Monday, January 02, 2006

Small Business Digest, January 2006 Sales Discipline, Cleverness Needed To Improve The Total Marketing Effort For the third year in a row, Federal Express, Office Depot, Dell and American Express were viewed most favorably as suppliers in a survey of 4,000+ by small business managers completed by Small Business Digest (www.2sbdigest.com).   Small Business Digest - Current Issue Contents Free Subscription to the Small Business Digest email newsletter     Many small firms fail to instill a meeting discipline ethic into their sales efforts, often to the detriment of the total marketing efforts. There is an old dictum that it takes 10 phone calls to get one appointment and 10 appointments to gain one sale. Experts agree that creating a reason to meet with a prospect, having a meeting agenda and developing a sales presentation can significantly impact these numbers and increase sales. Five Suggested Methods For one such expert, there are five effective methods for taking that next step to the sale: Outline. Sketch out an overview of how your company can help prospects meet their goals. Then say: "Let's get together next Monday at 2 p.m. so I can give you an idea of what our suggestions for you might look like." Company expert. Bringing in a product expert, a company resource or your manager is a great way to advance the sale. Tell your prospects: "Let's set up a meeting for next Tuesday at 10 a.m. so I can introduce you to our technical people." Reference sell. Arrange to introduce your prospect—by phone or in person—to a happy customer. That provides a great third-party endorsement. Say something like: "Let's get together with Trisha Groves of ABC Co. for lunch next week. How does Wednesday sound?" Demonstration. Offer to show how your product or service works. That shows prospects how they could benefit by using what you have to offer. Tell them: "I'd like to come back here next Thursday to show you how this model works. Will 10 a.m. work for you?" Tour. Ask to see the prospects' workplace to learn how they might implement your products/services. Ask: "Can you and I tour the plant next week so I can see where the equipment would actually be used? My schedule is clear on Monday." Ann Miller, whose book, “Figuratively Selling,” offers innovative ways of using key phrases to sell, (available at http://www.e2e-store.com/sbd/) suggests brainstorming within the company to come up with appropriate references that will enable the prospect to better understand the firm’s offerings. Tantrums Might Work Another expert, Bill Adler, Jr., in his new book, “How To Negotiate Like A Child,” puts forth the novel idea that negotiators should take a leaf from their “inner child.” Adler argues that smaller companies can gain an advantage by using methods often employed by children. Says Adler, “many successful negotiators resort to childhood tactics to win in negotiations.” “Tantrums, pretending not to understand, winning through cuteness and just going home with the ball can work for some companies in tough situations,” he added. While many firms feel at a disadvantage when dealing with larger customers, it is possible to win using these tactics.  The key, Adler says, is knowing when to use these tactics and when to back off. Click here to visit the Small Business Digest website 1:07:15 PM    comment []

Small Business Digest, January 2006 Fedex, Office Depot, Dell and American Express Lead Satisfaction Survey of 4,000 Small Business Managers For the third year in a row, Federal Express, Office Depot, Dell and American Express were viewed most favorably as suppliers in a survey of 4,000+ by small business managers completed by Small Business Digest (www.2sbdigest.com).   Small Business Digest - Current Issue Contents Free Subscription to the Small Business Digest email newsletter     In this annual survey, readers were given a list of 18 top brands, five satisfaction choices and asked:  “For the following national brands please indicate your general overall opinion as to their handling of small business clients?” The clear leaders are Federal Express, rated "very favorable" or "favorable" by almost two out of three respondents (64.7), followed by Office Depot with 61.3% and Dell computers with a 58.4% rating. American Express took fourth place in the 18 top providers with a combined 50% positive response rate. 4,000 Respondents The more than 4,000+ respondents to the survey conducted at the end of 2005, rated these industry leaders in five categories from very favorable to very unfavorable.  The 18 brands chosen for the survey make it a point to target small firms and often enjoy the highest ratings from their constituents. With the exception of American Express, brands most in tune with their clients were also ranked the lowest in negative comments from respondents.  The big card issuer had a combined negative rating of 16.7% as compared to Bank One’s negative rating of 15.4%. Brand  Very Favorable Favorable Combined Federal Express 12.9% 51.4% 64.3% Office Depot 8.2% 53.1% 61.3% Dell 14.4% 44.0% 58.4% American Express 13.8% 36.2% 50.0% Staples 8.2% 41.2% 49.4% MasterCard 5.3% 41.9% 47.2% Visa 5.3% 41.7% 47.0% Kinko 6.2% 39.3% 45.5% Microsoft 7.3% 37.5% 44.8% Hewlett Packard 8.2% 35.5% 43.7% Intuit 8.4% 26.1% 34.5% Pay Pal 6.0% 21.1% 27.2% Verizon 3.8% 23.3% 27.1% Pitney Bowes 2.1% 19.7% 21.9% AT&T 1.3% 17.5% 18.8% Sprint 2.2% 15.7% 17.9% Bank One 3.1% 14.0% 17.1% ADP 2.7% 12.8% 15.5% To look at a broader measure of overall performance of the brands, the editors used a statistical approach that divided neutral responses in half, assigning 50% to the positive side and a like amount to the negative rating. Again the top leaders were ahead of the pack.  By this measurement, most of the 18 providers are doing well in customer satisfaction, ranging from 77.4% combined score for Office Depot to a low of 46.4% for AT&T.  Using this measurement, most brands satisfied more than half of the respondents. Only Sprint also fell below the 50% line in customer regard. Fedex, Kinko Separated To keep the survey consistent with prior years, Federal Express and Kinko’s are included as separate entities and will be combined in next year’s survey. The following chart ranks brands by including half of the neutral respondents in with the favorable comments to give a broader range of respondents’ views. Brand Very Favorable Favorable Combined 50% Neutral Federal Express 12.9% 51.4% 77.5% Office Depot 8.2% 53.1% 78.0% Dell 14.4% 44.0% 73.7% Staples 8.2% 41.2% 72.2% MasterCard 5.3% 41.9% 69.5% Visa 5.3% 41.7% 68.6% Kinko 6.2% 39.3% 68.6% Hewlett Packard 8.2% 35.5% 67.7% American Express 13.8% 36.2% 66.7% Microsoft 7.3% 37.5% 61.9% Intuit 8.4% 26.1% 61.6% Pay Pal 6.0% 21.1% 58.0% Verizon 3.8% 23.3% 53.8% ADP 2.7% 12.8% 52.1% Pitney Bowes 2.1% 19.7% 51.1% Bank One 3.1% 14.0% 50.9% Sprint 2.2% 15.7% 47.4% AT&T 1.3% 17.5% 46.5% However, there is clear room for improvement for some such as AT&T and Sprint where almost one out of four respondents had a negative feeling towards their efforts. Also in this group were Microsoft and Verizon, with one in five respondents reporting negative perceptions of their efforts. The bottom six brands in terms of high respondent dissatisfaction are shown below. Brand Unfavorable Very Unfavorable Combined American Express 10.2% 6.5% 16.7% Verizon 14.0% 5.5% 19.5% Pitney Bowes 14.2% 5.6% 19.7% Microsoft 14.9% 6.0% 21.0% Sprint 17.0% 6.1% 23.1% AT&T 17.5% 8.3% 25.8% Again dividing the neutral choices of respondents, the brands with the most to do in recapturing confidence are listed below. Brand Combined AT&T 44.3% Sprint 42.8% Pitney Bowes 39.2% Bank One 37.9% Verizon 37.3% Microsoft 32.4% To broaden the survey in coming years, the editors welcome nominations from other brands and readers. Click here to visit the Small Business Digest website 12:46:54 PM    comment []

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