Author Archives: Hal Coleman

One of the first things I do in my workshops is go around the room and ask each attendee to state their name and what they do.

Almost without fail, everyone tells me their name and what they ARE or who they are WITH, but rarely does anyone ever actually tell me exactly what they DO.

Some of their answers are combinations of technical language and industry jargon that I assume is designed to impress someone. However, all really does is leave me confused.

 I don’t have a clue as to the value of their product or service and how it might pertain to me or anyone else (from a simple, practical standpoint…which is all that really matters).   I would never know exactly what a good referral would be for them.

And, in this age of fast-paced, instant gratification, give-it-to-me-now or get off the wagon mindsets, you can’t afford to waste one single minute of anyone’s time.  If you do, they will simply find effective ways to avoid any further encounters with you.

Fact:  When you make an initial contact with a potential prospect, you’d better get right to the point…and you’d better do it in a clear, concise way that clearly and in no certain terms, shows them the value in what you do and how it relates to THEM. It should also compel them to want to know more about YOU and your product or service.

You simply cannot afford to fail to make a good connection.

If your initial 30 seconds is confusing, sends mixed signals, or is ambiguous in any way, you will be “deleted” by their subconscious mind (Elmo) and they will almost always say “NO”.

And, as psychologists Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard proved, once someone says “NO”, it becomes ten times harder to get them to say “YES”.

This fact has led me to create what I call “Thirty Second Selling”.  (http://TheNetworkingNinja.com/thirtysecondselling/)

It is so incredibly important that you understand how to get your foot in the door with a prospect quickly.  If you fail on your first attempt, you may never be successful.  In fact, you may never get another chance…period.

Whether you are cold calling, meeting with a warm lead for the first time, following up on a referral from someone else, or simply having a conversation with someone you’ve just met who may be a legitimate prospect…you’d better know exactly what to say to them.  And it needs to be powerful, compelling, dynamic, seductive, captivating and irresistible. 

Bottom line:  You need to work out a simple, direct, crystal clear, to-the-point, powerful, value-laden, compelling, seductive, hypnotic, irresistible answer to the question “Why should I hire YOU?”…..and you need to  put it in writing, memorize it, learn it, believe it, and be able to deliver it with confidence, precision and accuracy… each and every time… and in thirty seconds or less!

If you will do that, you will make more sales.

If you don’t do that, you will make fewer sales.

And that is a FACT.

Thanks for taking the time to read this letter.

Hal

PS.  Find FREE Small Business Marketing Tips, Secrets, Strategies and Techniques at my website, http://www.HalColeman.com

Subscribe to my FREE Weekly Small Business Marketing Articles at http://www.HalColeman.com

Or feel FREE to call me at 770-993-0004   or email Hal@HalColeman.com

http://www.HalColeman.com

Last week I presented my “Thirty Second Selling” workshop in Alpharetta, Ga. It reaffirmed the fact that, with rare exceptions, small business owners and sales people just don’t take selling nearly as seriously as they should.

And…because they don’t…they lose sales.  It’s just a fact.

Let me ask you this:  Do you have a sales presentation?

Is it written out?

Is it a powerful, compelling, dynamic, hypnotic, seductive, well-thought-out, scripted, proven presentation laid out in proper psychological sequence guaranteed to generate a YES answer?

Can you deliver it with conviction and purpose…even in your sleep?

FACT:  No matter what the industry, when you get to the top sales performers…and I mean the world class sales people who win the national awards every year…they all have certain things in common.

• They take selling very seriously!
• They are constantly working on their sales presentations.
• They know that every word, every inflection, every variation is equally important.
• They know it backwards and forwards by heart.
• They have notebooks and/or recorders close by so if…or I should say when…they hit on another good idea…they capture it and work it into their sales presentation. 
• They never stop sharpening and honing their sales presentations. 
• They are never satisfied that it is as good as it could be. 
• They wake up in the middle of the night to write down ideas.
• They never take selling for granted. 
• They track every sale, every lead, every contact and every conversation.
• They post-analyze every presentation.
• They are spiritual and superstitious when it comes to selling and their sales presentation. 
• They literally never expect to be told NO.
• They never stop learning how to improve their selling skills and increase their closing percentages.
• They are laser focused.
• If they are not out selling, they are probably working on their sales presentation.
• And, maybe most important of all…THEY NEVER GIVE UP!

So…let me ask you this question:  How much time do YOU spend learning how to sell more and better?

It doesn’t matter whether you are in a full-time sales position…or if you want to sell your boss (or your employees) on a specific idea you have…or maybe you just want to persuade your spouse, your child, your neighbor or your friend, to do a specific thing…YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO SELL!

Winging it and playing it off the cuff will only get you so far. 

If you rely only on the art of selling and ignore the science of selling, you will never reach your true potential and you will leave a ton of money on the table for the other guys (the ones who do take selling seriously)!

That’s just the way it is.

Please let me know if I can ever help you in any way,

Hal

PS.  Find FREE Small Business Marketing Tips, Secrets, Strategies and Techniques at my website, http://www.HalColeman.com

Subscribe to my FREE Weekly Small Business Marketing Articles at http://www.HalColeman.com

Or feel FREE to call me at 770-993-0004   or email Hal@HalColeman.com

http://www.HalColeman.com

We do business with people we know, like and trust…right? 

Well, not always.

Example:  I have a collection of live scorpions and spiders from around the world. I used to have a fairly large collection but now I only have a few specimens. (So you’ve always thought I was strange…and now you know!)

There is a certain product that I need in order provide proper care for my spiders and scorpions, and there is only one place I can purchase this product in the town where I live.

Now, the guy who owns and manages the store where I purchase this particular product is an absolute jerk. He is rude, obnoxious and ungrateful to say the least.  If I could buy the product somewhere else, I would never set foot in this guy’s store again for the rest of my life.  He is literally the worst customer service representative I have ever encountered…period.

But…on the other hand…if his store went out of business I’d be screwed because I’d have to drive 20 miles to get to the next closest place to purchase this particular product…which only costs $4.50.  I certainly don’t want to have to do that. It would take a lot of time and cost twice as much for gas as the product is worth.

So I continue to do business with someone I barely know, don’t like and don’t trust. 

Here’s my point:  If you can offer a product or service that no one else offers, you will get more new customers and more new business.  That is the awesome power of having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

So ask yourself this question:  What can I give my customers or what can I do for them that no one else can or does?

If you think about it seriously…you will figure it out. 

Plus…it really does help to be NICE!

I hope you enjoyed this article. Please don’t hesitate to call on me if I can ever help you in any way.

Hal

PS. Click on this link, http://www.HalColeman.com and Subscribe to my FREE Weekly Articles that will help YOU get MORE REFERRALS and MORE NEW CUSTOMERS!

PPS. Please keep me in mind if you ever need a speaker at your business association, convention or sales meeting.  More info. at http://www.HalColeman.com

I’d say, without a doubt, that one of my biggest frustrations in life is this:  Seeing people who are struggling, offering them a simple solution, and sitting back and watching them do absolutely nothing with it!

Could this be you?  Has it ever been?

I’ll tell you right now that it certainly has me at times.  I’m not ashamed to admit it.  I’m human!

Fact:  As human beings, we often have a hard time taking action on certain things that affect our status quo.

Why?

Because taking action brings about change…and the subconscious mind (I call it Elmo) hates change.

Elmo perceives change as a threat to us and he wants to protect us from it.  Therefore, he will trick you, deceive you, manipulate you…even stab you in the back… whatever he has to do… to keep you from changing.  

Here’s a prime example of my frustration:  Awhile back I was in a local hardware store.  The owner was complaining that business was slow. He mostly blamed it on the economy and Home Depot.

He whined, “People drive right past my store to go to Home Depot when they could buy it cheaper here.”

I said, “Do you mean to tell me you’re cheaper than Home Depot?”

He answered, “We sure are …on lots of items.”

I asked, “Do all of the people driving by your store know that?”

He said, “If they would just stop and check our prices they would.”

(Once again, here’s an example of a business owner who somehow expects customers to just show up as if by magic.)

I said, “Listen…why don’t you put up a sign out front…or on your vehicle (he already had a sign on his vehicle with the name of his business on it)… or in your store window…that reads something like this:”

We Beat Home Depot’s Prices!  Or   Pay Less Here Than Home Depot! 

He said, “Well, I guess I ought to do that.  It would probably help.”

I said, “Do Ya Think?”

And…you guessed it. That was 6 months ago.  He has done nothing as of yet.

My point is this:  (Einstein said it best) “Nothing happens until something moves.” Don’t whine and complain about the way things are.  Instead, get off your butt, roll up your sleeves and go do something about it.

Waiting for change, hoping for change and praying for change is not a good business strategy.  Going out and creating change is!

Now…get moving and go do what YOU need to do.

And thanks for reading this letter,

Hal

PS. Click on this link, http://www.HalColeman.com and Subscribe to my FREE Weekly Articles that will help YOU get MORE REFERRALS and MORE NEW CUSTOMERS!

The other day I was watching a baseball game and I saw all of these commercial signs in the background. They were all attached to the outfield fence. And I began thinking about those signs.

When I’m riding up and down the roads and highways I see signs posted everywhere.  I see signs on buildings, in front of building, on windows, and on the sides of vehicles.

 I see billboards and banners.  When I’m sitting in a restaurant, I look around and see signs.

Let’s face it folks, we live in a world of signs. 

Did you know that the #1 most effective advertising media is signage? 

The FACT is…you can stick a sign up in front of someone’s face almost anywhere and at any time and force them to read it.  In most cases, they can’t help it. It’s just the way our brains work. 

And here’s another FACT:  If the sign doesn’t say something moving to the person viewing it, it is probably NOT going to move them!

Now, I want you to go back and read that last sentence five times…and then stop and think about it.

And in order for a sign to be moving, it needs to be emotional.  And in order for it to be emotional, it needs to touch something…some issue… in someone’s life or business that they are dealing with. 

A sign needs to say something.  It needs to tell a story.  It needs to trigger a reaction in the mind of the viewer in order to generate a buying response.  It needs to move them to action and cause them to pick up the phone and call you and do business with you.

Example:  Vote For Fred Johnson  vs.  “Vote for Fred Johnson and LOWER YOUR TAXES NOW!”

Make sense?  I hope so.

Now, let me ask you this: Do you use signage to promote your termite and pest control business?  I’m sure you do.

Actually your business card is a sign. It is a small little sign you give to someone. They view it, and then choose to either keep it or throw it away.

Why would they want to keep it? 

Why would they choose to throw it away?

Which would you prefer they do? 

You want them to keep it of course.

Well, ask yourself the same question about you other signage.  Do you want them (actually their subconscious mind) to save it…or delete it?  What I mean is…do you want them to remember your sign or forget about it?

Of course you want them to remember it.  But for what?  Aha….that is the big  question!

Advertising agents are fond of saying, “We will get you noticed!” 

My question to them is always, “Noticed for what?”

You see, it’s very important WHY someone is noticing you.  I’m confident I could put on a pink thong and run through the shopping mall and get noticed.  But for what? 

A brightly colored vehicle will get noticed.

 But, once someone notices it, what does it say to them? 

What compelling message does it deliver? 

What irresistible offer do they find there? 

After someone notices the vehicle, what else does the vehicle do to convert the viewer into a new paying customer?

Getting noticed is only half of the equation that leads to more new business.  The other half is the FOR WHAT?

If your signs don’t contain the FOR WHAT…in a clear, concise, compelling, message….YOU ARE LEAVING A LOT OF EASY MONEY ON THE TABLE…the you could  be putting in the bank.

And that also is a FACT!

 If you’d like to know more about how to increase the effectiveness of your signage and/or your ads for your business, give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email Hal@HalColeman.com and I’ll be happy to help you.

I’d love to come to your office and show you, your staff and your sales team how to use proven, effective buying response triggers to increase your sales and your closing percentages.

Thanks for reading this letter, and I hope you have a great day,

Hal

PS. Click on this link, http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com and Subscribe to my FREE Weekly Articles that will help YOU get MORE REFERRALS and MORE NEW CUSTOMERS!

Which type of website do YOU have… a pretty website or a website that consistently and effectively converts viewers into PAYING CUSTOMERS?

It’s a PROVEN FACT that pretty websites with fancy graphics are not nearly as effective as plain, simple websites that communicate a powerful, compelling, lazer sharp, cyrstal clear, seductive, irressistable message of VALUE.

It is painfully obvious that the vast majority of web designers are clueless to this FACT. 

Everyday I see people spend tons of money on SEO to drive people to a website that has major design flaws and improper psychological sequencing.  This creates cognitive dissonance and causes viewers to leave the site and go elsewhere.

Sad but true.

If you want to capture the most viewers possible and convert them into paying customers, you absolutely must understand this concept.  If you miss it…by even a little bit…it will cost you dearly in revenues that will ultimately end up in someone else’s bank account.

And that…is another unavoidable FACT.

Thanks for reading this message. 

Hal

PS.  Find FREE Small Business Marketing Tips, Secrets, Strategies and Techniques at my website, http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com

Subscribe to my FREE Weekly Small Business Marketing Articles at http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com

Or feel FREE to call me at 770-993-0004   or email Hal@HalColeman.com

http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com