Seeds of Greatness - The Fourth Seed

Dennis Waitley has authored a few more books than me. And he's sold a few more, too. Maybe 1000 times as many. But who's counting? In his 1983 best seller, which is still selling quite nicely today, he listed 10 Seeds of Greatness.

"The Fourth Best-Kept Secret to Total Success is that of a large vocabulary - which implies broad, general knowledge, characterizes the more successful persons, regardless of their occupation."

He goes on to stress the importance of reading everything you can get your hands on to enhance your knowledge of your industry, your occupation, and the general information about our culture that will lead people to think you are wise.

No sales professional goes on a call with unkempt clothes, but even the sharpest looking dresser can undo the first impression when they open their mouth and display their poor verbal skills. (By the way, that goes for foul language, too.)

Impress them with your knowledge and your ability to fill their needs, of course. But make sure that you get the chance. Speak using good grammar and with the appropriate vocabulary for the occasion.

SHUT UP! and Sell

According to Judges 15:16 "And Samson said, 'With the jawbone of a donkey, I've made heaps on heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I've killed a thousand men!'" May I suggest that 1000's of sales are killed every day using exactly the same tool.

Many of us who claim to be sales professionals are also professional bloviators (a tip of the hat to O'Reilly.) We love to talk. Thus it happens that from time-to-time, and far too many times, we continue to talk after the customer has said "yes."

Customer: "I think your right. Those 32 ounce California Springs water bottles will work perfect in our weekend beachware promotion. How soon can I get 1000."

You: "I'm sure we can get them on time. Did you know that these bottles have a special tether that keeps the cap from getting lost."

Customer: "I'm not sure I want that. Does it come without the tether."

The tether is a great extra, but you didn't need to add in more selling features or benefits. The customer was ready to write the P.O. So SHUT UP! I'm sorry to be impolite, but I'm also a major offender of this rule, and therefore know how it can kill a sale.

Become an Expert

One of my family members (who shall remain nameless) was suffering from PMS. No, she didn't have issues with color charts. She had issues with me . . . every few weeks. In self defense I decided to become an expert on PMS.

It turns out that there were only three books available on the subject, a couple of websites with any meaningful data, and a local talk show on Saturday mornings run by the Holly Anderson PMS clinic. After 8 hours of reading books, a few hours of listening to the radio program, and another few hours on the web, I knew more about PMS than anybody in my acquantance. I'll bet I know more about it than anyone who will read this post.

I'd like to think that the information I compiled was helpful to the innocent victim. I believe I helped a few other ladies and more than a few husbands to understand more about PMS and how to deal with it.

What does all of this have to do with selling promotional products? Just this. Take 10 or 20 hours to become an expert in something related to what you do: Trade shows, mailings, grand openings, retail promotions, pharmaceutical giveaways. Then take another 10 or 20 hours to become an expert in a product category (say bicycle water bottles, as a for instance.) Who has the best quality, best price, best delivery, most colors, best printing, etc.

After you become an expert in one or two things, maybe you'll want to become an expert in three or four. Then, once you truly have valuable information that can be shared, share it. Write articles for industry trade publications or websites (like this one.) Do seminars for your local trade association.

Most of all, your clients will be more likely to invest in you if they see this kind of difference in your expertise compared to others who call on them. You can either visit your customers with "What do you need today?" or with "How can I help you meet your needs today?"

101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door

101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door
Originally uploaded by Randy Kirk.

The cover of this book tells you so much about the contents. Fun, exciting, useful, not technical, friendly, and written specifically for the advertising specialty industry by folks who know the promotional products business backwards and forwards.

4 color process

4 color process
Originally uploaded by Randy Kirk.

California Springs Line offers 4 color process printing and up to 8 spot colors on virtually all of it bottles. For more information click here

101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door

Practical. I love practical business books. For anyone who is selling promotional products, advertising specialty items, fundraising swag, or premiums, this book will make you money. Some folks who have been in the business for a while might say that the ideas are well known. My experience is that after 35 years in professional sales, I still need to be reminded of all the things I've forgotten.

Foot in the Door is much more than a reminder, though. It is a idea generator, a brainstorm starter, and a think outside the box resource. It reminded me of one of my pet ideas. I never buy advertising resources of any kind from someone whose business card is boring. If they can't get their own business card right, how're they going to help me. This book is about using the very strategies you should be selling to help your customer get in the door to get yourself a shot at the buyer or owner.

There is one glaring mistake in the book that the one of the authors, Karianne, says must be fixed in the next edition. There were no examples using water bottles.

In the case of a book so practical it may not seem important that it is also well written, well organized, and fun to read. You can read the bios of all four authors and buy your own copy of 101 Way to Get Your Foot in the Door it by clicking here.

Your Daily Dose of Profit Medicine

Due to earning a JD in law, it is legal and ethical for my name to be preceded by Dr. Thus, it is my goal in life to help you recover from all the ills that keep you from real success in business and in life (see my personal blog".) Prepare to get daily doses of really good stuff that may at times be painful or difficult to swallow. But they will cure you.

To help with this process, I am assembling a team of some of the best specialists in the specialty business. Today allow me to introduce Karianne Marcum. She is one of the 4 authors of 101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door. I'll review the book tomorrow, but you can go to her website right now and sign up for her free email tips. Her tips will show up here from time-to-time, but she will also be providing some special exclusive tips for this site only. We will also interview her in a couple of weeks.

Karianne Marcum is one of the owners and Vice President of Operations for Creative Expressions, Inc., where she has been instrumental in positioning Creative Expressions as a leader in the Advertising Specialty and Apparel Industry.

With over 16 years of sales experience, Karianne oversees the organizational workings of Creative Expressions. Karianne has a keen sense of marketplace trends within the industry. She also brings a unique understanding of computer technology to the mix. Karianne developed and implemented web-based online stores for Creative Expressions' clients. With the 50 employees at Creative Expressions and a sales team of seven, Karianne instills strong values of customer loyalty through relationship building, fun and creativity in the sales process. Because of this, Creative Expressions continues to maintain a strong position within the marketplace.

So, once again, let me encourage you to visit her website, and get her FREE (really! No obligation at all) email tips. One side note. Neither I nor California Springs receive a commission or any other remuneration for any of our recommendations. You can support this site by convincing your customers to buy lots of California Springs Water Bottles.