t have to lift a finger to market it myself.”

I was getting paid to just show up, deliver content and value during the event, and be on my merry way. People would love it, I would make sales, and the event organizer was absolutely on the same page.

Well, that turned out to be very shortsighted of me.

For one thing, the event organizer did a terrible job with marketing, and the event was sparsely attended. Although the presentation went well, I made less money and had less opportunity to market and make sales at the event.

I learned my lesson.

If you market an event that you are speaking at, you will likely get more attendees. And those attendees that you bring will already be fans of yours, and perhaps current or former clients. They will be able to testify on your behalf, and they will also become even more familiar with you and your expertise, thereby becoming closer to being a client of yours, if they weren’t already.

It’s much easier to market and sell to people that have familiarity with you than those that don’t.

And it’s much more fun and ethically fulfilling as well.

Also, by bringing guests to someone else’s event, the event organizer will love you. They will become a bigger fan of yours. Even just seeing the effort that you put forth in trying to get guests will make a big impact with them.  And they see that your event was one of their best attended, they will recommend you for other speaking engagements.

Lastly, you can control the quality and quantity of the marketing by being active in the process. Not all meeting and event organizers are great marketers, as I learned. And no one knows your strengths and selling points as well as you do.

By providing your own marketing copy to the organizer - material that you know has a great chance to bring in a crowd – you are providing more value to your attendees by letting them get to know you pre-event as well as what to expect during and even perhaps after the event. You are also reducing the amount of work the organizer has to do and strengthening that relationship. And all this is happening while you are multiplying your exposure by promoting the event yourself as well.

I’ve used these techniques to help my own clients, and to increase my value, my revenue and my client base from speaking, and I’d be happy to help you as well.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more about event speaking and marketing, and how doing these things can really help you to explode your business!

To your success,
Jason

Where is BizCoachJason Rosado speaking next? Check the Events page here, or have him speak at your event!

Best,
Jason

On the flip side, one good reason for not offering a “freebie” is when your sales funnel is quite full and you want to use an intro product as a qualifier to see if the prospect is willing to pay to taste. This works well especially with higher priced services.

I use a combination of free and not free intro products to begin the marketing process and allow people into my client funnel. This has worked very well for me, and I teach my clients to use variations on this that will help them. As long as everything is customized, part of an overall marketing system, and presents them as the experts they are, then free can be a great way to go to get the results they want.

Another worry related to the subject is that the word “free” in itself can  undermined your product or service value, and it’s better to use words such as “complimentary”, “no obligation”, or “no charge”.  

I think those words and phrases put up defense reflexes quickly, and actually can have the reverse effect, putting people on guard for an impending sales pitch. “What’s the catch?”

I think using the word “free” is fine as long as it’s framed well. Always let your prospect know exactly why it’s free, and don’t come from a place of desperation or insincerity. “Free” is straightforward and easily understood. But you want to show that your free product does have tremendous value, and people will respect that.

And besides, who doesn’t love getting something for free?

Happy New Year!
Jason

http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com

Definitely both.

It’s great to meet new people and expend my network. I really enjoy connecting with and getting to know quality professionals so I have a large group to draw from in order to help other people, and to help each other.

I also know that networking is not a fast process and takes time and effort. The easiest way to get to know someone and for them to get to know you, is to see and interact with them over time. The more interaction and in different settings and scenarios, the better the relationship foundation.

“Proximity breeds familiarity.”

This is something I learned in a social psychology class in college (many, many years ago :) ), and I believe it to have great insight into relationship building and by extension networking, marketing and sales, both online and offline.

If you would like to join a great networking group for small business owners, check out
Local Chicagoland: http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoBusinessDevelopmentForum 
International on Facebook: http://groups.to/IdealBusinessCommunity

And please let me know if I can ever be of assistance, or you’d like to meet for some quality networking.

All the best,
Jason 

“Helping entrepreneurs, small biz owners, and sales professionals achieve your ideal business in 12 months or less.”

773.829.1276

Website: http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BizCoachJason
Facebook Profile: http://facebook.com/BizCoachJason
Facebook Business Group: http://groups.to/IdealBusinessCommunity

I thought I would alert you to a fact that may have been easily overlooked.

In the past couple weeks, Facebook has made a few changes that may have altered your Privacy settings.

I recommend you take the following steps to update your profile and account privacy to the level that you want:

1.) Please your mouse cursor over “Settings” in the upper left-hand corner of your screen, near the Search box.

2.) Click on “Privacy Settings” from the drop-down menu.

3.) Click on “Profile Information” and set each item listed to your preferred privacy level.

For those using Facebook for networking and marketing, and not overly concerned with unknown people seeing your info, I recommend a lesser level. Most of my items are set to “Everyone” so that people will be able to read my profile info, status updates, etc and then can decide if they want to add me as a friend. Having the level of “Everyone” also helps search engines to index that particular piece of information on your profile.

4.) Click “Back to Privacy” above the list of items.

5.) Click on “Contact Information” and repeat choosing your level of privacy for all the items listed, as you see fit.

6.) Click “Back to Privacy” above the list of items. And now Click on “Search” to edit who can search you, as well as if you want your profile at all to be indexed by search engines.

I hope this helps to provide you with a better and when appropriate, more secure, networking experience on Facebook!

All the best,
Jason
http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com

P.S. To get regular helpful tips such as this and other social networking, marketing and sales support, join the Fabook group for Small Business Networking at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33103057507 
“Achieve Your Ideal Business Now!” on Facebook :)

You see, one of my former bosses – a small business owner himself – used to say “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

So one day he was ecstatic when we were given a “cease and desist” order by Paramount Pictures for trademark infringement, with all the fixings, including a threat for a law-suit.

When he opened that letter, he was literally jumping for joy in his office and yelled for me to come in and hear the great news he had to share.

He showed me the letter from Paramount’s lawyers, and he had a smile ear-to-ear. He was downright gitty. I on the other hand, at the tender age of 23 and as the managing partner of the target business in question, had dropped my jaw on the floor and paralyzed with fear, felt like a deer in headlights.

Then he told me to lighten up and said this was one of the best things to happen.

We called the local newspapers and played up this “David vs. Goliath” story. The papers sent reporters and photographers to get an interview and pictures.

The publicity didn’t turn the business completely around, but we enjoyed a slight bump in revenue during the process and had a good laugh, too. The legal order really turned into a non-issue. We negotiated, and each side made concessions. It was settled easily with almost no cost to us.

But, getting back to today’s sports section and how news affects public relations and marketing…

Ron Artest, a former Chicago Bulls player who was a tough defender but labeled a problem child by many was traded away from the team in 2002. He is still in the league, playing for the Lakers. Yesterday in an interview with Sporting News, he told many colorful stories about his acts, misdeeds and philosophies that shed light on his current beliefs about himself and his attitudes about being a NBA player.

The whole interview brought questions into my head about “What is good PR and what is bad PR?”

But one quote in particular made my head spin.

How did Artest deal with losing on a consistent basis in the Bulls games during those tough, many-loss seasons of rebuilding after the championship years?

Said Artest, “I used to drink Hennessy at halftime.”

Wait…  What?

Yes. Artest said that he used to go to the liquor store down the street from the United Center and buy Hennessy, which he would keep in his locker and swig down during halftime of games during those dark Bulls years.

He spoke about the infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004, in which he and his Pacer teammates and Pistons players got into a fight that ended up in the stands. He also spoke about other things he’s done on his many teams.

But that quote about drinking during halftime really stuck out to me. As soon as I heard it, I thought, “Wow.. I bet the NBA is really happy with this PR!” And it made me think about my old boss and his philosophy on publicity.

Assuming it’s true, and there is no such thing as bad publicity, I really want to know:

Aside from Sporting News, who is the big PR winner from this interview?

A. Ron Artest
B. The Bulls
C. The Lakers
D. The NBA
E. Hennessey Cognac
F. Too close to call

Dear Chicago Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners,

Confused by the difference between a Profile, a Group and a Fan Page?

Not sure which to use, or if you should use Facebook at all for business?? You’re not alone. Many people are confused. And the short answer is…

YES! You should ABSOLUTELY be using Facebook for business.

We held this workshop earlier in the year, and everyone loved it. SO we’re doing it again!

REGISTRATION, LOCATION and REVIEWS – TWO great local groups to choose from:
http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoBusinessDevelopmentForum/calendar/11921834/ 
http://www.meetup.com/OakParkSmallBiz/calendar/11921942/

*** In this “FACEBOOK for Fun and Profit!” session, we are going to focus on using “FB” to:
- Build your networking, marketing and client funnel
- Set YOU up as an expert in your field
- Get you maximum exposure
- Explore the different features and find out which ones work

…So clients will be attracted and drawn to you!

- Uncover the easy SALES and MARKETING tips, tricks, and strategies that the pro’s use and HOW to apply these to your FACEBOOK Strategy.
- Find out HOW easy it is, and what to do to catch this Social Networking wave and ride it to your heart’s desire
- Find out the fastest way to make connections, build relationships and harness online networking power of Facebook
- Learn from others that have experienced firsthand the business explosion from Facebook and will teach you HOW to duplicate it AND have fun with it!

December 2, 2009
1:30 – 3pm, Wicker Park, Chicago

REGISTRATION, LOCATION and REVIEWS – TWO great local groups to choose from:
http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoBusinessDevelopmentForum/calendar/11921834/ 
http://www.meetup.com/OakParkSmallBiz/calendar/11921942/

See you there!
Jason Organizer & Founder:
Chicago Business Development Forum
Oak Park Area Small Biz & Entrepreneurs
– “Cultivating Small Business Networking, Growth and Success!”