The Greatest Sales Strategy ever!

This was taking from Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus and yes he allows you to use his articles I thought it was great!

As a student of people and ideas I have to admit that what two guys are doing in a Northeast Florida Starbucks is absolutely genius.

The other day as I tried to pay for my green tea at my local Starbucks the cashier said, “Don’t worry about it sir. Those guys over there are paying for it today.” She then handed me their business card from a stack by the register. Turns out the guys were wealth management / financial planners who once a week, at different times, will spend a few hours at this Starbucks and buy customers their coffee or tea. Most people, like me, will walk over and thank the gentlemen and walk away with their business card in our pocket.

I thought about how brilliant this was. For many the coffee shop experience has become a right of passage that helps them take on the day. It’s become an emotional experience that makes them feel good. It’s become a bond of love. These financial planners brilliantly connected something people love with a service they offer. Not surprisingly I found out that these men do receive a good number of calls from the Starbucks customers interested in planning for their financial future.

It is said we remember one third of what we read, half of what people tell us and 100 % of how feel. Whether we are watching a commercial, listening to a teacher, or talking to a sales person it is how we feel that impacts us the most. We can’t remember what we ate for lunch a week ago but we can remember where we were on 9-11. We remember how we feel and when it comes to investing our money, buying a product, purchasing insurance or real estate, or choosing a restaurant we will make our choices based on these feelings.

This leads us to the greatest sales strategy ever-but it doesn’t involve coffee. While the Starbucks idea is brilliant it isn’t the best way to build a business. There is a far more powerful strategy to create an emotional connection and foster an emotional memory. It’s so simple and it doesn’t even cost a dime. It’s to love and care about your customers. Caffeine is temporary but a positive emotional experience lasts forever.

Customers do business with people they like and trust and who care about them. When customers feel like they matter and feel cared for they love back with more loyalty, more business and more referrals.

So if you are in sales, and we all are, I encourage you to make loving and caring about your customers your top priority. You don’t have to buy them coffee to connect your product or service with something they love. You can be the connection. You can be the bridge that connects your customer with your product or service. After all, no matter what we are selling, people are always buying our energy and making decisions based on how our energy makes them feel. And while coffee is an energy source that makes people feel good it doesn’t compare to the power of our positive energy. Look out for your customers interests. Show them you care. Do your best for them. Share the love and you’ll be so successful you’ll be able to buy your own coffee shop and give away all the coffee you want.

How do you show your customers you care?
Share your comments on our blog.

Stay Positive!
Jon

Why You Should Network

Networking is the one of the most effective inexpensive advertising out there.  By networking with other like minded business professionals you begin to build a relationship which can lead to 250 new relations and more.  This form of advertising is not something that is easy nor something that comes over night.  People will do business with those they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.  As you get to “know” the person you will begin to build a relationship and hopefully they will like you.  Once a bond is formed they will soon begin to trust you and send business to you.  This process varies on your type of business.  Those businesses that are product based tend to get referrals faster than those with service based businesses and either way can take up to 12-18 months to pay off. 

Why it is important to network with a diverse networking group

There are two types of businesses-Brick and Mortar, those with a public building/store and those that are home based (aka Direct Sellers, Network Marketers).  Did you know that it is EXTREMELY beneficial to network with both? 

 Brick and Mortar:  These types of businesses have several people walking through their doors everyday.  With their permission, you could display your flyer/brochure/business cards/catalogs for their potential clients to see and perhaps even pass along to their friends/family.  This is in addition to the people that owner may already know.

 Direct Sellers/Network Marketers:  These types of business people go into several new homes a week.  Lets take for example that Susie has 3 home shows booked for this week and her show attendance averages 15-20 people, 3 x 15-20 = 30-60 new people each week.  This is in addition to the people that Susie already knows. 

 So come check out Women In Networking and see what we have to offer you. 

 Roseville Chapter:  Meets every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month

Location:  Denny’s Restaurant

                 31831 Gratiot         

Time:  Networking begins at 8:30am

            The meeting starts at 9am until 10am

Utica Chapter:  Meets every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month

Location:  Biggby Coffee

     8771 Hall Road

Time:  Networking begins at 6:30pm

           The meeting starts at 7pm until 8pm

You can also visit us on the web at www.winofmacomb.com