We’re moving…

We got a spare room over on the Baker Communications homepage, so please change your bookmarks.  Our new URL is: www.bakercommunications.com/blog

Come check out the new pad!

Friday Fun – Vintage Film on Public Speaking

Below is one of those educational films from the 1950′s on using gestures while presenting. While the video is about 60 years old, the techniques still hold up today!

Negotiation Quick Tip – Float a Trial Balloon

Every negotiation reaches that point when the issues and positions are pretty clear, and the distance between the parties is well defined. Now is the time to begin building a bridge that will help both sides meet in the middle. One of the best ways to get this phase started is to float a trial balloon. A trial balloon is a solution suggested in theoretical terms, usually by leading with, “What if …” or, “Suppose that … “ At this point, you are only proposing something that might be possible. You are not making any promises. However, you are priming the pump in a way that generally gets the other side thinking creatively and working with you. They may respond by saying something like, “That sounds pretty interesting, but what would you think about …?” As you begin trading theoretical possibilities, you will gradually work your way to a solid, win-win solution.

Competing with Indifference

As a sales rep, do you know who your competition is? Are you sure? No doubt, you have studied some of your competitors very carefully and know just exactly how your offer stacks up against theirs. However, competition is actually ANYTHING that a customer can choose instead of doing business with you. This includes doing nothing at all. Sales reps generally encounter this competitor during the very beginning of a sales process, when a customer claims to simply have no desire in a company’s product or service. The technical name for this competitor is indifference. Simply put: the customer doesn’t care and sees no need to change the status quo. It sounds like this:

“We’re perfectly happy with our current provider and have no desire to change.”

“Not right now. Check back with me in a year as things may have changed by then.”

“I received all your material and have your contact information. Should we review it and decide to proceed, we will give you a call.”

“We already have a solution in place and don’t plan on evaluating any new ones.”

“Uh… I don’t mean to cut you off but we’re just not interested in any right now. Thank you.” *click*

“Not unless you can beat out my wife’s company for the business and, at the end of the day, I have to go back home to her. No thanks!”

These roadblocks are generally thrown up before you even get a chance to hit your stride. Just when you finally get that elusive prospect on the phone, the door is slammed back in your face.

When you hear a customer use indifference as an objection, what do you do?

Everyone is Talking (and Blogging, and Posting, and Tweeting) About It

Genuine revolutionary events – those that forever alter the fabric of culture – are rare indeed. The American Revolution and the invention of the printing press come to mind. However, those who witnessed the dawn of the social networking era back in 2002 with Friendster – quickly followed in 2003 with MySpace and 2004 with Facebook – can certainly be forgiven for not recognizing that this process for letting college students rate pictures of attractive people or upload demos for aspiring rock bands would be literally rocking the foundations of corporate sales and marketing by the end of the decade. Yet, that is exactly what has happened, and the business world will never be the same.

Though some people seem still not to have noticed, business today is being driven by social networking ecosystems. In the last two years, social networking has rapidly accelerated beyond being merely a digital meeting place where people post pictures of their grandkids or provide regular updates about the temperature on their front porch. Social networks are now being used by customers world-wide to find solutions and meet needs in real time. More significantly, customers initially started doing this with almost no cooperation or support from sales and marketing organizations. It was the customers themselves who proactively formed interactive communities in which product information – including reviews and recommendations – was freely shared back and forth, much like it used to be shared in local neighborhoods when friends bumped into each other down at the corner market.

However, it didn’t take long for savvy sales and marketing professionals to recognize the opportunity – indeed, the necessity – of joining the conversation and leveraging the power of social networking to reach new customers and drive more revenue. The reality today is that, almost over night, social networking has revolutionized the way companies interact with customers in a way that is transforming every customer- facing activity from marketing to sales to customer support.

In order for your business to tap into these rich social media ecosystems, it is important to understand two critical components of the social media culture. First of all, you need to understand the basic types of social media tools and how they are used. More importantly, you also need to have a well-thought out social media strategy. Let’s start by taking a look at the typical tools and processes that enliven the social media culture.

You Say You Want a Revolution

Tomorrow we’re going to be posting the article from the radio show about corporate social media strategy.  As a little pre-work assignment, watch the brief video below.  From the people at Socialnomics, you’ll see that all of this is not a fad – it’s bordering on a revolution in the way people communicate and connect.  And businesses better keep up!

Just Say “No!”

“I wouldn’t have any problem getting my work done if people would just stop interrupting me!” This is probably the number one universal complaint when it comes to time management. It certainly makes sense that it would be easier to complete our to do lists if people would stop giving us more to do. However, it is a little more complicated than that. You need to start by asking yourself, “Why do I keep allowing people to give me more stuff to do?” Without a doubt, a big reason these interruptions steal our time is because many of us don’t know how to “NO.”

Some people find it hard to say no because their highest emotional priority is making sure other people are happy. This emotional priority has nothing to do with the activities connected to important goals in their professional or personal life, but it does override their commitment to accomplish those stated goals. They are driven by an inner “meta-message” – you might call it a “master goal” that defines how they manage all of their other goals – which says, “My main mission in life is to accommodate the needs of those around me.” When they receive a request from someone else, the fear of letting others down or being thought ill of — or concern over some vague, possible future consequences — forces them to say yes even if they would prefer to say no. They will say yes, KNOWING that it will steal time away from a higher priority activity with an impending deadline, and keep getting farther and farther behind as a result.

So, who is the real time bandit here, the person who interrupts with a new request, or the person who says yes when they really need to say no? One thing is absolutely certain: if you keep saying yes, people will keep giving you more work to do. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the wave of requests and interruptions confronting you every day, you probably need to learn how to cordially, firmly and gracefully say no.

Learning to say “no” gracefully is a four-step process:

QOTW: Best Piece of Sales Technology

A lot of us are “techies” and we love new toys (how many of us got iPad’s for Christmas?).  So what is the most useful piece of technology for you in sales?  Discuss!

Friday Fun – Communication Errors

So much of life is communication – sales, negotiation, public speaking, parenting, etc – it’s a wonder why we don’t do it better!  Here’s a great video that illustrates how we can so easily be centered on our own point of view versus seeking to understand the other side:

Putting the “Social” in Social Media

Social media is all around us today and is a “must-have” when conducting business.  Recent studies have shown that people spend about 3 times as much time on social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) as they do checking their email.

However, when it comes to selling, we cannot forget that there is an undeniable human element to the whole thing.  That’s the focus on this article from Joanne Black at Salesopedia.  Social media can only take things so far – mainly, making the initial connection.  Here’s an excerpt:

There’s a saying in sales: Clients buy with emotion and justify with fact. If our clients don’t like us or don’t feel comfortable with us, they won’t buy from us. You can wow your clients with technology know-how now and try to win them over later, once they find out you’re honest and reliable. But the reality is you need people to start liking you within the first few seconds of your relationship. You need to start off on the right foot. Fancy gizmos won’t make that happen. But a trusted referral and a personal connection will.

Again, click HERE to read the full article.  So how is social media being used in your sales process?  Leave some comments below to let us know!