Posts from — May 2009

As a student of people and ideas I had 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.  Read more...

I spent some time with one of my friends a few weeks ago. Now retired, he had been a very successful career salesperson who sold wholesale clothing to clothing retailers. We chatted about the nature of buyers and customer psychology.

“Who Else Is Buying It?”
Dave told me how he would walk up and down Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis in decades past, calling on each of the men’s clothing stores to present his lines. Nicollet Mall (the name of a street not a shopping mall, was formerly the major retail center in the Twin Cities area. It was home to many of independent clothiers at the time. Dave called on all of them.  Read more...

Herd Mentality in Selling

Wouldn’t it be great if you could leverage these behaviors, which I have termed herd mentality, to help you sell more?

You can! Here are FIVE ways to use herd mentality to grow your sales revenue:

1. Let’s imagine that you’re doing a home improvement project at a customer’s home. When the project starts, send a salesperson up and down the street to door knock to find prospects. Do it again one month after the project, and again six months later. Supplement the door- knocking with a targeted direct mail campaign timed to maximize herd mentality. Customers are more likely to add a patio to their home if one or more of their neighbors recently added a patio to their home(s).  Read more...

Sales reps have it tough today – not only are their clients and prospects harder to sell, but even their companies have pulled back a lot of the incentives they used to reward and motivate their performance.

It started back in December when many companies canceled their holiday parties and annual bonuses. Then it continued as companies announced they were not contributing to their 401K plans and that any raises or increases in commissions would be postponed as well.  Read more...