Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category
As we look at regular sales trends, holiday sales trends, and Christmas shopping trends, we have to be able to separate the hard trends (things we know will happen) versus the soft trends (the things that might happen).
Did we set a record in sales on cyber Monday? That’s a soft trend. It looks good. There’s a lot of pent-up demand from the last several years, people were being very careful about how much they were spending. They will still be careful, but I think they’re feeling a little more optimistic. So, it’s likely that they’ll spend more, but that is a soft trend.
What is a hard trend? Something we do know is that technology will be used more and more to make purchases every month and every year.
This year, once again, a new record in the number of people that are purchasing online will be set. The number of people that are using Smartphones to do their shopping and their comparison shopping, using apps that they can scan a barcode and get the information not only on the product and the sales price, but also instantly compare it with nearby physical stores as well as online stores, to make sure they’re getting the best price, so they can make a decision on the moment.
We’re going to see shoppers increasingly pulling out their Smartphones, doing scans, checking out deals, and making purchase decisions. Those purchase decisions will not be based on what’s in the store, but what’s on their phone, and then the decision, “Do I want to buy in the store or do I want to buy right now, from the phone? Because I found what I like and now I’m going to purchase it.”
What is happening now, is that the retail stores are becoming a place to find and preview products, because people can see the actual product. But will the customer buy them there, just because they are there? In the past, the answer was yes, but now, today, it’s “Not necessarily. I got a much better price. I’m going to buy it somewhere else. But I’m making my purchase decision in the store.”
The shift here is that the purchase decision is in the store, but not necessarily to buy what’s in front of them in the store. This is a significant shift that can have an impact on retailers this year.
Did we have more people than ever participating in Cyber Monday? The answer is yes. Did we set sales records? Well, it would seem so, but that’s a soft trend.
Will this holiday season be better than last year and the year before? Again, that’s a soft trend.
Posted in Anticipating the future, Sales, Trends. Tags: Business, Business Trends, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, empowerment, Flash Foresight, Futurist, Innovation, Occupy Wall Street, Social Media, social media revolution, Success, tech trends, Trends. No Comments »
In an era of budget, time, and labor constraints, is it possible to sell your ideas and concepts (which often require money, time, and labor to implement) to the CEO, CFO, Board of Directors, or whoever is in charge of the final decision? The answer is yes! You can sell your ideas up; it simply depends on how you frame the opportunity.
First things first: When you’re selling your ideas up, don’t talk about the idea itself. While that may sound strange, it’s the primary sales rule that most people break. Yes, you love your ideas and think they’re great, but not everyone loves the same things as you. And when you’re selling your ideas to others, you can’t focus on your preferences. Rather, you have to focus on the other person. Here’s how you do that.
Tune into the pain of the person you’re talking to.
Forget about yourself and how excited you are about this great new idea or concept you want the company to implement. At this point, you and your likes are not important. If you’re going to sell your idea or concept, you have to understand where the other person’s personal pain is. For example, maybe they’re dealing with an upset board or stockholders who don’t like last quarter’s results. Or perhaps they have to reorganize. Or maybe sales are down or they just lost the head of marketing to a competitor. Do your research and uncover the main challenge they’re dealing with right now.
Once you know the other person’s pain, you can position the idea or concept you want to sell as something that can solve that pain. In other words, you have to show the CEO, CFO, board, or whomever you’re selling to that there’s a direct payoff to them if they approve your idea. So if you know that the CEO’s greatest pain is the fact that the sales team isn’t communicating with marketing or manufacturing, resulting in lower sales and poor customer experiences, then you have to look at what you’re proposing and figure out how it can ease that pain or even solve that problem.
As you do this, state it clearly. Don’t make anyone guess or come to their own conclusions. For example, you could say, “I know you’re dealing with… [lagging sales, poor internal communications, customer complaints, etc.]. I’ve come across some things that I think can help you overcome those challenges. Obviously I want to help the company succeed and grow, so let me tell you about what I’ve found.”
Then talk about the new idea or concept in terms of solving the current problem only. Don’t go into all the benefits, functions, features, or costs. That’s an entirely different conversation you have later. Right now, you’re simply getting the decision maker on board with the idea or concept and in agreement that it will solve his or her problem.
Continue reading ‘Selling Your Ideas Up: How to Overcome Objections and Get Your Ideas Approved’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Business Strategy, Sales. Tags: Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, desktop pc, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, tech news, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
In my last blog I introduced you to the easy to use Complete Foreclosures app. A user simply clicks the “Nearby Foreclosures” link to see a map indicating nearby distressed homes. Click on a point of interest and the app shows the details of the listing, along with a photo of the property.
Continue reading ‘Creating Your Own Vision and Making Money with Apps’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Marketing, New Tools, Sales, Technology News. Tags: Apps, Burrus, Complete Foreclosures, Complete Realty Suite, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Foreclosure Buying Guide, Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Leads, Realty Apps, Visionary Apps. No Comments »
If you look at the many categories in the app stores, you’ll see that most of the companies developing apps have a narrow view of what apps can be used for. They’re currently creating simplistic and basic apps, such as foreign language translation, to do lists, airport gate information, currency conversion, etc.
Continue reading ‘The Defining Niche of Apps For Smartphones & Smartpads’ »
Posted in Competitive Advantage, Marketing, New Tools, Sales, Technology News. Tags: Apps, Complete Foreclosures, Distressed Properties, Foreclosed Homes, Foreclosure, MLS, Smartphone Applications, Smartphones, Visionary Apps. No Comments »
Look at every product and service you have and ask, “Why is this item a commodity?” Then ask, “What can we do to make it different?” For example, look at the features and functions of your products, how things are housed, how convenient the product or service is, what the customer experience is like, how something is processed or made, etc.
Continue reading ‘Continuously De-Commoditize’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Marketing, Planning, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Anticipate, Burrus, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, problem solving. No Comments »
No matter what industry you’re in, chances are you have a few products or services in your line that are commodities. From food and beverage items to household products to daily services, commodities are everywhere and make bottom line profits harder and harder to attain.
Continue reading ‘Make Your Commodities Stand Out’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Planning, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Anticipate, Burrus, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Exceed Expectations, opportunity management, problem solving, Redefine, Redefining. No Comments »
Look at how technology is affecting your customers in your industry right now. But don’t just look at productivity. Look at the overall customer experience as well as who is buying your offerings.
Continue reading ‘Take a Moment To Understand How Technology Is Affecting Your Customers’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Burrus, Business, Business Growth, Business Marketing, Business Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Customers, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Marketing, problem solving, Products, Redefine, Sales, Technology. No Comments »
Today we’re in an era of technology-driven transformation. That means you can attain higher profits when you use technology to redefine your products, your services, and/or how the industry in general works.
Continue reading ‘How To Use Technology To Know Where You’re Going’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Burrus, Business Growth, Creating Jobs, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Economic Recovery, Economy, Global Economy, Recession, Recovery, Redefine, Redefining, Technology, Technology-driven change. No Comments »
As more people realize and embrace the fact that social media marketing is a real time experience rather than a “wait till I get to my computer” experience, they’re taking advantage of the processing power today’s mobile phones have to offer.
Continue reading ‘The Driving Forces of Mobile Social Media Marketing’ »
Posted in Competitive Advantage, Future Tech, Marketing, New Tools, Sales, Social Media. Tags: Burrus, Business Growth, Business Marketing, Business Strategy, Communication, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, guidelines for social media, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Success, Technology, Technology-driven change, Web 2.0. 3 Comments »
The business use of Web 2.0 represents a new trend called “Business 2.0.” Aside from being the name of a defunct magazine, Business 2.0 is about using the new web-based social networking applications (many of which were originally created for personal use) in a way that fosters teamwork, customer touches, and internal and external collaboration in a low-cost seamless way.
Last month I shared a few personal Business 2.0 tools with business applicability. This month I will share two more personal tools along with some purely Business 2.0 tools that will help create collaboration in a low-cost seamless way.
TWITTER
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows friends, family and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of short, quick answers using no more that 140 characters per message. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or co-workers. Users can receive updates via the Twitter website or other social networking sites such as Facebook. Young people use Twitter for answering the question: What are you doing? Business 2.0 use: Business users could change that question to: What problem are you trying to solve? Several companies have used this as a fast way to solve problems. Hotels, airlines, and airports are using Twitter to pitch services, travel updates, and respond to travelers needs.
Ask yourself: Could we use Twitter to solve problems faster with our organization or our customers?
DELICIOUS
Delicious is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing and discovering web bookmarks. It uses a non-hierarchical classification system in which users can tag each of their bookmarks with freely chosen index terms. Business 2.0 use: Business users can share their most useful websites with co-workers or business partners. If a customer purchases a product, sellers could share relevant bookmarks that keep the customer coming back for more information and hopefully more products.
Ask yourself: Could we use Delicious to share important new websites faster within our organization or with our customers?
PURELY BUSINESS 2.0 TOOLS
WIKI
A Wiki is a collaborative web page or collection of web pages designed to enable anyone to create a quick web page that allows visitors to search the Wiki’s content and edit the content in real time, as well as view updates since their last visit. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. On a moderated Wiki, Wiki owners can review comments before additions to the main body of the topic. Additional features include calendar sharing, live AV conferencing, RSS feeds, and more.
Ask yourself: Could we use Wikis to enhance internal and external collaboration?
LINKEDIN
LinkedIn is a business-oriented professional networking website for exchanging information, ideas, and opportunities. There are over 35 million registered users spanning 170 industries actively networking with each other. For example, large insurance companies use LinkedIn to foster networking with their independent sales representatives. HR professionals from all over the world could use LinkedIn to share best practices.
Ask yourself: Could we use LinkedIn to expand our organizational network for enhanced knowledge sharing?
CLOUD COMPUTING & SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE
In Cloud Computing, some or all of the storage, software, IT Processes, and data center facilities you use can exist on your provider’s server, which is maintained and cared for by your provider, giving you 24/7 access from any device anywhere. The cost of upgrading hardware and software, maintenance, and associated IT labor costs can be dramatically reduced or eliminated. Currently, the ideal organization would be any size company that’s facing big investments in computing and communications infrastructure. For example, Amazon.com can give you an entire e-commerce back end. Software as a Service (SaaS) such as SalesForce.com has a CRM package, SciQuest has a spend management package, and Google, Microsoft and others have a suite of offerings.
Ask yourself: Could we use Cloud Computing & Software as a Service to streamline our IT needs?
GAIN A NEW COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
By reframing the use of social networking technology, companies can increase communication, collaboration, problem solving, and competitive advantage with little cost. Remember, many of these tools are free or nearly free, making them accessible to even the smallest of business. Therefore, the sooner you embrace Business 2.0 and put it to work for you, the faster you can penetrate new markets and win the lion’s share of business.
Posted in Competitive Advantage, Future Tech, Marketing, New Tools, Planning, Sales, Social Media, Solving Problems. Tags: Business Social Networking, Cloud Computing, Delicious, LinkedIn, Social Networking, Software as a Service, Twitter, Web 2.0, Wiki. No Comments »
Last month, I discussed the importance of making sure that the problem you are trying to solve is the correct problem. As we all painfully know, the media has been filled with stories about whether the government should spend billions of dollars to bail the big three automakers out of their financial problems. The problem for GM, Chrysler, and soon Ford, is that they are running out of money and may be forced into bankruptcy.
The problem for the U.S. economy and our government is that if we don’t spend billions to bailout the automakers, millions of autoworkers, not to mention car dealers and auto parts suppliers, will lose their jobs. That will cause more unemployment, less tax revenue to our troubled states, more foreclosures, and the list goes on and on.
THE REAL PROBLEM
This billion-dollar bailout solution our government has been considering does not solve the real problem! The real problem is that people are not buying cars. If people were buying cars, the automakers would have the money they need to continue to operate. Giving billions of dollars to the automakers will not dramatically increase car sales. They will still have to close plants and layoff millions of workers because their cars are not selling.
Why have car sales for the big three declined so dramatically? After all, other manufacturers (such as Toyota) have not asked for a bailout, they have been hiring and planning to open new plants.
For 2007 and the majority of 2008, the answer to poor sales was high fuel costs and a lack of fuel-efficient vehicles to choose from. As the credit crisis hit and the word recession entered the news, declining fuel costs were not enough to bring buyers back to the big three. And for people wanting a new car, getting a loan has now become a major new barrier for all automakers. Giving the big three money will not solve the credit crisis, it won’t make loans easier to get, it won’t give them economical, fuel-efficient cars to sell for quite some time, and it will not make people feel the economy has improved.
If the government did feel it was important to save the millions of jobs the auto industry represents, we should ask ourselves: What would it take to increase car sales?
One answer would be for the government to provide a $5,000 to $10,000 subsidy, depending on the price of the car, to anyone wanting to buy a new car. This would stimulate car sales, keep autoworkers at their jobs, stop plants from being closed, provide needed revenue to the manufacturers, increase confidence in lending money to the manufacturers, and keep the car dealers and parts suppliers employed. In addition, this would make car loans smaller and easier to obtain.
Another answer would be to require banks that are receiving Federal bail out money to use a portion of that money to make loans for qualified buyers. We have already found out that giving banks billions of dollars with no requirements will not ease the credit crisis.
These are just a few ideas. The key is to make sure we are solving the correct problem.
Posted in Anticipating the future, Planning, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Automakers, Bailout, Burrus, Dan Burrus, Dnaiel Burrus, Economy, Foreclosures, Government, Manufacturing, problem solving, Recession, Unemployment. 2 Comments »
Last month, I touched on how to increase your company’s profits by becoming a Real-Time Organization by being pre-active, having up-to-date information on demand, and conducting event based marketing.
This month, I would like to share the strategies you can use to create a real-time enterprise today.
KNOW YOUR GOALS
The basic concept of real-time is that when something happens, you want to react to it the moment it happens, not an hour, day, week, or month later. As the speed at which a company can intelligently and automatically respond to change increases, the cost of all their business processes decreases. Hearing this, you might think real-time is all about speed, but that’s only part of the equation. If you don’t know where you want to go, then faster won’t help!
In order to gain the largest ROI for real-time initiatives, they need to be tied to your company’s overall goals and objectives. Therefore, what do you hope to achieve? Are you trying to increase sales? Improve customer service? Enhance your brand? Enter new markets? Whatever it is you want for your business, state it clearly so you can make sure your real-time activities support your overall goals.
BE AGILE
Just as there is a difference between strategy and tactics, there is a difference between real-time computing and real-time business. Real-time processing can be seen as event-driven computing. Real-time business, on the other hand, takes business agility—the ability to rapidly respond to changing conditions as they happen—to the next level. Operating in real time puts up-to-the-minute information directly into the hands of all the key participants in the business process who need it. Additionally, pre-programmed scenarios automatically trigger supply chain actions based on events as they happen.
A real-time enterprise is defined by its ability to access information across all boundaries of the organization. By integrating people, strategy, technology, and processes, real-time organizations are able to recognize shifts in customer demand as they happen and respond accordingly with customer-focused solutions. This enables them to use their higher level of business agility as a competitive weapon, grabbing market share from less agile competitors.
START SMALL
Realize that being a real-time organization is an evolutionary process. An ancient Chinese proverb states that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Therefore, select a place to start and build out from there. For example, Amberwood Homes, a residential homebuilder, has cut three weeks from the five months it takes to build an average 3,000 square foot home by sharing information with plumbers, roofers, masons, and other subcontractors via hand-held devices in real-time. That does not mean that all of Amberwood’s business processes and partners are operating in real time; it means they picked a profitable place to start and will build off that success.
THE REAL-TIME ADVANTAGE
There is a clear competitive advantage to having high value, market-based information available almost instantly to the right people, both inside and outside of your company, and using that information to make quicker, more informed decisions. For example, telecommunication companies are facing increasing customer churn—customers switching from one company to another. A real-time initiative has helped Bell South Corp. reduce churn by 30%. The company accomplished this by delivering real-time recommendations to its call center reps who field calls from their small business customers. Thanks to a database covering 100 data variables on its 1.2 million customers, when a customer calls the reps have instant access to that customer’s data profile, allowing them to offer a service, discount, or incentive based on the customer’s propensity to switch to another phone company.
In short, real-time business is about leveraging all of your relationships through optimized business processes that can take advantage of nearly instantaneous communications across all the components of a true collaborative network. Delivering up-to-the-minute data with proper context makes all the difference between information and actionable knowledge.
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Marketing, New Tools, Planning, Sales. Tags: Burrus, Communications, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Information on demand, Marketing, Organization. 1 Comment »
Over the last two months I have covered five of the seven failures of business growth: #1 Failure to anticipate, #2 Failure to communicate, #3 Failure to collaborate, #4 Failure to innovate, and #5 Failure to pre-solve problems.
In this issue, I’ll share the final two failures of business growth and the strategies needed to grow your business for years to come.
#6 FAILURE TO DE-COMMODITIZE
Any product or service can be de-commoditized. Unfortunately, many companies don’t take the initiative to make their product unique. They come up with something new, and make that their main product. But other people copy the product. Margins get thin. Sales slow down. And they end up competing on price. The key is to take your product and put a service wrapper around it. Here’s an example: In the electricity industry, the utility provider cannot increase prices without permission from ratepayers. To de-commoditize themselves, one electric company created what they called “digital electricity.” They told their customers, “If your company runs a lot of expensive computerized equipment and you don’t want the electricity coming into your office to ever turn off or fluctuate in current or voltage, then you need digital electricity, which will cost more.” Many big companies signed up for the more expensive service, and in the near future, homeowners will have a similar interest because they will have multiple computers streaming audio and video in their home. This electric utility took a product and wrapped a service around it so they could charge more. Look at your product or service and think of ways that you can wrap a service around it to add value. But don’t stop there. Keep adding value to it every year so you never become a commodity again.
#7 FAILURE TO DIFFERENTIATE
Over time, too many companies become just like everyone else. They don’t continue to stand out. Even though they do strategic planning, it’s usually just financial planning in disguise. True strategic planning needs to be more than numbers-based; it needs to focus on how you can differentiate your company and products from your competition instead of being and doing more of the same. So how do you differentiate? Simple…you stop doing all the failures of business growth just discussed. You start anticipating, communicating, collaborating, innovating, pre-solving problems, and de-commoditizing. Realize that you can infinitely differentiate your company if you have the courage to do the things your competition isn’t doing.
BUSINSESS SUCCESS IS ON YOUR HORIZON
A weak economy doesn’t have to limit business growth. When you know the failures to avoid and the strategies to combat them, you’ll be well on your way to creating an organization that continues to grow despite outside conditions. So learn from these failures and rethink the way you do business. It’ll pay off for years to come.
Posted in Anticipating the future, Marketing, Planning, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Anticipate, Burrus, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Collaboration, Communication, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Exceed Expectations, Informing, Innovate, Innovation, problem solving, Success. No Comments »
As we look at regular sales trends, holiday sales trends, and Christmas shopping trends, we have to be able to separate the hard trends (things we know will happen) versus the soft trends (the things that might happen).
