Closing the sale

As a small business person your future may depend on closing the sale.

If your reason for starting a business was love of your product, you may assume everyone is as eager to possess it as you were. Most of them probably aren't.

A first step to sales is to ask questions, listen to the answers, and then ask more questions. This will save everyone time and help you help any future customers identify their need.

There are many intermediate steps to a sale - but don't get stuck with having to follow a list of steps. When the customer is ready to buy - sign them up. You will know when they are ready to buy if you are asking questions.

Often someone is ready to buy, they know they want the product, but they are avoiding the decision. If you let them walk away they probably won't be back, they will avoid the pressure of the situation.

The buying decision is the pressure - not your pitch - once the purchase is made the pressure is gone. When the deal is on the table, you need to close.

A sales close is just a tool to help your client make a decision in their best interests.

A simple two choice sales close is an easy way to start. Offer a complex solution or a simple one - either choice will be a sale.

• Do you want to pick out motherboard, processor, software, hard drive, graphics card and the other pieces or would you rather have the ARW 2000 model that seems to meet your needs?

there are a lot of sales closes, maybe we will do more in a future post.

Allan R. Wallace

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Sounding Profound while Being Confusing

Inventing the meaningless profoundity.

I practice retirement by working as a security guard at a theme park - great fun - usually.

I had perhaps twenty people come up to where I was standing - enjoying watching people and talking with them. All wanted to know where the bathrooms were, I avoided pointing at the sign and said just the other side of the merry-go- round.

The twenty first surprised me. I offered the standard "The restroom are the other side of the merry-go-round" before she asked. She said "Nope, she wanted the entrance to the roller coaster."

"The other side of the merry-go-round" I replied accurately.

There is our profound thought of the day:

Anything worth having is always on the other side of the merry-go-round.

Of course we could dress up the confusion and give it conceptual meaning - but it is still blather.

"The worthwhile things are always found by avoiding the noise and motion - going around the attractive nuisances - and discovering what was hidden.

Of course it also pays to read signs or ask questions and listen to the answers.

Now that we have a really silly quote, we can use it in speeches, seminars, and write it up in our columns.

Or not.

Enjoy adding depth to the interpretation in the comments if you wish - or invent and use a confusing profundity in your writing - please let me know about it.

Of course the point of your speech might be to make things clear and not make them confusing.

This story of course was clear as mud - but it covered the ground.

Remember Allan is spelled with two "l"s.

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On Vacation

I should be back about February 20.


In the meantime you may want to check out the entrepreneurial college at Bastiat Free University.

The BFU College Of Human Interaction may also appeal to you - take a look.

We also have a new journal -- Entrepreneurial Business E-Learning -- that is worth reading. Just skip down past the "on vacation " post.

Best to you,

Allan

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Business Is Better Than Sports

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Maybe business is not better to watch, but it can be better to play.


I enjoy following business cycles and action - that is not what I'm talking about.


Sports is all about statistics - your batting average, your percentage on free throws, third down conversions.


Then you dust yourself off and do it again.


Business starts like that. You try - you fail. You try again - you do ok. You try again - you fail. You keep trying to learn and improve your statistics.


The real difference between business and sports is when you hit the home run or score the goal.


In business - if you try and then score big - practice is over.


A single business idea, well executed, and you win.


Yeppers, you may have to maintain your position. Then again you may sell out and do something new. You can move from college ball to retired superstar in one move.


In business you sometimes only need to do it once.


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Advise From The Very Original Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury is not just a very readable author - he is a great mind.

Many thanks to zicree for bringing us this insight into Bradbury.

I've heard Ray Bradbury speak several times. I've taken my boys to hear him speak. They were young enough they didn't know his books yet, but they knew his show.

A couple of the Ray Bradbury quotes provided by zicree:

• "Laugh at what limits you. It pits your life force against the darkness. (This doesn't mean you can't be pissed off at it, too.)"

• "Live from love, work from love, and do everything else from love."

Take a look at the whole Ray Bradbury "secrets of life" post, you will be glad you did.

(as an aside - zicree's pics look photoshopped to me - whats your opinion? My son says I spend too much time on the net and that has made me a cynic.)

Allan.

Sitesell - Site Build It - build a web site that works!

There is lots of good free information for you here - and maybe a valentine deal.

All of the following can be accessed and mined for Internet business information.

If you already have a Sitesell Internet site, it looks like you can take advantage of this Valentine special.

If you are thinking of starting a web site that has success potential built in this offer may well appeal to you also.

Work at home Moms may find this valentine gift useful.

If you are a webmaster, there is even an opportunity here for you.

Take a look, Sitesell makes some very successful and easy to use web products - some of which may be just what you were looking for. If you don't know what you want, Sitesell has some free e-books that will help you learn about web site development or affiliate marketing.

These e-books may give you the information you need to start your own business.

There is a lot of valuable free information here, if nothing else look at these pages as an Internet business resource.

Look at that Valentine special also.

Allan

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Business Ethics And The Small Business

We have many time stated the future belongs to the Netcohort, and listed integrity as one of the required attributes.

Without reflecting our values, for once, we will relate an idea mentioned at the Uncommon Sense blog in a post labeled "Capitalism In One Lesson."

A large financial institution has defined the stakeholder issue as one of balance. Liberals look at business as a cow to milk for various stakeholders. Anarcho-Capitalists view an unfettered business as a great social good - liberty to gain profit as a motivator that improves everyone's life.

A large part of the argument resides in a look at short term, feel good fixes that actually hurt in the long term.

Uncommon Sense highlights the value statement of the BB&T banking group. Recognizing that their existence is due to shareholders, and their growth dependent on returns of shareholder investments, they also recognize that their relationships in their communities also reflect returns.

As a small business we tend know our clients and our employees quite well. If we decide to grow we may want to emulate BB&T and have a written statement of value.

It is important that all members of our team know our insistence on integrity, and all our other values, are available for inspection. Compliance may not be assured, but knowledge does reinforce good intentions.

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Shoot High

You can always come down, it is tough to raise up prices.

This was a bit of advice from an old friend, Ross Rayburn.

Ross has always been a salesman - and is proud of it.

Experience has taught him that there are buyers at higher prices, but they expect integrity and service.

If you do not find a market at a high price, it is easy to lower prices, and that may very well entice some buyers.

If it is your own business, you probably have price discretion. Start high and compete on battle grounds other than price.

Ross has worked with others, but he discovered he would rather work for himself. Working for others meant pleasing a boss - having others work for him diluted his effectiveness for his clients.

If you are considering starting your own business you will want to read this interview with Ross Rayburn, a very successful small businessman.

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