Lisbeth Calandrino::

As I watch the vice presidential and presidential debates, I wonder who'll end up winning and what will be the tipping point. Sure, I know who I like, but I’m disappointed sometimes because my candidate isn’t delivering the right message. So now I start to look at the other candidate. Now I try to like them because they have the right message. And this makes me wonder: what really makes a good closer?

Closing is a lot about timing. Have you noticed when you're serious about buying something the presentation isn’t important? The other day my friend Mary and I were in New York City. It was beastly hot and there were too many people. Mary offhandedly said, “I’ll die if I don’t get something to drink.” We were waiting in line next to a deli so it wasn’t much for her to quickly open the door and ask for an ice tea. She came out in tears of laughter—it seems she said to the clerk, “Where’s the ice tea?" The clerk said, “Right in front of you — did you want me to mix it for you too?” On any other day this would have been enough for Mary to show the clerk who’s boss—but not today while dying of thirst on stifling 43rd Street!

While in Dalton last week I wandered into Clair’s, which features jewelry, earrings and other stuff for girls. This is one of those places where the clerks are so young they don’t know what to say to you — sort of like Spencer’s Gifts. I’m just the wrong customer. So the clerk says, “Hi, nice weather,” which it was, so I couldn’t dispute that. I agreed and asked her, “What’s new?” She said tons of stuff and proceeded to show me what’s new. She asked if I was buying for me or was it a gift -–I said I didn’t know. She wasn’t “fazed” and showed me some little gadget that you hook to your cell phone and it lights up when you get a call. It lights up even when your phone is off. Cool huh? I bought five.

How do you know if the timing is right? If you don’t try you’ll never know. Some salespeople have already decided the customer doesn’t want to buy before they ask for the sale. Well that’s the end of that. Did I tell you that when I asked the salesperson in the shoe store what’s new he said nothing? I guess he had already decided or didn’t know much about timing.

If you don’t step up to the plate you’ll never get a chance to hit one over the center field wall. The more times you step up to the plate the more likely you are to get a hit.

I shudder to think that when I get to the voting both I still might not know what I want and become the impulse buyer. Well, timing is everything!

Even though the Wall Street bailout bill is in place it still will take time before money is available. Of course everyone is hoping this will make money easier to obtain. While you’re waiting for the “traditional bank channels” to come through, consider some of the following options. I have not personally used any of the Internet connections but these are some I found on line.

Web-only banks. These are internet banks and found only online. These do not have brick and mortar presence therefore do not have the same overhead as traditional banks. Also you may want to check the online bank rates against the traditional banks, they may be more competitive. Check out www.ebank.com for more information. For a list of unauthorized banks, click here.

Peer-to-peer lending is another way to get money. Put together your financial statement, why you need money and what you’re going to use it for and go online to sell yourself. The money will come from private lenders — $100 here and there, as well as larger amounts. It is estimated that by 2017 nine billion dollars will be lent this way.  Click here for more information.

Have money invested in your 401K? Why not talk with your financial planner to explore the pros and cons of withdrawing some of this money? They can look at your particular situation to determine the best tax and investment strategy going forward. According to Barbara Bouchey, CEO of Barbara Bouchey Asset Management, Inc., “Retirement plans are a great vehicle to save money because of the tax savings and the tax deferment." While most people would never consider withdrawing money before age 59 ½, owing to the 10% penalty and taxes, Barbara says there are some upsides. “Oftentimes, the breakeven point after paying the penalty and taxes on withdrawing money can occur within 5-10 years. Therefore, these vehicles are an attractive place to save and withdraw money for purposes other than retirement.” For more information go to www.barbarabouchey.com.

Remember, “cash” is still king.

Businesses struggle to be different. Staples has an Easy Button, Best Buy has the Geek Squad, Chrysler had  “Dr. Z.” and of course everyone knows the AFLAC duck. Do these gimmicks really create a competitive advantage though?

Dr. Z, remember, turned out to be a bomb. For one thing, he wasn’t Lee Iacocca — who everyone knew was a big cheese and knew what he was talking about. You can read Iacocca’s ideas about the marketing of Dr. Z in his book, “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”

Little Richard howling during the Nationwide Insurance commercial may make you hold your sides with laughter, but if your roof falls in over the weekend and the Nationwide claims adjuster doesn’t return your call until Monday, Little Richard may just be a constant reminder of how Nationwide wasn’t on your side. 

So what does it take to turn your differentiation into a competitive advantage? First, you need to understand that the fact you’ve found something that makes you different doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a competitive advantage. Although companies brag that they bring their dogs to work and that they’re family owned, do they really know how that translates to increased business? Sure, the customer wants to know how your dog is doing — he’s sitting in your showroom and in your ads, but how many customers actually thought this was a good enough reason to pay your prices?

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