Do You Focus On Client’s Negatives or Positive Solutions During a Presentation?

Positive Solutions Focus - Claudio Alegre

“If you’re pitching your product to corporates, should you highlight their negatives, such as bad reviews on TripAdvisor for a travel company, or focus on positive solutions in order to explain true product benefits?”

This was an actual question on Quora.com I bumped into this morning. I thought it was a terrific question by the way, one that will come up time and time again if you make presentations to sell your products or services.

Here’s my answer –

[ I would approach it from a general viewpoint, yet addressing the issue:

“…one of the many special benefits this “widget” provides is reducing the customer service calls turn-around-time. A huge and usually justified source of customer discontent in over 90% of companies in your industry. This is currently costing your peers over 1 Billion in repeat business. Whomever can fix this issue the fastest, will most likely emerge as the market leader”

I usually stay away from indirectly blaming or pointing sticky fingers to the very people I’m trying to sell my services to.

Beside, many times the real issue is not what they think it is anyway. Usually the issue they tell you they are having is a symptom of the real problem. So if they bring up their pseudo-problems to the table, sure address them in the same way, but be empathetic in your approach and believable in your solution regardless.

When you focus on commonalities, benefits and solutions you can bring your point across in a more constructive and in a “let’s-get-you-in-front-of-the-pack” kind of way. ]

What would your approach be?

Would you focus on positive solutions to make a sale or would you point out defects and weak links to sell such solutions?

 

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What You Accept, You Get

I’m a big Dan Kennedy student, I read his stuff, buy his programs and promote his products any chance I get.

Why? Simple, his Marketing philosophy and money making marketing strategies WORK!

Lately when I’ve talk to entrepreneurs not familiar with Kennedy Style Marketing, whether they are a client of mine or not already, I point them in this direction. It’s amazing how easier it is to talk marketing strategy with someone who has this kind of home-field advantage.

That’s why I want to share one of my favorite articles from him with you …here it goes!

What You Accept, You Get

Here’s a secret I’ve discovered about millionaire and multi-millionaire entrepreneurs: they want what they do and their companies do to be right. Not 80% right. Not 90% right. Right, period. They are, therefore, very much disliked by a lot of people, and if they are “big” enough, by the media. Jobs. Bezos. Trump. Working for them, many ex-employees say, was hell. But maybe it was being incompetent in their employ that was hell.

Winning isn’t just a statistic on a spreadsheet or a bank account balance. It is the customer, Mrs. Matilda Smith, in Rockford, Illinois, getting what she asked for on her pizza or the right product in the delivered package or a human answering her call in fewer than four rings. Customer appreciation is not a once a year sale or an automated thank you e-mail. It is an authentic attitude, top-down, permeated throughout an organization, actually occurring – and measured, policed and enforced – every day. I don’t care how big your company, if you don’t actually care about the people, the individuals, giving you money, they will drift off in search of a place where they feel valued and appreciated. 

Another secret about rich entrepreneurs: they don’t just seek success. They HATE failure.

They often react to it violently. Martha Stewart was known to drop into a K-Mart store, find her branded goods sloppily stocked and throw the entire inventory from shelves onto the floor. Eisner instantly fired a group of Disney Park employees caught not smiling. Walt had a fit over one’s lousy delivery of The Jungle Cruise script. I saw Trump tear an empty towel dispenser from a restroom wall in a Trump hotel and throw it 20 yards down a hall.

These people are said to terrorize their employees, their associates, their vendors. But how calmly should you accept failure?  Should you “stay calm and carry on”? Only if you want more of the failure you calmly accept. If your blood doesn’t boil and offenders see fire shoot from your eyeballs, your lesser response will be taken as permission. If there is failure and new training, new controls, new supervision is not installed as remedy, the “let’s TRY and do better” will be taken as permission.

There are places where incompetence as failure has dire and instant consequences. The jailer who forgets to lock the inmate’s cell or misses the razor blade in the body search may wind up quickly dead. It’s a fine object lesson for other jailers. The cruise ship captain who is busy texting  and gets into too-shallow water and capsizes and sinks the whole thing, and injures and drowns passengers, goes to prison. As it should be.

Creating dire and instant consequences for incompetence and failure is a good thing in any and every business. I’ve told of Chuck Sekeres’ “3 strikes and you’re out” for his in-bound telemarketers: three calls in a row without a set appointment, you’re out. Next batter up. No quarterly performance evaluations. Don’t even wait to be told. After 3, get up and slink out. Minute by minute. Drop three passes in a game, butt on bench. If possible, traded.  Fail at managing the V.A., the IRS and Benghazi, shouldn’t three strikes be enough?  They tried to impeach Clinton over one intern. I used the word RUTHLESS in my book title “No BS Management of People and Profits” because, damn it, we desperately need a lot more ruthlessness in a lot more places. In homes, in neighborhoods, in small businesses, in big companies, in government. You can start with you.

So what did you think? They don’t call him “The Professor of Harsh Reality” for nothing right?

So here’s a little gift from Dan and I!

NOTE: To receive $633.91 of free money-making marketing and sales information from Dan Kennedy and GKIC simply click the link below.

Get Your Gift Here!  

Here’s a little background on Dan in case you’ve never heard of him,

DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first-generation, from-scratch multi-millionaire and 7-figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct-response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity-entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up.  His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of GKIC Insider’s Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world.

Remember guys I am promoting this program, if you do decide to follow through with it I will get paid a small commission. This is the way I look at it:

  • I don’t promote things I haven’t used and bought myself
  • I don’t promote things that don’t work
  • You are always GUARANTEED to benefit!
  • I’m creating win-win-win scenarios
  • and I always vet my sources

In the meantime enjoy your FREE gift and stay focused my friends!

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Get People to Buy From You Over and Over Again In 3 Easy Steps, Even When They Say No The First Time!

sales techniques

Sales Techniques that Work in Real Life!

So you are probably thinking, you need to be persistent, pesty, pushy and get across salesy in order to come away with what the title of this post implies.

But it’s actually the opposite… By the way an important distinction I’d like to make in relation to this topic before we get into it is the following:

In “Sales Techniques That Work!“, Not getting a response and getting a “No” or “Not Interested” are two totally different reactions from prospects or existing clients.

The thing is many times we interpret “not getting a response” as a “No”.

Don’t do that!

There could me many reasons why someone is not responsive to you for example, they lack time, they might be assuming you are way above their budget, they haven’t seen your ad or email invite, they are too busy to engage with you at the moment, or maybe you haven’t communicated your offer effectively, who knows!

Whatever the reason, don’t assume their answer is “No”, until you hear it.

But even if “No” is their answer, well that’s what this post is all about …Here we go!

Here’s Step #1

Understand these sales techniques first and save yourself a lot of anguish and self-doubt:

Most everyone says NO the first time, and if they don’t say it they think it!

No one likes to be sold, but almost everyone loves to buy stuff they want!

[Warning] – We are assuming that what you have to offer ACTUALLY solves a problem and helps people! If you suck there’s no marketing strategy or sales technique that can help you.

Start by genuinely having a conversation about the things causing them the most pain at the moment. Then IF and only IF you can help, position your solution naturally and without pressure.

Don’t try to sell an aspirin to someone who doesn’t have a headache –if you can’t help offer support and point them to someone in your network of friends and associates who can.

Remember these easy sales techniques when you hear “No” or “Not Interested”

  • Don’t take No(s) personally
  • Find out what they are really saying NO to!
  • Reposition your offer, idea or hook in mid-flight if you have to
  • Don’t go for the sale, go for conversation!
  • Scale the process and get micro-commitments

Here’s Step #2

Once is never enough… you need to show genuine and unwavering consistency!

You MUST have a strategic and consistent value-based follow up…

What does that mean? Most sales professionals and service oriented entrepreneurs do not have a follow up strategy or specific sales techniques. Your follow up needs to have 3 essential elements:

  • Follow up with genuine concern – “last time we spoke you were wrestling with the issue of [ blank], is that still the case?”
  • Have a value-based offer/solution – “…thinking about our conversation recently it occurred to me this might help, Are you familiar with [blank]?
  • Have a calendar mindset – “…on that topic I’m hosting a webinar on this day [blank]” or “I have some ideas that I think might help you, do you have 10 minutes for a Skype chat tomorrow at 1 pm?

You can word these anyway it fits you.

And finally Step #3

In Sales Success this one is a total mind shift in terms of approach, it might take you a while, but once you get it you just left orbit!

You don’t make a sale to get a client, you get a client in order to make a sale!

Most sales professionals actually think and want to make money on their first encounter. This is a big mistake!

When it comes to building serious loyalty and goodwill, in essence build a strong customer or client base, you need to give away your best stuff at cost!

Listen to me! –YOUR BEST AT COST!

This achieves success in 3 critical areas of your business:

  • Authority – you establish yourself as an expert
  • Build trust – an essential virtue in long term business relationships
  • Grow you list – a critical component of the longevity and strength of your business is how large your list is and your relationship with it!

Those willing to spend the most on acquiring and building their list will come out on top every time!

I seriously hope you put these techniques to work right away!

It’s simple, make a list of pending follow ups, new contacts and sleepy referrals, and craft your approach following these 3 easy steps!

Take care and stay focused!

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My Top 10 Reads for 2013 – “Reading for Profits”

As you know I’m big on  “Reading for Profits”, which means I like to read books, take one or two ideas from them and implementreading for profits on the street right away.

Why else would we read business books for?

That’s right, to get smarter and better at what we do!

I read a total of 35 books this year, but I’m going to share with you my “Reading for Profits –Top 10”

Every single one of these books will help re-shape the way you think about Money – Business – and People.

As you probably know, no good fortune will ever come to you unless you change the way you think… These books will help you do precisely that!

…but don’t take my word for it.

Here we go:

The 100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future – Chris Guilleabeau takes us through real life examples of regular people who are not only making money doing what they love, but have attained financial independence and personal freedom in the process. Great read if you still have doubts about getting something going and finally getting off your butt and start doing what you were meant to do… which believe me, it’s probably not what you are doing right now for someone else!

The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living – Randy Komisar is one of those guys I just need to meet one day. This book took me into the mind of a business genius in a story telling format rare for VC guys like him. Not only did I learn about the way Venture Capitalists think about business opportunities but I also had fun reading it! Highly recommended.

My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising (Advertising Age Classics Library) – by Claude Hopkins. If you are in sales, marketing and advertising, this book is a must read. I read it once a year, together with The Magic of Thinking Big and How To Win Friends and Influence People.

Screw Business As Usual – by Sir Richard Branson. All aspiring entrepreneurs, business people and leadership pundits should read this one. It’s full of practical anecdotes, real life examples and people stories. The main message I got from it whether you run a small business or a fortune-500 one is: Be different and don’t lose your way! Remember why you did it in the first place and search for that passion.

Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear – Rarely is a book so necessary as this one. Frank Luntz makes and inarguable case for how important and indispensable words and overall language are to get your message across. It’s an essential read because its value crosses genres and impacts so many different areas of our culture.

Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think – Finally a book were optimism, abundance and hope are the main message regarding the outcome of our species. Written by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler. I’m so tired of reading about wicked problems and the problems found in solutions that when reading this book I just felt instantly better, optimistic and with a renewed vigor and strength to fight for the things that are truly important in life.  These guys really do a good job of addressing some of the major challenges that we face as a people, but with a witty, insightful and problem solving mindset. Top 3 read for me this year!

Ten Powerful Phrases for Positive People – By Rich DeVos. The greatness of this book lies in the simplicity of its message! How can Ten simple phrases be so powerful? – Probably has something to do with how much meaning is behind them. I’m not going to spoil it for you. Pick this one up, it truly is a game changer! Top 3 read for me this year!

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It – Mark Cuban doesn’t pull any punches on this one. This book is written for all kinds of entrepreneurs and business people that are still not digging deep enough. I won’t hold it against him that he owns the Mavericks, me being a die-hard Heat fan and so on… but, he does get my respect and admiration for being a bad-ass business man! Definitely a guy I’d want to meet and play some golf with one day!

The New Wellness Revolution: How to Make a Fortune in the Next Trillion Dollar Industry – The wellness industry is now a Trillion dollar industry. Paul Zane Pilzner makes an incredible case and backs it with more than enough data pointing to only one conclusion: If you are looking to start a business, your chances of success in this industry are drastically higher than in any other in the next 15 years… Make a move now!

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition – Jay Abraham is the Godfather of Business Strategy! This read not only shaped but completely rearranged how I look at strategy in small, medium and large businesses. Top 3 read for me this year!

If you are looking to make a move from Cubicle nation on to the entrepreneurial arena -Or maybe not a complete move but you are starting a business on the side, every single one of these books will be not only inspirational but practical in that endeavor.

As a business man or woman, reading is an essential part of your education, your growth and evolution as a person. Largely because new ideas in combination with your own mojo shape your mind and instigate action. If you don’t read, you don’t learn about options, outcomes, ideas, people, research, money and mostly… “yourself”

This wraps the 2013 “Reading for Profits” updates my friends… I’ll be sharing my monthly reads weekly from now on, so stay close!

Also, Subscribe Right Now to our Lifestyle Design and Marketing Strategies that Work Updates on the TOP RIGHT of this Page!

 

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Make Yourself Irresistibly Wanted and Shamefully Well Paid for It!

Regardless of what your chosen profession, business or employment is. You can make yourself ultra-influential any time you so wish it!Claudio Alegre - Marketing Style

Developing a Profitable Marketing style simply means becoming more influential.

With influence comes opportunity, money, relationships that last, plus a lifestyle of abundance, respect, and consistency.

This topic got me thinking about all the big names in business and marketing  I’ve learned from over the years.

Not only the famous ones, but also guys that you may not have even heard of unless you are a marketing geek like me.

But even household names like Steve Jobs, Dr. Oz, Robert Kiyosaki, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates… etc

What do these ultra-successful people and entrepreneurs have in common?

What makes them so successful at attracting attention?

How can you achieve the same level of irresistibility?

I believe it comes down to idea sharing (being genuine), personal experiences and service (leadership) and conscious style building (modest self promotion).

There are a million Realtors, Financial Planners, Attorneys, Consultants and Fitness Professionals out there…

Are they not selling from the same supply source and to the same demand pool?

Name one product or service out there where there’s only one supplier for it.

Your style is the way you do things … the proverbial secret sauce, is in essence “YOU”. Your Ideas, and the way you communicate and execute them!

But how do you develop your style? 

Here’s the not so secret SECRET!

You’ve always had it!

You were born with a unique personality and character signature.

“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and in action.  I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”

-Michelangelo

Chisel away the rough edges and your true self and awesomeness will reveal itself.

You’re already irresistible in your own unique way, you just don’t know it yet!

But you have to be OK with being YOU!

All you need to do then is to enhance and develop that unique signature and style in your business or profession.

I always laugh when people tell me:

“…but Claudio I don’t know how to sell anything”

Well, you date don’t you?

What do you think dating is?

It’s the biggest sales job ever!

But I’ll make it really easy for you…

Follow these simple steps and start making yourself irresistible to your friends, clients and prospects:

Have a “renaissance approach” to your marketing style process – In other words forget the “always be closing” BS, that’s archaic old thinking and doesn’t apply to today’s market place. Instead,“always be learning… and doing”. Be interested in people first!

You can only develop a style by being yourself. Stop wanting to be someone else – Being different doesn’t necessarily mean being first, at least initially. You have to work hard regardless, but it’s how you work that makes the difference. Your ideas and how you execute them is what makes you “YOU”.

I read at least 4 books a month, not including fiction, and listen to 2-4 podcast from someone successful in my industry – You have to reprogram your way of thinking, and develop new mental models. So Yes! Brainwash yourself as often as you can… Challenge your thinking, put it to the test. The best way of doing this is to learn from others that have something worthwhile to offer and that have results. Join a mastermind group, get a couple of mentors, take time to work on your personal growth.

Make a list right now of the things you do that make you unique from your peers – be honest with yourself and when in doubt ask your friends and clients for feedback. I like this approach:  “…what worked, and in your view what can I do differently?” If nothing stands out, then that’s your first clue!

Play to your strengths – focus on the things you excel at. Keep your weaknesses in sight, but your focus must be on the things that already make you great. That is what’s going to make you influential and incredibly productive!

Your style will evolve naturally and unbeknownst to you at first. Others may notice before you do. Then as you become aware of how you are perceived by others, you start to have an active and conscious input into the process.

By this time you have a clear picture of Who you are (in this context), and What degree of influence you can exert in your business network.

Does this help?

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