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| A Note from the Editor |
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| Brownies and freebies and deals, oh
my! |
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From time to time we run across cool sites,
important events, freebies and interesting offers. This
week we're highlighting a few of our recent favorites.
Enjoy!
They had us at "Woof." It was a little
after lunch; that time of the day when our eyes start
glazing over. Just as we were nodding off, a mysterious
package arrived. Inside were four gourmet chocolate chunk
brownies and a friendly note from Abby, the Follow-up
Dog who, we quickly learned, was pitching her services
to us. We scarfed the brownies and, floating on a chocolate-induced
high, checked out Abby's website, FollowUpDog.com.
Abby's owners, we learned, will send your clients and
prospects a personalized card from you – you can
even include those mood altering brownies or other treats
- and it takes you less than a minute. It's a very memorable
way to stay in contact with clients or break the ice with
hard-to-reach prospects. I know they certainly got our
attention. Check
'em out here.
Is the economy hurting your sales? The Brooks Group
has issued a Special Report entitled Selling in Tough
Times. I've read it and it is excellent advice. It's
yours free when you subscribe to their free monthly newsletter.
Get
it here.
Ladies, channel your inner Sales Diva! We love
Kim Duke's sassy sales advice. Better known as The Sales
Diva, Kim publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for women
sales professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners.
It's yours for the asking. Check
it out here.
Need help getting your foot in the door? If you're
like most sales professionals, this is your greatest challenge.
We highly recommend Jill Konrath of Selling
to Big Companies for help in this area. She's an expert
at crafting just the right approach and publishes a great
sales newsletter.
Networking Nirvana: Would you like to shake hands
and have a drink with top executives from major companies
like D&B, Citicorp, Shaw Industries, Aramark, Siemens,
Hoovers, and Webex? You will at Selling Power magazine's
Sales
Leadership Conference in Philly in June. The early
bird discount ends May 8, so check it out now. And, if
you need a tip on a good cheesesteak place, email
me. |
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| To your success, |
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Tina LoSasso
Managing Editor, SalesDog.com |
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| This Week's Newsletter |
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Wowing Your Prospect
Bestselling author and sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer tells SalesDog
how he used what he calls the WOW! Factor to sell a publisher on the
manuscript for his first book. It turns out it was the biggest sale
of his life because his books have gone on to sell over two million
copies worldwide! As anyone who has ever shopped a manuscript will
tell you, getting a publisher even interested in talking to you is
no easy feat. Getting a commitment from one to publish the work of
an unknown author borders on the impossible. You gotta sell it! It
requires luck, tenacity and a solid plan. Read Jeffrey's story on
how he used the WOW! Factor and how it can help you land the big one.
WOW! is your ability to be different. The WOW! factor and your closing
ratio have lots in common. If you don't WOW! 'em, it's likely you
won't sell 'em. I went to New York to sell a publisher on a book idea
based on my successful column on selling skills, Sales Moves. I used
the WOW! factor.
Background and preparation
I developed a total WOW! preparation. I had sample prototype book
cover designs and mock-ups; I had a 15-page proposal including several
letters of reference; I named the book The Sales Bible; I had
the name trademarked; I had a multimedia presentation prepared; I
had a daring marketing concept incorporating a computer disk and a
package of wallet-sized flashcards to make it different from all other
books on the shelf; I wrote my pitch and answers to every objection
I could think of; I selected clothing I thought was appropriate; I
was ready.
I selected ten target publishers and contacted four before I arrived
in New York. I made one solid appointment with the publisher I really
wanted (a major publishing firm) with a guy I'll call Mr. Book.
This is how the appointment was made
It took me seven calls to get Mr. Book's name and extension number!
Call number eight - BINGO. He answers his own phone. (He later said,
"The phone is usually more important than what I'm doing.")
I tell Mr. Book everything he needs to know in about 1.5 minutes -
he seems interested. I tell him I'll send him a proposal and I ask
him for a five-minute appointment. He says, "The old five-minute
appointment bit. Did you read that in the Harvey Mackay book?"
I said, "Listen, Harvey Mackay is from Minnesota. I'm from Jersey.
He learned that ploy from me!" Mr. Book laughed and said okay
to a five-minute appointment. (I sent Mr. Book my package by next-day
air.)
Help with my presentation
I had two mentors help me with my presentation. Ty Boyd, the voice
of Charlotte for two decades and one of the nicest people I've ever
met, who put me on the right path; and Bill Lewis, who was in Manhattan
and had published 20 books. (Every day I showed up at his place for
an hour of coaching and encouragement. He was instrumental to my success.)
The first appointment
I walk into Mr. Book's office in midtown Manhattan and he says, "Okay,
Gitomer. I've read your proposal. You've got five minutes." I
start in immediately with background, get to the meat of my presentation
in less than two minutes, put my prototype in his hands, sneak in
two personal questions (for rapport), and finish my pitch in less
than five minutes. Then I begin to question, listen, and take notes.
(The longer he talks, the more questions he asks, the stronger my
chances are.) Forty-five minutes later, I'm still in there.
Mr. Book says, "I'm interested. Leave your stuff and let me run
it by my CEO." Great, I thought. These were the only copies I
had.
But wait. I've got three other publishers to see in the next three
days, and this guy wants to keep half my tools.
"When will you be meeting?" I ask lightly. "Before
the end of the week," he says, trying to gain a position of power.
(Here goes my risk statement.)
"I have a slight dilemma, and I need your help," I said.
"I've got several appointments over the next few days. Do you
think you might have a chance to discuss this with the CEO by tomorrow?"
"I should be able to," he said.
"Great. Why don't we set up an appointment for the end of the
day tomorrow?" I said, nailing him to the floor. "4:30 okay?"
I ask. He said, "Looks fine to me."
I'm so excited I could scream. I walk back to my hotel singing and
dancing. (In Manhattan you can do anything you want. No one notices,
looks, or cares.)
I get back to my room and there's a phone message from Mr. Book under
my door. I call. He says, "Can you make it a little earlier?
I want to have a few other people present."
"Yeah, sure," I reply in a millisecond. (If you ever want
a dictionary definition of a buying signal, that was it.)
The second appointment
I arrive ten minutes early the next day. Mr. Book leads me into a
conference room so that I can hook up my computerized presentation.
In walks the national sales manager. I have to convince him why my
book will sell. I turn on my computerized multi-media dog-and pony
show that has him leaning so far forward he about falls out of the
chair. Now it's time to drag out every tool in my box. I talk about
additional distribution ideas I have. I tell him I would be glad to
go with him on selected sales calls. He is now totally convinced he
can sell it.
We then negotiate "What if we accept you" terms. Advances.
Royalties. Publicity. Mr. Book asks, "If I offer you this deal
(he lists the bullet points) will you take it?" (There's a switch.
Now he's closing me!) "Yes," I say. "I'll call you
by noon tomorrow and let you know," he says and walks out of
the room.
Eighteen more hours of agony...
The third appointment
By 1:00PM, no call. I call him. He gruffly says he hasn't met Mr.
Big yet and will call later. Tactically I tell him I'll stop by at
the end of the day to pick up some of my materials. He says okay.
I'm a nervous wreck. At 3:30, he leaves a message for me. I decide
not to call back. At 4:45, I show up at his office. He keeps me waiting
until 5:20. He comes out to greet me and says the magic words, Let's
talk business.
WOW! I just made the biggest sale of my life! NOTE: In success, there
are always failures. In all, I contacted ten publishers and two agents.
All were cold calls. Six publishers turned me down or I said I needed
an agent to talk with them. One agent said no; the other has yet to
call me back.
I'm saving the rejection letters so I can frame them around my book.
I really don't know if I would have made the sale having pulled out
all the WOW! stops at the other publishers. WOW! doesn't work all
the time. But it works more than non-WOW!
WOW! takes courage to use and skill to execute. I was prepared to
use mine, and fortunate enough to succeed. I recommend that you prepare
to use WOW! so that you can increase your chances to win with it.
Jeffrey Gitomer is releasing a revised version of "The Sales
Bible" on Tuesday, May 6. It's been reworked, added to, rewritten
and has the look and feel of his other popular titles in his LITTLE
BOOK SERIES™. When you get your copy at Amazon
on Tuesday, May 6th you can receive hundreds of dollars worth of downloadable
e-books, white papers, audio and video files from top sales and business
growth leaders, including SalesDog.com. For more details about the
offer, go to: www.Gitomer.com/NewSalesBible.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling.
President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs
annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on
selling, customer loyalty, and personal development at www.TrainOne.com.
He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to Salesman@Gitomer.com.
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| Praise for Top Dog Sales
Secrets |
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"One of these top dog secrets can earn you a fortune."
– Jeffrey Gitomer
"It's like reading the best ideas from 50 sales books
all in one book."
– Michelle Nichols, Savvy Selling International
"I HIGHLY recommend it for the inspiration AND the skills
that one will learn or ‘re-learn.’ It is easy to read,
entertaining, and very broad in topic selection."
– Lori Richardson, Score More Sales
Order
your copy of the book today to learn an effective
strategy that will help you take back control of the sale. |
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