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Vol. 24, No. 10 • October, 2006

You can find this newsletter and some past issues on the web @ www.Freeman-Spicer.com

Marketing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . One of the most common marketing mistakes is emphasizing telephone numbers, and not town names, on delivery trucks and vehicles. The only time people write down a company’s number is when the truck driver has forced them off the road. Marketers often exacerbate the mistake by painting the phone number in a dominant size, trying to do the wrong thing right. It is more effective to feature your company name, your town and state, and a good advertising line. Your Truck is not a phone book. It is a moving message board. There are exceptions to the rule: When your business provides a consistent local consumer service or when your number expressed in letters is a truly memorable word or phrase. (How to Become a Marketing Superstar)

“Trial” Closing . . . . . . . . . . “Trial” sales-closing techniques can be used early in the sales process and are relatively easy to apply. One technique takes the form of “It may not be available.” Have you ever gone into a store to take a closer look at something and the salesperson says, “Gee, I think we’re sold out; that may be the last one.” Suddenly you feel a sense of loss. You hear yourself asking them to check the stockroom. A good salesperson would add, “If I have one left, do you want it?” A banker may say, “I’d better check the rates to see if they are still that low. Do you want me to go ahead if I can get that rate?” A real-estate person may say, “I’d love to show you that house, but it’s really nice and is probably sold. Would you like me to check?” (Just Sell It)

TV Show . . . . . . . . . . . In TLC’s six-part TV series “Now Who’s Boss?”, the heads of 6 corporations were sent to the “front lines” to perform their employees’ duties, with amusing results. These execs took the opportunity to gain new perspectives - and respect - for their employees. While entertaining, the show also sends a message to owners - everyone has an important role in a business’ success. The leaders profiled may have tried the experiment once, but lessons learned are sure to stay with them. Perhaps key people should routinely do this? At one Web hosting company, chief officers spend one day per month in the “pit”, a 24-hour tech support center. Walking in the shoes of your workers may pave smoother paths for everyone in your business. (Entrepreneur)

A Box of Chocolates . . . . . Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo women walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a white bag on the seat next to Sally. “What in bag?” asked the old woman. Sally looked down at the white bag and said, “It’s a box of chocolates. I got it for my husband.” The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then, speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said, “Good trade.” (Defauw)

The Average Person Only Gets 7 Right.

This is based on U.S. info, so use all lobes of your brain. This can be more difficult than it looks - it just shows how little most of us really see! There are 25 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think-- it just shows you how little we pay attention to the commonplace things of life. Put your thinking caps on. No cheating! No looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using anything on or in your desk or computer! Can you beat 11?? (The average is 7) Write down your answers and check answers (on the bottom) AFTER completing all the questions.

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?
2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don't laugh, some people don't know)
3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?
4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?
5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?
6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg? (Don't you dare get up to see!)
7. How many matches are in a standard pack?
8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?
9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial? Full frequency.
10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?
11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?
12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?
13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?
14. Which way do fans rotate?
15. How many sides does a stop sign have?
16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?
17. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?
18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?
19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?
20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?
21. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?
22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats?
23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?
24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?
25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

Three Things to Talk About . . . . . . . There are three ways you can talk about your product during a sales call. You can focus on its features, its advantage, or its benefits. The easiest thing to do is talk about features and advantages. The best thing to do is focus on benefits. Focusing on the benefits is hardly a new idea in selling, but it is such an important concept that it can’t be overemphasized - particularly since some salespeople have problems differentiating advantages from true benefits. A benefit is a feature or advantage that means something to this prospect. It answers an explicit need. If the customer doesn’t care about a certain feature then, for him, it’s not a relevant benefit. Build your presentation around the benefits that meet the needs of your customer. (50 Ways to Close a Sale)

“It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” Tom Brokaw

 ANSWERS - 1) Bottom 2) 50 3) Right 4) Blue, red, white, yellow, black, & gold 5) 1, 0 6) Right 7) 20 8) Red 9) 87.7 10) Clockwise (north of the equator) 11) Towards bottom right 12) 12 (no number 1) 13) Left 14) Clockwise as you look at it 15) 8 16) Left 17) 5 18) 6 19) Bashful 20) 8 21) Ace of spades 22) Left 23) *, # 24) 3 25) Counter

Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spend your supervisory time with your best people. The top 10-20% of employees deliver 70-80% of the results. So if you invest 40 hours in one month’s training, coaching, planning, cheerleading and working with your people, spend 24 hours or 60% with superstars. Spend 12 hours or 30% with the future superstars. Spend 4 hours with the laggards. The great boss understands this math. Too many do not. Too many bosses invest too much time with low-performing workers who deliver a low return on the time invested in them. Too many bosses under-invest in their best-performing people assets. (How to Become a Great Boss)

Negotiating the Sale . . . . . . . . . . . It may sound trite, but there are strong reasons to begin every negotiation with pleasantries. You always want the other person to feel good about talking to you. So don’t just walk in and start negotiating. Don’t start off with, “Let’s get on with this.” This is the time to humanize yourself. Admire that family photo on the desk. How old are the children? In or out of school? How about the person’s college ring? Talk about the news. Talk about sports. Whatever seems appropriate to take the ensuing negotiation to a friendly, pleasant plane. Showing personal interest is not only good manners; you may learn a nugget of information that you can use later, either to lighten up a dark moment or to alter the agreement to your liking. (Friendly Persuasion)

Good Question . . . . . . . When a Hollywood star is said to make $20 million a picture, how much does he/she actually get to keep? Of an actor’s $20 million salary, 10 percent goes to his agent. His business manager and lawyer each get 5 percent. About $7 million goes to taxes, unless the money is diverted into tax shelters. So, in general, from a $20 million salary, the star takes home only about $9 million. Some actors have a career manager - separate from the business manager - who lops off another 10 percent, leaving a net income of $7 million. Which is still enough to pay the plastic surgeon. (Newsweek)

Very Unimportant Facts . . . . . . . . . . .

•          “Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand and “lollipop” with your right.

•          Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

•          No word in the English language rhymes with: mouth - orange - silver - or purple.

•          “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.

•          The sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter of the alphabet.

•          TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (Zagrovich/M. Levy)

Repeat From Prior Newsletter . . . . . . . . . . When you’re out for dinner or at a dinner party, which glass is yours, which bread plate is yours? Well, the easiest way to remember is the knife has 5 letters as does the word drink and the fork has 4 letters as does the word food. The glass on your right is yours and the plate on the left is yours.

Do you have something you think might be good for this newsletter, please send it to me.

Also, can we help you? See below for information about - One-Touch Automation, Inc.                                 

Sincerely,

Edward C. Levy

President

Home Technology, Simplified: One-Touch is a full service home technology company. Simplify your daily routines with an automation system. Imagine your security, lighting, heating/air conditioning working together to save you both time and money. No more setting back the thermostat at night and running around turning off all of your lights before bed. Simply push a button labeled "Goodnight" and let your home automation system do the work. By simply arming your security system "Away", have all of your lights turn off and your heating/air conditioning set back. With One-Touch of a button called "Entertain", have all your lights go to a preset level while your favorite music turns on at a soft level throughout your home. Don’t forget, you can control your home from anywhere in the world via the internet. The possibilities are endless!