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Imagine you are at a breakfast networking meeting. You go over and grab a coffee and as you are standing there, someone comes along and says ‘Hello!’
Do you politely tell them to ‘go away’ or do you say ‘hello’ back and start a conversation?
I recently did the equivalent online and I got a reply that effectively said ‘Do I know you?’
To be even thinking of ROI when speaking with someone will almost certainly kill off any chances of something coming from it. Your attention needs to be focused on them rather than what benefit you may or may not get from the discussion.
To assume that you cannot measure the ROI of social interactions, however, is not totally true. Some things are hard to measure but that does not mean they cannot be measured.
A few days ago I was posed the question ‘Isn’t Social Media just a big waste of time? How do you get a return on investment for all the time and effort you need to put in?’ As someone who loves a Paradox, I decided to answer this question for him via Social Media!!!
Please excuse this little rant. It’s just that it saddens me deeply to see small business owners do the right thing and invest in better marketing their business only to find they have nothing to show for it except, perhaps, a pretty website and business card. They came to me for help with their sales and we end up having to sort out their marketing at the same time.
Something I learnt very early on in my sales journey is that prospects tend to judge quality of service by the price. It pays to be reassuringly expensive!
What happens, though, if your pricing puts you out of the frame in the current economic climate? How do you charge lower rates without appearing cheap?
The most important thing is to understand the market in which you operate. Just because you decide what your rates are does not mean that the market will bear them, no matter how good you are at demonstrating value.
When I first began as an accidental salesman over 15 years ago I quickly discovered that my communication and influencing skills were lacking.
Don’t get me wrong, I could get on with people but found it all a little awkward, especially meeting new people and knowing what to say and what not to say!
I soon discovered that developing communication skills is probably one of the most important things that we can do to boost our sales results.
Members only content
This is an Ecademy training video on blogging created by Thomas Power is chairman of business networking site .
Although this video is specifically about Ecademy, Thomas explains the logic about why blogging is so important for people selling their expertise and know-how and how Ecademy can help.
The Accidental Salesman Club was born in Ecademy and I believe it is an excellent place for developing business connections and referrals.
I have watched this a few times and I get something new each time I watch.
Members only content
Is it really possible to generate enough sales leads for your business without resorting to cold calling or tele-marketing?
This is a recording of an interview I did a few years ago with Chantal Cooke of Passion for the Planet radio.
In this interview I explain to Chantal how to avoid cold calling including many different lead generation strategies that do not involve cold calling!
There is a lot of valuable information covered in this recording and you may want to take notes as you listen to it.
Most businesses spend time chasing all over the place trying to find new clients when there are more than enough opportunities within a 30 mile radius of their offices.
In this recording, small business marketing expert Rosie Hatton covers some of the marketing options for developing a thriving business in your local area.
You may want to listen to this more than once. If you get a chance then take notes. Although it is delivered in an easy to digest fashion it is packed with practical ideas.
This is an edited recording of a teleseminar I did with Thomas Power, Chairman of Ecademy.com. Thomas is a recognised visionary and thought leader in the world of online social networking and is himself a prolific networker.
In this recording Thomas shares with us why online social networking is so important and how to use Ecademy as a tool for lead generation both from referrals and direct business. This is highly recommended if you are wondering what online business networking is all about and how to use it for business development.
