Sacramento Business Journal, Media & Marketing May 16, 1997

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/05/19/newscolumn1.html?page=2

Friday, May 16, 1997
Media & Marketing
Subcontractor to sue for payment over Caltrans deal
Sacramento Business Journal - by Mark Larson

Off to camp: Mark June 6 in your calendars. It's the fourth annual Marketing Boot Camp, hosted by the Business Journal and the Sacramento chapter of the American Marketing Association. The full-day event will feature presentations from three local marketing success stories; an introduction to "guerrilla marketing" by Business Journal contributor Bill Gallagher; and experts talking on strategy, planning, sales, advertising and public relations, and marketing on the Internet. It'll be held at the Sacramento Hilton and registration will cost from $69 to $99 per person. Call 753-1127 for more information.

Learn from Ford's big mistake

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/03/03/smallb6.html

Friday, February 28, 1997

Learn from Ford's big mistake
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill Gallagher

Many years ago, the huge Ford Motor Co. made a huge marketing goof. The goof was so enormous that even though you may not have been alive at time, chances are you have heard about the infamous Edsel.

Many people think the car bombed because of its design. Not so. While the central design theme was somewhat bizarre -- the car looked a bit as if it were some kind of giant fish sucking on a lemon -- the look wasn't the source of the debacle. It was the marketing.

As the story goes, from the CEO's office down came the word, "We want a car with something for everyone, the Edsel." Obediently, marketing ordered lots of models with lots of prices. More than 20 models were designed, from four-door sedans to racy sports models, each sucking that lemon and all headed for disaster.

Something for everyone -- lots of models with lots of prices -- spells a very negative marketing kismet.

Let's contrast this gloom and doom with a success story. A Ford success. A huge Ford success. Did I say huge? Bigger than huge. Enormous. Gigantic. And years later, still going. I speak, of course, of the Mustang.

The success was due to a tightly focused sales campaign, what we call today "target marketing."

The defined, or targeted, market was:

1. "Young," meaning age 20 to 30.

2. "Second family car," meaning age 30 to 50.

The model was positioned as easy to handle and uncomplicated. Thus, everyone knew what a Mustang was and who was supposed to buy it. They did, in droves.

The Mustang's popularity started with a very narrow target market, the young and the "young at heart." It was designed for the wants and needs of this market alone. Ford knew the market wanted an uncomplicated car that was easy to handle.

Some of you may recall that a few years later, Ford decided to widen the Mustang offering. Sales, of course, dipped.

Loss of targeted marketing focus usually means a loss in sales. We in smaller businesses must learn lessons from the big guys. They can afford to make mistakes here and there, but we can't.

A final word or so: Find out who wants or needs your products or services the most. Set up all your efforts to that small slice of North America. Later we can target another marketing segment.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Know the when and why of following up with customers

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/02/10/smallb3.html

Friday, February 7, 1997

Know the when and why of following up with customers
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill Gallagher

We've been exploring some no-cost marketing tips that will have a big impact on your small business. Keep in mind that by definition, a small business is one with annual sales of less than $5 million. That covers a lot of North American firms.

I focus on these businesses because there are so many of them; nearly a million of them start up every year. Two out of three will be out of business in less than five years. The biggest problem is poor attention to sales and marketing. That's where I come in.

A technique not always understood by some is called "follow-up." Everybody knows that you need to follow up with your customers, but when? And why? Let's start with why.

The first purpose of following up is to make sure that what the customer bought was delivered. This may appear to be an oversimplification, but I remind you that the No. 1 complaint of all American consumers continues to be that the experience they thought they were going to have at an establishment didn't match what they found.

Said another way, what they thought they ordered wasn't delivered.

Okay, so you're going to follow up with your customers. When is the best time to do this? Upon delivery, just to make sure everything's fine.

The second reason to follow up -- and the second follow-up -- is to get referrals. When is the best time to do this?

The answer is within 30 days after delivery. In marketing circles, this time is called the Time of Supreme Customer Satisfaction. You show up and say something like, "How are you enjoying your new whatever?" and "If you were me, who would you call on next?"

Often, they'll tell you about a friend who had admired the new whatever.

On a similar subject, studies have shown over and over again that the more contact time you spend with customers, the more loyalty they will have for you and your services. Were not talking about building friendships; we're talking about more contact time for business relationships.

One excellent way to do this is to more deeply explore the customer needs relative to your firm. First-level needs are rarely the whole story. There are probably more profound and meaningful subconscious needs underneath that first look. When you spend enough time with your customers to find out their emotional needs and feelings about your products, you'll usually have a customer for life.

Here's another generally unsuspected customer relationship tip. Your enthusiasm for your profession and your unique approach will win you more customers. Let all of us know how happy you are to be in your particular business. Remember we're all in the problem-solving, people-pleaser business.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

Say hello to happier customers

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/02/03/smallb10.html

Friday, January 31, 1997

Say hello to happier customers
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill Gallagher

We've been looking at a lot of miscellaneous no-cost and low-cost marketing tips. Here are some more. They deal with how you say hello and goodbye, in person and on the telephone.

When someone comes into your store or office, what do you or your staff say? Instead of "Can I help you?" try out something like, "Hi, have you ever been in our store or used our services before?" or "Good morning, are you a current client?"

No matter what they say, you respond with, "Great! Did you know that this week we have a special on ...?" Answer. "Would you like some information on that?"

On the telephone you might use, "Hello, this is Mary with Acme Construction, where you can always get what you really want." (This last phrase is Acme's slogan. It appears everywhere, on its stationery, on its invoices, everywhere.)

You continue, "Are you a current customer?" Following the answer, you say, "Great! Did you know that this month we have a special on ...? Answer. "Would you like some information on that?"

When you end the conversation, say something like: "I hope to see you soon." Avoid "Have a nice day." While it's a pleasant message, overuse has made it ring hollow to most of us.

Now there are many exceptions to these suggestions, I know, but I'm sure that you get my drift. The idea is to be helpful and, most importantly, original. With a new, fresh approach you'll be much more likely to be heard.

Overall, your firm's general phone demeanor is critical. No matter what words are used, if they sound like, "Wadda ya want?" you're in trouble. I ask clients to put a small mirror near the base of the phone so that they can see how they look. Add some red colored tape or lipstick to the mirror in the shape of a smile. This reminds them to smile while answering the phone. That smile can be heard.

Try smiling, turn to someone else or to the mirror and say something negative and nasty. It just doesn't work out, does it? Go ahead, try it.

How neat and tidy are you and your delivery people? For many firms, the delivery person is the primary contact person with customers. His or her appearance is often overlooked, but critical. Most of us think that if you're that way with your truck, car, briefcase or dress, you're likely to be that way with us.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Overlooked marketing tools

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/01/27/smallb3.html

Friday, January 24, 1997

Overlooked marketing tools
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

We've been going through the list of more than 100 marketing tools presented in this column a couple of weeks ago. Today we look at tools that aren't often recognized as a part of marketing. But they are!

The good news is that most of them will cost you nada, nothing, zip ... from what you already are paying. And they're as powerful as any of the high-powered, high-priced advertising someone's trying to talk you into spending!

• You probably never thought of your business card as a marketing tool, but it is. In fact, it's one of your most important marketing tools. You see, if your name, logo and slogan were completely clear to your potential customers, you wouldn't have such a need for that expensive brochure we talked about a few weeks back. Toss your cards around at public events, like sports events and conferences.

• Is the packaging for your products or services hip? Do your stationery and, yes, your invoices convey your marketing message?

I like to see an invoice set up like a menu in a fancy restaurant. List the seven top products you sell -- your "specials" -- and have a space for "other." This way I get to see your top seven, which can change often. Maybe I'm in the market for one or two of these and I didn't even know you sold them!

• Have you considered holding a contest? How about an essay contest, written by high school seniors, judged by the city council or county supervisors, on "What's Great About America Today?" You'll get written up in all the local press and radio and TV media. The prize might be a trip somewhere with a co-sponsorship from your favorite travel agency.

• What about a roadside stand? Why not? Have you thought about gift baskets? No business that I know of cannot use gift baskets. An accountant friend of mine sends fruit, cheese and a certificate for two hours of financial consulting.

• When is the last time you've checked out your audio-visual aids? Are they working for you? Digital presentations are here. So is the video brochure. What's a video brochure? It's very much like its written counterpart except it has sound and it moves. Since it more closely mirrors reality, it also has the potential to move your prospective customer.

Is there a way your expertise could be captured on an audio tape or videocassette? No matter what you do, from plumber to attorney, from gift basket creator to property manager, I suspect you could have another "profit center" and/or a great marketing piece by taping a cassette with you as an "expert" in the field.

• Do you ever need to put telephone callers on "hold"? Give them some more information about your firm by using "marketing on hold." Firms abound that will make a tape loop for you.

• Does the decor of your office reflect the identity of your firm and your target market's taste? If not, change it.

• What about your business attire and that of your employees? Again, does it reflect your customers' preferences? This and your decor are more important than you may realize. Remember the power of first impressions. Remember how judgmental you are at times. Your customers are not much different.

• Do you have a few different gifts like pens, calendars or key chains with your firm's name and phone number on them? Put these "ad specialties" one at a time into proposals, thank-you notes and the like. They are bulky, which will always get your envelope opened. Your name will be seen again and again. Each one is one more message to the subconscious, where all buying decisions are made.

• You may not believe this, but matchbook advertising still works for the "can you draw this" art school and the "high school diploma by mail" people. It's still working for hundreds of others as well.

Create something new and unusual for a matchbook cover with your message on the inside. People will take them -- not only the 20 million of us who still smoke, but nonsmokers too.

Put them inside your next mailing with a PS saying "Here's something to help keep you warm through these long winter nights!"

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Make names work for you

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/01/20/smallb1.html

Friday, January 17, 1997

Make names work for you
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

Last week we gave you the list of more than 100 guerrilla sales and marketing tools. Remember more than half of them will not cost you anything. This week let's see how they work. Specifically, we'll talk about the Critical Identity Statement portrayed in the company name.

I have a client named Luigi who owns a European-style bakery and a cafeteria-style cafe. The bakery is doing fine. His lunch business is great. He now wants to expand his dinner business. Is Cafe Luigi a good name for a dinner restaurant? No. Do we ever go to a bakery for dinner? No.

His desire to get more dinner customers requires him to shift his Critical Identity Statement, his business name. As I've said in earlier columns, Jiffy Lube is a great name because it tells me exactly what they do, it implies a bargain, and it spells out a benefit to me, quick!

What Critical Identity Statement will give my client all this?

Simple answers are often the best: "Luigi's." To my ear, that sounds like a European place. Loyal customers all know the name. New dinner customers won't be put off by the limiting words "bakery" and "cafe." Now chef Luigi can have any food business he wants, provided it's European style.

Luigi's can profit by accentuating his European identity. Here in North America we still admire Europe a lot. European spas, European cosmetics, and European food all get our attention.

Do you know that Haagen-D...zs ice cream has nothing but its odd name (not found in any recognizable European language) to imply that it's European? Not only that, it's made in New Jersey.

If "Der Wienerschnitzel" really were German, it would be "Das Wienerschnitzel," and Wienerschnitzel has absolutely nothing to do with hot dogs! A Wienerschnitzel is a breaded veal cutlet prepared in the Vienna style.

Names are funny. After World War II, another client's father started an office furniture business in Manhattan. He named his firm Consumer-Ennis. "Ennis" in the 1940s, was used by many firms in the same way "Rama" (Furniture-Rama) was used in the 1960s and "Land" (Furniture-Land) in the 1980s. The 1990s equivalent appears to be " '' Stuff" or " 'R' Us" (Furniture '' Stuff or, maybe, Furniture 'R' Us?)

We changed the store's name to The Office Furniture Outlet. The slogan, colors, logo and everything else followed that name change. Business is up 400 percent! (Yes, they kept a Consumer-Ennis ad in the yellow pages for a while.)

Check out your Critical Identity Statement. Is it clear to all of us exactly what you do?

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Using more tools increases your returns

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/01/13/smallb2.html

Friday, January 10, 1997

Using more tools increases your returns
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

Jay Conrad Levinson -- the founder of Guerrilla Marketing, my mentor and co-author -- has come up with 100 Guerrilla Marketing "weapons." I have respectfully added to that list.

And I prefer not to use the word "weapon" in association with techniques to help people see the value of your products and services. I prefer to call them strategies, tactics and tools. Most firms use five or six marketing tools. Guerrillas use 50 to 60. More than half of them will not cost you anything!

They begin with the basics and continue to the more sophisticated.

Strategy No. 1 is by far the most critical. That's defining your business identity. Who are you? What do you do for your customers? How are you unique?

Most everything else supports your business identity.

Can you find 50 to 60 tools to put into your new marketing plan? Here's the list:

• Basic tools for the outset -- Business identity, business name, niche, quality, logo, color, motto or slogan, location, research studies, distribution, marketing plan and calendar, pricing, selection, customer mailing list.

• Tools often not recognized as part of marketing -- Packages, business cards, stationery, order forms, invoices, inserts, contests and sweepstakes, roadside stands, gift baskets, audiovisual aids, audiotapes and videotapes, marketing on phone hold, decor, attire, ad specialties and gifts, balloons, matchbooks, music.

• Tools that begin with attitudes -- Phone demeanor, neatness, smiles, speed, service, follow-up, contact time with the customer, how you say "hello" and "goodbye," publicity contacts, brand-name awareness, enthusiasm, competitiveness.

• Tools overlooked by non-Guerrillas -- Community involvement, take-one boxes, window displays, club and association memberships, team sponsorships, reprints of ads and publicity, sales training, circulars, refreshments, books and articles, courses and lectures, gift certificates, testimonials, tie-ins with others, writing a column in a publication, newsletters, classified ads, posters.

• Tools that can make you easy to buy from -- Hours of operation, days of operation, accepting credit cards, offering financing, catalogs, samples, toll-free phone numbers, credibility, satisfied customers.

• Tools that are frequently misused -- Outside signs, word-of-mouth, brochures, yellow pages ads, public relations, telemarketing scripts, access to co-op funds, access to marketing materials.

• Tools that can produce instant results -- Inside signs, trade show displays, fairs and flea markets, special events, searchlights and blimps, seminars and workshops, merchandise displays, demonstrations, consultations, sales presentations, direct-mail letters and postcards, postcard decks, booths for malls, door hangers, sales representatives.

• Tools that have extra firepower and lower costs the Guerrilla way -- Advertising, reputations, newspaper ads, magazine ads, radio commercials, outdoor billboards, cable TV commercials.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

Why measurement matters

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1997/01/06/smallb5.html

Friday, January 3, 1997

Why measurement matters
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

Personally, I hate to floss. I'm not sure exactly why. It's just that it's a lot of bother. Measuring your marketing effectiveness is a lot like that. It's a lot of bother.

"If someone calls, sell 'em," you say. You want to fill their wants and needs with your products. You don't want to waste time with questions that aren't leading to a sale.

But remember, you must ask. You must be able to measure your marketing activities. In fact, not measuring your marketing is the biggest sin in all the business universe.

You've got to know if this or that ad or mailer was successful. Is your word-of-mouth campaign working? Did any new customer see that public relations piece you did with the chamber of commerce?

What we're trying to do here is tweak your 52-week guerrilla marketing calendar to find out what was/is successful in generating business and what wasn't so hot. Obviously, we're going to eliminate or change the bad ideas and only slightly modify the good stuff.

In a few years -- because you're in this for the long haul -- you're going to have one heck of a document in that calendar. It will be your most important and valuable piece of paper. You'll keep this one under lock and key. Why? Because, when developed, it'll tell you what you need to do each week to keep your critical marketing machine running all year long.

But if you don't measure each call, you'll be like a duck out of water, not knowing what's working and what isn't.

It may seem a bit awkward, but just take a 3-by-5 card and divide it into six sections, label each section with the five current marketing techniques you're using. For example, "Cable TV Spot," "KST Talk Radio," "Business Journal Ad," "Yellow-Page Ad," or "Word-of-Mouth." The sixth might be labeled "Other."

When anyone calls, after you greet them and ask "How can we help you today?" as a guerrilla, you need to ask, "How did you hear about us?" When they tell you, just make a mark in the appropriate areas of your 3-by-5 card.

Date the cards. You may need one for each day. Save them. We'll go over them some week when things slow down a bit. It will be very apparent what's working and what isn't.

Keeping score is the key to guerrilla marketing. Measuring is like flossing!

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Be consistent so public gets the message

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/12/16/smallb3.html

Friday, December 13, 1996

Be consistent so public gets the message
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

In last week's column I stressed the need to be patient when running an advertisement. Whatever the medium -- TV, radio, print -- I'm going to have to see or hear your ad about 27 times before I'll pick up the telephone and call for your "FREE brochure." Remember the importance of this phrase.

Okay, I remember, you're running a small business; you've got a limited budget. You're not sure that you've got enough money to run each ad campaign with 27 insertions.

Hmmm, what can we do? Be consistent. Yes, that's the answer. Consistency. Superconsistency. I'll explain.

Decide on a good name for your firm, a good logo, a good slogan, and a good "basic ad." These are all important for the survival and ultimate success of your firm. Then once you've decided, don't change. Don't even change your type style or your colors, or the relationship between the different type sizes, or anything!

As I've said, at a certain point you'll get bored with your slogan, or your logo or your offer. If you don't, your spouse will, or your friends will. Your mother-in-law will tell you it's beginning to sound stupid or whatever.

Guerrilla hint: It's about this time that your potential customers are just beginning to notice your ad and they'll start calling next week!

But, if you've been consistent, people will be calling you sooner. Here's why.

I see your TV ad a few times, and I see your display ad in the local paper, and I drive by your business and see the sign in front, and I see your business card on the bulletin board at the supermarket or the hair stylist. Then, when I feel a need that you may satisfy or a pain that you may ease, I turn to the yellow pages and I'm searching for relief and again I see the same name, the same colors, the same logo, the same typeface, the same offer, etc.

It all makes me six times more likely to call your firm than any other. And I will do this for subconscious reasons more than any motive that I can identify.

We guerrillas know that it's because of your consistent message, even if I haven't seen your ad the requisite 27 times, I'll respond because you look like you're everywhere, everyone's using your services.

Stay consistent and you'll be more effective, and your advertising costs will be a lot lower. Remember, we're talking about super consistency, same type style, same logo, same slogan, same general offer.

Consistency is the big secret to Madison Avenue advertising with an off-Broadway budget.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

Don't give up on that newspaper ad just yet

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/12/09/smallb5.html

Friday, December 6, 1996

Don't give up on that newspaper ad just yet
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

Have you ever put together a really impressive newspaper ad? Did you have the good fortune to have it well placed in the paper? (They say the best position is dead center or just above the place where your right thumb is holding the paper.)

After you ran this ad, did you cancel your morning appointments and wait for the phone to ring off the hook? (Phones used to have hooks, I guess.) And the only person who called you was your mother-in-law, who noticed that you spelled some word wrong?

So, you decided that maybe the ad wasn't so hot after all.

Not necessarily. The question should be: How many times do I need to see your ad to move from total apathy toward your product or service to something called "purchase readiness"? How many ads will get me to pick up the phone and call you for that FREE brochure?

By the way, unless you have a good reason not to, the phrase "Call today for your FREE brochure" ought to be in every ad. It not only implies no obligation, but it tells me exactly what you want me to do. Please note also that "FREE" is always spelled with four capital letters.

Okay, back to our original question. How many time do you need to run that ad to get me to call you?

The answer is seven.

This has to do with our neural memory buffer, a little too complex to go into here. Just think of how many sevens exist in our culture. Seven deadly sins, seven wonders of the world, seven days of the week -- you get the point. Seven is cool.

But wait. The complete answer is really "seven, plus or minus two." In other words, some folks will call after only seeing your ad five times; for others it will take up to nine. Figuring on the worst-case scenario, you need to run the ad at least nine times to catch all of us who might be interested in your offer.

Hang on, we're not finished yet. Since most of us aren't paying attention but about a third of the time, you really need to run that ad three times nine. Twenty-seven times your ad needs to show up in or near the same spot before you will know if it's an effective ad or not.

This is why you need to be patient.

And, obviously, use smaller ads.

Over and over again it has been shown that small ads are just as effective, and in many cases more effective, than full-page jumbo ads.

Why? Well, when we read the newspaper, we're looking for information. We scan everything looking for facts, stories, bargains and so on. When we see a whole page devoted to something that doesn't grab us in one-twentieth of a second, we quickly scan to the next page.

Hang in there. Have the patience to wait it out. By the time you're sick and tired of your ad, your future customers are just noticing it!

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

People will pay a premium for speed and convenience

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/12/02/smallb5.html

Friday, November 29, 1996

People will pay a premium for speed and convenience
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

Well, the fellow who said "time is money" is wrong! In the 21st century, time is a lot more important than money. Think of the premium we place on speed and convenience. For starters, think about something basic like, say, toilet paper. You and I can buy toilet paper at Big Bob's Club, the huge super discount outlet, for about 25 cents a roll when we buy a box of rolls. The exact same two-ply stuff costs $1.25 in a "convenience" store. And, we all willingly pay 400 percent more to not wait so long in line! Amazing.

The convenience "industry" has something to teach every other business in America -- in the world.

Who gets my business? The person who can deliver it in under an hour, that's who. I want it hot and I want it now.

Good name for your new fast-food joint, by the way: Hot '' Now. My all time favorite name for any business is "Jiffy Lube." Talk about cool. Not only do they tell you exactly what they do, they imply a benefit.

Can you say that about your business? Does your name suggest convenience? If not, consider adding a "speedy" adjective. Fast, quick, brisk, fleet, breakneck, accelerated, rapid, swift, chop-chop, wiki-wiki, expeditious, in-and-out, energetic, immediate, at once, instant, now, in a flash, faster than a speeding bullet ...

What part of your business can be made into a drive-through? Drive-through fast food and banking are nothing new, of course. Our town now has a drive-through shoe repair. His business has grown so fast that the other cobbler is, unfortunately, going out of business. What about a drive-through convenience store? Drive-through weddings? (Vegas has them!)

How can I serve you with my business while you're still in your car? Drive-through marketing consulting; what a concept! Drop on by and we'll show you how. Just honk once and we'll come a running.

If I can't give you car service, can I improve the parking and the flow in the parking lot? Yes. Should I have a clear map on all my marketing pieces? Yes. Should I tell about easily getting on and off the local freeway? Yes. Should I mention "lots of free parking?" Yes. Should I consider valet parking? Yes.

And while the customer's buying, maybe we should wash and vacuum the car. Think about it, seriously.

Are you a store on Main Street? At least in the summer you could have a few responsible teens (this is not an oxymoron) parking cars for your customers.

Many smaller businesses are up against the Wal (Mart) these days. The only reason people shop in these bigger stores is because it's more convenient to shop there. It's not the slightly cheaper prices, although that's what they'll tell you because they don't understand the value of convenience any more than the average American does. They just feel it.

These folks miss you, but you're just not as convenient!

Time to change this perception of you.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

Follow up, but not too soon after the sale

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/11/25/smallb3.html

Friday, November 22, 1996

Follow up, but not too soon after the sale
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

I'm often asked when should a salesperson follow up with a new customer for future sales and referrals. The guerrilla rule is: When you've sold something, when you have the signed check or signed contract, get the heck out of there.

Of course, thank them for their confidence in you and in your company. Tell them, honestly, that they've made a good decision. Then leave.

Do not have another cup of coffee and chat about the poor season the Giants are having and, maybe, pick up a referral or two. Go. Leave.

Making a decision to buy anything of value is stressful. Give your new customer the peace and quiet to think about that good decision to do business with you, without your presence.

So, when do you call back for referrals and future sales? There are two occasions when you must follow up.

The first is when the product or service is first delivered or first received. Your job is to make sure that it is being delivered as ordered and as sold. This is your only job. Do not ask for referrals or mention future selling opportunities at this first follow-up meeting. Just make damn sure the product shows up the way it was bought. Should there be any problems offer to fix them, at your expense, today. (Period!)

There are no exceptions to this. If this gets too expensive, you may need to represent another firm. Seriously.

The second follow-up opportunity is more than one week and less than one month from the date of purchase. Sometime in the first 30 days after buying, but not in the first seven days. Got it?

This period of time, according to my marketing mentor, Jay Conrad Levinson, is called "the time of supreme customer satisfaction." This is when they are the most pleased. This is also the time when they'll be showing it to friends, family and neighbors. After a month or so, as with anything else, they get used to it, or bored with it, or a bit tired of it. (This may be true of our new relationships as well?)

So, call them back a few weeks after the sale, "just to make sure everything's A-OK. Our Model 2 is due out next year, can I keep you on my list?" And, "By the way, have you had a chance to show this little baby to someone special?" And "Tell me about that..."

I think you can pick up the conversation from here. But just in case you're stuck, here are a few suggestions to get some referrals. Memorize the following sentence. "If you were me, who would you call on next?"

Here's another winner for referrals. "Who do you know who...?" The space is filled in with descriptions of people who typically buy from you. "Who do you know who just got married, just bought a new home, just had a baby, just won the lottery...?"

This line of questions will help people recall others when "Can you give me a few referrals?" doesn't bring anyone to mind.

Follow up. It'll pay big dividends.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. Send marketing questions to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

What to spend on marketing

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/11/11/smallb3.html

Friday, November 8, 1996

What to spend on marketing
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

You wouldn't be reading this column if you didn't suspect how important marketing is. Fortunately, since you're already a guerrilla, your marketing won't be all that costly. In fact, most guerrilla sales and marketing techniques won't cost you anything.

Still, you need to invest in your own business, and this investment needs to be in your marketing as much as you can possibly afford. Maybe a little bit more, but not too much more, OK?

Now, I know those clever folks from Dean Witter and Prudential-Bache call you every week with the idea that you ought to put some percentage of your income into CDs, stocks, T-bills or mutual funds. This is a fine idea and you'll probably earn a good return on your investment with them. However, this same money invested in marketing your own firm should yield a much much higher return.

So, here's where to spend a few bucks: Set up an account where you pay yourself something like 5 to 10 percent of your gross for marketing, and then spend the balance on your current bills.

I know this sounds a bit wacky or just impossible to some of you. But I assure you that I'm right on the money. Coca Cola, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble spend -- er, invest -- more than 20 percent of their gross on marketing. Are they wrong? No!

Marketing pays off. Big time. And if you'll hire a marketing consultant for a few hours, he or she can show you the way to get the most bang for your marketing bucks.

For example, did you know that you can get a color printing job for a big reduction in cost by knowing the shop's printing schedule? Our local Minute Man Press shop has a different reduced color each day of the week.

Should you not be interested in the daily colors, ask about climbing in on someone else's "gang run." Your printer will explain how you can save some more marketing bucks. Just remember "gang run."

Set up a budget for marketing your business. Spend that money wisely. You'll be the winner! Guaranteed!

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

The seven steps to marketing commitment

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/11/04/smallb6.html?t=printable

Friday, November 1, 1996

The seven steps to marketing commitment
Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

It has been several weeks since I have written about your critical commitment to marketing your business. I must remind you that 62 percent of all of the 750,000-plus businesses that start up each year in North America are out of business after four years. I don't want yours to be one of them. Just in case this is the first and only guerrilla column you're ever going to read, here's the cold truth:

Note: This information is critical for your business. CRITICAL!

The U.S. Department of Commerce tells us that the main reason most businesses fail is because of a failure to focus enough energy on marketing. If I don't hear about you (i.e., your marketing), I won't know how to buy from you. And, you'll be out of business. Bummer!

In your new business, you or someone close to you in your organization must be committed to marketing your firm's products and services.

Remember, marketing means everything from conceiving of a new product or service to packaging it, promoting it, selling it, delivering it and holding on to new customers so that they will buy from you again and again.

As an entrepreneur, you must be committed to marketing. All of your employees must be aware of your marketing commitment. How? If you're sharp, you will have developed it together with them.

Your firm's commitment to marketing can be found in your Guerrilla Marketing Plan. This is not some huge document. Because it's guerrilla, it's short and sweet. Maybe seven or fewer sentences long.

Your Guerrilla Marketing Plan must include five critical identity elements which are each a refinement of one another. Also included are your Marketing Calendar and your Marketing Budget.

1. The benefit(s) to the consumer. For example: "Our product(s) and service make our customers look better, be more successful, feel safer, be more liked by others, and forever free from pain."

2. Your positioning: What business are you in? For example: "We are a unique gourmet grocery store stocking over 10,000 speciality items, located in the upscale, swank village of Diamond Springs."

3. Your target market. "Our marketing is targeted at 20- to 40-year-old, middle-class women with interests in poetry, fine food, cats and piano sonatas."

4. Your niche within that market. "We will be the most expensive and best exercise facility in town. To support this, we will have the best looking male and female sports trainers in the county."

5. Your list of marketing tools and techniques. For example: "Marketing tools to be employed will include:

• Newspaper ads run weekly in three papers.

• A window display that changes weekly.

• Numerous signs inside that merchandise and cross-merchandise.

• A co-op yellow pages ad.

• Quarterly theme open-house parties (e.g., Super Bowl, blow-up sumo wrestling contest, adult Halloween spook alley).

• Quarterly seminars or lectures.

• Local cable TV ad campaign.

• Local talk-radio advertising.

• Postcard mailings every two months.

• Brochure.

• A catalog.

• A one-time "big" magazine ad.

• Tie-ins with all local dealers.

• Access to co-op funds."

6. A month-by-month implementation timetable or marketing calendar.

For example:

Tool JAN. FEB. MAR.

NPR Ads Window Signs Greetings Cable TV

7. Your marketing budget. A good rule of thumb is 7 percent to 10 percent of gross sales.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Candidate Dole's slogan just doesn't do it

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/10/28/smallb3.html?t=printable

Friday, October 25, 1996
Candidate Dole's slogan just doesn't do it

Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

One of the most powerful marketing slogans these days is, of course, Nike's "Just do it." In the first presidential debate between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, I heard Sen. Dole encourage drug users: "Just don't do it." This wasn't his first use of that phrase. Earlier he had said it was his anti-drug message to America's youth.

Hmmm.

As much as I admire the former Senate majority leader from Kansas, as a marketing specialist I think his suggestion is a bit lame. Here's why:

Nike has spent a lot of money and effort on developing and promoting its positive, albeit double entendre, message of endless possibilities with the purchase of a pair of sneakers. Its message, targeted at the youthful sports-minded, hip market, works because of its imaginative, titillating subconscious communication.

Guerrillas will remember that no one ever makes a conscious buying decision. All purchase decisions are made by the subconscious mind. Winning marketing requires that your favorable purchase-message get through the layers of the mind to the subconscious. The easiest way to do this is to have a non-offensive, positive message repeated enough times to get through.

This is how Michael Jackson, in his heyday, sold Pepsi by the millions of gallons when, in fact, he hated the stuff. He just danced and sang over and over again things about the Pepsi generation, whatever that was. It was fun, exciting, youthful, and it made a major dent in the sales of Coke, which at the same time was shouting as loud as the could, "Coke is it."

Is this "it" the same "it" as in "Just do it"?

The really cool thing about the word "it" is that it can mean anything and everything the hearer wishes. If "it" didn't exist as a word in English, I think we marketers would have invented it long ago. It's a great marketing word for all ad copy and slogans.

The 20-year-old slogan of the U.S. Army is wonderful for the same great reasons discussed above. It is positive, hopeful, nonspecific, imaginative and exciting (especially to late teens). "Be all that you can be in the Army."

Now Nike has good reason to hope Bob Dole loses. The new Republican fall guy has unveiled his slogan for his anti-drug campaign: "Just don't do it." Besides being an uninspired swipe of Nike's motto, its message is negative. This is a big no-no in the ad business. Worse, he's aiming this message at the same crowd who has wholeheartedly supported Nike's message with billions of shoe purchases, worldwide. And not just shoes; they are buying posters, T-shirts, sweat shirts and a host of other related paraphernalia with its logo and positive message emblazoned everywhere.

That makes for a tough fight for the GOP.

Bad idea, Sen. Dole. Just don't do it. Next time you need a slogan, call in a Guerrilla.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

Sell like Columbo, not like James Bond

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/10/14/smallb5.html?t=printable

Friday, October 11, 1996
Sell like Columbo, not like James Bond

Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

When many people first hear the word "guerrilla" they think of terrorists. They suppose that guerrilla sales and marketing might be rock 'em-sock 'em, beat-'em-up selling.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not high pressure. This is not even low-pressure; this is no-pressure selling and marketing.

In spite of its militaristic sounding title, guerrilla is about being unconventional, unorthodox, not about being more powerful or spending more money than your competition.

Do you remember history's first guerrillas? There may have been others, but we think of George Washington's soldiers, hiding behind the trees, with mud smeared on their faces, waiting for their best shot. All this while the British in classical military form lined up shoulder to shoulder, in red coats, waiting for the enemy to appear.

As you remember, Washington won that war by not fighting as the British fought. He learned how to be a "guerrilla." This word comes from the Spanish for "little warrior."

Most of us small-business people are not big, powerful military battalions with mammoth war chests for our marketing. We're "little warriors" with limited budgets. We must learn how to fight the battle from behind the trees, with a little mud on our faces, waiting for the best shot. This is why you read this column every week. You're looking for those few weekly tips which will give you the edge, allowing you to beat the competition without spending a lot of extra bucks on marketing.

So, guerrilla selling and guerrilla marketing is not about using the latest techo-gadgetry, although we recommend personal computers and modems. It's not about beating up your your competition or your customers.

This is not the James Bond theory of sales or marketing. This is more of the Columbo school of thought. We visualize Peter Falk, as Columbo, asking lots of questions. "Hmmm, just one other thing, ma'am, when did you first realize that you needed. ...?"

The big secret here is: Ask more questions. When you think you've asked a lot of questions, ask a few more. When you're sure that you've asked too many questions, ask at least three more. Make sure that you totally and completely understand your customer's wants and needs. When you're sure that you've got it 100 percent complete, ask a few more questions.

OK, when you're completely sure, just ask two more questions. Ask 'em for me. Ask 'em for you.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.

When being a bonehead pays off

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/10/07/smallb3.html?t=printable

Friday, October 4, 1996

When being a bonehead pays off
Sacramento Business Journal
- by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D

I was about to complete one of the biggest sales of my life.

Most of the preliminary meetings had taken place. I knew they needed our software and our computers. In fact, I knew that the government required that they had to provide adequate and uniform training for their employees.

We had a good answer, but it would cost nearly half a million dollars!

I now had an appointment with the senior VP to take care of the paperwork. I was pretty sure of myself, but just to make sure I gave the "right" impression, for this occasion I went out and bought myself a $250 Mont Blanc fountain pen.

In my usual guerrilla fashion, I started asking Mr. Big some questions relative to our proposed solution.

Then I said to him, again in good guerrilla form, "That sounds important, do you mind if I take some notes?" He said, "No."

So I whipped out my Mont Blanc and started to write.

Well, you can imagine my embarrassment when it wouldn't write. Two hundred and fifty bucks and it wouldn't write a thing.

You see, I forgot that fountain pens don't come with ink like ballpoints do. What a bonehead!

In my embarrassment I said something like, "Damn, my pen's out of ink." To which he replied, "Oh, here, use mine," handing me his 24-karat gold Cross pen commemorating his 25 years with the firm. I said, "Thanks," took his pen, and the meeting continued. "As you were saying ..."

The whole exchange took less than three seconds, and yet in those few moments something magical happened.

The whole rather formal, somewhat guarded, atmosphere which had existed changed. Suddenly everyone relaxed. It was as if I now wasn't someone to be feared. They could now lower their guard a bit and open up more. Maybe I could be trusted.

Oh, and I did get the sale.

I still use that pen on sales calls. I've never put any ink in it! I do carry a backup pen in case the customer's pen doesn't work either.

Now you may think I appear unprofessional with a pen that's out of ink. But think about it for a minute.

Think how intimidating it would have looked if, upon discovering the condition of my dry pen, I'd opened up my suit coat and there were 15 shiny steel pens of various sizes and shapes in my inside pocket.

Instead, I allowed the boss to get me out of a slightly embarrassing situation, one that can and does happen to people all the time.

Later, I learned the psychological principle that one way to powerful and trustworthy interpersonal relationships is to allow someone to help you, assist you, give you something.

But at the time, all I had in my armory was a dud pen.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com.

Looking Good is a Big Customer Motivator

From: http://www.talkbiz.com/digest/emt2a.html

Guerrilla Sales & Marketing:
Looking Good is a Big Customer Motivator

by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

Marketing is strange, mysterious, at times unexplainable. Well, not really. But from the outsider's view it must appear somewhat puzzling.

In order for you to take advantage of its "weirdness" and become a guerrilla marketer we need to look at some insider marketing secrets. We're doing this so that you can see what's going on and create better, more effective marketing strategies for your small business. Let me share a few examples with you.

Pick up a recent copy of some major magazines designed for specific markets. Look at the latest copies of Vogue, Playboy, Mademoiselle, George, or Parade. Picture, if you will, some recent mega high priced marketing advertising pieces we've seen in these magazines. A close analysis will reveal some secrets you can use to be much more effective in your next local newspaper display ad.

Let's look at an ad together. Here's one for a Cadillac Allante. Cadillac probably has mega bucks for advertising, right? Right.

Okay, so the first thing we see is a steering wheel. There are hands on the steering wheel of this way-cool red convertible, and, guess what? It's following another identical red convertible. Hmmm, what are they trying to get across here?

First of all, take another look at the hands. Are those male or female hands? You don't know. That's because they're designed to be any hands. Actually they're designed to be your hands.

This is you driving this great car. Now take a look at the car you're following. Why, it's exactly the same car. Why are you pictured following this car? Because they want to show you how great you will look when others see you driving, specifically when others see how it looks to follow you! The marketing message: "In this car, you will look great to others."

The marketing specialists at Cadillac know that no one buys anything because of the specific features or even because of the benefits to them from that product. People buy things, primarily, because those things will make them look good.

You see, in our North American culture, looking good is much more important than even feeling good. Did you hear this: In our culture, looking good is much more important than feeling good.

To illustrate this major truth, how many of us regularly spend a lot of time, money, and effort on disguising a facial blemish while ignoring a painful canker sore inside our mouths? Most of us.

One major truth about our culture is that we would rather look good than feel good. Remember this important marketing truth and communicate it to your customers and potential customers.

"With our product, you'll look great." Get that message across and again and you'll be far ahead of the competition.


© 1995 W.K. Gallagher, Ph.D.


Bill Gallagher is the author of the best seller "Guerrilla Selling". You can view more articles by the author at the Guerrilla Marketing Site.

As a convenience to our readers, for more information on the topics and ideas presented in this article please call Guerrilla Sales & Marketing at 1-800-800-8086.

Inexpensive & Unconventional Tools & Tactics to Increase Your Small Business Sale

From: http://www.talkbiz.com/digest/emt2.html

Guerrilla Sales & Marketing
Inexpensive & Unconventional Tools & Tactics to Increase Your Small Business Sales

by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.
co-author of the Guerrilla Business Book Series

New book offers tactics to dramatically boost your sales

So why do we need a book on sales and marketing? A fair question with an easy answer.

Nearly every year for the past 10 years over 850,000 folks across North America get that entrepreneurial spirit and start up a new business. No kidding, three-quarters of a million new businesses are begun each and every year. Wonderful news! Yes, but the sad part of this news is that, after four years, 62 percent of them are out-of-business!

The US Department of Commerce wanted to know why. After all the government was losing potential tax revenue and many taxpayers are going broke. After a thorough review and much field research it was found that the failing businesses all had three things in common:

1. Poor financial planning
2. Poor marketing
3. Poor sale skills.
The US Small Business Administration. in a study completed in 1992, concluded: "For most businesses marketing is critical, vital. If you don't market the odds are your business will fail."

This column will not be dealing with financial issues. There are others who have and will take up that calling. Over the next series of columns, we will be discussing marketing and sales issues as they pertain to making your small business succeed, big time!

First of all some critical definitions.

"Marketing" relates to everything you do with a product or a service to get it sold again and again to your consumers. It's a pretty big field, much bigger than most business people think. Most entrepreneurial folks figure that if they can put together a descent yellow-page ad they've got their marketing pretty much down. Not so. Advertising, including the yellow-pages, is about two percent of your marketing. Of course, it's a very important, and fairly expensive, "two percent," but it's a small fraction of the other critical marketing tools and techniques we'll be discussing in this chapters.

By the way, many of the guerrilla tools and techniques will cost you nothing. With the others, we'll show you how to save major dollars by being smart. We call it "guerrilla" enlightenment. For example, when advertising in this newspaper don't ever be fooled by the myth of the ad rate card. No guerrilla ever pays rate card rates. Ad rates are negotiated. Now aren't you glad you read this chapters?

"Sales" and "selling" are another very important two percent of your marketing. They refer to the face-to-face or telephone communication between you and/or your staff with customers and potential customers. Again, many small business owners decide that if they can say, "Hi, can I help you?" and, following the sale, "Have a nice day," they've got selling handled. Again, not so.

"Guerrilla" for us means, not doing it the way everybody else does it. Not doing your marketing and selling with the force of the big bucks those Fortune 500 people have at their discretion. For example, do you have $8 million to spend on some frogs croaking out your business name for the next thirty days? We thought not.

Unconventional guerrilla tactics will work wonders for your small business. It's less expensive and demonstrably more effective. It's learning a bit more, it's getting the edge. In today's market, it's winning by a millisecond. Nevertheless, Winning!

We regularly see a 50 to 200% increase in the gross sales of firms who adopt the guerrilla philosophy and the unorthodox guerrilla marketing tactics we recommend.


Read The First Segment

© 1995 W.K. Gallagher, Ph.D.

Bill Gallagher is the author of the best seller "Guerrilla Selling". You can view more articles by the author at the Guerrilla Marketing Site.

As a convenience to our readers, for more information on the topics and ideas presented in this article please call Guerrilla Sales & Marketing at 1-800-800-8086

Bill Gallagher Bio on All American Speakers

From: http://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/Bill-Gallagher/5451

Biography of Bill Gallagher
Speaking Category :
Sales, Marketing and Branding

In Brief Bio :
Guerilla Marketing Guru and Best-Selling Author

Booking Fee Range :
Contact booking agent for fee info ( About Speaking Fees )

Speaker Travels From :
California - CA, Sacramento - CA

Detailed Biography of Bill Gallagher
Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher has been speaking and writing on sales and marketing since 1993. He teamed up with guerrilla marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson in 1989. Bill's informative commentary has been featured in such prestigious publications as "The Wall Street Journal," "USA Today," "Money” and “Time” Magazines.
In addition, Bill has appeared on a host of national radio and television shows, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN Headline News and The CBS Evening News. Bill's reputation for innovation and quality has earned him repeat engagements with over half the companies featured in the best-seller "In Search of Excellence."

Some of his many clients include America Express, Bank of America, Dean Witter Reynolds, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Levi-Strauss, National Association of Realtors, Stanford University and Tyson Foods.

Co-author in the legendary Guerrilla Business series and lead-author of Guerrilla Selling, Bill has also received honors for excellence in business training from the governments of Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Bill Gallagher is quite possibly the most entertaining and knowledgeable authority on sales, marketing, and the management available today. His ideas are new, fresh and guaranteed to produce spectacular results for your business.

Speech Topics
Programs include:
• Guerrilla Sales & Marketing • Guerrilla Internet Marketing • Guerrilla Selling • Guerrilla Marketing • Guerrilla Teambuilding

GUERRILLA SELLING ( Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1992).

From: http://www.successcentre.com.au/catalogue/titles.cfm?cur_titleID=2616
GUERRILLA SELLING : Unconventional Weapons & Tactics for Increasing Your Sales
by Bill Gallagher / Jay Conrad Levinson / Orvel Ray Wilson
ISBN-10 : 0395578205
ISBN-13 : 9780395578209

The standard sales techniques of the seventies and eighties are no longer effective. Increased competition and cutthroat pricing demand a higher level of skill and commitment. They demand unconventional weapons and tactics. The new soldiers of fortune must do the unexpected if they are to stand out in a world of carbon-copy products and services.

Fortunately, staying ahead of the pack is easier if you're a guerrilla. New brain research has provided the selling vision of night-vision scopes and laser-guided missiles. You may have to rethink your approach by doing the last thing your customers (or your competitors) would expect.

Guerrilla Selling means breaking with convention, using time, energy, and imagination instead of brute persuasive force. It means getting to know your customers so well that they refuse to do business with anyone else.

It means being super honest, super ethical, and super responsive.. It means the customer, not the salesperson makes the major decisions on what gets sold and how they want to buy it. It means solving the customers problems and enlisting them as allies.

Guerrilla Selling takes advantage of recent breakthroughs in the field of psychology. It treats each potential customer as unique and special and then matches its tactics to the individual personality. Although findings have revealed that there are, generally, seven identifiable personality types, a salesperson encounters three of these types most frequently.

Because these types can be identified in less than a minute, the sales presentation can now be tailored to individual prospects, targeting their needs and motivation with surgical precision. Now the guerrilla can appeal to each target's dominant motives, following the most direct route to a buying decision.

Guerrillas move through their territory with complete confidence because they know their way around. They have "friends in low places" who feed them vital information, and they use the tactical advantage of surprise.

Armed with the latest technology, they stalk their competition from outside the corporate corridors. They will call on anyone. They are in control at all times, using subconscious messages to build deep rapport, trust, and respect in the minds of their clients.

Such tactics must be employed in the modern battle for the business high ground. To survive in the new selling environment, whether you sell products or services, you must exercise the ingenuity and boldness of a veteran mercenary. You must become a guerrilla.

Bill Gallagher Bio on Premier Motivational Speakers Bureau

From:http://premierespeakers.com/bill_gallagher/bio

Bill Gallagher
Guerilla Marketing Guru and Best-Selling Author

Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher has been speaking and writing on sales and marketing since 1993. He teamed up with guerrilla marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson in 1989. Bill's informative commentary has been featured in such prestigious publications as "The Wall Street Journal," "USA Today," "Money” and “Time” Magazines.

In addition, Bill Gallagher has appeared on a host of national radio and television shows, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN Headline News and The CBS Evening News. Bill's reputation for innovation and quality has earned him repeat engagements with over half the companies featured in the best-seller "In Search of Excellence."

Some of his many clients include America Express, Bank of America, Dean Witter Reynolds, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Levi-Strauss, National Association of Realtors, Stanford University and Tyson Foods.

Co-author in the legendary Guerrilla Business series and lead-author of Guerrilla Selling, Bill Gallagher has also received honors for excellence in business training from the governments of Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Bill Gallagher is quite possibly the most entertaining and knowledgeable authority on sales, marketing, and the management available today. His ideas are new, fresh and guaranteed to produce spectacular results for your business.

Top Dog Sales Secrets

The "Mind Map" was referenced in an article on "How to Sell to Techies" by Mark S.A. Smith on page 49-50 of the book "Top Dog Sales Secrets" (SalesDog, 2007). Smith writes:

For many salespeople, selling to technical types like IT professionals and engineers is harder than passing advanced calculus. But the difficulty doesn't lie in the analytical nature of these prospects. The problem is that most salespeople overlook certain needs these professionals have. As a result, salespeople inadvertently do things that can kill the sale, and the relationship, forever.

As a trained engineer with many years of experience selling to engineers, I know how my colleagues think and make decisions. In addition to my own observations, two accepted psychographic sales models, the "Mind Map" by Dr. Bill Gallagher, and the VALS study by the Stanford Research Institute, can be useful in providing real insight into how these people communicate, how they are persuaded, and how they make decisions. While people can operate out of more than one style and behavior mode, and not all technical professionals operate in these modes, these models help identify the key buying mode for IT professionals and engineers.

Market Wire, January, 2005

From: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200501/ai_n8697774/pg_1

Market Wire, January, 2005

Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher Joins MegaMania Interactive

MegaMania Interactive, Inc. (MMI) (OTC: MNIA) CEO George Bogle announced today that Dr. Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, MA, PhD, has been appointed MMI's new National Marketing Director.

Gallagher has been teaching, speaking and writing on sales and marketing since he teamed up with Guerrilla Marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson in 1989. Bill's informative commentary has been featured in such prestigious publications as The Wall Street Journal, Selling Power, USA Today, Money and Time magazines.

In addition, Bill has appeared on a host of national radio and television shows, including "Good Morning America," "Today," "CNN," and "The CBS Evening News." Some of his many clients include: American Express, Bank of America, Dean Witter Reynolds, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Levi Strauss, National Association of Realtors, Stanford University, Jiffy Lube, AOL and Tyson Foods.

Co-author in the legendary Guerrilla Marketing series (over 15 million copies sold) and lead author of "Guerrilla Selling," Bill has also received honors for excellence in business training from the governments of Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Bill will be working directly with MMI's President to develop marketing strategies for the company. "How can you not be excited about having someone of Bill's caliber join your team?" said George Bogle, CEO. "Personally, I'm thrilled by the opportunity to work with him and his joining is an endorsement of the strength of our business model. Bill's contributions to the team will support the company's expansion programs to increase awareness for MegaMania in the marketplace.

According to Bill, "I am excited about what MMI has to offer the small business community and believe we have the foundation for building a World-Class Internet brand."

Welcome aboard Bill! You can contact him anytime at: Bill@megamania.com or by phone at 530-622-6075.

Safe Harbor" statement:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for historical information, all statements, expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is possible that the assumptions made by management may not materialize. MegaMania Interactive assumes no obligation to update or correct forward-looking statements or statements made by third-parties.

Contact: George Bogle, CEO MegaMania Interactive Inc. 17047 El Camino Real, Suite 150 Houston, Texas 77058 281/461-1110 customerservice@megamania.com http://www.megamania.com

"Keeping Your Marketing Consistent" Feature Article in Ezine Advertising Sept 6, 2007

From: http://rumblesfromthejungle.com/arc/523.htm

Keeping your Marketing Consistent
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

Do you know how many repetitions of your message it takes for all of us to
move from absolute apathy towards your product or service to making a buying
move, like calling your 800 number to get that "FREE brochure?" Well, the
easy answer is seven, plus or minus two. In other words, it takes from five
to nine times for us, to see your ad and pick up the phone and call you. But
wait, like your typical reader, we're not paying attention all that often.
Usually only about one in three occasions are we even semi-consciously
inspecting your ad.

This means that for your ad to be maximally effective it needs to show up in
my newspaper, on my TV, or whatever twenty-seven times. Three times the nine
we talked just about. So, you can put together a killer ad, but you'll have
to wait for about a month for that phone to start ringing! Marketers must
learn to be patient. But guerrillas aren't very patient.

There is a way to cut into that number a bit. The answer lies in being
consistent, in being consistent with a passion. Let me explain.

After you've decided how you wish to serve the public with your product,
products, and service; identified your niche within that public; selected
your business name clearly describing what you do; chosen your marketing
colors and logo shapes based on your prospective customers' preferences;
developed your sub-conscious buying message, your slogan; and, ordered
business cards and stationary. Stop!

Before you go on, all of this must be coordinated together. Remember,
consistent with a passion! Meaning that your primary and secondary colors
must always remain exactly the same. Always and exactly the same. Your type
font, type style, and relative type sizes must be the same on your business
card and stationary as on the sign in front of your store, as in your future
TV, magazine, and newspaper ads. Always the same.

If you decide to advertise inexpensively on local cable TV, for example, you
will want the last few seconds of that ad to show your business name, your
telephone number, and your slogan. This visual should look exactly like
everything else in your marketing. So later, when your future customers are
looking through the yellow pages, a sub-conscious part of them will be
attracted to your ad because it will be familiar to them. And, many of them
won't even remember the TV spot where they first saw your offer.

Said another way, you can shorten the number of needed exposures from twenty-
seven down to fourteen or so by having a consistent, clear, consistent
selling proposition. This number shrinks even further to about nine, when you
use several different marketing vehicles for us to see your consistent
message. It looks like you're everywhere. And it looks like everyone, like
me, is buying from you, 'cause we probably are!
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Over 500,000 business and salespeople have invested in Bill "Guerrilla"
Gallagher's Guerrilla Selling: (Unconventional Weapons & Tactics for
Increasing Your Sales) because they are serious about doing a lot more
business with less hassle and frustration.
Check out his website here: http://www.guerrillabusiness.com/

It Takes All Kinds

From: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/125/It_Takes_All_Kinds.html

It Takes All Kinds
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

It takes all kinds to make the world go round and it takes all kinds of sales approaches to get to yes.

How come you can always sell to some personality types and also have trouble selling to other types? We are all a little different from each other and each of us experience changes in personality and mood. It's time to focus on how best to market and sell to different personality types.

We know that even after we grow up, most of us fall back to childish-immature behavior when we are stressed. Many of us are perpetually stressed! We either behave as:

Phase 1. Infants who have physical needs and go gaga unconscious; or,
Phase 2. We yell and scream like the self-centered safety-conscious two-year-old; or,
Phase 3. In our desire to belong, we get very apologetic as a little girl or boy and confess how sorry we are; or,
Phase 4. We shout "chapter and verse" and tell everyone what they should be doing in our need to be esteemed with the certainty of the impervious teenager.
Phases 5, 6, and 7 are those of self-actualization and maturity.

These, in brief, are the major strategies most of us use in dealing with others.

When you next talk to your customers, notice how they are. Listen to their speech patterns. Notice their posture. Think about your customer base. Are they mostly this way or that. Your guerrilla marketing depends on deciding how the majority of your customers and potential customers behave. If your customers are coming from all four personality phases, then perhaps you're not focused enough and you probably have too many competitors. The way to eliminate competitors is to more narrowly focus your marketing.

Phase 1 folks are mostly institutionalized. Occasionally, all of us need to get away and shut down. We won't address this group.

Phase 2 people form the majority of our customers. They are egotistical and self-centered. In your marketing, you must let them know that your firm and your products are the best money can buy. You need to be impressed with their accomplishments. Your slogans sound like: "You're the greatest!" and "You deserve a break today..."

Phase 3 persons are nice and sweet and very polite, but they will not make buying decisions easily and often want extra concessions. Your best bet is to be friendly and a bit assertive. Your ads need to say, "Call today for a FREE brochure." And Level 3 types need to see your message about 27 times before they will move from absolute apathy toward your product to making that call for your FREE brochure.

Finally, Phase 4 folks are sure that they are right. They are the "parents" in any adult community. They make the rules and stick by them. Your best strategy is to give them lots of facts and figures and be very "logical" in your approach. List your products benefits by saying: "First, you product is superior because... Second, ... Third, ..."

Pinpoint your customers. Market them all in your clear public advertising, but sell to them as unique individuals.

Reading the Numbers

From: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/134/Reading_the_Numbers.html

Reading the Numbers
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

Quickly now, think of a number between zero and ten.

Unless you're trying to be difficult or you're from Mars, we know you probably thought of seven. Remarkable? Actually, yes, quite remarkable. Predictable, too. We have a pretty good idea why you picked seven; and why most people do. If you didn't think of seven you are somewhat exceptional. By the way, three is the usual second choice.

It's important to understand why sevens and threes come up so often in our culture. You can use this information in your selling and marketing strategies. We'll show you how.

By the way, a big majority of us will choose thirty-seven when asked to pick a two digit number. That response is merely a variation on the normal reply to our first question.

Need more proof? Why 7 Wonders of the World? 7 Deadly Sins? 7 Days of the Week? The 7 Seas? 7 Colors of the Rainbow? And on and on. Why 3 Little Pigs? 3 Baseball Bases? 3-D? 3-R's? 3 Blind Mice? Why not 2 or 5? We have 2 of a lot of things from our eyes to our feet. And 5, of fingers and toes. But, we don't have 7 or 3 of anything! Or do we have something, somewhere very deep within us that forces us to see the world around us in terms of threes and sevens? Yes.

From memory experiments in Germany, dating back over one humored years and replicated in every decade since, we also know that your short-term memory buffer can only hold about seven items at any one time. That's probably why telephone numbers are only seven digits long. Plus an occasional area code of three digits!

So, when presenting choices of products or services to a customer, never give more than seven choices. Three is better. Then three more, but that's it. Most of us can't keep all six choices, clearly in our heads in order to make a business decision in your favor.

And, if you're designing a sign to be read by passing motorists or an ad to be read by readers skimming through the morning newspaper, keep the main copy under seven words.

Choose powerful three-letter words. New, now, you, sex, and FREE. This last word is always spelled with all capital letters. Okay, so free has four letters. But there are only three sounds.

Here's a great seven-word guerrilla marketing line. It should be in every ad, including your Yellow Page ad. "Call today for your FREE brochure." Not only is it under seven words, but tells your potential customers exactly what you want them to do.

Understanding Subconscious Buying

From: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/143/Understanding_Subconscious_Buying.html

Understanding Subconscious Buying
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

Over one hundred and fifty years ago, Henry David Thoreau, commenting on the human experience, wrote: "The mass of mankind lead lives of quiet desperation." Fifty years ago Helen Keller wrote: "Life is either a wonderful bold adventure or it's nothing." For most of us, life is pretty much nothing and most of us are still living lives of quiet desperation! This is important for you to understand in order for you to become a powerful marketer.

As Guerrillas, we're not trying here to change the world. Even though that would be a wonderful idea. We are simply coming to a clear understanding of how people are and of how to best approach them, where they are, as they are. All this in order to serve them better with our products and services designed to make their lives fuller, richer, and better.

But how to reach them? The human mind appears to be organized in layers much like an onion. As marketers we need to penetrate the outer layers and get our message through to the sub-conscious where all buying decisions are made. The big key appears to be in repetition. Say your clear message over and over again consistently and you'll find great marketing success.

How do you do this? In your sub-conscious buying message, of course. Your sub-conscious what? Buying Message. That is, your slogan, your motto, your jingle. Remember stuff like:

Just Do It.
. . . Is It.
You Can Do It.
You're in Good Hands with...
Reach Out and Touch Someone.
Oh, I Wish I Were an . . . Weiner!
When You Care Enough To Send the Very Best.
Be All That You Can Be.

Why can we remember these phrases years and years after the marketing campaign ended? It's because these messages were repeated to us in "delicious" ways over and over again. "Delicious" means accompanied with vivid, beautiful images, lovely music, and great dramatic, memorable themes.

Let's look back at some famous slogans with respect to the needs of different psychological groups. Try to figure out your own best-customer psychological group before you develop your own slogan.

For very basic physical needs: "Soup is Good Food." and "Only ... Gives You a Total-Body Workout."

For safety, an "ego" prospect needs: "Air Bags Are Standard." and "When You Can't Sleep."

For belonging, a "pleaser" client needs: "When Was the Last Time You and Your Husband Met for Lunch?" and "... Brings the Computer Age Home."

For self-esteem, an "authority" customer needs: "Isn't It Time You Owned a ..." and "For People who Know the Difference."

Appealing to mature self-actualization principled needs: "Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life." and "Be All that You Can Be."

Selecting a slogan represents a lot of work; however, once selected it should almost never be changed. Remember you'll always be in "Good Hands" with what's-his-name.

Winning Colors and Shapes for Your Company

From: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/147/Winning_Colors_and_Shapes_for_Your_Company.html

Winning Colors and Shapes for Your Company
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

We're looking at an ad for a securities firm. One-third of the page is taken up with a color photograph of a cute little infant floating on a decorated plastic tube in the clear waters of, maybe a swimming pool. There's a lot of ad copy under the photo (not shown here). Picture this in your mind for a few seconds, as you might while brousing through the pages of your favorite magazine.

When you think about this picture of the baby leisurely floating on the water, what comes to mind? What are your feelings? What adjectives describe this scene? What did the ad guys want you to see? If you say "peaceful," "serene," "secure," and "calm" you would be in the majority. That's the way most of us see this affair. But, on closer inspection, we are wrong! In fact, this is a very dangerous situation. There is no adult present, and, I'm sure, that plastic floatation device is not approved by the United States Coast Guard!

So, why did we get those peaceful feelings. Well, it's in the motif, it's in the colors, and the shapes, at a subconscious level, that produce those serene feelings that, mostly, we all feel. In the past, we've talked briefly about shapes so you probably guessed that the oval shape of the inner tube mirroring the baby's oval head and rounded body convey deep seated emotional feelings of security and calmness. You are right.

So, let's talk about other shapes and colors and our reaction to them. Studies show that shapes and colors affect people in different ways. Use them properly in your company logos, ad copy, and presentations and you'll beat the competition. Remember, in today's market winning is by a tenth of a second. The Guerrilla gains this 1/10 by 1 millisecond here and 1 millisecond there. The milliseconds add up. Guerrilla players win by majoring in minor things!

Consider the following charts and the associations your customers have with different shapes and colors. The way to read the chart is to look down the first column entitled "Consumer" and see the reaction most males and females have to basic geometric shapes and colors. The charts will tell you how visible or noticeable the shape or color is. It will also tell you how memorable or how long they will stay on someone's mind and if they prefer them over other shapes and colors. Use the charts to design your marketing pieces and logos to fit your customer base.

The original source of the charts are unknown. We'd be happy to give credit. They have been in our files for over seven years and have since been updated and modified.

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How to Sell Different People: The Mind Map

From: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/158/How_to_Sell_Different_People:_The_Mind_Map.html

How to Sell Different People: The Mind Map
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

The best way to sell depends on WHO you are selling to. Everyone has a different personality and different moods, so why do so many salespeople keep looking for the ONE best way to sell and close? For successful selling to different kinds of people you'll need a Mind Map to find the right approach.

To help you better understand how you and others think, how they react to you, and how we all make decisions, we've done some homework for you. We've outlined seven clearly identifiable personality types, or phases. We call this summary The Mind Map. It can be one of the most advanced tools in dealing with others. This knowledge will give you a real edge in dealing with adults.

Most of us adopt one of these phases as our primary personality type, but we may shift from one phase to another depending on the relationship, the circumstances, or stress. Whenever people interact, they invariably do so from one of these phases.

By discerning one phase from another at will, you have the capacity to deal more effectively with anyone, under nearly any circumstance. You will begin to see where personality conflicts are created, and improve the atmosphere of these relationships. When a relationship isn't going too well, you can quickly move to a different phase, gaining the psychological high ground that produces better results. You'll exhibit confidence and inspire it in others. As a result, you'll have relationships based on mutual trust, shared concerns, and open communication.

The Amoral Phase
We all begin life as infants, and because the behavior of infants is neither moral nor immoral, we call this the Amoral phase. It's dominant needs are physical, and when subjected to stress, the Amoral will shut down or escape by withdrawing into day dreams, TV, or, even, alcohol or other drugs.

We call this the "Leave Me Alone" phase. If you encounter someone who is temporarily in this phase, gracefully end the conversation and attempt another meeting later. It's impossible to have any kind of discussion with someone who is shut down.

The Ego Phase
Infants move into this phase when they discover that they are individuals, unique and separate from their parents. In it, children perceive themselves as the center of the universe, and all other people are placed in their life to serve them. In normal maturation, this phase develops at around two years of age.

All of us know people who are stuck in this phase. In fact, 30 to 40 per-cent of the adult population operates primarily out of Ego. They're pre-occupied with themselves, their things, their ideas, their accomplishments. This phase is known as the Do it my way now" phase.

Your best approach with Ego types is to acknowledge their uniqueness, their number-oneness. You also need to be assertive and demonstrate your leadership. Let Egos know that you're "Number One."

They want to know if you're good enough. Let them know that you're good, maybe, the best and that you only represent the best.

The Pleaser Phase
At some point early in life, around age seven, the mind learns that not only is it a separate ego, but that there are other egos in the world as well. Survival appears to depend on pleasing others. The dominant need at this phase is psychological. The common characteristic of this phase is the desire to please others.

Your best approach with Pleasers is to be friendly, and be somewhat assertive, since Pleasers tend to put off making decisions.

The Authority Phase
The Authority Phase is characterized by is the need for rules. In teen years we learn that not only are we individual egos, and that there are other egos, but that there are whole systems or groups of egos we belong to. It's often "us versus them." The maturing mind now seeks the right way to do everything.

Authority phase people are not satisfied for very long because they've relinquished responsibility for their actions and relationships, turning them over to the experts. Because of this, the Authority mind often invents strategies that endlessly move them in and out of three other phases just mentioned.

Your best approach with Authority people is to avoid friendly gestures and stick to the facts. Appeal to systems, logic, and quoted sources.

The Principle Phase
Later in life, usually after having been involved in a stable relationship, we may start to recognize that there are certain principles that make life work, something more basic than rules. Once a mind can understand systems of rules and laws at the Authority phase, it can begin to discern the more fundamental principles by which life functions.

The general characteristics of the Principle phase can be summed up in three words: fair, care, and share. This phase begins with the development of an acceptance of how people are, exactly as they are, and exactly as they are not. Differences are celebrated rather than condemned. Your ability to maintain the Principle phase depends on your ability to be fair, to communicate your caring, and to do a little more than your share. The move to the Principle phase requires a major shift in perspective, away from the step-by-step, logical mind to the creative mind. The jump to the Principle phase is a move from the objective to the subjective, from the rational to the intuitive, from the Left Brain to the Right Brain. It is a barrier most minds never permanently cross.

Instead of a rigid, closed box, the Principle phase is best thought of as a cloud with vague boundaries. The transition between the individual phases of the Right Brain are not distinct, but gradual.

The Responsible Phase
At some point, usually later in life, we finally recognize the inescapable truth of cause and effect: that everything that we've ever done, everything that we know, everything that we have, is the direct consequence of the choices we've made during our lifetime. The mind that is able to apply principles on a responsible basis enters the Responsible phase. At this phase we accept accountability for our actions and outcomes. What we achieve are no longer attributed to conditions of birth, bad luck, or our parent's strengths or weakness.

The Universal Phase
The next phase is that of those who have mastered life, and represents the Universal Mind. Nearly everyone has experienced this phase at least once. This is you at your highest potential, fully integrating both your logical and creative mind, integrating yourself with others, and integrating the mental, physical and spiritual realms of experiences.

The general characteristics of the Universal phase are freedom, empowerment and ecstasy. This person maximizes freedom for everyone by living and teaching correct principles, then allowing others to govern their own lives and handle their own responsibilities.

Mature people constantly strive to operate out of the highest possible phases of maturation. By basing all of their relationships on first principles, they demonstrate leadership. This instills confidence in the mind of your prospects. They will like you, trust you and want to do business with you, because of who you are. Not your affiliation or your image, but your true identity shows through, and people will stand in line to buy from you.

A Guerrilla salesperson HITS their prospects!

From: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/163/A_Guerrilla_salesperson_HITS_their_prospects!.html

A Guerrilla salesperson HITS their prospects!
by Bill Gallagher, Ph.D.

Selling is the profession with perhaps the smarmiest reputation. Folks who are primarily in sales rarely have the word "sales" on their stationary and business cards. I've seen everything from "Account Representative" to "Special Agent." Like they were the FBI, or something. Anything but Salesperson. Why? Probably because we don't always act like professionals. Okay, so what do professionals do? How do they act?
Think about it for a minute. Picture a professional in your mind. What is he or she doing? Now picture in your mind a salesperson. What do you picture them doing? Most of us see the professional, whether doctor, lawyer, architect, or pastor, as sitting across from us listening. And, we see the salesperson talking!

Ta da! Very important distinction. Professionals listen and sales people talk. Most of us got into sales because we were good talkers. My mother-in-law calls it "the gift of gab." We good-talkers were told something like, "Bill, you're a good talker. You ought to be in sales." So we got into sales. And there, if we survived, we discovered that we only succeeded to the extent that we became good, may I say, professional listeners.

The key to listening professionally, is to make sure that we're only talking 20% of the time and listening 80% of the time. This is the correct ratio. And it's very difficult to do. The secret lies in asking a lot of questions. It's the only way to throttle the "gift of gab."

Asking alot of questions is one way to stay listening but what you say the rest of the time and the way you say it can also have help to keep someone talking. Here then is how a Guerrilla HITS their prospects with Body HITS and Verbal HITS:

Body HITS

These are things you can do with your posture and your voice to encourage your customers to keep talking and demonstrate that you really are listening to them.

You ask a content question, they usually begin with "wh." Your customer begins to answer. You do the following; notice that they begin with the letters H,I,T, and S:

Head nods and then slightly tilts, indicating interest.

Inch forward and sit on the last 3 or 4 inches of your chair.

Take written notes. Write down the date, time, and place of the meeting, who was there, and what was said. These notes are evidence of what was agreed to. Subconsciously, they form a kind of understanding or quasi-contract between you and the prospect.

Square up in your chair with the prospect. This posture encourages further conversation and indicates interest. Squared up means eyes parallel, shoulders parallel, and knees parallel. These points form squares or rectangles between you and your customer. Should a customer turn a bit away, you pause a second or so and reposition yourself to maintain the square.

Verbal HITS

Let's look now at things that you can say to encourage customers to keep talking. Remember the longer the customer talks the more likely you are to hear true wants, needs, and expectations from your client.

You ask a content question, they usually begin with "wh." Your customer begins to answer. You say the following, (notice that they begin with the letters H,I,T, and S):

Hmmmmm." I know that you probably won't find this word in your dictionary, but it's a honey and it's very powerful. You can even say it while the other person is talking, without interrupting! It's close cousin is another sort-of English phrase, usually spelled "Uh Huh." What do these mean? They are both indications that you're interested and that you'd like to hear more.

"Interesting." This is the second thing you say. You can also add to it with something like, "That's really interesting." By the way, when you say that you find something "interesting," you really aren't saying much. You haven't said that you agree or disagree. You've only said that you are far from bored, in fact, you're interested! Ta Da!

"Tell me more." This is the third thing you say. Make sure it is a sincere request for more information. Maybe you'd prefer to say it like this, "Wow! Can you tell me more about that?"

"So, how did that feel?" This is the forth thing that you say. "So" is a summary word. It represents all that you've said up till now, You can only say this sentence if you've heard something where there could be some feeling, pain, or concern. In many cases, after asking this question, you will not get a genuine feeling. That's okay.

Feelings are tough to report, but if you do get a genuine feeling, congratulations! Even though you haven't done any "selling" yet, you've probably got the sale. People feel really good about reporting their feelings, and they feel trust for, and confidence in, people to whom they report their true feelings.

After you've listened to the answer about feelings you can begin the cycle over again. In other words, the next thing you say again is, "Hmmmmm." This is followed by, "Interesting." "Tell me more." and "So, how did that feel?" in that order until you're sure you've heard a complete answer to your original question.

In conclusion, learning to listen 80% of the time and talk only 20% is very tough for many salespeople. By asking a lot of questions you'll be listening to the answers more. Learn to take written notes and ask for more information.