Want to Get More Sales?

Last week I was interviewed by Annemarie Cross on her Career Success Radio program.  We talked about many things for just under an hour.  In particular, we were talking about sales and how to increase them.

I thought that it is the kind of thing many people would be interested in.  If you are interested visit Annemarie's Blog and have a listen.

If you like what you hear and are interested in finding out how to Double Your Return when exhibiting at your next Trade Show or Expo, then visit www.DoubleYourReturn.com to get your free copy of  the Double Your Return CD and special report on how you can Double Your Return when you next exhibit.


Enjoy!!

Are They Eating Out of Your Hand?

As I write this I am enjoying the last day of a four day get away at Wye River.  It is a stunning location where mountains meet the sea. The glorious gum trees are filled with bird life.  We have seen cockatoos, rosellas, willy wagtails (not sure of their real name but this is what I call them), currawongs and king parrots.  


I decided I wanted to get up close and as you can see I finally had them eating out of my hand. You can use the same process to get your customers eating out of your hand. 

1. Go where your customer is - I went on to balcony when the birds were there
2. Give them what they want - I had broken bits of biscuit that I knew they liked
3. Make it easy for them - I put some crumbs on the railing and then held my open handful of crumbs next to it
4. Support them and make them comfortable - I held my hand steady and gave them more crumbs as they stood on my hand
5. Show gratitude - As they fed I was saying thank you for visiting us
6. Celebrate your success - The rest of us staying at the house came out to say hello to the king parrots

What about you? Do you have your customers eating out of your hands? Use this process and you soon can!


Enjoy

PS Do you Exhibit at Tradeshows, Expo's or Conferences?  Want to have your visitors eating out of your hand? Register for the complimentary webinar 5 Steps to Double Your Return. 

Who Are You Talking To?

I have just finished three days on the floor of an expo for a client.  I continue to be amazed at behaviour of exhibitors. 

Let me back track.  It's easy to be an ORDINARY exhibitor.  All you need is cash and a product or service to sell and you can exhibit.  To be aGOOD exhibitor, you just have to do the basics right.  With a little extra effort and focus, you can be an EXCELLENT exhibitor.

At this stage, I just want to focus on being a GOOD exhibitor.  It is just about the basics.  The important thing is, who are you talking to?  So many exhibitors at the recent show were not talking to anyone.  Some were standing there with their arms crossed, some were sitting (I still can't believe people do that) and some were just waiting for others to talk to them.  Some even seem shy and unable to approach the visitors.

My theory is that if you are not talking to anyone, you talk to everyone.  

Nothing attracts attention like attention.  If you are not talking to anyone it makes you less approachable.  By speaking to someone, it is less intimidating for others to come and join in the conversation or look at your wares.  Talking to people also allows you to qualify them.  If they are not interested, politely move them on and if they are interested take them to the next level.

It you are not talking to anyone, talk to everyone.

Who are you talking to?

PS If you want to see how I exhibit, drop into see me at booth 48 at Meetings Mart.  It's free, on tomorrow at Crown Promenade in Melbourne and I promise I will talk to you!

How Sticky Are You?

I don't mean that in the brown and wooden stick kind of way, I mean do you stick to it?  Do you commit to a strategy and give it every chance to succeed? Or at the first (or maybe second) sign that it is struggling do you stop working on it?

Don't get me wrong, sometimes we try things and they don't work.  It makes sense to change the strategy or approach but too often people don't give it enough of a change.  Imagine if we did that in all aspects of life.

Maybe your parents were trying to get you to walk and after three times you kept falling over so much that they said, "They will never walk, it's crawling for them!"  Think of how much that would hold you back!  My friend's mother (now in her 90's) had a mild accident on her fourth driving lesson when she was 20 and then decided she couldn't drive and never did again. I still struggle with that.

So what is your strategy and as part of it, when are the check points and how will you know when to change strategy?  This is particularly relevant when exhibiting at shows.  In a previous business, my partner and I decided that we should exhibit our $900 product in the exhibitions at the International Coaching Federation (ICF) conferences globally.  We knew that the first one would not cover costs.  Two airfares, accommodation let alone exhibiting costs were significant.

A couple of shows with no sales was tough but we stuck to the strategy.  After three years (nine shows) it started to pay off financially, but the payoff in reputation and awareness happened far sooner and was more strategic.  My partner went on to be Australasian President of the ICF as developing a significant database of prospects for future work for us.

So what is your strategy?  Where is the payoff? How will you measure your success or lack thereof?  Most importantly, how sticky are you?

Enjoy!!



PS If you are in Melbourne next Tuesday 26th, come and visit me at the Meetings Mart Expo at Crown Promenade. I will be giving away copies of my new CD 7 Secrets of Successful Sessions as well as creating solutions for business wanting to Get More from their next Conference or Training Session.  Come as a guest of the Get More Guy and you even get free parking!


Image: Oaklara Nutgrabber

Do You Feel Special?

More importantly than do you feel special, do you make your customers, your prospects or your team feel special?

The research has shown what many of us knew instinctively. Customer loyalty and purchase decisions are more based on how your customer/prospects feel than a logical decision. So do you make them feel special?  Look at any exhibitor, leader, company or sales person who you think is "Extraordinary".  The reality is that they are not extraordinary, they are simply ordinary people doing extraordinary things.  They do a little bit more than your average person or company does and this makes them stand out.

For example, wifey and I went to dinner last night with friends to Borsh, Vodka and Tears.  Knowing it is popular I made sure that I had booked for 4 at 7:30pm.  So far all was proceeding as usual.  I got the phone call from them earlier in the day to confirm my booking (as has become standard with many restaurants now) and wifey and I headed in at the designated time.  Most places will just have "reserved" on the table, typically with a credit card logo as they will sponsor the sign and pay for them, but not here.  I was quite excited to find that their reservation system was.....My Name!!  Check it out. 

Now they didn't spell it correctly, but I didn't care because it was close enough.  To help them manage all of their bookings, it was also systemised.  Noticed the table number, the number of people and time of the booking is also on the card.  While I know it is only a little thing, it made me feel special.  Not just "another booking" but "Warwick's" booking.

In what you do, do you make your customers and colleagues feel special?  Do you just do that little bit extra to make it extraordinary?  You could be an exhibitor, a sales person or simply part of a larger organisation.  What will you do TODAY to make those around you feel special?

Enjoy!!

Warwick

PS I got plenty of feedback from last week's Get More Goer.  For those of you who really wanted to know, yes Mum did lick the spoon.
Also, demand for the Frangelico and Brownies recipe was high.  For those of you who missed it, you can download it here.

Sales Tips from a 10 Year Old Sri Lankan

It is amazing what you can learn in the strangest of places.

On the road from Colombo to Yala I learnt a valuable sales tip that is applicable to any sales situation but particularly to exhibitors.  All across Sri Lanka there are huts on the side of the road where the locals sell their produce.  Here is one we stopped at that had a lot of different beans, peas, grains and chillies.

Some of the more humble huts are staffed by children.  (Hut is a bit generous. It is more a simple table!)  As you got closer they were smiling, holding high what they had to sell and inviting you to stop and look at their produce.  Originally I just dismissed them as kids selling vegetables but then I noticed something.  After we went past, they were still smiling and simply tried to engage the next passer by.  It got me thinking and comparing this young boy to many of the exhibitors I have seen and worked with.

Here is what that 10 year old Sri Lankan taught me: 

• Smile! It helps to engage with the passers by.
• Make sure the prospect knows exactly what you are offering - even if this means waving around your product.
• Use some kind of pick up line to engage the passer by.
• If they don't stop, don't take it personally. Keep smiling and look for the next person.

Such simple things that so many in sales, and particularly those exhibiting at Trade Shows or Expos, forget to do.

Enjoy!

Would You Like A Drink?

One of the things that many people forget to do is drink.  I don't mean whip down to the pub and have a sly bevy, I mean drink plenty of fluids during the day.  Too often we can get so involved in what we are working on that we neglect to have enough fluids.  This leads to the typical symptoms of being thirsty, dry lips and also headaches, dizziness and cramping.

For those of us on the trade show or expo floor it is worse.  One of the best ways to release fluid from the body is by talking.  We exhibitors talk non-stop for 8 hours and it is common to do this without any breaks.  So often I see exhibitors get headaches or cramps and lose focus.  I believe a lot of this is not looking after your basic needs.
So the question is how much fluid should you have?

The correct answer is, "It depends".  The old standard of 8 cups (2 litres) of water a day is not entirely accurate.  There are many factors to consider.  The best thing to do is review this simple guide on the Kidney Health Australia website.  There is some great information there.

Personally, I swear by the old backpacker trick I learned while traveling (it gets handed down from generation to generation).  If your urine is yellow, you are dehydrated so you need to drink more fluids.  Water is the best fluid but others will contribute to re-hydrating you.
So to keep your head clear, your mind focused, your day on track (and your urine clear), drink more fluids!!

Can I offer you a drink?

Enjoy!

PS For those of you who based in Melbourne or who are in Melbourne on Tuesday 26th of October, come and visit me at Meeting Mart.  Tickets are free from the website and I will be exhibiting my wares as a Speaker and MC. For my Exhibiting clients, come and see how I do it and for my speaking clients, come and get some great resources from myself and others to make your next session fabulous.