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e-ret@iler
from Profits+Plus and Tom Shay
ideas to sell more merchandise and services
November 2003 - Our 48th consecutive issue
The
November issue of the e-ret@iler contains:
1.
The article of the month: Always ON
2. e-ret@iler advisory of the month: Branded
3. The contest for November 2003: Measuring Sticks
4. Our Power Promoting idea of the month:
5. Your e-ret@iler subscription and contacting
Profits+Plus and Tom Shay
=>
Print the November issue of the e-ret@iler so
you can read it at your leisure.
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1.
Article of the month: Always ON
Heard
another speaker the other day talking
about two businesses that seem to get a lot of
mention when it comes to customer service. One
is Nordstrom's Department Stores and the other
is Southwest Airlines. Perhaps it is just my
critical standards, but it has been my experience
with Nordstrom's that it is just like most other
department stores - it is not the company that
makes a difference, but is the individual
salesperson that decides they want to be
exceptional.
As
for Southwest Airlines, this speaker was
telling the story that most everyone has already
heard. The story was told about the difference in
Southwest - the unusual attire, the way the crew is
having fun, and the way they add humor to those
most boring safety speeches that are given (no
make that read) to passengers throughout the flight.
Again,
it may have just been my personal experience,
but in the article of the month, Always ON, we
use two flights on Southwest Airlines as a way of
comparing how we work with customers, and our coworkers
each and every day that we come to work.
Click
on this link to visit the Profits+Plus
website to read the November article of the month.
Always ON
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<= After printing the November e-ret@iler, check
here if you plan to read the article of the month.
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2.
e-ret@iler advisory of the month: Branded
Advertising
is used by most businesses. It is an
expense item on our financial sheets, but is
used as a way to get people to do business with
us in our effort to boost our revenue.
While
some businesses utilize a degree of image
advertising, the bulk of what we see is price and
item advertising. Most of us would like to break
away from the muddle that most of the other
businesses in our industry are either stuck in
or have chosen to be a part of.
Recently,
I heard of a very nondescript business
that has done an excellent job of separating itself
from the competition. The proof? You are reading
it, for most people have not made a point to
remember a certain taxi driver. But after reading
this story, you will probably remember Taxi Terry
in Jacksonville, Florida.
Taxi
Terry is branded as being something different.
While in the city of Jacksonville, your first
encounter may be by chance. From that point on,
your future trips, and business with Taxi Terry,
will occur because of your experience.
After
loading your belongings into the car or van,
you are engaged in a conversation, during which
you will find that you have shared information about
who you are and why you have come to Jacksonville.
Upon
completion of your trip, Taxi Terry will
explain that he will catalog your information for
your next trip in the Pocket PC that you see on
the console of the taxi.
At
the conference, someone mentioned about their
fantastic experience with the cab ride to the
hotel. And as if it had been rehearsed, there
were several who shouted out, "Taxi Terry."
In
a situation where the price has no
fluctuation, Taxi Terry has found a way to cause
each of us to retain his card and think of him
the next time we come to Jacksonville. You can
even make a reservation by way of the card that
he has shared with you, or by visiting his
website.Their website is www.taxiterry.com
The
lesson we learn from Taxi Terry, is that when
we see ourselves as being just a part of the
muddle of business, there is a way to set
ourselves apart. And what is the best way to do so?
Let
me first ask this question. Have you made a
commitment that your staff is being educated
with regard to how they serve your customers?
Do you work with them to practice their
selling skills, and enhance their product
knowledge?
Here
are two links to pages on the Profits Plus
website that can give you some help with educating
your staff. The first of the two pages we have linked
gives you a list of the worst things we could say to
our customers. The second page is a list of the
best things we could say to customers.
Played
as a game, it works this way: One person
is holding a stopwatch and some type of noise
maker. Another person plays the part of a customer
and a third person is the salesperson. As the watch
starts, the customer is attempting to get the
salesperson to say one of the items from the
bottom ten list (feel free to add to the list).
The
salesperson is trying to not say any of
the items on the list, as well as trying to say
as many as possible from the top ten list (again,
feel free to add to this list). The watch runs
until the salesperson slips up and says a bottom ten
item. Their "score" is the number of seconds they
went plus one additional second for each of the
top ten things they said.
The
winner of the game for that evening is the
one with the highest score. An ideal prize for the
winner is an extended lunch, with the lunch being
paid for, and the person being paid their hourly
wage for the extended lunch period. Want to see
a marked improvement in your sales staff? Give
this game a try!
Bottom
Ten Things Said
Top
Ten Things Said
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3.
The contest for November 2003: Measuring Sticks
We
are very busy adding more and more sales tools
to the Profits+Plus website. From the front page of
the site, you can link to a page that will help you
to calculate the business benchmarks from your
financial statements.
Recently,
this page has had several additions made
to it. Our contest for November is to answer this
question. "How many measuring standards are on the
business benchmarks page?
Answer
this question correctly, send your name and
address and we will send you a copy of our newest book,
"How to become the Preferred Vendor - 251 Strategies
for doing more business with retailers!"
This
book was co-authored with Rick Segel, and while
it is written to vendors, we have found that some
very sharp retailers are starting to read it. They
have told us they are reading it to see what sharpest
vendors are doing for their accounts. Then, they are
marking those pages and bringing them to the attention
of their vendors with the question asked, "Why aren't
you doing this for me? And when can I expect you to
start doing this?"
What
a great idea! This industry never fails to amaze
me with all of the great ideas that people come up with.
Want to see the book? The first link will take you to
see the new book, and the second link will take you to
the page where you can answer the question.
How
to become the preferred vendor!
Measuring
Sticks
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<= After printing the November e-ret@iler, check here
if you plan to enter the contest.
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4.
Our Power Promoting idea of the month:Advertising
in Unusual Places
We
are entering the gift giving and receiving season.
And, your business is a gift headquarters - if you
decide that it will be. Let's try a unique way of
having people see what you have to offer. Think about
the lobby area of a bank, a doctor or dentist's
office, or an insurance company. There are chairs for
people to sit in while they are waiting to see some one.
We can leave them to read those two year old magazines
that we usually see there, or we can offer to provide
information or a display of what we have to offer.
Imagine
a display of clothing, or car accessories. How
about carpet samples in the lobby of a bank? What about
paint sample cards in the waiting room of an
obstetrician's office? You have with each of these
situations, a captive audience. Make the most of it!
Where
in the world do we get these Power Promoting
ideas month after month? We have been collecting them
for many years and now have them available in book
format. We have so many that we even have two books
out. This idea is #29 in the first book. Visit the
Profits+Plus resource center and take a look at
the Ideas series of books. The book with the blue
cover and the one with the red cover each
contain 100 of the tried and proven promotional ideas.
The
book with the green cover and the book with the
gold cover each contain 100 management tips and
shortcuts that can help you to make your business
more profitable. Each book is only $9.95.
Click
on the link below to visit the Profits+Plus
resource center.
Ideas
Books
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if you plan to visit the Resources Page to order
the Ideas books.
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5.
Your e-ret@iler subscription and contacting
Profits+Plus and Tom Shay
Simply
stated, the e-ret@iler is free. We have
sent the e-retailer for the past four years and
are excited to begin our fifth year of publishing
this newsletter with the December 2003 issue. If you
received it as a result of someone passing it to
you, you can get your own subscription by visitng
the Profits+Plus website and entering your
e-mail information to get a subscription.
Contacting
us is just as easy. Our phone is
727-464-2182. The fax number is 727-898-3179.
"Our mailing address is: PO Box 1577, St.
Petersburg, FL 33731 USA. If you want to send
an e-mail, click on this link to start the e-mail
message to us.
Thanks
for taking the time this month from
your business to visit with us by way of this
e-mail newsletter, the e-ret@iler. Our goal is
to have you find a bit of information in it that
will help you make your business more profitable.
We
continue to ask you to make an effort to
locate and do business with other small businesses.
You will meet some really great people and
find others who really appreciate their customers,
just the way you do!
Get
your Profits+Plus, and may God bless you and
yours! See you next month.
Tom
Shay
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