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... an individual perspective, a shared understanding gives your business an accurate picture of itself and where you're going. Can this exercise in understanding help a company improve its customer relations and better focus its marketing and sales? Absolutely. Consider all the letters and e-mail messages that go out every day. Do they send a common message? One division of a company sent out a fax blast with a message portraying the company in a way that undermined the image it was attempting to develop with customers and prospects. If an outside consultant hadn't caught this message, it would've hit thousands of customers. It's not surprising that the most common question Disney World visitors ask is "Where's the restroom?" But the number two question might cause us to scratch our heads: "What time does the two o'clock parade start?" Even though the answer might seem obvious, the Disney people take the question seriously. Those asking it might mean, "What time does the two o'clock parade pass here? Or just as likely, "When can we expect to see Mickey?" We talk about making sure everyone is "on the same page." That's an important issue, of course. But to get there everyone must use the same "dictionary." There was a time that when you checked into a hospital, the admitting person asked, "What is your religious preference?" Today, some medical facilities ask incoming patients a less invasive question: "How important is religion to you?" Sensitivity to personal privacy might be driving this change. If the patient responds, " ...

... an individual perspective, a shared understanding gives your business an accurate picture of itself and where you're going. Can this exercise in understanding help a company improve its customer relations and better focus its marketing and sales? Absolutely. Consider all the letters and e-mail messages that go out every day. Do they send a common message? One division of a company sent out a fax blast with a message portraying the company in a way that undermined the image it was attempting to develop with customers and prospects. If an outside consultant hadn't caught this message, it would've hit thousands of customers. It's not surprising that the most common question Disney World visitors ask is "Where's the restroom?" But the number two question might cause us to scratch our heads: "What time does the two o'clock parade start?" Even though the answer might seem obvious, the Disney people take the question seriously. Those asking it might mean, "What time does the two o'clock parade pass here? Or just as likely, "When can we expect to see Mickey?" We talk about making sure everyone is "on the same page." That's an important issue, of course. But to get there everyone must use the same "dictionary." There was a time that when you checked into a hospital, the admitting person asked, "What is your religious preference?" Today, some medical facilities ask incoming patients a less invasive question: "How important is religion to you?" Sensitivity to personal privacy might be driving this change. If the patient responds, " ...

... additional value to the product or service you sell, close sales, and retain business. But when a joint call goes bad, the results can be disastrous. Joint sales calls are customer visits with two or more people from the selling organization. Joint visits may include a sales manager who teams up with a sales rep to observe and coach, a support person who accompanies a salesperson to demonstrate the added value of the organization, a technical specialist who helps a customer solve a problem, or an executive who visits with the customer to acknowledge the customer's importance. If you've ever been involved in a joint sales call that's gone awry and want to be sure it doesn't happen again, here are few tips: Don't overwhelm the customer. Nothing is more embarrassing to both customer and salesperson than parading in with an army of people only to find that the appropriate individuals aren't available. Make sure the buyer knows who's coming and why. This gives the customer the opportunity to be sure the right people from their organization attend and that the meeting space is adequate. Have an agenda. An agenda is necessary for all effective meetings, but it's crucial for joint calls. The selling team needs to agree on what topics will be covered and by whom. The duties of the responsible party include being in charge of the assigned portion of the meeting - presenting, providing materials, and answering questions. If a question is asked that's best answered by another team member, the lead person should acknowledge the question, then refer it to the other person. This helps to maintain order and credibility ...

... releases. A public relations firm knows not only the proper format, but the best places to submit it. Come clean. Want to destroy your business' reputation in record time? Then don't take a reporter's calls if he or she is writing an unflattering story on your company. No comment' are the two worst words that can be written about you. When you refuse to talk to a reporter, you're shunning not only the reporter, but everyone who reads the paper (in many cases, potential customers) . When a reporter comes calling, be prepared. If your company had an accident or made a mistake, admit it. But be sure to stress any steps being taken to correct the problem. Hold events. What gets more attention by the media, museums or parades? The answer is obvious. People are drawn to events far more strongly than they are to places. Hosting a special event or day' is a good way of getting the publicity you want. For example, if you run an office supply store, try running a back to school' event. You can get as creative as you want. Make the calendar your ally. Perform a charity drive during the holidays; if you want your contributions to stand out even more, try it during the summer. Believe it or not, the press will publish positive stories. Take advantage of these public relations tips, and you'll be surprised at the benefits of a good PR strategy for your business. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great ...

... a value on time. Every moment is unique, precious, and irreplaceable, although we don't always act that way. For the sake of this discussion let's discuss how much your work time is worth, in real dollars. Here's a rough, but accurate way to identify your time value: Divide your income by 2,000 (50 weeks x 40 hours/week) . If you make $50,000, you earn $25/hour. Make $100,000 and you earn $50/hour. It's estimated that fewer than 5% of us earn $100,000 annually. If you're earning $500,000 a year, that's $250/hour for every hour you work. What hourly pay did you come up with? According to a Parade magazine study, the average physician in America earns $26.80/hour or $53,600 annually. Does that surprise you? I don't know a single doctor who works only 40 hours a week. A garbage collector in New Jersey can earn as much as the average physician. Here's the challenge: If you want to increase your time value, you must do work that pays you more than you currently earn. You must be rigorous in engaging in those activities that produce at least your hourly value, or more. Doing lower value tasks is the surest way to devalue yourself, limit your income, and reduce your profitability. This "negative leverage" will result in you accomplishing less than you're capable of achieving, and earning far less than you're worth. We all do ...

... additional value to the product or service you sell, close sales, and retain business. But when a joint call goes bad, the results can be disastrous. Joint sales calls are customer visits with two or more people from the selling organization. Joint visits may include a sales manager who teams up with a sales rep to observe and coach, a support person who accompanies a salesperson to demonstrate the added value of the organization, a technical specialist who helps a customer solve a problem, or an executive who visits with the customer to acknowledge the customer's importance. If you've ever been involved in a joint sales call that's gone awry and want to be sure it doesn't happen again, here are few tips: Don't overwhelm the customer. Nothing is more embarrassing to both customer and salesperson than parading in with an army of people only to find that the appropriate individuals aren't available. Make sure the buyer knows who's coming and why. This gives the customer the opportunity to be sure the right people from their organization attend and that the meeting space is adequate. Have an agenda. An agenda is necessary for all effective meetings, but it's crucial for joint calls. The selling team needs to agree on what topics will be covered and by whom. The duties of the responsible party include being in charge of the assigned portion of the meeting - presenting, providing materials, and answering questions. If a question is asked that's best answered by another team member, the lead person should acknowledge the question, then refer it to the other person. This helps to maintain order and credibility ...

... additional value to the product or service you sell, close sales, and retain business. But when a joint call goes bad, the results can be disastrous. Joint sales calls are customer visits with two or more people from the selling organization. Joint visits may include a sales manager who teams up with a sales rep to observe and coach, a support person who accompanies a salesperson to demonstrate the added value of the organization, a technical specialist who helps a customer solve a problem, or an executive who visits with the customer to acknowledge the customer's importance. If you've ever been involved in a joint sales call that's gone awry and want to be sure it doesn't happen again, here are few tips: Don't overwhelm the customer. Nothing is more embarrassing to both customer and salesperson than parading in with an army of people only to find that the appropriate individuals aren't available. Make sure the buyer knows who's coming and why. This gives the customer the opportunity to be sure the right people from their organization attend and that the meeting space is adequate. Have an agenda. An agenda is necessary for all effective meetings, but it's crucial for joint calls. The selling team needs to agree on what topics will be covered and by whom. The duties of the responsible party include being in charge of the assigned portion of the meeting - presenting, providing materials, and answering questions. If a question is asked that's best answered by another team member, the lead person should acknowledge the question, then refer it to the other person. This helps to maintain order and credibility ...

... of your prospective company is the mix and location of your book of business. You should be able to produce this information: Location of accounts (by ZIP code) Type of business written, including numbers of accounts and premiums (by SIC codes if possible); Agency target markets or controlled association business Account development activities (both in place and projected) Amount of business written by line, including percentage of overall premium volume When preparing these reports, remember that companies are interested in premiums — not commissions! Agency Image. One of the most overlooked areas in securing a company contract is the projecting a professional business image. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. A professional image includes: The structure of meetings with company personnel. Agency staff missing or parading in and out of meetings doesn't give the impression of control or professionalism. Office appearance. Too many agencies look like they're a sloppy supply room instead of a business office that provides a professional service. The sight of piles of paper on desks or falling out of file cabinets and covering the principal's desk doesn't create a positive impression. Timely submission of information. Many an agency has lost an appointment because it failed to meet deadlines in obtaining and reporting information requested by the company. To help project a professional image, focus on these areas: House cleaning (if possible, standardize workstations; eliminate clutter; conceal phone lines and printer cables, etc, and clean equipment periodically) Structure of meetings in the agency, including: Attendees (Make sure all agency personnel are on time) ...

...ttention by the media, museums or parades? The answer is obvious. People are d...

... accounts (i.e., trust account) to finance the producer's raise. After all, his dry spell was only temporary. A few months later, the company reps began showing up pressing for growth commitments. Times were tough. George turned some of his accounts over to the producer to supplement his income and to give George room to write more. However, he wasn't as aggressive as he used to be. To keep up his conspicuous lifestyle, he made a few more withdrawals from the agency's trust fund. Although his bookkeeper warned him about having a trust ratio of less than one, George knew that she didn't understand the needs of an agency owner. Besides, sales would soon skyrocket as the producer started to get customers. That fall, the marketing reps again began their annual parade into his office. The meetings went much like those of the past several years, with George promising to hit the unrealistic goals set by the companies. The meetings got him thinking about sales. His producer's sales hadn't increased much after he'd sent him to that one-day sales school a few months back. He would start spending more time with his producer in January. The holidays were a bad time for starting anything new. George started going on sales calls with his producer in March. Although his producer was good with customers and prospects and had strong technical knowledge, he just wasn't selling. Their relationship grew weaker as both became frustrated. In November the producer left. He had built his book to $110,000 in commissions, including what George had given him, over the ...