How many times after working a full day do you believe that you did not accomplish as much as you wanted to? Have you ever wanted to add an additional day to the week or a few extra hours to a day in order to get through your “to do” list? A challenge in improving your and your team’s productivity is to determine how you currently spend your time. There are a number of apps that can assist such as Be Focused Timer, which is free, an enables you to track blocks of work and track past work history. Another app, Focus Booster ($2.99/month individual, $4.99 month professional) tracks where your time goes and can link revenue, projects and meetings to your to-do list tasks. There are literally dozens of others and always the option of tracking your time the old-fashioned way by recording it on a spread sheet in hour or half hour increments.
When you want to establish a relationship with a prospective client, be it a builder, realtor, multifamily developer or single-family homeowner, what’s better for an initial contact, email or phone call? After all, you only have one opportunity to make a first impression. You want to make sure that it is a positive one. Robert Graham, author of Cold Calling Early Customers, recommends sending an email because it does not require the recipient to respond immediately. Plus, he adds that you can use an email as a reason to make a follow up phone call.
BKBG Conference workshop leader Derek Gaunt (Black Swan Group) had a great blog post this week about using leverage to gain advantages in negotiations. Derek defines leverage as a perceived advantage that gives you a leg up to achieve the outcome you want.
The Retail Profit Doug Stephens has astutely observed that purchasing products from Amazon is the quickest route from wanting to receiving. There is nothing special or emotionally engaging with acquiring goods with a few clicks of a mouse. Yet, Amazon is expected to be responsible for 80 percent of online purchasing growth in 2018 and commands 49 percent of all Internet searches.
What behaviors and characteristics prevent consumers from returning to a brick and mortar retailer? Podium recently surveyed 2,000 US consumers aged 18 - 64 to answer that question. The survey found that if a retailer demonstrated any of the attitudes and behaviors that caused consumers pain, they would never return to that business.
Derek Gaunt will be sharing the negotiation secrets of the Black Swan Group at the 2018 BKBG Annual Conference, September 25. Black Swan advises its clients to avoid the typical negotiating scenario where one-party states what their issues are and what they want and the other party does the same hoping to reach a compromise in the middle.
A fascinating study of 1,600 American consumers in February 2018 found that 65 percent of consumers’ shopping behavior has been affected by the current administration in the White House. This is a whopping 25 percent increase from a similar study produced in February 2017.
We all know the impact ecommerce has had and will continue to have on brick and mortar retailing. The consensus of both ecommerce leaders such as Amazon and brick and mortar stalwarts such as Nordstrom and Best Buy is that retail is not an either-or proposition. Why else would Amazon purchase Wholefoods and open brick and mortar grocery stores and book stores?
A number of brands seek to place their products and services in front of recognized influencers with lots of followers. Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Kanye West come to mind. Influencer marketing is a huge business with more than 73 percent of luxury fashion and beauty brands actively participating, according to a report from Fashion and Beauty Monitor entitled, The New Face of Luxury.
At some point when engaging with a client or customer, you need to ask for the sale. And when you do, look through the lens of your customer. What can you say or do that makes your offer a no-brainer? Here are four ideas to help close more sales.
