One of the most difficult decisions for anyone, in business, is pricing the product being sold. Remember, you are in business when you perform a service for a fee, sell products in a store, a catalog, on the Internet, or from a stand on a street corner. This subject has come to mind from two happenings in the last week.

This the opening paragraph in the latest Zinger. It was sent to subscribers a few days ago and has earned this comment from a reader in Idaho.

"This is one of the best yet. It just makes sense."

Subscribe now and you will receive it as the first of two free issues, before your paid subscription begins.


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Labels: blogs, pricing, zingers

Teaser for Zinger 8 # 0208

A Tree Grows From The Bottom Up And ...

My sister and I think that Mother planted almost 1000 trees in her years on the farm; certainly she changed a barren place in Minnesota, into a beautiful one, with wind breaks and shaded pastures. The seedlings had to be watered weekly to keep them alive in their first two or three years, during the droughts. As Sis and I watered them with the hose and buckets, Mother kept us working with words I have never forgotten.

"A tree grows from the bottom up and ... "

Trees and business success have more in common than you might think. This Zinger tells you the rest of Mother’s sentence and how it can move your career, your business, your life, from OK, to roaring success; and keep it roaring.

Best of all, doing it will not cost you a dime.


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Buy "A Tree Grows" here or subscribe for two months free.

Labels: blogs, weblogs, zingers

In my book I list The Four Eternal Laws Of Sales Success. The first is:

People buy from people they like and trust.

What will your answer be when we meet for the first time and I ask you what has made you successful?

Read it here: What Has Made You Successful?

Labels: blogs, honesty, integrity, weblogs, zingers

"Renewal? Which Policy? On What?"

Zingers - January 2008 Zingers Teaser

I was in stocking feet in the tiny lobby/show room of a custom Boot maker. The owner had built me a pair of boots many months ago, now I was waiting for new heel lifts. A lady entered the store, glanced at me and called out loudly, "Peter King, are you in?" After a moment, she loudly repeated this. Peter, the owner, appeared.

Without offering to shake hands, or any other greeting, she said,

"How"s business? Are you busy? I hate to barge in, but your insurance is up for renewal."

"Renewal? Which policy? On what?"

This Zinger, like all Zinger's carries a powerful message to you, if you are running your own business, a large company, a sales and marketing team or working hard to make a personal sales quota and the income goal that you want.



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Labels: attitude, business, communication, Customer Satisfaction, first impressions, zingers

We Know When He Died

Labels: blogs, business, weblogs, zingers

Chicken and Dumplings and the best laid plans.

A Four And Five Star Day

Labels: blogs, weblogs, zingers

Zingers # 1107 Preview

The Perfect Job. . . Ended Too Soon

I listened as a friend and fellow BOD member unexpectedly gave an emotional confession. It began this way:

"The CEO hired me. His company has grown to have a presence in every major US market.

The product/service is and has been excellent. My responsibility was to reverse a decline in sales to new customers and build total sales to a new level. . I took the job because it fit me, my skills, my experience, perfectly. It was my dream job. I worked at it passionately.

I've been fired after less than four months on the job.

Tell me, please, when, what, I did wrong. This is what happened...."

A must read if you are responsible for filling high level positions, and what you must foresee when you find the "perfect candidate."

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Labels: blogs, weblogs, work, zingers

Surprising Search Terms - How Do I Find Thee?

(... Let me count the ways ...)

I began writing blogs because it was a way to share thoughts that do not fit the Zingers format or a book.

Writing is fun for me and it is another tool to use in helping people. I believe that is calling; what I am supposed to do with my life. If it isn't, it certainly gives me daily satisfaction.

I do not do it to gain fame, which I don't have, or wealth, which I also do not have: I do it a very selfish reason: It gives me joy and pleasure and helps me over the rough spots.

Read the rest here:

Surprising Search Terms

Labels: blogs, search, weblogs, writing, zingers

Wes Zimmerman's Latest Blog post is up on the topic of his Zingers promotional sales process.

Labels: blogs, success, weblogs, zingers

Are You A Good Business Manager?

Your Customers Know, Do You?


The vast majority of all new businesses, fail within a year, so if you have been in business longer than that you have become a business manager.

The question is, how good a business manager, are you?

The fact that you are paying the bills, and meeting payroll isn't a sure indicator that you are.

The people, who can tell you, are your customers and suppliers and they won't necessarily tell you in words.

Learn how to see and hear what they are telling you in Wes Zimmerman's next Zinger.

Thank you,

Wes Zimmerman

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Labels: blogs, business, Customer Satisfaction, management, managers, zingers

OOPs


I forgot to count ten the other day: not good, not good. The execution of this goof was a perfect illustration of the steps described in Zimmerman's Zinger, Success Ladder Or Crash Ladder.

I was driving to an appointment. As I pulled to a stop at a red light, my cell phone vibrated. I made the first wrong decision: I pulled the phone from my vest pocket and noted that the calling number was not familiar. I then made the second wrong decision: I pressed the answer button. The caller's voice was bright and cheery; I instantly assumed it was a telemarketer. That was the third wrong decision. He gave his name while the light turned green. I did not listen closely, did not ask him to repeat (fourth wrong decision) and said,

"And what are you selling?"

"I'm not selling anything; you are selling me on stocking your book in our store."

I was too embarrassed to laugh; I wanted to cry; I hurriedly apologized, explained that I'd fielded several telemarketing calls already that day, and somehow pulled my fat out of the fire. I had avoided a "crash."

It will be a long time before I again answer the phone while driving.

Wes Zimmerman

Labels: communication, first impressions, perception, zingers

I Came Back Because ... May 2007 Zinger Preview


Ever wonder why your customers come back year after year and happily pay you for the things they need or just want? The Harley Davidson motorcycle dealer that put on a safety seminar recently, unexpectedly learned why during the seminar. I was there, listening, along with twenty-two others. It was a lesson the dealer will not forget; neither will you.





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Labels: Customer Satisfaction, previews, sales, zingers

Success Ladder Or Crash Ladder

Which Are You Building?

You build and climb The Success Ladder one step at a time over many years.

Each decision you make builds the next step. How high you climb depends On the quality of the material you use.

You may not see the dry rot under The surface when you install it.

Too many weak steps and it becomes a Crash Ladder when you get high enough.

The people suffering the worst injuries are those who depend most on your success, your decisions.

How do you see the dry rot?


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Labels: success, zingers

Don't Assume! Communicate

March 2007 Zinger Preview (Issue Z0307)

Perception Of A Difference Zinger Preview

In my experience, it is impossible to produce a solution to any problem that does not include some assumptions. The best one can do is to minimize their effect by testing the solution at every stage -- often by asking questions.

Asking questions is an art. On one hand, the asker has a mental image of the issue in question, and is primarily interested in fleshing out the details. Why the details? Because the asker may already have a perception of the basic structure of the deal, and, he often feels no need to ask questions to which he believes he knows the answers. . . unless there are additional people involved who do not know the answers. The classic examples of this are the prosecuting attorneys in many TV dramas, who always know the answers to the questions they ask, but ask them for the benefit of the jury.

Assumptions are a real "tar baby". The more you try to play them, the deeper you get immersed in the controversy. Often, you don't know the "real" questions that should have been asked until long after the controversy resolves itself, one way or the other. That's when we hear, "Why didn't you tell me about (...)?" "You didn't ask."

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Labels: assumptions, communication, questions, zingers

Sample Zinger - But We Don't Want To Lose Your Business.



This is a true story, not a fable. It happened before on line access to credit records and credit scores was possible, but the lessons are just as applicable to day as when it happened and many financial institutions react in the same way and do the same things, only much faster.

Like any business that starts out small and under capitalized, growth forced us to establish a line of credit. We visited our branch of the bank we had dealt with for years. That branch had our home mortgage, savings account, checking account, business savings account and checking account, and records of numerous loans paid off over two decades. The corporation had never borrowed money. Most of this time, I was well known in the branch at the teller, Manager and Assistant Manager levels.

Two years before this story took place we'd experienced an extended slump in cash flow,
I went to the then Branch Manager who knew me well, presented the financial status of our organization and sought to get a loan. He uttered those famous last words, "You should have come to me six moths ago when you had all that money in the bank and things were going great, because now I can't lend you a dime".

I left his place unhappy, but recognized that with a lot of scratch, we'd make out. However, I took the knee route as I always do, you know - bent knee in front of bed and
three weeks later the phone rang from a rival financial institution and the lady, after introducing herself, asked me if I would be interested in a line of credit. I looked at the ceiling, whispered thank you and then said, "Yes". Three weeks later we were all taken care of.

As a result of this episode, I did not bother to talk to any officers at the local branch of my bank for over two years. This changed when I attempted to deposit a large check from a Fortune 100 client and was told by a teller, I had never seen before, that the check would be on hold for at least two weeks. In our business, we normally get money in fairly large amounts but at infrequent times. Since I had been depositing checks of this size and much larger all these years, I came unglued inwardly. Through clenched teeth, I explained to the teller why I thought I should get my money immediately. The situation escalated very rapidly, and I found myself in the Branch Manager's office facing a total stranger who didn't even bother to stand up or shake hands. I stood, she sat and the interchange was "strained".

"I think we have a problem."

"Oh? Who are you?"

"A long time customer with many accounts."

"Is there anyone in the bank you know, or anyone who knows you?"

(I thought of the Executive Vice President, a dear friend who helps us make wine, but decided to save that for another day.)

"Yes, at least there are three or four tellers here that I know, but none of them are on duty today."

"Do you have a personal banker at this branch?"

"That's a joke -- they never stay here longer than a month so I've always dealt with the person in this office or next door." (The Assistant Manager.)

"Why haven't you come to see me before?"

(I was now so angry I chose to keep my mouth shut.)

"Does my Assistant Manager know you?"

"I don't know, after nineteen years with this bank I discover I am dealing with total strangers."

(She finally stood up.)

I proceeded to tell her what accounts we had in the branch, discovered that their computer systems wouldn't let them go to a terminal and see all our records at once, and finally left with the money available and a bad taste in my mouth. She never did shake hands!!!

When it became apparent four months later, that we had to have a new credit arrangement, I decided to shop around for money. I started with our local branch bank. This time I did it the right way with complete corporate and personal financial statements, a history of our company, a copy of our five year business plan, copies of our brochures and all the documents we use in selling. I asked for an appointment with the Branch Manager, who did not remember me, but was busy and said that I should go to the Assistant Manager, whom as yet, I had never met.

The Assistant Manager looked over everything I had and asked me to come back in two days. When I returned, she announced that she was sorry but they couldn't meet my needs for less than 12% a year and only half of the amount of credit that we needed.
I informed her that she was completely non-competitive and walked out, as I did so she said,

"But we don't want to lose your business because you've been an excellent customer for almost nineteen years."

In the next three weeks, I lost the equivalent of six and one-half working days that I could have spent earning my full fee on billable projects, while I went through the effort of applying for the credit line we needed at four different competing establishments. One of them offered me money at 7.5%. The others settled in at 9.5%. Two of them were able and willing to support us with the size credit line we really needed. After all of the paperwork had been done, each of them had to check our credit, check the value of our assets, send out appraisers, etc. This took a lot of calendar time. (It was useful however, since we got copies of the credit reports and appraisals, and discovered that we were a pretty good credit risk.)

While we were waiting for these various deals to come to fruition, so we could make a final choice, the Assistant Manager of our bank branch called and asked us to please come over. She surprised me with more money than we were going to get anywhere else, and the rate had dropped to 9.5%. The payment arrangements and the means of utilizing the credit line were simpler than anyone else's. She wanted my permission to send in the appraisers and do all the things that everyone else was doing. I informed her of my decision deadline, which was tight. I then discovered that all of the other establishments had contacted her to get information about us. She knew exactly how many of her competitors I was talking with and what their names were. She asked if her new proposal was competitive and I said, "Well frankly, yes it is."

She had my signature and we had money before any of her competitors came through. Two of them called with papers ready to sign the day after I had accomplished this with her.

When we were closing the deal, I commented that I hadn't really expected her to be able to do anything for us. She said, "I worked at this almost full time for the last week and a half to get it through." She also explained that I was the first recipient of a new product that had been designed to meet competitive pressures and that it had been designed because they didn't want to lose my business.

Ironically, the institution that had called me three years before with a line of credit that had been entirely satisfactory, lost my business, whereas the bank that I was very willing to leave got it - why?

In my original shopping around, I did not go to that institution because they were charging me through the schnoz. The credit line had a variable interest rate tied to the prime rate. They had not bothered to lower the interest for a year after the prime had dropped. Their District Manager, from a different state, called me in the evening, four days before we closed the deal with the bank and said, "Look, we know you're shopping, I want to talk with you." I tried to get off the phone but he was persistent, as a good salesperson is, and kept me on the earpiece for forty-five minutes. I went to see him the next day with my whole package of information. He explained that the best he could do was 11.5% and I informed him that, of course, it was unacceptable.

He had made the comment in the previous evening's phone conversation, that he was put out with his local branch people, particularly the Branch Manager, because they had not automatically offered me the new rates and double the credit line four months previously, when the corporation changed its guidelines. As we talked that day in his office, I told him that I really had lost a little trust after realizing that they were not adjusting the rate when prime changed. He said,

"I know, I don't blame you. What would you have done if we had sent this through for your signature four months ago? Would you have gone out looking and shopping around?"

"No, after your call yesterday evening I told my wife that if you had adjusted the rate on a timely basis we would never have looked elsewhere."

"Why not?"

"The cost to us of the difference in interest rates would have taken two and one half years to equal what we lost in billings lining up a new credit line."

His reaction reminded me of a Bible verse describing a man's sorrow; He tore his garments and wept bitterly!

Both he and the bank had forgotten the Second Eternal Law of Sales Success . I would have purchased from either one and did purchase from the bank, because of the First Eternal Law of Sales Success . If both of them had practiced the Fourth Eternal Law of Sales Success , I would have saved a lot of money and an awful lot of time. Quite frankly, I was very troubled by the fact that the Branch Manager and the Assistant Manager at the bank both:

- said that I should keep in touch with them.

- said that I should have done it in the past.

- said that I should be sure to do it in the future.

- thought that I should come to them.


Baloney! WHY SHOULD I BE THE PERSON WHO SHOULD COME IN AND KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THEM?!!!!!!!!


I don't do that with any supplier or sales person who never contacts me or shows any interest in our company.


Nuff said!!!




1. Your present customer is your best prospect! - copyrighted 1986 by WZA Inc. All rights reserved.
2. People buy from people they like and trust! - copyrighted 1986 by WZA Inc. All rights reserved.
3. Systematic, consistent effort assures that you will be in the right place, at the right time more often than your competitor!

- copyrighted 1986 by WZA Inc. All rights reserved.


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Labels: zingers

The Great Dilemma
February 2007 Zinger Preview (Issue Z0207)

You have just been appointed/promoted to a position that carries the title, Manager. You will only succeed as a manager with the cooperation and support of the people in the organization you are managing. You keep everyone happy by being supportive, friendly, and not demanding. However, if someone stops working to capacity or fails to communicate: the work slows, output drops and your manager is unhappy. Do you continue to be friendly and supportive, or do you get tough. That is the great dilemma.

If you make the wrong choice the result can be tragic.

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Labels: management, previews, productivity, success, zingers

Read The Great Dilemma
February 2007 Zinger Preview (Issue Z0207)

Labels: management, previews, productivity, success, zingers

(Zinger Sample)





For years my business uniform was a three piece suit built out of the finest English worsted, tailored to measure and properly conservative in color and pattern. The company car, which I normally used on business, was a Lincoln Town Car late model, but my car for pleasure was a 1970 Mercury Marquis convertible. The paint on the convertible was a tad faded and the engine used a bit of oil after 149,000 miles, when this enlightening experience unfolded.

The yellow convertible was rear-ended and suffered a bent rear bumper. When my schedule opened up a week or so later I decided it was time to get out of uniform, get a repair estimate and enjoy the ride with the top down. I donned a golf outfit that my wife informed me was purchased eight years previously and run through the automatic washer 150 times. It was a forty-minute drive to the first body shop and I thoroughly enjoyed the wind blowing my hair in six directions.

The first stop was the Lincoln-Mercury dealer from whom I had purchased automobiles for fifteen years. The body shop manager greeted me with a friendly smile, looked at the bumper, made out his estimate and said, “To save you time, you can get a second estimate by just going down the street a block and pulling in at the Cadillac dealership. They do outstanding work and will be happy to take care of you, but we’d like to do the work for you, after you get things settled with the insurance company.” I thanked him and he thanked me. I headed down the road.

The Cadillac dealership was the oldest and most prestigious in our fair city. The entire operation covered two-thirds of a city block. I drove to the front of the imposing show room and parked in full view of everyone within. I had decided that since I needed directions on how to reach the body shop, in this large establishment, I might just as well ask directions in the show room and stop and look at those shiny new Cadillacs.

I walked in and saw, at the far end of the show room, four salespeople looking at me. They were not your typical stereotype automobile salesmen: i.e., they wore long-sleeve white shirts, ties, and jackets with pants that matched. They made absolutely no effort to come toward me or greet me. One of them, after obviously looking me over from head to toe, turned and walked into a back area where he wouldn’t have to deal with me. I had that instant sense that I wasn’t dressed right for this occasion.

I had to walk the full length of that show room to get close enough to the three remaining salespeople to ask them how to get to the body shop. No one greeted me or asked me what I wanted before I asked the question. I got a very courteous and detailed answer about how to wend my way through the establishment. No one offered to show me a Cadillac; no one said, “Thanks for coming in.” I turned and decided not to stop and look at the shiny new Cadillacs.

When I got to the body shop office, the first thing I did was look in a mirror and comb my hair. The lady behind the counter took care of the data gathering in a very business-like manner. The man I’d been told to ask for admired the car and gave me a bumper repair estimate in a friendly and competent manner. He wanted to know the details about that old yellow convertible and what my future plans for it might be. When I told him that I intended to restore it sometime in the next twelve months, I received a complete sales pitch for a $2,000 seven-coat hand-rubbed paint job. He thanked me for coming.

I left feeling that when the time came I might come back for quotation on replacing the paint on the old convertible, but I never again darkened the door of that Cadillac store and I even considered specifying, in my burial instructions, that a Cadillac hearse not be used to carry my body to the graveyard.

What I really wanted to do was go to my barber, then shower and shave, put on my finest fresh-pressed, navy-blue three-piece suit, drive up to the Cadillac show room in the freshly washed and polished Lincoln Town Car, walk in and as all of those salesmen gathered around me, kick them each hard, in the shins.

But I never went back.

To this day, I am absolutely convinced that had I arrived in the Lincoln Town Car, wearing my business uniform, with gray hair neatly combed, I would have had to fight my way out of that show room instead of being humiliated by being looked upon as a cheap skid-row derelict with an old car.

* * * * *

Would the people in your store treat me the way the Cadillac salespeople did?

What have you done to prevent it?

In today’s language the salespeople were “profiling”. The prospect also does profiling, but it is all accomplished in those first few seconds without conscious effort. Do you think a prospect has the right to judge a salesperson in this manner?

Do you think a salesperson has the right to judge a prospect in this manner?

Does the kind of business the salesperson is involved in or the product he/she is selling make a difference?

A good salesperson learns early on that the first five minutes in the presence of a prospect are critical. The prospect judges a salesperson in that period of time based on appearance, manner, courtesy, language used, and sixth sense communication. A perception forms in the prospect’s mind in the first few seconds and hardens into reality in the following five minutes. No one likes to deal with someone who is not successful. I wore those fine suits and still do, because I want the perception in my prospect’s mind to be that I’m successful.

When ever I’ve learned I lost a sale because of premature judging, I tried real hard not to do it again, not always successfully, but I keep trying.

.
Nuff said!!!

Copyright 2005-2007 - All Rights Reserved
WZA, Inc. - The Business Enhancement Team
Wesley W. Zimmerman

Zinger sample, "Judge Ye Not Prematurely" is provided as a courtesy to prospective Zinger Newsletter subscribers only.

Contact the author directly for reprint rights: WesZimmerman AT PerceptionofDifference.com

Labels: first impressions, judging, perception, sales, zingers

About Zingers

The Zingers are designed for you, in today's world. You want to learn and grow, but don't have much time to read. They are written for easy reading, in five to eight minutes, even if you are a slow reader. A Zinger is a true story with a moral or question at the end. A Zinger never tells you what to do, it talks with you. Since the stories come from everyday life experiences, they are useful to you every day.

There is no advertising and there are no restrictions on forwarding, quoting with normal credits, or printing in any quantity. Use them in sales meetings, management meetings, with your kids, in presentations.

Each month, we will publish an excerpt of the current Zinger on the Perception of a Difference website. Visitors have the opportunity to subscribe to the Zinger Newsletter or to purchase back issues as they become available. PayPal will be used to administer the subscription and back issue payments.

All new subscribers receive the first two monthly issues at no charge. You may unsubscribe at any time during the 60 day free trial period with no charges. After the 60 day free trial period, your credit card will be charged $5.47 each month, unless you opt to unsubscribe from the service. If you opt out, we will send one email asking why you chose not to continue the subscription so that we can learn to better serve you in the future.

Labels: zingers