Usually at our meetings everyone shares ideas about what’s working for them in their business, marketing, sales, operations, technology, latest must-read books, etc. At this meeting, one of our members, Mark LeBlanc, http://www.markleblanc.com/, a small business success expert, conducted the entire program. Although I took pages of notes, just a few key points will put a lot of money in my pocket, and might for you as well.

In my case, I wear so many hats, perform so many roles, and get torn in so many directions I often feel like I’m running in place, and in circles. Mix in my self-diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder, and that’s a recipe for reaching the end of some of the rare days that I’m in my office, where, although there might have been a whirlwind of activity, I just say to myself, "What did you REALLY get done?"

Perhaps you have been there. Or are there.

I won’t go through Mark’s entire system, but will share a key piece, what you can do as a sales person that might help you sharpen your focus (if you need it) and reach new levels.

1. Set your Optimistic Number for the month. This is the sales number you optimistically would like to reach every month. Stretch a little, but make it realistic. You probably have this now as a quota or goal.

2. At the beginning of each day, ask yourself, "What am I doing today to book my Optimistic Number?"

3. At the end of each day, ask, "What did I DO today to book my Optimistic Number?"

4. Build your day around at least three High Value Activities that are focused on reaching your optimistic number. This might seem simplistic to some people, but when we really analyze our activities, not everything we do every day contributes to actually reaching our numbers. You determine what yours are. You might realize that sending emails, Tweeting, going on Facebook, etc. is not directly contributing to reaching your number.

5. Every DAY, update your scorecard that shows your results towards your Optimistic Number.

Fairly simple process. What struck me is that it provides the framework for focus, accountability,and self-motivation.

Adapt this as you see it applying to you. And especially if you are a small business professional, check out Mark’s site and resources http://www.markleblanc.com/

To download it, simply go to http://www.businessbyphone.com/motivational-quotes.htm
 
The catch? There is none. Free is good sometimes. (Read the book, "Free: The Future of a Radical Price," by Chris Anderson.) I do ask that if you like it, you pass the link around to others. Not the ebook, the link, OK?

They can be very profitable.

Oh, I’m talking about YOU doing an annual review  of your customer and prospect database, and then doing reviews with your customers and prospects.
That’s right. The first place to mine for gold is in the treasure you now possess.

Most people begin a new year with grand plans to increase their new business. Yet many of those same people don’t pick up the easy stuff first, skimming  the cream that already residing in their computer. This is an area we often cover in my training workshops for clients.

Here’s how.
 
1. CALL YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS
Of course, you know everything important that’s happened recently in the world of each of your best customers, right?
 
And you have your thumb on exactly what their plans are for 2012 and beyond, right?
 
And they’re going to continue buying from you at the same level, right?
 
Of course you know this because they are very, very important to you, accounting for most of your income.

They are helping to finance that new car, house, boat, or whatever else you have your eye on.
 
You are ingrained in these accounts because you also know that your smartest, hungriest competitors are having strategic sales meetings right now putting bulls eyes on those accounts, targeting them to steal away from you, so that THEY can get lots of business from them.
 
What’s that you say?
 
Maybe all of those things are NOT true? Maybe you should pay more attention to them?
 
Yes, of course you should. Quickly.
 
Today. Target the 20% of your customers that now give you over 80% of your business. Call and do an annual review
with them. But DO NOT say you just want to call and make sure everything is OK with them. Be proactive. Tell them that your goal is to help them have their best year ever.
 
Find out about,
 
-Major changes.

-News.

-Bought or sold divisions, assets.

-Added or dropped product lines.

-Major initiatives.

-Changes planned for 2011.

-Personnel changes for them? Promotions. Changes in the department(s) that you affect.
 
Know the answers to these questions, and you’ll increase your value to them, consequently providing a payoff for you.

2. CALL YOUR SMALL CUSTOMERS
Mine your database and pull out the customers who bought from you once, or those who just buy one or two items or limited single services from you.
 
Are you customers small because you THINK they are?
 
Or are they buying other things that you sell from your competitors?
 
Chances are, the answer is "yes" to both questions.
 
3. CALL YOUR LOST SALES
Scan your database and pull out the 10-20 biggest sales you really wanted, worked hard for, but did NOT win in 2011. Call them.
 
But, please, do NOT say,
 
"I’m just calling to touch base."
 
Review your notes and develop a value-added reason for calling. Say something like,
 
"I came across some interesting information in Info Industry Journal, and remembered how you were concerned with the issue of external data security locking in a multi-user environment. I wanted to send that to you …"
 
Of course you would then ease into a discussion of their present situation, and perhaps uncover any possible areas of dissatisfaction.

Calls to all three of these groups are really no-brainers!

Think about it …

 …you’ve already done the heavy lifting with all of these people. You’ve put in the long hours, investing time and  money in proposals and calls. You know their situation. And very importantly, you’ll get to these people more easily
than you would cold prospects. You probably know their executive assistants on a first name basis.

Try this. What will it be worth when you pick up a  piece of business from one or two of them?

With any business, making mistakes with customers is inevitable. Every good customer service training program or expert will agree that the key to minimizing damage and maintaining customer goodwill is in the proactive steps the business takes to recover.

Here is an update to my situation, and some observations.

Todd Goldman, one of the managing partners of Zipps, posted a message to “Customer and Inquisitors” on my blog on Wednesday. You can read it yourself in the Comments section in the original post and form your own opinions. I was not personally contacted  prior to that posting on my blog.

Mr. Goldman did send me a personal email of apology later that evening. He has asked that I keep the gist of that communication between us, and I will honor that. 

I replied, and also explained that for over 28 years my focus has been on helping businesses, not trying to tear them down. As I reiterated, I said in the article I was a fan, and a big customer of Zipps and Goldies. And I had never done anything like this before. Because I had never experienced anything before so outrageous, that was such an egregious example of customer mistreatment. I explained I did have some issues with what was said in the apology email. I also provided my office and cell numbers.  

I quickly received another thoughtful reply, via email, again apologizing, promising everyone involved on their end had been dealt with, and that they will certainly use this as a learning experience. He seems like a very good guy, and I believe that lessons have been learned and actions have been taken. They obviously are a successful business, and are doing a lot of things right.

He also invited me to contact them if I’d like to talk to them .  

In conclusion, do I have a warm and fuzzy feeling about them now and will I be going back?

Probably not in the short term. They are very steadfast in defending their Split Policy, as you can see in their response. Just as it is their right– or my right, or anyone’s right who owns a business– to charge whatever they choose, however they choose, it is a customer’s right to not patronize a business. I have a fundamental problem with a quota being placed on the number of items customers must order lest they be assessed a fee, regardless of whether any additional value is provided. Despite their assertion that this is an "absolute standard in the industry," in my experience it is not. Or perhaps the hundreds of places I’ve been in, or the restaurant owners and service workers I’ve talked to over the past few days are not part of the standard. I think split charges are a bargain when the customer agrees to and wants the added value if provided, but I resent a mandated “Sharing” charge, just like I resent a “Resort Fee” at a hotel when I don’t use any other service besides the room, or the hundreds of ticky tac charges assessed on cable and phone bills.

And maybe I’m naive, but I’m shocked at some of the comments that were attempted at the blog. More than a few started out with, “I wasn’t there, but…”, “I’d don’t know for sure what happened there, but”, and then they went on to describe how hostile and out of control I acted. They said they “heard” this from the other customers who were there. Actually, there were THREE other people at the bar. The guy at the far end whom I described and had asked me about the situation, and the woman next to me and her friend, whom I also mentioned as sharing her horror story with me. There were a few others scattered in booths away from the area who couldn’t have possibly heard anything. And by the way it was mid-afternoon, not night time, as one person described, since he was in there “minutes after Art left that evening.”  

And after all of this with the apology,  one more surprising thing was just was brought to my attention moments ago: Ironic how on Zipps own Facebook page they have just posted how I am deleting comments on MY blog from their supporters. Remember, I was asked to leave their place for talking to customers.  The unfortunate event last Saturday happened exactly as I described it, and I refute any insinuation that I acted any way other than described, and certainly won’t allow any speculation to the contrary be posted on my forum.

I am now officially worn out from this entire episode. I have a business to run, and need to find a place to have a burger–maybe a whole one– and a beer.

I wouldn’t fault you if you don’t believe what you’re about to read. It is such an outrageous and bizarre example of customer treatment–I can’t even call it "service"–that I might not have believed it myself. Except I experienced it last Saturday.

First, some background.

Zipps is a local, popular chain of sports bars in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. I have visited several of their locations regularly over the past few years, including their original place, Goldie’s. Their food is a notch above typical sports bar fare, they have lots of TV’s, and a fun atmosphere. My friends and I watch plenty of sports, we enjoy the beverages sports fan typically consume, and have spent a nice amount with them on food and drinks over the years.

Not anymore.

Last Saturday afternoon a friend and I stopped at the Zipps on Via de Ventura road in Scottsdale. We ordered a couple of drinks and chicken wings. We played some shuffleboard, then decided to get a burger. Just one, since neither of us wanted a whole one. I told the bartender/waitress that we were just going to split a burger. She said,

"OK, there will be a split charge, and you get another side. "

I told her that we didn’t want another side. In fact we didn’t even care for a single side, and that they didn’t need to split the burger.

Now, call me crazy, but it seems that a reasonable service person would have said, "No problem." Done deal. End of story. Thanks for the order.

I’ve eaten at some of the nicest, most expensive restaurants in the country. Some have split charges, some don’t. When they do charge, typically they nicely divide and plate one dinner into two, often giving larger portions than if you had just ordered one dinner. I don’t have a problem with that. That’s a value-add, and if they want to charge for it, and the customer is agreeable to buying it, so be it. And if Zipps wants to charge for cutting a burger in half, and adding fries or slaw, that’s fair. But if a customer doesn’t want to buy that option, they shouldn’t have to, right?

I just wanted the single burger, no sides. She insisted that she had to assess the split charge. It was "policy," and she had to follow the rules. I replied again that I just wanted one burger, one plate, not cut, no sides. She was adamant: she had to charge me since we were splitting it.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Trying to reason with her, I again said, "OK then, no other person will touch my burger. I,personally will just order one hamburger. I will not share it."

She told me she couldn’t do that.

Again, flabbergasted, but in control and not acting rude or raising my voice in any way, I said, almost in a begging tone, "You won’t sell me a single hamburger?"

"You already said you are splitting it."

Are you following the absurdity of all this so far? I am trying TO ORDER A HAMBURGER FROM A PLACE THAT SELLS HAMBURGERS and not be charged extra for something I do not want!

I then attempted to put things in perspective for her: I asked what happens when someone orders a takeout burger… does she demand to know how many people will be eating it when they get home, and then assess an extra charge? I wondered aloud if she was going to charge extra because TWO of us ate the chicken wings. What if an entire table gets one order of onion rings? Apparently that logic was a bit too much for her to process. She reluctantly put the order in for the burger.

Laughing off the entire experience, we then passed more time at the shuffleboard table. Minutes later, a guy who identified himself as the manager came up to us and said, "Excuse me, I understand you have an issue with our split charge policy."

A bit shocked that it actually escalated to this level, I smiled and said, "Well, fundamentally I do have a problem with a split charge if I do not want the burger split regardless of what I decide to do with it after I get it, and don’t want the extra sides."

"That’s policy. That’s what she’s instructed to do."

"I think it’s stupid, and the fact that the bartender would take it so far is horrible customer service, and that you now are even talking to me about it raises it to an entirely new level of outrageousness."

He proceeded to defend their policy, mentioned something about their food costs (like that is something I really care about?), and was essentially treating me like I was a difficult, unreasonable customer. Please understand, in my business I deal with more bad service than the typical consumer because of the number of flights I take, and hotels, car rental companies, and restaurants I have done business with over the past 28 years. My "policy" is to always give the service provider the benefit of the doubt, and let most things slide. However, in this case, I was now pushed to a place that I rarely enter: "Look, this is ridiculous. I’m going to talk to your CEO and discuss your policy and the treatment we’re getting."

He handed me his card and said the corporate address was on there.

No, I told him I needed the name of the CEO.

He refused.

I persisted. "What? You don’t know it, or you won’t give it to me?"

"I won’t do that."

This was getting more bizarre.

"You’re telling me that you won’t give me the name of your CEO? I can find it in a few minutes on my iPhone if I need to. How will he or she react when I say you would not give a customer his or her name?""

He finally relented, gave me the name, and walked away.

As you might imagine, my friend and I are now having one of those "That really didn’t just happen?" discussions. A guy sitting at the bar within earshot of the interaction with the manager said, "Wow, that was weird. What was that about?" I explained what happened with the burger. He couldn’t believe it either. Again, I was calm and quiet, actually laughing at the inanity of the entire situation.

The manager reappeared and interrupted. "Sir, if you talk badly about us to other customers I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Now I REALLY couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

It was becoming a bit more difficult to maintain composure, but thankfully I did. "What?! You are now threatening to kick me out of here, FOR TALKING TO A GUY AT THE BAR?"

"I can’t have you badmouthing us to customers."

I replied, "He asked me a question, I answered, we talked. Can you please tell me what I said to badmouth you?"

He had nothing.

"Is repeating your own ‘policy’ badmouthing you?"

He walked away.

At this point, the hamburger–that’s hamburGER. One. Singular. Not halved–arrived at our spot at the bar. We sat down. I began eating it. Alone. A knife was conspicuously absent.

Given the surreal situation up to this point, I am now thinking that I had some great material for an article and blog post. I wanted more background. I was curious about the bartender’s thought process and what really motivated her to make this an issue to begin with.

"Excuse me, just wondering, I have to ask you… why did you go to the manager with this little split charge thing?"

She responded, "It’s policy. I could lose my job."

"Seriously? You’re trained to agitate customers with something as small as this?"

Brace yourself for this one. You might even want to grab a chair. She said, a bit indignantly,

"Yeah, we’re on to the little games customers play. We know how they try to get around things."

For one of the few times in my life, I was actually speechless. That couldn’t possibly be part of their culture, could it? This chain won Sports Bar of the Year in 2011 from the local paper. I mean, really, what would training look like for that?

"Ok, class, now for the lesson on how you need to keep an eye on those diabolical, sneaky customers. They will try to rip you off at every opportunity."

A woman sitting just to the right of me at the bar witnessed this brief interaction. She leaned over and whispered, "You know, that’s pretty typical here. They are so cheap. I refused to come here for two years. I sent my salad back one time and they made me feel like a fool."

I asked why she was there now. "I really like the food." She spoke in a low voice, as if she was afraid SHE would be kicked out. Reminded me of the Soup Nazi episode from Seinfeld. She obviously had experience with the way they treat customers who talk amongst themselves.

Did I mention you might not believe what I’m writing? But wait. There’s more.

The manager interrupted my brief conversation with my barstool neighbor.

"I’m sorry sir…" Ahh, finally he had come to his senses and wanted to apologize.

"… I am going to ask you to pay your bill and leave."

I kid you not. "You’re not serious, right?"

"I am asking you to pay your tab and leave."

"Really? Why?"

"I already told you I can’t have you talking badly about us to our customers."

Apparently it is OK for THEM to abuse and insult a customer. But the thought or perception that said customer could actually tell another customer/victim about it before THEY get to them, themselves, well, that crosses the line.

I knew he could not have possibly heard my conversation with this woman. Plus, I was LISTENING to her. I said, "Can you please tell me exactly what I said that you interpreted as talking badly about you?"

He was now visibly shaken by the entire interaction. "I am not going to go there with you. I am asking you to leave."

Please note that I am still reasonably calm, and definitely not speaking more loudly than I normally would to someone on the other side of a bar. (Not that I didn’t feel like screaming out what an idiot I thought he was.) "Let me be sure I’m correct here. This all started with me wanting a single hamburger, and not being forced to pay extra for something I do not want. Then you confronted me about it, unnecessarily in my opinion. In front of another customer, I might add. Then you threatened to, and now actually are kicking me out for talking to two customers who initiated conversation with me. But, you can’t tell me anything I said that violates your rules. Do I have that right?"

He said, "We reserve the right to refuse service for whatever reason we choose."

Got it. Now THERE’s a customer-oriented policy. I should remind you, this is a bar. It is usually common for people to talk there. In most places, to each other. You should be able to do so without the fear of being asked to leave, right?

Still trying to give this guy a shot to redeem himself, I said, "Seriously, you are kicking me out?"

"I am asking you to pay your bill and leave."

He obviously was skilled at memorizing phrases and repeating them. As for thinking for himself, well, that’s another story. (An Enterprise Rental Car commercial running right now focuses on how ANY of their employees can make a decision to make something right for a customer. Hey Zipps corporate folks: give it a look. Good stuff.)

"But you still can’t tell me why I’m being kicked out, right?"

Manager: "You’re making a scene."

Unbelievable. I take a cleansing breath, and speak at a slow pace, since anything faster he might not be able to comprehend: "I’m calmly asking you questions that you won’t answer about why you are actually expelling a good customer. That’s a scene?"

Silly me, I should have known the answer. "I am asking you to pay your bill and leave."

Since I was already being banished from the premises, being the horrible nuisance that I apparently was, I asked, "If I refused to leave, would you call the police."

"If that’s what I needed to do"

The thought actually crossed my mind for a fleeting moment: how much fun I could have with that juicy one. Getting arrested over not wanting my hamburger cut in half. We could video it. That’s viral YouTube stuff. Then I thought better. I didn’t have the energy or the inclination to be on the news for something so stupid. Worse, it could backfire. I could just see the legendary Sheriff Joe himself showing up and dragging me off, in shackles, to Tent City. I’d be thrown in with the other lowlifes… maybe people who got caught using too many sugar packets. You never know.

Finally, I gave up and let him run my credit card. Common sense, good judgment, and reasonableness would get me nowhere with someone who wasn’t also using those principles.

And it’s notable that during this entire time I did not use the "Do you know who I am?"-card. Not that he would actually care that an accounting of this story might have the potential to be read by hundreds of thousands of people–actually more as it gets passed on and reprinted. And that many of those could be customers. Or former customers. Or that his actions would be used as an example of what not to do in customer service training programs all over the world. Nope, I didn’t want to overload him with that information. He was already shaking, and way in over his head. Instead, I simply said to him, "My name and company name are on that credit card if you care to check me out."

While signing the bill (which to their credit, surprisingly, did not include a split charge), with him staring very uncomfortably at me, as if I might try something dangerously crazy like, oh, darting over to a table and taking a bite of someone else’s burger, I said, "I’m not penalizing your bartender for this, by the way." I left a 20% tip, as I typically do.

If you saw the movie, "Pretty Woman," perhaps you remember the scene where Julia Roberts’ character, Vivian, who was initially treated badly by the snobby boutique saleswoman, then returned after she spent thousands of dollars elsewhere. I said something similar as I handed him the signed receipt: "Big mistake. Big. Huge!!"

Observations

-Someone at Neighborhood Restaurants LLC, the owners of Zipps, HAS to be smart enough to grasp the concept of the "Lifetime Value of a Customer." Meaning that if a customer spends, oh, let’s say $50 on a visit, and maybe pops in once a month (probably more often for good customers), that customer is worth at least $600 yearly. Multiply that by three, five, ten or more years to get the Lifetime Value. When you lose a customer, because of something stupid…ouch! I don’t know about you, but as a business owner I’d rather have that money than not.

-You’ve heard the saying about when a customer receives bad service, they tell something like 10-20 other people, right? I’ve already told a couple of my good friends who also go to Zipps. Correction–used to go. There are lots of other places that will be happy to have our money.

-Oh, another small repercussion that usually doesn’t happen when a customer is wronged, but, it’s always a possibility, since you never know who you’re dealing with: I’m also telling at least 70,000 on my email newsletter subscriber list, Tweeting it, Facebooking it, and putting it on my blog. Probably putting it on Yelp and Google reviews too. And I hope you share it with lots of people. Please pass it along. It’s an entertaining story. It’s better than anything I could create on my own.

-I thought about sending this to Zipps’ corporate and the CEO first to get their reaction. Naahh. Anyone that has such an asinine policy in place, and actually drills it into their workers’ minds to the point that they enforce it so zealously deserves to have it publicized. It’ll get to them eventually. I’ll be surprised if they actually care.

- at the Goldie’s website, the sister bar to Zipps, under the "Philosophy" tab, the last line says, "In the end, our philosophy is a simple one- Give the people what they want!" Add your own punchline here.

-I’m not looking for any compensation from Zipps for my bad experience, nor will I accept any. (Well, food and beer for five years would be nice…NO, I can’t be bought!) If they want to make things right, I’d like to see them do what any reasonable establishment does: apply the split charge ONLY WHEN THE CUSTOMER WANTS THE SPLIT! Train everyone on it. And add a policy allowing employees to make an independent decision.

-I added this point after I had written the bulk of this article, and shared the story with a few people right before you saw it: One friend said that he and his buddies experienced exactly the same thing at another Zipps location. A restaurant owner/friend said one of his customers, a CEO of a multi-million dollar company, was also kicked out of a Zipps for a similar reason. At least they seem to be consistent in the enforcement of their policies.

By the way, are you wondering about the split charge causing this entire circus?

$1.50.

A person wielding a clipboard (or an IPad) jumps in front of you as you’re walking down the shopping mall and asks if you can take 10 minutes for a survey.

A woman at a bar is approached by a man she doesn’t know, who asks, "Do you want to have a relationship?"

What were YOU feeling as you read each of those?

Discomfort. Resistance. Maybe skin-crawling creepiness in the last example.

Why?

Because an unknown someone blindsided the target out of nowhere, asking for something without giving a reason for doing so. Therefore the natural reaction is to backpedal.

Let’s look at other examples:

A sales rep calls a prospect he has never spoken with before and in the opening says "…I’m with ABC company and I’d like to set up a time to meet with you to …"

Or,

"…I’d like to discuss what it would take to do business together…"

Or,

"…I’d like to invite you to a webinar…"

Those are all similar to the previous examples. A sales rep who is unfamiliar to his/her prospect asks for, or implies that he/she wants something from the prospect, without giving any reason why. There is nothing in it for the listener.

Of course, then, the result is similar to the previous examples: resistance.

Yet, those sales-related examples are still widely used, and I’m assuming, taught by someone–or by many.

That blows me away.

often in sales, sadly, common sense is trumped by nonsense that has been passed along, for no other reason than someone had heard it or read it somewhere.

(By the way, this is just one of the mistakes I point out in a video where we pick apart quite a few mistakes in a sales rep’s opening. See it at http://www.smart-calling.com/launch.html )

So what should you do?

Keep in mind, your calls need to be about them, not YOU.

You need to have something FOR them, not give the feeling that you want to take something FROM them.

You want to minimize your chance for resistance.

Here’s a simple opening template based on my Smart Calling system:

1. Identify yourself and company.

2. Mention what you know about them based on your research.

3. Hint at your Possible Value Proposition.

4. Add more possible value, and move to the interaction.

For example,

"Hi Pat, I’m Dale Stevens with Atlantic Associates. In speaking with Jolene in your marketing department, I understand that one of your initiatives for 2012 is strengthening the communication and collaboration between your account management and production departments, so you can increase your customer retention rate and order frequency. With another components manufacturer we were able to help them do exactly that and raise their retention by 55% in six months, and reorder rate by 34%. I’d like to ask a few questions to see if I could provide you with some information."

Remember, it’s about THEM, not you. The first part of the call is not about throwing the long bomb at the first opportunity. Give them a reason to move forward with the call, engage them, ask questions, and you’ll find your calls progressing more smoothly.

(I take you through the entire process of creating your interest-creating opening, your Possible Value Proposition, and also show you over 20 OTHER mistakes to avoid in your opening that cause resistance in Smart Calling. See it here http://www.smart-calling.com/launch.html )

"What is the best, quickest way to increase sales by phone?"

At first glance I dismissed this as one of the many questions I often get from people who think there is a simple, easy answer to doing well in sales.

But after pondering this, there is a relatively simple answer:

Sell more to people at the very moment they are buying.

For more how-to info on this, I contacted my friend and colleague, Jim Domanski, the Add-On Selling Guru, He’s author of the book, "Add-On Selling: How to Squeeze Every Last Ounce of Sales Potential From Your Calls."

How to Grab More Profits Today With Add-On Selling
By Jim Domanski

With today’s economy it is especially important to leverage every single solitary customer contact you make. You need to know how to maximize your contacts to their fullest. In effect, you need to "do more with less."

I am talking about using Add-on Selling (AOS).

AOS is simple. As the name implies, it means adding something onto to a call that you make (or take) from a customer or prospect in order to maximize the moment. It is designed to get something more from your contact than you usually do.

For instance, cross selling or up selling are two huge applications that are often dismissed and ignored. But the real neat thing is that AOS can be used whether or not you get a sale.

For example you can easily use the technique with a prospect who says no to your sale by asking for a referral or by gathering an important piece of market information.

Let’s go through the process.

The Four-Step Process

Step 1: Complete your Primary Objective.

The first step is easy. Whether it is an incoming or outgoing call, complete your initial objective first. It might be an order or an inquiry. It might be a prospecting call. It might be a contact with a long term customer. Whatever or whoever, complete your primary objective first.

Step 2: Bridge to the Add-On.

Once you have completed your primary objective, the next step is to let your customer or prospect know that you are moving onto another item. You do this with a technique called a "bridge." Here are some patently simple examples,

"Jenny, thank you for your order. By the way . . ."

"By the way Mr. Potter, did you know . . ."

"I am not certain if you know this, Ms. Anderson, but . . ."

Step 3: Provide your Add-on and Explanation.

The most classic add-on is a cross sell. A cross sell is when you add a related product to the one that is being purchased:

"Thank you for your order, Tim. By the way, did you know that we have CD storages cases in the slimmer versions, on sale this week for 20% off per case."

Here’s another example with an up sell. An up sell is when you sell more of the same product:

"LaTanya, did you know that you get a price break if you order four or more of our safety posters. You are only one poster away from four and by up grading you can save 15% on your order for the year, and shipping and handling is free!"

Here’s a third example, for a referral. A referral, of course, is when you ask for the name of someone who might have an interest in your product or service:

"Mr. Jackson, I want to thank you for your time again. By the way, while I have you, can you give me the names of your counterparts in South Bend and Gainsville because I believe they could also benefit from the saving ?"

There is one critical element to making the add-on work as effectively as possible. You need to provide a simple explanation for the add-on and give or imply a benefit.

This is where most reps falter when attempting an add-on selling. For instance, they will say:

"Did you know we have CD cases on special this week?"

It’s not so much that this statement is bad, rather it could be better. By explaining the special and the amount to be saved, the customer gets a full explanation and understanding in order to make a decision.

The same applies to the up sell and referral examples as well. Providing an explanation gives the client an opportunity to assess your offer quickly and efficiently.

The add-on comes at the end of the conversation after the primary objective has been met. From the client’s perspective, the call is almost completed and so too is their time and tolerance. The add-on must be brief and to the point. It cannot raise questions. The add-on should be easy to evaluate and easy for the client to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Your add-on should be prepared ahead of time, and must have an explanation that is benefit oriented.

Step 4: Close the Add-On.
 
In both the cross sell and up sell examples above, the rep needs to ask for the sale to bring closure to the add-on. For example:

"Would you like a case?"

"Can I add that to your order?"

These closes get the client to take action one way or the other. This saves you time and it saves your client time. The worst that they can say is no. And that’s no big deal. In the referral example, the referral is presented as a question. There is an explanation and an implied benefit molded into the question. Consequently, the customer must respond.

Summary
AOS is a powerful way to squeeze and wring every ounce of potential from the calls you make or take. It doesn’t have to work all the time. That is not the point. If only ten or twenty percent respond to you add-on, what would that be worth to you?

(Jim Domanski is President of Teleconcepts Consulting, a telemarketing consulting and training firm. Contact him at 35 VanStone, Kanata, Ontario, Canada. 613-591-1998. His book "Add-On Selling" is available right now for download, and you can get the hardcopy at http://www.businessbyphone.com/add-on.htm)

The basic premise of Smart Calling is having intelligence about the people, companies, and situations you are targeting so your value proposition is relevant, creates instant interest, and gets you into a sales dialogue. This happens because the message is targeted and personalized, and doesn’t come remotely close to sounding like the typical cheesy “cold” call. In this program, Sam Richter, author of the great book, Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling shows you exactly how to get the prospect intelligence you need, and then I show you how to use it.

Check out the details here.

However, there’s still nothing better for my palate than a great slice of pizza. I particularly like thin crust, New York style. Could eat it every day. Normally I don’t go more than a few days without a pizza-fix.

When I was living in Omaha I was a bit limited in my choices of places to get exceptional pizza. One day, lusting for a slice and wanted to try something different, so I went online and was reminded of a place not far from my home. I had tried it a couple of years ago, was not impressed, so they fell off my radar.

However, I read some of the recent favorable reviews and thought I’d give them another shot. After all, right down the street…if they’ve improved, this could become a spot I’d be dropping lots of cash in the future.

So I called, intending to order a pie. After about eight rings, the out-of-breath voice answered–with chaos in the background–and greeted me with, "Can you hold?"

(I’m intentionally leaving out the name of the place–she did say it when she answered.)

Reluctantly, I agreed.

She did NOT put me on hold. She just put the phone down.

So now I’m hearing the banter of the kitchen staff, and occasionally her voice. One minute passes.

I’m getting restless.

Two minutes, I’m annoyed.

Watching the clock on the computer screen tick away, three minutes. Now I’m pissed. The kitchen staff continues whooping it up.

Trying to put it all in perspective and remind myself that in the whole scheme of things this is not worth getting upset about, I decide to give them one more minute. Sure, I could have hung up and called back, but the devilish side of me wanted to see just how long this customer service train wreck would continue. Plus, I thought I had the makings of a weekly tip.

And I really didn’t feel like driving any further than a few blocks to get pizza.

At the five-minute mark, I FINALLY hear someone pick up the phone, and…hang it up. "Call Ended" flashes on my cell phone.

At that moment I decide to provide the owner with some unsolicited phone sales training.

While I was simmering, waiting, I was online, reading about the history of the joint, and about the owner who had come here from Chicago a few years ago. I remembered seeing him the last time I was there, working the counter and the kitchen. Chances are he was there and I was going to tell him about my experience.

Certainly as an astute business owner he would welcome feedback and offer to make things right.

I called back.

Busy signal. Hit redial. Busy signal again. Undoubtedly someone else was told to hold, but then forgotten about.

THREE more times I tried back, hearing the busy signal each time.

Finally I heard a ringing sound. A male answered, and said "This is____," giving his name. It was the owner.

I said, "Yes, I called there about 10 minutes ago. I was going to get a pizza from you. I was asked to hold, was forgotten about for exactly FIVE minutes, and then was hung up on. I wanted you to know this personally since you might be losing customers because of how calls are handled."

"Sorry about that," he said in a tone that contradicted his words.

That was it. No attempt to recover. Nothing like, "Wow, that certainly is not the way we do things, let me make it up to you…"

"Sorry?", I repeated, after he was silent for a few seconds, giving him a chance to say more.

"Yeah, sorry, he repeated with an attitude that I read as, "Look, I’m busy here."

I remained silent–and a bit stunned–for a few seconds, thinking he might come to his senses as a business owner and do the right thing.

Silence.

I was not an a-hole about this by any means, but I finally matter-of-factly said, "Well, you just lost a sale and more importantly, a customer."

That, I thought, might cause him to realize he could still fix this. Instead, I heard, "Sorry to hear that."

He was one of the sorriest guys I’ve ever heard.

So I found another place, a few miles from my house, that answered on the first ring, did not put me on hold, repeated back my order, made an upsell suggestion for a salad, which I took advantage of, and told me precisely when my order would be ready. THEY will be getting a lot more of my money in the future.

Now, you might be thinking that from the first pizza joint’s perspective, so what, big deal, they lost a sale, under $20 in revenue.

Wrong.

A number of years ago a marketing exec with Dominos spoke right before me at a national sales meeting. He talked about the value of a customer, something many people do not keep at the forefront of their mind. He said their research indicated that a customer would spend–I don’t remember the exact number, but this is close–in the neighborhood of $8000 with Dominos in their lifetime.

They would emphasize that to their employees who answered the phone, and anyone who had contact with customers. It wasn’t a one-pizza transaction, you were talking to an $8,000 customer.

One of my business mentors, Dan Kennedy, stresses the importance of "future bank" vs. "present bank." Future bank is what your customer means to you over their lifetime, and yours. That’s why smart marketers often take a loss in acquiring a customer, knowing that the real profit is in keeping them over time.

Let’s try to stitch this back together to some relevance for you: What do YOU do to ensure that you make it easy for people to become customers?

Are there any deterrents that make it difficult for people to become customers…like saying, "Can you hold?", when someone WANTS to buy from you, now?

Do you know your own "future bank" number? If not, figure it out, and be sure EVERYONE who has customer contact knows it.

What are you doing so that when your competition calls your customers–and you know they will–your customers say, "I’m happy with who I’m buying from."