“If you can capture their mind, you can capture their wallet. Capture this book, and both will be yours.”
- Jeffrey Gitomer, Author of The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling
“Every entrepreneur and small business should own a copy. Tony is brilliant and knows what he is talking about. He has thought of all circumstances and found ways to improve.”
- John Assaraf, Author of NY Times Bestseller Having It All
"In the age of message overload and shortened attention spans, Tony's second 'Mind Capture' book delivers! The book reveals several ways to help you stand out in the age of Advertising Deficit Disorder. Get this book now and apply it to your business and life."
- Joe Vitale, Author of The Key and star of the #1 bestselling book The Secret
“Tony’s new MIND CAPTURE book brilliantly challenges business owners, marketers and sales professionals to take a transformational approach.”
- Dan Kennedy, Author of the No B.S. Book Series
It’s been almost five years since the first ‘Mind Capture’ book was self published and I’m confident you’ll find the second book valuable, entertaining, but more importantly profitable to your bottom line.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1333 )We’re 19 days out from the worldwide launch of the second Mind Capture book and I wanted to share with you some excerpts the next couple of weeks from the forthcoming book. Don’t forget to mark your calendar now, so you get over to Amazon.com on July 29th to get the NEW book and a truck load of powerful bonuses as icing on the cake.
Let’s move into the center of chapter five titled, We’re All In Sales.
In the age of advertising deficit disorder, the great communicators in all industries who can bottom line sell their ideas the best will carry the day and succeed. I know some of you reading this book may look at the title on your business card and think you only fall under marketing, management or operations duties. You’re wrong. You must sell others on assisting and helping you achieve your goals.
Ask any CEO or business owner to rank the #1 group of employees who are the most important to current and future growth and they’ll 99 times out of 100 tell you it’s the sales division.
TRIVIA TIME: Who Are The BEST Salespeople In The World?
Politicians?
Doctors?
Lobbyists?
Ministers?
Lawyers?
CEO’s?
You’re not even close. Here’s a hint: They’re under the age of 10 and many of you have them. Ah, the light bulb went off in your head.
Children!
I know countless books have been written on this topic ranging from how to close, how to make better cold calls, selling on the phone, selling on the Internet and I bet I’ve read just about every one of them or seen the other gurus who teach it live or in a seminar room. I won’t reinvent the wheel here or bore you with a long drawn out sales 101 session in this book, but I’ll share with you a few quick reasons why children can teach us a few sales lessons in the age of advertising overload.
One, they ask a ton of questions. How many? Check this out:
*The average 5-year old asks 200 questions a day
*The average 20-year old asks 20-30 questions a day
Think about how many questions the average 40 year old asks in a given day. If I asked you for the top 5 questions you ask key prospects would they generate curiosity and Mind Capture or would I walk away with little or no interest in what you’re offering?
Two, they’re creative. Children can whip out 10, 15, 20 or more reasons why they want you to buy something for them or have you buy from them. I’ve witnessed my own three kids battle it out (see photographic proof at the end of this chapter) with my wife St. Kim and I on numerous occasions when they want something and I’m always amazed at what new scheme or objection slaying comment their fantastic minds come up with. If you think your sales team’s good, sit down for dinner at my house and watch a sales clinic right before your eyes! Sadly, the average adult has no clue how to use creativity to make the case for their ideas, product or service.
Three, they’re not afraid of rejection. They fully expect that they’ll get what they want and carry this “can-do” attitude with them. As we grow older we’re often told by people around us and the talking heads in print, radio, online and TV to play it safe and to not rock the boat. Our risk tolerance diminishes and we become more conservative. While this is ok for certain areas within our lives, it’s a dangerous mindset to have when you’re livelihood depends on spreading your message to others.
Thanks again for your time together online and don’t forget to order the NEW book, Mind Capture: How You Can Stand Out In The Age of Advertising Deficit Disorder on July 29th, 2008 from Amazon.com and ‘Capture’ thousands of dollars in bonuses as well from our other launch partners and world class thought leaders!
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1337 )The second Mind Capture book is complete and a full schedule of book related activities have been announced including a full speaking tour covering 50 US and Canadian cities to support the new book.
Here's the list of announced cities. Keep an eye out for confirmed cities and dates the next 30-60 days in upcoming eletters, blog posts and on the speaking engagements section of this website.
A Vote For Business Change 2008 North American Tour
*Grand Rapids, Dallas, AnnArbor, Austin, Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, Madison, Santa Fe,Indianapolis, Denver, South Bend, Colorado Springs, Ft. Wayne, Cheyenne, Cleveland, Omaha, Akron, Sioux Falls, Columbus, Boise,Cincinnati, Seattle,
Pittsburg, Portland, Nashville, Salem, Memphis, Reno, St. Louis, San Francisco, Atlanta, Sacramento, Albany, San Diego, Buffalo, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Flagstaff, Washington, DC, Phoenix, Richmond, Salt Lake City, Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto.
The advance reviews for the new book have been solid ranging from NY Times bestselling authors, CEO's, academia, to countless entrepreneur's and sales professionals.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1304 )I’m often asked by challenged CEO’s, VP’s of sales and marketing, and non-profit leaders within many organizations the same question when it comes to marketing. “Tony, how do we get people to pay attention to us?”
This to me is often a three, five or ten year problem in the making that I can’t solve with a simple five-minute solution. I often throw back when asked this the question: “How are you tracking and handling leads?” I do this not to confuse, but more importantly to get a quick read on a potential problem that’s much deeper than the best marketing could ever help to solve.
While a number of answers are often given to my question there’s usually a bigger problem lurking within most organizations as it relates to marketing. Here it is. There are often few if any systems for accountability or tracking in place to improve the lead process within the organization. Astonishing! Kind of like playing blind archery. A dangerous proposition indeed. Seems like common sense, but I’m not kidding. I’d like to share with you a recent true story to prove my point.
A local client has brought me in to do marketing consulting and specific customer service and referral related training for their staff. With walk in traffic being a big part of their business, I recently decided to conduct a mystery shopping experiment and sure enough a major marketing gap was identified. I began my mystery shopping experience by asking for information about the firms services and saying that I was considering moving and needed to learn more about them. After about a minute I was given a brochure and told “here you go.” I took a few seconds, glanced at the brochure, said “thanks” and moved on. I was hoping there would be some questions asked regarding my inquiry, but none came. There was zero attempt to engage or ask me any questions.
So what was wrong with my experience? There were two simple, yet very critical, things that should’ve been done differently if a system had been in place by all front line people at this company. This system would only be made to stick via training and ongoing enforcement to make sure it became a policy and not an option.
One, the person helping me should’ve asked “how did you hear about us?” This is valuable marketing information to have. Was I referred there? Did I see there billboard, hear there radio ad, read one of their mail pieces, or hear about them from a friend or co-worker? The answer will never be known. This is critical to know, because if you can’t track your leads you’re playing an expensive guessing game with your marketing and often letting a fortune walk in and out of your business net.
Secondly, once it was identified that I was not a customer, a simple procedure – not an option - should have been at the ready to make sure that before I left additional information was gathered about me so proper follow up could be made. Some simple, non-intrusive ways to get information include offering them a small gift for stopping in, to having them fill out a quick questionnaire right there with them. I can hear the naysayers, “but Tony, we don’t have time to do that.” My answer’s simple, make it a job requirement and train the entire team to do it and build in a policy to regularly audit the process and reward those doing it and discipline those who don’t. Harsh? I don’t think so one bit. Capturing leads is critical and marketing is often an expensive and frustrating exercise for many organizations. When you get a lead, you need to capture information, cultivate it and not let it simply walk out the door into the land of lost customers.
The learning lesson here is that proper training is critical within all organizations and should be a continual habit and not a one-shot deal every few years. If your average client is worth potentially thousands of dollars in future or ongoing business and you’re losing two, three, five or more leads per week it’s costing you a fortune in sales and lost referral opportunities.
This is why TOP organizations, despite what the economy’s doing, see training as an investment and not an expense.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1293 )Yes, the famous quote from former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been on my mind lately when I meet with business and non-profit leaders to discuss marketing strategies and the present state of the U.S. economy. I get various reports from many of them on how sales and profits are doing. Many economists are now saying we’re in a recession and that the future is grim. While my opinion is just that, I want to push you to think differently in a market that has obvious challenges and opportunities at the same time.
So let me ask you a direct question: What is your business or non-profit doing to not just maintain but grow right now? This isn’t a practical joke. I’m going to jump on my little soapbox with this blog post today because frankly, I’m getting tired of the fear and excuses being made by people from all sectors complaining about the economy, gas prices, inflation, and most of all their sales.
I’m very pragmatic and maybe too direct with clients and in my live seminars (Ten years studying with fellow marketing guru Dan Kennedy does that to you) and fully realize that some industries are being negatively impacted more than others. Airlines, auto and housing immediately come to mind. I often think and ask myself, were the folks in some of these segments asleep at the wheel or just plain naďve about the changes taking place in their industry? There’s no simple answer to this question, but let me offer up a clue and quick marketing lesson that I hope serves you in the current state of fear we find the economy and many people experiencing.
Brace yourself, I’m about to challenge many of you to think very differently about your primary function in the market. I truly believe that most people have no idea that they’re first and foremost in the marketing business. What do I mean? It’s easy. Regardless of your title, position or what product, service or firm you represent, your mind set should be that of a good marketer.
Good marketers are relentless and always promoting their message in good times and bad regardless of what’s happening with the economy. They protect their mindset carefully and often ignore the doubters who attempt to sabotage or bring them down. You’d be surprised, but many people are actually doing well and sales are actually up. While they don’t blast it from the rooftops in the village square, they do have one key thing in common, we can ALL learn from.
Many are great at marketing. When times were easier they never became complacent in the sales and marketing function and when a challenge arose in their industry they were prepared to diversify and capitalize on their particular industries change, but more importantly fear. This is what I describe in my first Mind Capture book as offense versus defense thinking as it relates to sales. Far too many businesses are stuck in defense mode right now. Unless they change their thinking and get good at marketing and see it as an investment and not an expense, they risk losing market share and future growth due to a competitor who turns up the marketing heat when most people are cutting back.
I leave you with a great quote from communication expert Lee Milteer that sums up our time together: There are no victims, only volunteers.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1326 )Back Next
Calendar
