RainMaker Blog

Banish “Slow Season” from Your Vocabulary

Companies often have so-called "slow seasons." These are times of the year where business typically slows down as part of its natural cycle. Slow seasons vary from one industry to the next. For instance, if you're in the car rental business, you'll likely see slower periods of activity once summer travelers return home, back to their normal routines. However, accepting "slow seasons" can also contribute to the slowdown. When a company accepts that business is slow "because it's the slow season," it likely reacts by cutting back on spending or eliminating jobs.

How many times have you heard these excuses for a company slowdown?

• The kids are on a school break
• The kids are back in school
• People are too busy traveling
• People aren't traveling
• Tax refunds haven't arrived yet
• The weather's too bad
• The weather's too good
• We work hard most of the year; we deserve a little downtime

Depending on your business, the excuses may be valid. However, that doesn't mean that you have to accept them. Adopt a new attitude about these cycles by banishing the term "slow season" from your vocabulary. When your employees are slacking off because it's the "slow season" they are making excuses. Slow periods require the exact opposite of slacking off. They require active participation on all levels. Instead of a calling it the "slow season," come up with a new term. You might call it the "get busy" season or the "drum up business" season.

In order for this to work, the entire company needs to understand the cyclic nature of your business and your plan for each cycle. This means that you need to have such a plan. Before you berate others for their excuses, come up with a proactive plan that addresses company slowdowns.

Start by analyzing your business's seasonal cycles. When is business typically busy? When is it typically slow? Why? Next, think about how you normally respond when business is slow. How can you respond that's proactive rather than reactive? Instead of laying off customer service representatives, can they switch gears from handling incoming calls to making outbound sales calls when it's slow? Can your mobile technicians knock on a few doors after completing a job, offering customers a discount because they are already in the area? Can you rearrange your marketing plan so that fewer advertising dollars are spent when you're overbooked and more spent during slowdowns?

Once you have a solid action plan, communicate it with your team. Employees know when it's slow. While some may feel entitled to a little break after a long busy season, many are fearful of what the slowdown really means. By communicating your plan and including employees in brainstorming sessions, you are empowering them to get busy while also easing their fears.

In fact, as the "get busy" season approaches, you may even want to have a kickoff party. Reward your team for their hard work during the hectic season that just ended by scheduling a day where it's okay to slack off in between phone calls, service calls, and regular job duties with the understanding that this is the only day where slacking off is acceptable. Let them watch Web videos on their computers, play games, or simply relax. From here on out, when the phones aren't ringing, when there are no service calls scheduled, when no customers are browsing for goods, everyone must implement the marketing plan you've laid out. Now is the perfect time to make additional sales calls or work on those projects, such as online video productions, that we simply "never have time to do." Schedule regular brainstorming and creativity sessions to keep ideas flowing.

When the entire team banishes the term "slow season" from their vocabularies and becomes more proactive during business slow periods, you'll soon find that it's not so slow after all.

2010 is Here – Do You Have a Plan for Sales?

As we say goodbye to one year, in fact an entire decade, and usher in a new one, now is a terrific time to take stock of your company's sales. How did well did your company perform last year? How can you ensure that 2010 will be successful? The answer involves looking back as well as looking forward and planning your sales strategy.

Look back and identify the best customers of the decade. What did these customers have in common? What made them the best? How many of these customers remain loyal to your organization? As you reflect on these core customers, look forward with the knowledge that you want to attract more customers just like them. For example, if you are a caterer and have discovered that your best customers are business event planners, then you'll want to target business event planners in 2010. Likewise, if your best customers are those who have set up their accounts to automatically reorder products when inventory reaches a certain trigger point, consider offering similar auto-reorder programs to your other customers.

While you're at it, identify customers that no longer use your services and find out why. Has the customer's company been acquired by another? Has the decision maker lost his job? If so, who can you contact at the new company? Who is the decision maker's replacement? Where is the decision maker working now?

In addition to identifying potential customers, identify your referral sources. Who has referred business to you in the past? Who is regularly referring business? Are you leaving referrals to chance or are you actively encouraging referrals? Are you thanking your referral sources? Are you returning the favor? What types of referrals do you want?

Next, evaluate your sales team. Which sales people have been the most effective? Which ones haven't? Why? What motivational techniques have worked in the past? Which ones will you use in 2010?

Take the time to consider the past performance of your customers, referral sources, and sales team and identify your ideals. Next, plan a brainstorming session where you come up with ideas on how to find more ideal customers, encourage quality referrals, and motivate your sales staff. At this point, write down all ideas that pop into your head, no matter how crazy they may seem. Later, you can cull your list, but the ideas must first flow and build upon each other.

Now, sleep on it or switch gears for a few days. Let your ideas simmer in your subconscious as you go about your business. Finally, return to your notes and craft a sales strategy for 2010 that addresses targeting customers, managing referrals, and motivating your team.

You can take this strategy even further by setting specific targets and milestones or by setting specific sales goals. However you customize your sales plan for 2010 is up to you. The plan can be as elaborate and detailed as you decide it needs to be, or it can be as simple as "Land one new business event planning customer per month." The important part is to get started and create a plan and then revisit it periodically to make sure that you are on track. With a sales plan in hand, you have a road map to success. Without one, you're leaving 2010's sales up to the status quo and chance.

Selling in a Floundering Economy

Everyone knows that consumers and businesses have tightened their wallets due to the severe economic conditions. If your business relies on sales for its survival as most do, you also know that we’ve got to keep selling, even though the economy is floundering. Pressure and competition is intense. Tight credit, fewer buyers, and other hungry salespeople are making your job tougher than ever. So, how do you succeed in sales right now?

Just because the economy is floundering, it doesn’t mean that you must. First, create a plan. Football coaches don’t send their team out with vague instructions such as “just throw the ball” and neither should you. You must know who to throw the ball to and what you’re going to do with it once caught, right? With that in mind, which prospects are your best prospects? While selling is often referred to as a numbers game, right now, it’s important to carefully target prospects. Ask yourself what type of customer is your best customer and narrow your prospect list down to those that match.

Once you know which type of business to pursue, begin tailoring your approach. For example, if you’re pursuing high end clients, you’ll have a different approach and product lines than if you’re pursuing clients on the lower end of the scale. Ask yourself what types of problems can your product or service solve for this client type and start tailoring your presentations to address your client’s needs. In a floundering economy, focusing on solving problems is more crucial than ever. Consumers can put off purchasing luxuries and even some necessities, but problems need solving.

In fact, despite the gloomy economic news, consumers and organizations are still spending money. They expect more value for their purchases but spending has not come to a screeching halt. Make sure that you are offering a solution as well as value. Now is a great time to be specific in how your product or service solves their problem. For example, “Your company will save $586 per month by switching to our phone service. That’s over $7000 per year.”

In your effort to acquire new customers, don’t neglect your existing ones. They too are suffering the ill effects of a bad economy. Make sure that your current customers are well taken care of and that their problems are being solved. Continue building your relationship and being attentive to their needs and concerns.

Increased networking is also crucial during economic slowdowns. Participate in business events, conferences, and tradeshows typically attended by your ideal customers. While having a booth is good, being a featured speaker is even better. Start building yourself up as an industry leader now and gain greater visibility amongst your prospects. While this may not result in immediate sales, it does distinguish you from your competitors and could be the deciding factor.

Finally, stay motivated. People and businesses ARE buying; they’re just far more selective about what they buy and who they buy it from. Target your ideal customer, tailor your solution to meet your prospect’s needs, continue building relationships and networking, and sharpen your sales skills. It’s tough out there but not as hard when you have a game plan.

Do you have a game plan for selling in a floundering economy? What are your tips? We’d love to hear about them.

Pick Me! Pick Me! Why Should Your Customers Pick You Over Your Competitor?

No matter what business you happen to be in, you likely have competition. You know it. Your customers know it. In fact, your customers regularly compare you to your competition when making decisions. Do you look just like your competitor? If so, get ready to compete on price and price alone. If your customers cannot see much difference between you and your competitors, then the company with the lowest price is the clear winner in the customers' eyes.

We all know that competing on price is far from ideal. Wouldn't you rather stand out as a clear choice for a more compelling reason? In order to convince your customers to pick you over the dozens of other choices available, you have to distinguish yourself. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do you offer that the competition doesn't?
• Are your customers aware of what you offer that others don't?
• What do customers expect of businesses such as yours?
• What don't customers expect?
• What do your customers value?

One of the best ways to understand how your company is different than your immediate competition is to shop your competitors. Sure, it sounds sneaky, but it's important to see how your business measures up. And it doesn't have to be sneaky either. In fact, when business is booming and you have to turn business away, you'll need another company that you can recommend. For example, if you run a mobile dog grooming business, schedule an appointment with the leading competitor in town to have your own dog groomed. Explain that you're also a groomer and looking for a company that you can recommend when you're overbooked. The other groomer may even return the favor and recommend you from time to time.

As you're shopping the competition, pay attention. How was the phone service? Was the appointment on time? Were the facilities neat and tidy? Were the employees professional? What type of value did you receive for the price? If you were a customer, would you return?

Do the same for your own business. Yes, shop yourself. Pretend that you are a customer and go through an entire transaction from start to finish, paying attention to the details. How did your company do compared to your competitor? Was the phone service better? If not, it's time to invest in customer service over the phone training. Even if it was, you still may want to do this. After all, how you answer the phone and handle the call is often the first - and last - impression your company will make with customers. Go through each key point of the transaction and improve each area.

While this is a good practice to improve your business, it's not enough to differentiate your company from the competition. Examine your customers' expectations of businesses like yours and choose one area to absolutely excel in. Remember Dominos with its delivery pledge of "30 minutes or it's free"? Dominos didn't set out to be known for making the most delicious pizza on the planet; instead, it distinguished itself for speedy delivery. Southwest Airlines with its "no frills" airline and wise cracking flight attendants is another good example of a company that set itself apart from the competition.

The area of specialty that you choose is up to you and your business. You may want to be known for speed, quality, friendliness, professionalism, customer commitment, environmental friendliness, value, selection, or even wackiness. Once you decide on your specialty, become a master of it and let your customers know exactly how you are different. Once they know, they'll have one more reason to pick you instead of your competition.

Are Your Online Videos Newsworthy? Get Listed in Google News!

No doubt, getting your online videos listed on Google News could drive traffic to your site. But how do you submit them? Google News is a news aggregator service which means that it collects headlines from other news sources such as the Associated Press, USA Today, Reuters, and Forbes. Unless your Internet video is hosted on one of the major news sites, the chances of it being listed on Google News are slim. However, there is a backdoor: YouTube News.

As you likely know, Google purchased YouTube in 2006. As the owner of YouTube, Google does a bit of cross-promoting. If you look at the Google News site, you'll see a link to YouTube News. Click the YouTube News link and you'll find newsworthy online videos from around the world as well as local news videos based on your IP address.

In order to get your online videos listed on YouTube News, and by extension Google News, you will need to apply to become a YouTube Partner. In order to qualify for this program, you must meet minimum qualifications including:

• Your online videos must be original and "suitable for online streaming"
• All uploaded audio and video content must be owned by you or you must have express permission to use and monetize the content
• You must have a presence on YouTube with regular video submissions and thousands of viewers

Keep in mind that even if you meet these minimum qualifications, other criteria may be used to judge whether or not your online videos are suitable for the YouTube Partner Program. For example, Google will look at your Web site and YouTube channel and may disqualify you if you upload videos, music, images, live performances, movie or television visuals, video game or software visuals, and other content without express permission from the content's original creator.

Once accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, your newsworthy Web videos will be listed in YouTube News. If you allow your online videos to be embedded on other sites, then it is possible that your Web videos will appear on the Google News site itself.

In addition to gaining exposure, YouTube partners are eligible for revenue sharing. You can opt out of revenue sharing if you are not interested in monetizing your online video content.

So, are your Internet videos newsworthy? Making newsworthy videos doesn't mean that you have to report on crime, sports, or the weather in your community. Just as you put a news slant into your press releases to the local newspapers, so too can you create newsworthy Internet videos. When thinking about producing a news video, consider the following:

• How does your product or service relate to current events?
• What has your organization done lately that deserves press?

For example, if your community is currently suffering from a high crime rate and your organization manufactures anti-theft devices, you might create a news video detailing crime in your community and how citizens can protect themselves. Because this is a news video rather than a marketing video, you will need to go easy on the sales pitch. In addition to relating your product or service to current events, create a news video whenever your organization "gives back to the community." If your employees team up for a good cause, publicize it! Not only would an online video detailing the charitable activities of your organization make for good news, it builds good will and shows that your organization cares.

If you're already producing video press releases, applying for a YouTube Partnership is the next step. Have you taken that step already? We'd love to hear your experiences!

Bring Your Press Release to Life with Video

If you’ve been using press releases to market your product or services, you already understand how getting the word out impacts your bottom line. Want to make a bigger impact? Consider a video press release! Video press releases aren’t new. Companies often produce corporate videos, product videos, and sales videos with a news slant and then submit them to television stations in the hopes that the station will run the segment “as is” or at least use some of the footage in a larger story. But, we’re not talking about traditional video press releases submitted to television stations. We’re talking about online video press releases.

Why add video to your online press releases? Like your blog or Web site, online video allows viewers to see your product or service in action. Incorporate an existing marketing video into your press release and help your viewers see and hear your message. While the written word can certain convey how easy your product is to use by saying, “This product is easy to use,” an online product video showing the product in use proves it! Likewise, you can incorporate a testimonial video or any other creative marketing videos that complement the text.

Adding Video to Online Press Releases
Adding a short online video to a press release is a terrific way to drive your point home. However, it’s not quite as easy as embedding a video on your blog. After all, not all press release distribution sites are equipped to handle video yet. While you could insert a link to your online video within the text, embedding the video directly into the press release is more likely to get your message seen.

There are two ways you can embed video into a press release. The first way, the more complicated way, is to create an Adobe PDF and embed the video directly into it. This requires embedding an online video currently hosted on your site rather than a video located on your computer. This is because the embedded media player in your document references the video via its URL. After creating the document and embedding the video, you will then need to manually submit the final document to news organizations.

The second way is to use an online press release service capable of handling an online video press release. One such service is 24-7PressRelease.com. The service isn’t free, but it does allow you to embed up to a two minute video into your press releases. The service accepts multiple video formats including .mov, .avi, mp4., .divx, .xvid, .3gp, .3gpp, .qt, and many others. All videos uploaded to this particular service must not infringe on copyright and are reviewed by an editor before being approved for release.
 
Creating a Standalone Video Press Release
Not sure you want your video press release surrounded by text? Do you want your entire message to be in online video form? Consider producing a standalone video press release and distribute your resulting promotional video through traditional online video channels such as YouTube or your company’s Web site. For example, if your Web site doesn’t already have an area dedicated to press releases and media kits, team up with your Web designer and create one. Once you have your media page set up, created a distributable video press release and post it along with other promotional materials such as free product shots and traditional press releases.

Once set up, announce your new media kit via a standard online press release as well. This will further drive traffic to your site and help spread the word about your standalone video press releases.

Already using online video press releases? Share your tips, struggles, and successes with us.

Web Video Broadcasting: Creating Your Own YouTube Channel

If you've been dabbling in online video marketing and have a few marketing videos hosted at YouTube, you may be ready for the next step: creating a YouTube channel. A YouTube channel is like a sophisticated form of an online profile. At its most basic, the channel displays your user name, profile, and thumbnails of your Web video collection. In fact, all registered YouTube users have a basic channel. You can check your own channel by signing into YouTube, clicking on your user name (in the upper-right corner of the screen), and selecting "Account." However, who wants to settle for being basic? Let's take a look at a couple of companies that have taken their YouTube channels to more creative heights.

Best Buy's Geek Squad is successfully using social media and YouTube to reach consumers. Geek Squad uses online videos to share short, "Two Minute Miracle" consumer electronics tips with viewers while also building brand loyalty in the process. After all, if you subscribe to Geek Squad's channel and regularly learn about consumer electronics from these geeky techs, who are you going to call when you need help on more challenging computer or home theatre installation tasks?

The background of Geek Squad's channel features the Geek Squad logo which is immediately recognizable and brands the channel appropriately. In the center of the screen is a current Web video alongside smaller thumbnails of other recent marketing videos uploaded by Geek Squad. As you explore the page, you'll see "modules" containing additional information such as the Geek Squad profile, recent activity, comments, and subscribers.

Another example is the Big Cat Rescue channel, or Big Cat TV. This channel has been customized even further than Geek Squad's. You'll notice a graphic header across the top of the channel as well as the familiar modules such as the user's profile and Web video list. The primary video automatically plays, music blaring. The creator of this channel also incorporated a "donate now" image as well as links to affiliated Web sites and social media accounts. Note that these are "nofollow" links, so including the links does not improve your site's ranking. Include links not for SEO but for building relationships with your viewers.  

Viewers can reach a YouTube channel by clicking on your user name after discovering one of your online YouTube videos. If they like what they see, they can then subscribe to the channel where your relationship building begins. Subscribers are notified of new videos thus increasing the likelihood of future views of your marketing videos!

What's more, you can even embed your YouTube channel, or another YouTube user's channel into a Web site just as you embed individual videos. Consider creating a YouTube channel and then embedding it into your Web site or blog. This allows your existing visitors to easily browse through your Web video collection without having to leave your site. Meanwhile, your channel remains discoverable on YouTube, potentially sending YouTube viewers to your Web site for additional information.

Ready to take your existing YouTube channel to new heights? Start by logging into YouTube and going into your account settings area. Once in Account Settings, find the Edit Channel link in the main pane just below Insight. This takes you to the Edit Channel Info screen which displays basic information about your channel such as its URL and type. Click on the Channel Design link. Inside the editing area, you'll see your channel's basic layout with default modules, each of which can be edited or removed. Along the top of the page are tabs (Edit Channel, Settings, Themes and Colors, and Modules). Explore these tabs and customize your channel with your logo, color scheme, and other preferences.
 
If you haven't explored creating your own YouTube channel to showcase your Web and marketing videos, why not do so now? We'd love to hear your experiences, tips, and ideas so feel free to post a comment below.

YouTube Insight: Who's Watching Your YouTube Videos?

Have you had a chance to fiddle around with YouTube's Insight tool? This tool goes beyond telling you how many viewers have watched your online videos and shows you where your viewers are located, how they are finding your Internet video, and what demographic your viewers fall into, and which areas of the video your online viewers are paying attention to. Each of these YouTube Insight reports can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet. Insight is built right into your YouTube account. If you haven't already checked it out, head on over to your YouTube account and explore this interactive tool.

YouTube Insight Views
The first view that you will see once Insight loads is an interactive timeline and world map. The timeline shows you how many views your online video has received over time with the highs and lows giving you a graphical view of performance over time. For example, if you sent out a tweet encouraging your Twitter followers to check out your online video, you may notice a spike in viewership on the date that you promoted the video.

The interactive map allows you to see which regions of the world your video has been viewed in and allows you to drill into the regions. You can select different time periods to analyze as well as see how your online video's popularity compares to other Web videos viewed in that particular part of the world.

YouTube Insight Discovery
Once you're done looking at the timeline and geographical data, click on the next report, Discovery. Discovery let's you know how your viewers are finding your videos. For example, are your users stumbling across your online video by searching YouTube or are they finding it due to your marketing efforts? Did they find your Web video through a Google search? An email  or Web site link? Your Twitter tweet? This information allows you to see how well your video marketing and ads are working at driving traffic to your online video.

YouTube Insight Demographics
Next, click on the Demographics link. The Insight Demographics report displays a chart showing you the age ranges and genders of your online video's viewers as well as the percentages of each group. By analyzing your video's demographics, you will have a better understanding of who your online audience is. For example, is your video popular with twenty-something men? Retired women? Is it equally popular with teenagers and senior citizens? Is the online video's viewership what you expected? Why or why not? How can you better target the video to your demographic?

YouTube Insight Community
The YouTube Insight Community report details how your viewers are engaging with your online video. It displays information about ratings, favorites, and comments related to your video. In other words, the Community report tells you whether or not viewers liked your video! How many viewers gave your video five stars? How many commented on your videos? Like the other reports, this information can be analyzed by date as well as by geographic region.

YouTube Insight HotSpots
The YouTube Insight HotSpots report shows you which areas of your online video are "hot" with your viewers. This tool is similar to the Wistia Heatmaps tool discussed in an earlier blog post. It allows you to see which areas are hot compared to similar length videos on YouTube and which are cold. Use this information to find out if viewers are tuning out before the video's completion and if so, what point they are abandoning your message. If you find that viewers are consistently stopping at a particular scene, you may want to revisit that scene and edit it to keep viewers engaged.

Insight does indeed give you greater insight into how your online videos are connecting with viewers. Have you used Insight? How are your videos performing?

VideoTweeting 101

Your video has been produced, you've uploaded it to YouTube and embedded it in your Web site, now what? Do you just wait for your viewers to find it or is it time to tweet your video? After all, if you have a following, letting your followers know that you have an exciting new video is definitely tweet-worthy.

Rumors earlier this month hinted that Twitter would be integrating some form of video tweeting into its service only to later be confirmed to be unfounded. Currently, Twitter has no plans for integrating video. Dashed hopes? Not to worry, just as you can link anything else to a Twitter post, you can do the same with video.

Keep in mind, when you tweet a video on Twitter, you are tweeting a link that you followers must click which then opens a new window where your video is hosted such as your site or YouTube. Since the user must navigate away from Twitter and actively press the "play" button, you will need to make the most of your limited number of characters to entice viewers to tune in. For example, look at the following tweets:

• Just posted a new cooking techniques video on YouTube. Check it out here:
  
  
• Always wanted to learn how to chop onions like a pro? This step-by-step video makes it easy! Chop Chop:

The second example is far more enticing than the first, don't you think? Your tweet should tell users exactly what to expect. "New cooking techniques" is vague while "how to chop onions like a pro" tells you the viewer what the video is about. While a few foodies may tune in after reading the first tweet, hardly anyone else will. On the other hand, who hasn't struggled with chopping onions? In addition, the lively language of the second example hints that the video will be lively as well while the boring first tweet suggests that the video is boring, too.

When tweeting your videos using the basic linking technique, your videos can be any length and hosted virtually anywhere because followers follow your link. While this technique serves its purpose of sending viewers to watch your video, another option is available: 12seconds.

12Seconds.tv is an online video status community. Like Twitter's 140-character limit, 12Seconds limits video updates to 12 seconds in length. These short videos are placed in a public stream as well as the video streams of any 12Seconds followers you may have. Like many platforms, you can sign into 12Seconds using your existing Twitter account. When you post a video, it goes to the 12Second stream and is also posted automatically to your Twitter account.

Videos can be uploaded via your Web browser or created and uploaded via your cell phone's camera or your webcam. What's more, 12Seconds is integrated with TweetDeck, a popular Twitter client. Twitter users using TweetDeck can view and record 12Second videos without leaving TweetDeck.

What does this mean to you? After all, your onion chopping video is three minutes long, not 12 seconds. Why not create a teaser video? Just as newscasters have their "Coming up on the eleven o'clock news" segments, you can create a teaser video to keep your followers updated with your latest innovations or you can broadcast fun, useful tidbits in just 12 seconds. Twelve seconds may not sound like much, but it's long enough to announce a new contest or present a quick factoid.

Whether you have an existing video you want to promote or want to start incorporating video teasers and factoids, VideoTweeting has arrived. Are you ready to get those cameras rolling?

Simple Sales Tips Anyone Can Use to Increase Sales

In our exuberance about our products or services, it's easy to get caught up in the features and benefits of what we are selling. After all, the product is great and your customer should love it just as much as you do, right? And, you've been taught about the importance of the product's features and benefits. However, are you presenting the right product for your customer's needs? Is your customer trying to tell you something? Are you listening?

Your customer will indeed tell you but you've got to ask - and you have to listen.

Consider this scenario for a moment. You are at your desk when a phone call comes in. The customer asks for a quote for one of your products, let's say a ceiling fan. You proceed to tell the customer about all of the fan's features and benefits, how you'll do the wiring, how the fan has a lifetime warranty, and its price. The customer says, "Thank you." Are you tempted to say "You're welcome"?

Who wouldn't be? Good manners have been drilled into our heads since we were toddlers. However, this is a sales situation. This doesn't mean that good manners don't play a part; it means that you need to be a master of conversation. You have to shut up and let the customer speak. Customers don't generally speak up though, so you will need to ask open-ended questions. Here are two good ones:

• How does that sound?
• What if?

For example, after explaining the fan's features and benefits and giving its price, ask the customer, "How does that sound?" This forces the customer to tell you exactly what he thinks of the product or the price. A response might be, "The fan sounds great, but I can get it $50 cheaper at Bob's Hardware Supply" or "It sounds really good. When can you install it?" Had you not asked, the customer may have been content to hang up the phone and dial the next phone number. By asking this open-ended question you can find out exactly where you stand - and you may make the sale simply by asking it.

"What if?" is also a powerful open-ended question that you can ask. "What if I can match Bob's price?" or "What if I throw in the light kit for free?" or "What if I can guarantee installation this weekend?"

You can ask questions all day long but if you don't listen to the customer's responses, you'll get nowhere and may even drive the customer elsewhere. Active listening shows customers that you have heard what they just said. Everyone wants to know that they have been heard and everyone wants to feel as if their concerns are being considered. Paraphrasing is an excellent active listening technique that both clarifies your understanding of what's been said as well as demonstrates that you are listening. It can also be combined with open-ended questioning techniques.

For example, if you ask the customer how your proposal sounds and he responds by saying, "That price sounds high." Pause for a moment and paraphrase by asking, "Are you saying the price sounds high?" Now shut up and let the customer explain. Don't assume anything. He may have a better price or he may have a simple concern that you can address. Let the customer tell you why he thinks the price sounds high. He might say, "Yeah, I expected it to cost a hundred dollars or so but I suppose that since you have to do the electrical it's a fair price."

Finally, after asking questions and listening, don't forget to ask for the sale. "Would you like to place an order?"