http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830iInside Strategic RelationsTue, 15 May 2012 09:28:15 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/CX6r./h/Too_many_contacts.htm Today's newsletter is along the lines of April 17th's Make more with focused action ... Every time I hear someone talk about how many social media connections, followers, or friends they have, well, I just want to vomit. Who cares? One look at their bank account tells me they have too many contacts and not enough customers. Of course, pointing my finger at the other guy I have three fingers pointing rich back. My smart phone crashed again, my contact manager got hung up, trying to sync my own list. My address book overflows with leads, 5,723 of them. But how many are worth pursuing? Let's make a differentiation right now ... on your front end you may have five-thousand, even twenty-five thousand prospects to sort. But if those lead go into your contact manager, never to graduate to full value customers -- then you're not focused on the right contacts. My newsletter subscribers are in B2B technical services sales, this means they sell high-ticket and often complex solutions. Sure, you might want ten-thousand contacts if you sell to the general public, but you can make big money in our business with a small list of buyers. If you're serious about creating and keeping profitable customers then you must agree to do the following: Focus contact efforts with those most highly qualified. In this world of Social media, Instant contacts, and easy access to data -- you can't afford to market everyone. Focus your energies using a spheres of influence model like Relationship Realms. Leverage resources rather than managing direct. You don't have to influence everyone in your market, just those who can purchase what you offer. Better to have a few strong connections than many weak. Be a resource for value producing answers. Thought leadership was dead the moment no body noticed you were talking. Instead, bring value to your specific customers through a methodology that delivers usable answers (not just an opinion.) There is no way you can constantly influence five-thousand contacts, but you can influence the 15 to 25 who have the most reach in those audiences. Look for the real leaders, not just the chump with more friends on Facebook. Find these influences by their ability to get things done, character, and loyalty to your objectives. You want people who get things done in your contact manager; buyers, vendors, and partners. Simply dump everyone else through a lead qualification strategy. Good news! You don't need to know how to do any of this right now, I can help you develop and implement a plan that increases sales quickly. All you really have to do is decide you want more sales with fewer contacts. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone Fax: P. s. This week find the top 100 most ideal buyers in your contact managers, do something to reach out to them right now. Then find the bottom 100 least likely to buy contacts and dump them. You just don't have the time and resources to try to reach everyone. Drop me a note in the next couple of weeks to let me know about your results. P. s. s. If you're not sure how to get started with relationship realms, leveraging resources, and lead qualification funnels, then right now get in line for an initial consultation. Now is the time to zero in on those highly qualified buyers before the economy improves and your competitors wake back up. Justin Hitt helps B2B technical services firms create and keep profitable customers using easy to implement strategies that extract fresh hot buyers from even the toughest markets. A regular contributor to the Inside Strategic Relations newsletter. Fax your questions to +1 (757) 282-7779 or visit http://www.AskJustinHitt.com/ Copyright 2012 Center for Strategic Relations, All rights reserved.Tue, 15 May 2012 09:28:15 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/DauBE/t/Proof_is_in_doing.htm After suggesting a client to work their house list via direct mail they exclaimed, "That's too hard." Client is a six-figure producer in a typical technical services firm. He makes on average $8,323 per project over 12-months period. Has about a 6-month sales cycle which is slowly increasing from 4-months over the last two years. Sales have been down, but he assured me he's done a lot of e-mail marketing and social marketing. Made quite a few contacts on LinkedIn. He's also been dialing for dollars the contacts he makes on-line. I said, "But what about those who you know are qualified but haven't responded to other attempts. Why not make them an offer they can't refuse?" My goal for this client is to bring them from "just inside" six-figures to middle six-figures in the next 12-months. What's your own income goal? To put this client at $250,000 a year, they need just 30 "average" projects a year. With a universe of 3,873 that closely matches existing customer -- that's less than 1% who need to convert over a 12-month window. My suggestion is up against his 591 LinkedIn connections, 281 friends on Facebook, and 467 followers on Twitter. Let's just assume these are unique individuals, fully engaged, and all within his target customer profile[1], that's a universe of 1,339. He'll need 2.2% to convert. [1] Yeah, like that's going to happen. Have you ever looked at who you followers really are? I say, why wait around when you can go direct. Every since one client took me aside to call me arrogant (to which I thanked him) ... since then I've been in the habit of showing proof of performance. That's why I'm countering the "It's too hard" comment this client has made. No better way to create proof then to do it myself. In addition to postcard campaigns, e-mail marketing, and the other outreach I do, ... Here's what I've done in my own business: 1. Printed 223 letters offering a special report that shows technical services providers how to get twice as many sales on half as many marketing dollars. Took about 5 minutes to drop off and was completed while I picked up a few grocery items at Bloom. (Let's say 20 minutes.) 2. Blasted addresses on 223 letters using a clapped out Canon 300S ink-jet. According to my notes, it's taken 35 minutes primarily because the paper tray only holds 30 envelopes at a time. 3. Folded and stuffed 223 letters, inserted business card while watching "Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning" I picked up from Great Courses." This took about 90 minutes, not including lunch. 4. Dropped the bundle off at the post office. This took about 2 minutes because I was already out for a meeting today anyway. (Let's say 20 minutes.) That's a total of 165 minutes (2.75 hours) of elementary school level secretarial work. Not much effort involved. It's a high value low skill activity that I didn't even have to do myself. If I wasn't working through an overstock of office supplies, and playing around with market tests, I'd call up one of my trusty mail service providers to do the whole thing for me. What took a few hours for a single drop would take minutes using a service provider. But if my client had to do it himself, it would take 2,865 minutes (47 hours) over 12-months, or 57 minutes a week based on a 50 hour week. It would cost around $3,800 for letters, I recommended a three part series. Stay with me putting out these numbers, but I promised proof! Total costs would be about $11,400 over a 12 month period. He'd reach 3,873 targeted prospects three times. Based on his average commission per sale, he'd only need to make 2 sales to profit from this "effort." What do you think? For just $2.94 a prospect, he could easily earn $250,000 a year. Even if paying every penny out of pocket, and assuming taxes don't go up much more, he'd have $171,072 in net pay minus out of pocket, with $159,672 to show for it. Are you with me? His current $135,000 produces a net of $97,300 estimated. Assuming no deductions, no 401(k) pre-tax; so there is a lot more money waiting for him. Would you trade $11,400 for a $62,372 increase in yearly earnings? Or in another way, would you invest $228 a week to profit $1,247? I certainly would. Even paying my 10% commission on gains over previous year earnings, he'd still be ahead of the game in a bankable way. Now I wouldn't just every client from $135k to $250k, but for this client numbers are down from previous years. Plus, he has an $8k average commission with about 20 projects a year. This guy is a producer barely living up to his potential. For you, I might only suggest a 15% increase over last years numbers. What I recommend is unique to each client, that's why a paid initial consultation is required before you can work with me. You decide what you're willing to invest and earn -- it's that easy. Let's talk about the time ... Would it only take an hour a week to execute this plan? Probably not. When I do larger projects for clients it only takes minutes for my client to make a call -- my people do all the work for them. When I have someone on my team write copy, or even when I write for myself, it really only takes a day or so for each campaign. Writing for others is what takes time and research -- this guy could write his own campaign based on how he prospects by phone. But even if it took an hour a day, approximately 350 hours a year, the NET increase of $62k would be worth $178 an hour. Even at one-third the net increase, you'd still be earning $59 an hour more, every hour doing this marketing. A lot of folks don't make $59 an hour doing anything! The question this client must ask himself is: Does he want to continue sliding down the income scale, or does he want to earn more in the next 12-months? Yes, he gave me all the same objections: * "Tried direct mail before and it didn't work." They always say this, but when I do the homework it doesn't take long to find a few campaigns that worked good enough. * "Social media is so easy, doesn't take much time." Personally I think the allure of shiny new technology is making people lazy. This client used to set appointments by letters. * "I get my business by word of mouth, not advertising." Actually, he didn't tell me this one, but I hear it all the time. This guy is a selling profession who doesn't mind knocking doors. * "Too busy to stay on top of campaigns for a year." That's exactly why I have my sales support company Hitt Publishing Direct so he can focus on what he does best. Long story short, I have a scope of work for copy writing, campaign production, and on-going testing support along with a menu of rates so this client can finally start earning big money in this economy. And it can be as automatic as e-mail and social media -- the difference is in reach and profitability. Can you see how you might benefit from adding one more marketing channel to what you're already doing? Does the math make sense? It's just a little effort now for lots of reward later. I know this has been a long report. If you have any questions, reply, or call us at +1 (757) 282-7779. That's a 24/7 phone fax hotline, leave your full contact details with your question so someone can get back with you. Let's wrap this thing up ... What are you looking to accomplish for you and your business? Sales opportunities are out there if you're willing to get them. Here are some take aways to get you started: 1. Choose a specific offer that gets a prospect to take a next step. Be clear, focus on what they get, and put the offer in front of buyers in a measurable way. 2. Introduce this offer in all marketing channels, test it against what you're already doing. 3. Introduce one new marketing channel. Build on past experience, test against what you're already doing. 4. Before you start, do the math on paper to see where you break even on a half percentage conversion. Look at cash flow, net returns, and cost per sale. 5. Start small with campaign to test your assumptions. Track everything, take lots of notes, and evaluate your efforts against rewards. 6. Stop the excuses, suck it up, and do it. Build on successes, and get more familiar with your banker. You are closer to your goals than you think. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone Fax Hotline: P. s. I know a lot of people don't give themselves a chance by reading these materials. Let's stack that deck in you favor. Print out this report and make it your priority to try it over the next 30-days. Write or call with your questions, comments, and success stories -- it makes my day to hear from producers. Justin Hitt helps B2B selling professionals, marketers, and entrepreneurs easily produce sustainable earnings in any economy. Isn't that what your family deserves? You can reach Justin Hitt through the Inside Strategic Relations newsletter at http://www.InsideStrategicRelations.com/ Copyright 2012 Center for Strategic Relation, All rights reserved.Thu, 03 May 2012 09:16:57 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/9kedE/t/I_m_watching_you.htm Tired of sending out marketing with no sure fire measurable (bankable) results? You know the frustration. Putting together a creative, sweating over the copy, then not seeing the response you expected. Not something I can relate to in most mediums except this e-mail newsletter. That's exactly why I'm adding more touch points and measures to purge inactive subscribers. But it doesn't matter what medium you use for marketing, if you're not getting bankable results -- then there is something else you ought to be doing. Doesn't matter what you think about thought leadership, you can't pay your bills on free. Here's one way to increase your returns on any profitable marketing campaign. While this is a direct mail example, the same works in e-mail, outbound telephone, and even social media. It starts by understanding that your solution isn't right for everyone. There are many who you pay to reach today (even as cheap as everyone thinks e-mail is) who can't buy from you ever. Think about it this way: You send 2,500 postcards to a industry targeted list. It costs $0.44 per card, that's $1,100 in costs plus overhead. You get 25 responses and 2 sales worth $1,000 each. This could just as easily be 2,500 e-mail messages at $0.04 each. Of course with media changes so will your response rate. But this is an example I've seen measure this way time and time again. Now imagine you were able to further qualify your list to prospects who were specifically interested in your solution. This could also mean a specific qualification that only those with an immediate need would have. Let's say that refine the list down to 1,500 contacts to which you send the same postcard. That's $660 in costs plus overhead. You get the same 25 people to respond and 2 sales worth $1,000 each. What's the difference between these two campaigns? The first list was a general selection with very few qualification criteria. Most sales people start here. It's a list of prospects, a telephone directory, or a rented list. In the case of your second list you've focused your efforts by omitting certain unqualified contacts from the original list. Being more selective you get the same individuals to respond, but you do it for less. How can you get the same response? You get the same response because both the general and the focused list contain the same buyers. The difference is you are only reaching out to those most qualified to buy. The real difference between these two campaigns is $1,340 in returns verses $900, almost a 49% increase. Eliminate costs of tire kickers and you'll immediately increase your returns. But what about e-mail marketing? Even in marketing channels that have virtually zero costs to deliver, you still have overhead. E-mail related marketing overhead is estimated at $0.03 to $0.07 per message. This overhead includes building web landing pages, creative, list management, and compliance. But you don't just have campaign execution costs. Inactive or uninterested subscribers in e-mail marketing can hurt your delivery scores. Worse, they can make spam complaints that could get you in legal trouble. Plus there is the overhead associated with maintaining lists that produce no revenue. It's just silly to maintain a connection with an individual who has not confirmed interest in what you have to offer. Business relationships are about mutual gain. This is why I'm watching your behavior like a hawk. As 1983 hit by The Police says, "Every move you make, every breath you take, ..., I'll be watching you." (Not in the sinister way Sting intended the original song.) And this watching isn't stalking your Facebook profile, or following you on LinkedIn. While I have staked out industrial parks to see how my clients work, it's different than that. This watching comes in the form of list management. Your goal in list management is to remove anyone who can't buy what you have to offer. You don't need them reading your blogs, newsletters, or yet alone sending them offers. When was the last time you purged your mailing list? You won't know you're purged, but I know who reads and who doesn't get involved in these materials. Those who fail to at least read these messages are dropped. Who does not belong on your list? It starts with the uninterested party. That's the subscriber, prospect, or individual who does not respond. They consume, but never interact, never ask, or reply to your offers. To this point on my e-mail newsletter my offers have primarily been to answer your questions. That's the entry point to a two step campaign into my paid consultations. Other entry points are offers for special reports to collect additional details about your needs, desires, and wants. But for you it could be a simple audit, fact sheets, or educational materials. You are watching for behavior that moves your prospect closer to becoming a customer. This watching can tell you a lot about your audience. Here are a few criteria that can help you focus in on buyers by purging your list: 1. Multiple offers no purchases after 120 days, 2. Multiple e-mails with no opens over 120 days, 3. Negative behaviors like flagging your message as spam, 4. Ignoring amazing irresistible offer with high response elsewhere, 5. Indicates negative qualification criteria known in non-buyers, Over the years I've found quick boosts by purging non-buyers over moving on to new lists. Doesn't matter if it's your house list, or a rented list. Removing those who can't buy always improves your response and profits. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone Fax: P. s. What do you think of this newsletter? Tell me your story, what you want from your selling, and how I can help you. Reply to this message to have your say. Justin Hitt helps B2B technical services firms create and keep profitable customers. With his innovative cost cutting and profit building strategies you'll reach more buyers with fewer resources. Learn more about what Justin has to offer by visiting http://www.JustinHitt.com/ Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:52:18 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/KcCSE/t/Make_more_with_focused.htm With so much information available on the Internet, you can learn just about anything. The problem comes that you don't EARN more by learning, instead you learn by DOING. Here's how you answer the question, "What do I need to learn to increase my sales?" Over the last two decades I've seen "dummies" make fortunes, while others are still figuring it all out. While your education is important, it is not the only way to create results. What I do for clients is help them do more marketing, know what works, and increase sales now. Here's the answer, "You don't need to learn anything!" Here are the steps I take to insure clients get maximum value from what they already know: 1. Document income goals. You must earn this year something between what you did last year and what you desire. Your income needs to be twice your expenses to leave room for taxes and savings. 2. Document lifestyle goals. Make a list of those things you want to achieve in the next 12-months. How do you want to live, what do you want to do? How many hours do you want to work? You need to know this before you start. 3. Baseline current situation. Most people have "blue sky" dreams while really living in a mess. By knowing your current situation you can set realistic targets to get you where you want to be. Being truthful about your current situation helps set priorities. 4. Address performance gaps. By document income and lifestyle goals before base lining a clients situation, I can easily see where effort needs to be focused. Often disconnects show themselves. 5. Document intermediary goals. For each difference between where a client is today and where they want to be, a "middle step" is created. This short term goal brings them closer to the long term objectives by closing the gaps identified. 6. Document measuring points. You get what you measure. Every goal has several measures rolled up into a daily action plan. This way clients know that they are going in the right direction. 7. Choose three outcome actions. Based on all you've done to this point, choose three activities you'll do each day that measurably move you towards you targets. You must do something, measure, then do some more to move forward. Notice I say "document" rather than "determine" or "set" when it comes to goals, targets, and measures. That's because you need to know the goal, it's characteristics, and be specific about the outcome you desire. You can convert the knowledge you already have into accountable action when you have specific application. It's also easier to determine where new skills are needed. While this all sounds like work, it's much easier than struggling for years and never really seeing the results you desire. Henry David Thoreau once said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." You can be a complete dummy by everyone else's standards, yet, create for your family for fortune that can never be taken away. The key is being smart about how you apply what you do know, your time, and how you hold yourself accountable for results. This is one of the seven-step exercises I use with clients during paid consultations. Year after year it proves valuable to focus clients on actions the create value in their business. Too often selling professionals, marketers, and entrepreneurs get distracted by little things in their business. This exercise focuses you on creating measurable results so you can earn more with less effort. For help and accountability in applying this process to your personal bottom line, then right now sign up for a paid consultation by visiting ... http://www.justinhitt.com/initial-consultation.php?utm_source=CK1&utm_medium=Aweber&utm_content=MoreFocusedAction&utm_campaign=D0803I Life isn't just about making more money, it's about having a lifestyle you can enjoy. Rather than working so many hours with little to show for it, this method can help you finally free you from drudgery. Follow these steps, let me know how they work for you. I'm looking forward to hearing your success story. This has been report #G0412B -- if you have any questions, call into the automated telephone fax hotline at +1 (757) 282-7779 Leave your name, number, and address details along with your question. Mention report G0412B and I'll be happy to answer your question. Thank you for being a part of this program. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone Fax: P. s. Rather than searching for answers, how about investing in results? That's exactly what you do with a paid consultation. See how I protect your interests and remove all the risk. Bankable results and the lifestyle you desire is within your reach. Do it now! http://www.justinhitt.com/initial-consultation.php?utm_source=CK1&utm_medium=Aweber&utm_content=MoreFocusedAction&utm_campaign=D0803I Justin Hitt helps B2B technical services firms create and keep profitable customers with hidden assets in their business. You are closer than you think to the growth, profits, and sustainable lifestyle you desire. Ask him questions by calling +1 (757) 282-7779 Copyright 2012 JWH Consolidated Inc, All rights reserved. Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:23:40 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/PPQcA/t/What_is_strategic_relations_.htm In the 2000 recession alone my clients walked away with $52 million dollars in new business, and now you can too! For more than a decade I've been doing something for clients that makes them millions of dollars each year. However, I don't do it alone. A little tool called strategic relations to puts the right resources in the right place for maximum results. While the term "strategic relations" is hardly heard, I didn't invent it. In fact, it came out of an old book from the late 1800's which I reconnected with concepts learned in "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge. Yet, the concept is older than the Ancient Pharaohs of Egypt. What is the definition of strategic relations? Strategic relations is the mutual dealing or connections or communications among persons in a manner of important or essential to plan action. A complete definition is available at http://iunctura.com/glossary/index.php#strategic-relations Here's what's important. Strategic relations is about aligning resources for a specific plan of action. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems in business today is implementation. So many smart companies know what to do, but not how to do it. That's where I come in with years of business development and supply logistic related experience. If you haven't noticed, I've made my life a collection of the right sales and procurement resources. This is because I believe there are two places you can make money with business relationships -- #1, When you sell, and #2, When you buy. Strategic relations is buying and selling in a profitable way for a specific customer. Can you see how this opens the doors to money in your pocket? Here's why this works: (a) When you buy at a good value and fair price something that a specific customer will buy from you, then you profit. (b) When you buy at the same value but a lower price something you're already committed to buy, then you profit. (c) When you sell a solution that is in demand, and customers are willing to pay a premium, then you profit. This mentality even flows into operations: When your project managers buy value, they don't waste resources finding a right fit for customers. And, when they deliver benefits promised in a sale, your customers are satisfied, and you profit. How can you do more with what you've got? Another secret to my success with strategic relations is that when a client hires me they get a team. Within the area of marketing campaign management they get my relationships with production companies. When looking at growing profits I can bring in trusted CPA's, auditors, and cost analysis professionals. Same goes for lowering costs on the technical logistics side. You don't need to be a jack of all trades when you master strategic relations. That's because there is an unlimited supply of trade smart individuals who don't know how to connect what they do really well with buyers. Get more from your business relationships with these take away lessons: 1. Look at how you've aligned yourself with resources in your work place, customers in your market, and vendors. Are you a go-to person for solutions in your industry? 2. Establish clear communications channels that flow through your filters, putting you in the right place at the right time for your clients. Are you a switch board of industry insights? 3. Determine where you can deliver mutual value for a specific customer right now, and let them know. Are your outbound marketing channels productive? That last point is very important. Today's marketers are lazy bastards who don't lift a finger to find a buyer -- that's great news for you. But you need to be specific. For example, ... I only serve B2B technical services companies who want to increase sales and profits. While my business development and supply logistics skills have other benefits, I don't dilute my efforts trying to be all things to everyone. This focus delivers greater value to my clients and demands premium rates. Do you have this same kind of focus? If you're not 100% clear on what strategic relations can do for you, then right now, reply to this message with your questions. There are thousands of dollars waiting to jump into your bank account -- plus untold opportunity for sustainable growth in your industry if you just understand this one concept. Don't be afraid of asking questions. That's why I put this newsletter together starting back in 2001 and have been sharing these insights since 1996. And, just for newsletter subscribers like you, I'm often available between 1PM and 3PM EST on Thursdays for brief questions by telephone at +1 (757) 741-8882. This is a direct line, please try again if the line is busy -- mention reference G0228A and I'll mail you a free gift based on our conversation. It's my goal to remove every obstacle from your path to success in B2B technical services sales -- and this starts with your understanding of strategic relations. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone Fax Hotline: P. s. If you just want to leave your question and contact details on my recorded message system, then use the hotline. Otherwise, call within times prescribed, or reply to this e-mail with your questions. Here's to your personal profit and financial stability even in the worst of economies! Copyright 2012 Center for Strategic Relations, All rights reserved. Justin Hitt is a no-nonsense deliverer of time tested B2B sales and marketing solutions that make you bankable profits. Write him with your questions, or get involved in depth with an initial consultation. Details available at http://www.JustinHitt.com/ Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:02:59 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/HsEKA/t/Getting_profitable_customers.htm In the last part of this lesson I mentioned a conversation with Mitch Axelrod. His question got me to re-look at facts about my customers -- something I help my clients do to improve their profits. It was a simple question, "Where do your customers come from?" But it was the following on question that made all the difference. Understand this, you can always benefit from a second opinion if you're willing to listen. His follow on question was, "How much are your customers worth?" You shouldn't be surprised to know, that I have these details off the top of my head. You should know these numbers too (your numbers not mine.) If someone asks you what a customer is worth, you absolutely must know this if you're serious about growing your personal bottom line. Not just to get more money, but for stability, to notice trends, and avoid sudden shocks in your market. Unfortunately, I can stump just about any selling professional, marketer, and even executives by asking the two questions above. Would I stump you? I know the answer to these questions about my business because it's fundamental to what I teach my clients when working on business development. Wouldn't I look a little stupid if I didn't -- then again, I make my money doing, rather than teaching, so perhaps I'm different. But it wasn't till I vocalized it did I realize a goldmine in my business that I just wasn't serving. You can discover new potential in your business by asking yourself two simple questions. It doesn't take long and the answers might even shock you when you look at the facts. Ask yourself these two questions: 1. Where do your customers come from? 2. How much are your customers worth? Then add the optimization factor touched on in the first part of this report. That's right, itemize your findings by sales and marketing channels. When I worked with a top producer looking at increasing his commissions, here's a sample of what he discovered: Q&A #1: Where do customers come from? Cold call telephone prospecting, 36%; Introduction letters, 25%; Cold E-mail contact, 19%; Business networking trade events, 18%; and other at 2%. These areas contributed to new business, but this top producer was also prospecting via social media, sending brochures, exhibiting at trade shows, blogging, and several other activities. To answer question number you it's important to look at several factors. Stick with me here because many selling professionals will wuss out at this point, whining about how much hard work this seems. Yet, those same people will cry to me about not earning enough for the effort they expend. That's why this multi-dimensional analysis is so valuable. In simple terms, "real easy to make any decision, but right decisions come from facts." This means you must look at time, money, and value related inputs before considering which output has the greatest value. Many of these points are covered in the selection of customer in my "Get More Profits" program that I'll mention one more time at the end of this report. But it's easy to get started with the three factors of time, money, and value. Q&A #2: How much are your customers worth? (a) How much time and money does it take? * Cold call telephone prospecting; 12h/week; no cost. Compiled names purchased and researched from trade publications. * Introduction letters; 2h/week; $1.17 ea. ~ $117/week. Purchased list of targeted companies by NAICS and financial selects. * Cold e-mail contact; 4h/week; no cost. Researched e-mail contacts of targeted individuals according to triggers. * Business networking trade events; 15h/week; $50.00/week, including travel time. Regional trade events, golf outings, and mixers. * Other actives: Including social media (22h/week; no cost), sending brochures (3h/week; $0.50 ea. ~ $250/week), exhibiting trade shows (10h/week; $399/week), and business blogging (18h/week; no cost.) Please note, all costs are direct out of pocket not including overhead and have been averaged on a weekly basis. You may have higher or lower costs depending on your situation. It's also important to consider that while some activities are being done, others can't be done. For example, difficult to be gone all week exhibiting at a trade show and cold call telephone prospect at the same time. However, you could have evening business networking, social media interactions, or thought leadership activities at the same time. One of this individuals biggest complaints was that he's making all this money but has little time to show for it. Gone weeks at a time touring to offer his high ticket solution, much of his office time was rushed and his kids were starting to forget his name. Already you might be saying, "Well cut out those activities that cost a lot of money?" That's what most companies do, cutting marketing or sales resources as soon as things get tough. In the short term this does increase profits. You might also say, "Stop doing activities that take up a lot of your time?" Sure, might help solve the time issue, but might turn out to be short sighted. However, just cutting costly or time intensive activities doesn't take into consideration where customers are coming from. What might you have stopped doing that evaluated against this kind of fact based criteria might reveal a income channel to regain? And as I write this I realize it's abstract to demonstrate cross functional activities on paper without a diagram. Write me with a question about this and I'll fax you something. Simply put: "Cross functional activities" are those that on the surface have little value -- but together add to sales. That's why source tracking is so important. An example of this is an e-mail or letter follow up of leads generated at a trade show -- or insights learned about a certain market on social media then used as a topic in a trade even interaction. Can you see why some selling professionals throw up there hands, wanting more, but settling for what they get? All this and I haven't even got to the second component of question #2. Now Mitch didn't go into all this on the phone with me ... His questions just triggered something I already knew about my business. This is the value I receive working with people much smarter than I am. Anyway, this second part is really important too: Q&A #2: How much are your customers worth? (b) How much is it worth in terms of income? Business is all about profit and loss. Whether you are a selling professional looking at how much you can go out of pocket for things your company won't cover; or an executive establishing a marketing budget -- you can't have profits if your expenses exceed your income. In short, introduction letters account for 21% and networking events were producing 45% of his net returns (income after taxes.) This includes backing out the cost of him time, something that I discuss in other programs. About 12% of net returns came from cold telephone calls, but 32% came from cold telephone calls as follow up on leads from trade shows and event triggers. Do you see the value of combination or cross functional activities? The rest of his net earnings came from all other areas. It was the combination activities that created the greatest results. For example, send an introduction letter, then meet person at networking event, followed by a cold telephone call to set an appointment. After this simple analysis I built for him several combination activities in the form of marketing series -- each easily executed and measured. What about those expensive trade shows? First thought was to drop the trade shows because they could mean a week out of town. You had airfare, transportation, and hotel costs. However, ... If you dropped participation in trade shows you'd kill more than 58% of his net earnings because these events generated leads, ideas, and triggers back into his other marketing efforts. Often appointments set at shows weren't worth anything -- so he's going to shift show efforts into lead generation and closing orders at shows. The latter he had never tried but is technically possible. (The mentality here is if trade set appointments aren't worth anything, you don't lose much going right for a sale on the floor.) Sure enough, he could close simple service orders and existing customer reorders right at the show. This turned a contributing combination channel into a new income channel. This is the value of testing. Where might you test a old channel in a new way? There are more adjustments discussed that have worked out really well, like outsourcing cold calling and letter production to his new administrative assistant. The net returns on part-time help to service these tasks are much greater than doing it himself. BUT HERE IS WHAT YOU MUST CONSIDER ... What if he was only doing one thing to get customers? Worse, without proper analysis, What if he stopped doing something that didn't directly contribute to buyers? If you aren't looking at your marketing P&L on a per channel basis, across combinations, and tracking lead sources -- then you're likely living hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table. There is a competitor in your industry thanking their lucky stars that you leave so much business for them to eat up. Don't need to be a math genius, nor do you need any special software. You can know where customers come from if you'll do some simple tracking. It's as easy as categorizing, scheduling, and managing your time -- tracking sales against prospect source, and a little basic math. There is more on this to discuss, but here's what prompted this whole report ... While I get a hundreds of sales each year from my e-mail newsletter, a few hundred now from websites and other sales channels, my profitable customers come from recruiter channels. These recruiters already have relationships with the Fortune 500 companies I've been serving lately, and the technical services providers I've worked with in the past. Originally I started the newsletters as a showcase of my experiences with clients. Still today I source many of my materials from client projects -- but outside the few thousand dollars a year in sales, the newsletter, business blogs, and websites only account for less than 22% of my net income. Good news is it's a break even proposition. However, in terms of time it can take more than three-quarters of my non-client billable time to manage. That means, spending 80% of my time with clients, 15% is maintenance, and the remaining 5% accounts for everything else. If that 80% represents a 45 to 50 hour week, it means I'm burning 10 to 15 hours doing everything else. Fair enough that I'd meet with my CPA on my time -- but this is time taken away from social and recreational activities. But think about it this way ... the tiny 5% of time creates 78% of my income! What a HUGE and exciting opportunity. Now imagine what would happen if 6% of my time could be dedicated to these core income producing activities. You'll be shocked by what you discover in your own business. For me it means hiring an editor, or going with more "raw" newsletters. You may have noticed a few newsletters were quickly edited transcripts. All the good things you say about my newsletters do stroke my ego, but the bigger secret is that much of these materials are now being recycled into marketing activities outside the Internet that frees even more time. It doesn't take much for an administrative assistant to dust off an old report, turn it into content, or even a report to use in lead generation. What opportunities do you see to focus your time on high value income producing activities, or increasing your output while freeing up time? Further analysis, which by the way only took a few hours out of my day, further analysis shows that more than 90% of my newsletter/website income is passive (which means about 20% of my total net income is passive.) So I'm actually looking to improve this by better staff management. Here's the BOTTOM LINE FOR YOUR BOTTOM LINE: Get the facts about your income channels, both in time, money, and value. There is more to life than just making money -- yes, you can have better customers, more profits, and the free time to enjoy it if you're willing to look at the facts. That's what I hope to deliver for you through strategic relations. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Question? Phone / Fax Hotline: P. s. Okay, you might have some questions, write me anytime. In fact, when you get a copy of my "How to Get More Profits by Cultivating Your Best Customers" I'm throwing in a consultation for the purposes of walking you through these formulas. Too many try to improve sales and profits only to get further behind. For strategies that give you the facts about your very best buyers, visit http://shop.jwhco.com/How-to-Get-More-Profits-by-Cultivating-Your-Best-Customers/productinfo/AG35/?utm_source=ck1&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Getting-Customers-That&utm_campaign=d0830i Part 2 of 2: Customers Come From, by Justin Hitt Copyright 2012 Center for Strategic Relations, All rights reserved.Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:53:25 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/DxeKA/t/Where_do_customers_come.htm You may be like many readers of this publication, looking to this newsletter for insights that help you increase your business. Maybe you've even asked yourself these questions ... Where do your customers come from? Do you get customers from prospecting? If yes, do you get more from cold calls, or knocking on doors? Are your customers coming your way from your website, e-mail newsletter, or even search engine traffic? Which brings in the greatest dollar value customers? Last week I was on a call with Mitch Axelrod who consults with Fortune 500 corporations, small businesses, and individuals on how to boost income. This call was about a possible joint venture -- but he got me thinking about something very important. After an analysis of where my clients come from, I've gained a bit of clarity. Each year this newsletter brings me hundreds of sales. This is a combined effort between the newsletter itself and connected websites. Are you seeking customers were they aren't found? While I do gain sales from this newsletter, very few clients start as newsletter subscribers. In fact, most of my three to eighteen month contracts came from a network of recruiters I've cultivated over the years. If just looking at a simple count, 75% of my sales come from the newsletter, 5% from recruiters, and the rest from various channels including web catalogs. The 75% includes newsletter content, business blogging, and autoresponder training series. The other category includes sales channels added third quarter 2011, which are rapidly growing. Questions to ask yourself: As a count of customers, What channels bring you new customers? What is your breakdown in categories relevant to your business? What's shocking at this point is that many clients have one or two ways they get customers. In my businesses I have at least 15, many of which are listed here. But if you stop here, you're missing half the picture. Real nice to know how many customers come from each channel, but that means nothing to a business that uses strategic relations. Here are several factors you must know, that I'll discuss in debt in the next issue: * What is your customer value per channel? * Which channel refers new customers? * What is your cost per lead per channel? * Which channel is most profitable on average? Factoring in overhead, effort, and overall productivity you'll discover the truth about profitable customers. It's one of the reasons I spend more time answering your questions than "publishing" a traditional newsletter. Ask these questions of your customers, marketing channels, and how you bring customers into your business. In the next part, I'll share the shocking truth about what Mitch Axelrod's question prompted in my business. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone / Fax Hotline: P. s. I've updated my "How to Get More Profits By Cultivating Your Best Customers" for this changing economy. It also includes a one-on-one consultation. For more strategies that will make your bankers do cartwheels, be sure to get your copy at http://shop.jwhco.com/How-to-Get-More-Profits-by-Cultivating-Your-Best-Customers/productinfo/AG35/?utm_source=ck1&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Where-Do-Customers&utm_campaign=d0830i Part 1 of 2: Customers Come From, by Justin Hitt Copyright 2012 Center for Strategic Relations, All rights reserved.Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:49:18 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/4ytrg/t/Saying_thank_you_matters.htm Pretty much every time I've had clients, or have myself increased the number of times I've shown apprecieation to customers -- it's alway increased profits. And factors tied to recency have shown the largest most ready returns. Are you saying thank you soon enough to your customers? After a few months of orders I've done a quick analysis on customer interaction points to discover another new time to say "Thank You!" In this edition of Inside Strategic Relations, I'll share with you why thank you notes are so important and how to know to what level you can say thanks. Why are thank you notes so important? First, thank you notes are important because they demonstrate apprecieation and remind the customer of their decision to purchase from you. Nothing can beat a hand written thank you note right after an interaction when the note includes a sincere relevant point. This kind of follow up connects your apprecieation to a specific situation. Here I'm talking primarily about thank you notes right after a sale, but most of this is relevant at any point along your customers interactions with your company. You can't assume your customer knows you apprecieate their order. And since most customers (as much as 63%) eventually leave because they feel a lack of apprecieation -- it never hurts to say thank you earlier. Think about your own experiences ... what was it like the last time someone sent a thank you to you? Unfortunately in today's electronic world most sales people send sorry ass e-mail thank you notes thinking they have done something. What I'm not talking about here is e-mail thank you notes, if that's all you do then you are a loser. What happens when you don't say thanks at the right level? "I spent $10,250 and all I got to show for it is a stinken t-shirt" was the frustration of one executive. After investing in a structured cabling system for his small data center, he couldn't help being a little frustrated. After all, $10,250 is a lot of money to his growing company, especially to take right out of the bottom line to clean up some cables in a data center. He recalled a comment by one of the technicians about how small his data center was compared to other jobs this company has done. You might as well told this executive he had a tiny naughty part, because the thank you in his mind was much smaller than the investment. It even seemed a little like an after thought because it came months after the job in a box with a marketing slick. Hope you're not making the same mistake. When you write a thank you note, keep these points in mind: * Your thank you must be from one person to another, a sign of apprecieation for a specific decision. Buyers do business with people, they don't care much about your company especially after the work is delivered. * Thank you note must arrive closely after the action that you are showing appreciation. It shows you're paying attention. Wait too long and your customer will think that thanks is an after thought. * Your note needs to stand as evidence that YOU are saying thank you, or at least put in a little effort. This is the difference between sending your wife flowers every week on an auto-shipment plan, verses periodically picking some up "just because." * The thank you needs to be in proportion to the thing you are showing apprecieation for -- bigger apprecieation, bigger gift is what your customer thinks. More on how to figure out how big you can go later in this report. * The more effort the customer thinks you put into saying "Thank you" the happier they are for it. Plus, they connect this happiness with their general apprecieation for you. Implement a thank you program correctly and customers will forgive all kinds of things because it's human nature to say: "It's the thought that counts." Not that they will forgive you for screwing up their business, or doing poor work, but they are more likely to overlook slight omissions by the service department -- when selling professionals show their apprecieation. When you use thank you notes the right way, even gifts, you also become closer to one of the family. This happens because so few other vendors say thank you, and it's likely the only other appreciation of this kind your buyer gets is from those close to them. It's my practice in personal selling to send a thank you know after EVERY interaction with a potiential customer -- each tailored to the type of interaction. Not a new idea, Tom Hopkins has recommended it for years. Thank you notes for the case of high volume low ticket price In this particular case, these are thank you notes for my sales catalog which has a higher volume and lower ticket than my face-to-face selling. You might wonder why I'd bother with low ticket items, but in fact, it's self liquidating lead generation. If you've been a student of my other materials, I use a lead qualification funnel. This means heavy qualification before a sale, often including initial purchases that qualify buyers. This let's me have the lifestyle I want with fewer large transactions each year. This model is similar to what a service provider may face who also has a service desk. If you're selling parts in one division and providing service in another, you might use parts sales as a lead generation tool to fill that sales funnel in service -- because people don't buy parts for machines they don't have -- if they have the machine they might also be interested in regular service, and replacement. Can you see the connection? If you're fortunate enough to service equipment with many consumable parts, those items can be buying indicators if properly tracked. I'm selling business development, supply logistics, and business analyst services -- so I offer books, reports, training, and newsletters to pre-qualify my buyers. Due to the high ticket value of my services, I may only close one or two accounts a year. Perhaps I'll have at most twenty appointments, and hundreds of initial consultations. This was done on purpose because I've packaged most everything I do so that my clients can do it themselves after a few consultations. That means, while I have a lot fewer one-on-one sales interactions I now have thousands of catalog order based transactions. In business, how you say thank you can cost you a fortune When you don't say "Thank you" the right way you can lose business with unhappy customers. Worse, you could setup frustrations that would have been eliminated if you just said thanks. But there are hidden costs of saying thank you -- all over come by doing it the right way. Don't you dare give up on thank you notes! There are a lot of under performing sales people who think it's too hard. What are you currently doing for thank yous? Is your company using them in all transactions? If it helps to send thank you notes in your face-to-face selling, wouldn't it also help in catalog sales? automatic reorders? and other sales interactions? Yes, it certainly does. Here's the challenge. With hundreds of orders each month, I'd be spending all my time writing personal thank you notes -- not much time on my bread-n-butter clients. So here's what I came up with ... 1. Looking at customer interaction points related to my catalog sales (on-line, off-line, via channels, and website), I discovered: (a) a delay right after purchase and receipt of 4 to 5 days; and (b) very low margins on the initial order. 2. Going over a Market Analysis Report, which summerizes profits by advertising source, I see I have between 9.6% and 14% margin on initial orders. But almost a 20% margin if a customer orders twice. Profit from the initial sale (not including overhead) equals between $2.86 and $7.28. 3. Reviewed a Downstream Source Analysis to see for certain sources that customers who order twice (right now 10% of volume) their value over 12-months is $198 in profits. Don't yet have numbers on which of these become clients. "What does all this have to do with thank you notes?" You might be asking yourself that question. Let's get two points out of the way first, (a) it's important to say thank you, and (b) you need to know how big you can thank. In some outside sales positions we'd say "Thank You" with cans of Virginia Peanuts, even Smithfield Ham's. Briefly selling for Yellow Book, I'd say thank you with hand written cards. My network install and computer integration company gave out hand written notes with two movie tickets. For higher ticket items I've even said thank you with parties, NASCAR/Stockcar tickets, and sporting events. These gifts range from $1.00 for a note card with postage to $215 for two NASCAR/Stockcar tickets. You can't send a customer to a race by themselves. Some sales people might say, "Who cares what it costs, my company is paying for it!" That same sales person will gift the crap out of customers, then wonder why their commission plan keeps changing each year -- and they are getting paid less as time goes by. Even a can of peanuts, almonds, or cashews can run $3.12 in bulk cases. And you might need to be a few of each if you're considerate enough to know that customers may have peanut alergies. What else do you need to consider when adding a thank you program to your selling efforts? Notice, none of the numbers provided here include overhead. Let's say I make $118,000 a year and it takes 15 minutes to write a hand written thank you note. That's about $14.18 in overhead a card. Truth is, the cost is much more if you look at the burden rate for that individual. I talk about burden rates over at Cash Management Secrets, for details visit http://cashmanagementsecrets.com/2008/08/build_in_burden_when_bidding_c.php As an employee, your burden to the company may be three to five times your gross earnings. This would cover taxes, human resources, building, and insurance, plus other items. On a recent project, that project managers burden rate was $88 dollars an hour -- so for them to write the same thank you note it would cost the company $22.00. Now all that is okay when you're writing maybe a two-hundred thank you notes a year for high-ticket services with moderate margins. You can write a thank you on initial contact, set appointment, appointment, post appointment, and sale close; just some example customer interactions. But looking at my numbers, with just a $2.86 margin on an initial order -- I can't afford to write those thank you notes. However, I know the power of a personal hand written thank you note to keep a customer coming back, so what's the solution. One option was to add a thank you note on the packing slips and invoices. I simply include ... "*** Thank you for choosing Sales Problems Solved, for more Sales, Marketing, and Self Improvement resources visit http://www.SalesProblemsSolved.com/ ***" ... which provides a quick thank you note plus an invitation back for a second purchase. Doesn't cost anything to do this, just a matter of setting up my order management software. Adding this automated thank you has contributed to the natural reorder rate. Initially these catalog orders had an initial loss of $3.52 with less than 1% reorder rate. Numbers started coming up after adding this to and actually sending paper invoices even for on-line catalog orders. But how many customers actually look at the invoices, and how can I get but to that 20% margin with a second order? It's about being more personal with my thank you notes. If you what to know what solution I took, write in reply to this message for details. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant Questions? Phone Fax: P. s. Two obvious lessons: (a) if you have a high ticket transaction you must send thank you notes immediately; (b) thank you notes cost money so they need to do something else, revealed in the next part of this newsletter. Write with your questions, and details, the answers will not be in a future newsletter edition. P. p. s. The biggest lesson: (a) Get your wife flowers, it's Valentines Day! Justin Hitt helps B2B technical services firm turn business relationships into profits guaranteed. His simple ideas are easy to implement while building on solid business fundementals. If you are an executive in a $20 million dollar plus business and what more profits immediately, schedule your consultation by visiting http://www.JustinHitt.com/ Copyright 2012 Center for Strategic Relations, All rights reserved. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:00:14 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/DfCfo/t/Earning_with_a_difference.htm One of my personal goals is to give away one-hundred thousand dollars for a handful of charities I support over the next three years. At least 10% of my company gross earnings and 10% of my personal income goes to this missing. My heart goes out to charities that help children, improve self sustainability, and support entrepreneurial activities. Following my good steward belief I've talked about in some of my programs, I even look over financial statements just as I do my investment portfolio. One such charity is Heifer International whose mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty. They provide livestock and training with a agreement to pass along animal offspring within the community of benefit. Here's a little from their website about what they are doing ... Celso Calderón Pineda from Honduras loves to help care for the cow his family received from Heifer. His mother, especially grateful for Heifer donors says, "Our diet has improved. Before, we could only buy a quart of milk every 15 or 18 days. Now Celso milks the cow, and we get one gallon every day." Now this letter isn't necessary about you giving to this charity, while it would be appreciated. It's about a insider secret that makes strategic relations work for everyone involved. Celso's mother describes a situation you may be facing in your own financial life. You may not need a cow, but what is it in your life that is of limited supply? Something you pay for right now, rather than pays you in a sustainable way. By learning how to care for a milk cow, Celso's family gets what they could not previously afford. This milk provides necessary nutrition, even a source of income when their surplus is sold to within their community. It's value creation, being a producer rather than a consumer that is the secret of this growth. What's your milk cow? I firmly believe it's understanding how strategic relations improves your sales, gets better results from your marketing, and helps you build a sustainable business. I challenge you to participate in charities to which you believe -- both through direct action and your financial contributions. Learn more about Heifer International at http://www.heifer.org/ You and I can't sit around waiting for the governments to fix these messes. Individuals can make a difference especially in their own lives when they have the right tools. Get involved, make loads of money, and put it to good use. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant 24/7 Phone Fax Hotline: P. s. If you're working on any sustainable energy projects including bio-diesel, bio-gas, solar, composting, and the opportunities go on. I'll waive my initial consultation fee and give you a $397 credit (will still contribute forward waived fee for consultation.) Discounted rates are available for qualified nonprofits doing something worth talking about in these areas. Send me details about your organization at the postal address below, or reply by e-mail. Only a small percentage of my time goes towards these projects, so first come first served. Justin Hitt helps technical services business create and keep profitable customers in a sustainable way. His methods grow personal long term profits starting from where you are, taking you to where you want to be. Write with your questions. It's easy to pass along this newsletter, just forward to associates and encourage them to join us. Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:14:17 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/iun-ck1-d0830i/MOjvI/t/Best_time_for_objections.htm When is the best time to handle sales objections? This is a question I'm asked often. In the practice of strategic relations, objectives are handled all the time. Especially before a sales engagement. Here's my advice to Harriet on handling objections that connects during pre-sales engagements. Read more at ... http://askjustinhitt.com/archives/2010/07/when_to_handle_objections.html Any time along your customer interaction points is a good time to handle objections. Don't just wait till they come up in a sales presentation. How are you handling objections? What's your biggest frustration or concern about that handling of objections? Always interested in your feedback. Sincerely, Justin Hitt Strategic Relations Consultant 24/7 Phone Fax Hotline: Justin Hitt helps B2B selling professionals, marketers, and entrepreneurs create life long profitable customers. Specializing in business development and supply logistics for growing technical services firms. Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:48:17 -0400