Not too long ago, a very close artist friend posted a question on Facebook: "Does anyone have any suggestions on how to close a sale?" Apparently, she had been experiencing some frustration with prospective buyers "dancing" around the notion buying her paintings--and not being able to get them to cross the finish line, so to speak.

It reminded me of a tip I received not long before from a senior colleague at Principal, as we were about to go into a closing meeting with a business prospect: "There may be a point when I place our solutions on the table, and ask him to make a decision," Mel said. "There may be an awkward silence..."

Continue reading ...

Keith F. Luscher is author of the book Prospect & Flourish, and is a Marketing Representative with Principal Financial Group. Prior to joining Principal, he served professionals in the insurance and financial services industries as a management consultant. In that role, he advised producers on issues related to marketing and prospecting, and developed groundbreaking educational curriculum. Luscher is also a nationally known author, speaker, and expert in media, interpersonal communication and marketing.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 30, 2009 at 8:35 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

It's human nature to judge people based on their appearance. In my book, The Power of the Pitch: Transform Yourself into a Persuasive Presenter and Win More Business, I point out that the average person formulates an opinion within 30 seconds. If our view is negative, we may miss discovering extraordinary talents in people.

Take the case of Susan Boyle, the 47 year old spinster who lives with her mother and cat in a remote Scottish village. Wanting to become a professional opera singer, she auditioned for the TV program, Britain's Got Talent. Does Susan look like a Broadway singing sensation? Hardly.

Was Susan's musical talent judged the moment she walked on stage and before she hit the first note? Unfortunately, yes.

When the acerbic Simon Cowell asked Susan why she hadn't performed professionally before, she answered candidly, "Because no one would give me a chance."

Watch Susan Boyle blow away Simon Cowell and the judges with her overlooked talent.

Amazingly, it was two years earlier that a rather goofy cell phone salesman from South Wales, Paul Potts, astounded the same judges with his incredible operatic talent.

Do you give the people on your team or those you meet in your life the chance to show their talents? If not, you could be making a big mistake. Everyone has some exceptional talent, all we have to do is give that person a chance. Continue reading ...

Article by Gary Hankins and courtesy of Pygmalion, Inc.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 29, 2009 at 6:23 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

We all hear rumbles about email marketing becoming a less effective medium for advertising campaigns. We hear about decreasing open rates, excessive SPAM filters and the advent of mobile marketing. On the surface it could be presumed that email is losing its punch. Fortunately, for those of us in email marketing, this could not be further from the truth. According to Merkel-Columbia, in 2005 only 38 percent of individuals checked their primary email more than 3 times per day. This number has increased to over 44% . In fact, over 58% of respondents think that email is a great way for companies to communicate with them. The challenge becomes creating emails that set your organization apart from the crowd.

Creating an interactive email is essential in attracting the attention of the reader. The more ways for an individual to interact with the email, the greater the chance they will respond to the message. To increase the individuals response it is important to include multiple links, special promotions, coupons, email addresses and phone numbers. Other ways to attract readers is to include videos, cartoons and viral options, like forwading the email to a friend.

Deploying your email campaign to a targeted audience is another way to increase the response rate. Emails can be targeted by geography, age, areas of interest, ethnicity and a whole variety of other ways. Sending an email campaign to the audience most interested in your products or services will help to ensure the success of the campaign and provide you the results you want.

Using email advertising as a part of a whole campaign strategy is also critical. To ensure successful advertising , multiple platform deployment is the most effective path to take. Individuals are more likely to listen to your message if they have heard about your product or service in other mediums. By including SMS, banners or search as part of your overall advertising strategy the response to your email message will be greater.

Email is and will continue to be an excellent way to inform individuals about your goods and services. Email is a fast and flexible way to promote your offering. To increase the success of your ampaigns, use creative, targeted email campaigns as part of an overall advertising strategy.

Posted by Betsy Larson, CollegeRecruiter.com on July 22, 2009 at 2:15 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Brilliance, talent, ability, skill...call it whatever you like. It's important, but brilliance alone will not create ongoing growth or success.

A famous coach once said, "If I have to choose between the player who is high on skill, but low on discipline, and the player who is low on skill, but high on discipline, I will take the latter, because I can make him a star."

Indeed, most successful people will be the first to admit that they are not brilliant, but they are focused, and that focus helps them maintain discipline. (In fact, they often surround themselves with brilliant people to make up the difference!) This is what is meant by the expression, "Focus Beats Brilliance." Continue reading ...

Keith F. Luscher is author of the book Prospect & Flourish, and is a Marketing Representative with Principal Financial Group. Prior to joining Principal, he served professionals in the insurance and financial services industries as a management consultant. In that role, he advised producers on issues related to marketing and prospecting, and developed groundbreaking educational curriculum. Luscher is also a nationally known author, speaker, and expert in media, interpersonal communication and marketing.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 9, 2009 at 9:05 AM | Leave a Comment (0)