Lis Calandrino

Legal Sea Foods Knows!

So my friend and I decided to stop at a favorite restaurant, Legal Sea Foods. Legal Sea Foods started out as a market in Cambridge, MA and opened their first small restaurant next to the market in 1968. In 1994 they opened in Logan Airport outside of Boston. I have also discovered a LS in National Airport. The food is amazing and my friend who has eaten his way around the world says the clam chowder is second to none. I should also he add he never orders clam chowder—except at Legal Sea Foods.

At this point they operate over 30 family-owned restaurants, a mail-order business and a grocery products division. The Berkowitz family is into the third generation, which in itself flies against the statistics that 80% of third generation business go down the drain. My first culinary experience with LS was in the Logan Airport—what a surprise! Which leads me to why we should all take note.

Our server, Molly, was “texting” in our order. The device looks like a Blackberry but it’s called the Siva and is designed by Microsoft. The software it uses is called PAR. Molly has been accused of texting by the blue-haired bunch plenty of times. But she’s not — she’s doing her job the way it’s meant to be done. The Siva links the order directly to the kitchen, and if a customer has allergies she punches that in and everyone is alerted.

So, is Molly a good server, and does Legal Sea Foods have criteria for good service? Does she treat everyone well, up-sell when appropriate, mention the desserts and know how to present the right wine with the right fish? Well, with this technology, you might think it doesn’t matter so much. It’s all in her computer. The Siva can tell how long the customer stays at the table and what Molly is selling. In addition LS uses Ing@nico, which they call “pay at the table” so your credit card never leaves the guest’s hands.

While the technology is all well and good, it doesn’t replace the actual service and friendliness that Molly provides. She is a restaurant representative from their customer service department, essentially. And a large part of eating out — no matter how much we deny it — is being served and being served well.

So, if your store is based on technology, or your sales staff is able to be much more efficient with technology, don’t forget to check on whether they’re still using the same customer-service oriented approach that you trained them in. A computer does much to increase efficiency and measurement, but it can never replace a genuine smile and genuine hospitality.

Want a “Legal Clambake?” Legal Sea Foods offers full event planning, menu, staff, and the right equipment for an old-fashioned clambake. Contact 617-530-9455 or www.legalseafoods.com.

As retailers we are always hung up in selling product. It’s as if we still think the customer builds a relationship with the product rather than the salesperson. More than ever, the customer wants to know if your “representative” is trustworthy. If the customer has done business with you before you have a better shot, but it’s still no guarantee that she trusts you. What happened to all those other “trustworthy” people, where did they go?

So what can the blog do?

One of the big things is to encourage a dialog between you and your customers. There’s no guarantee that they will respond to your posts but you can ask for comments, do surveys and write a post that might provoke new thought. The key is to get readers to pay attention and want to come back for more. This is the difference between the old advertising — push in my face — and new advertising — pull me in because I want to be there. Remember, this is the way to get your customers to offer more clout, precisely because it comes from your customers. It’s like when you were a kid and your mom bragged about how good a ball player you were. As your mom, she was expected to support you, or at least we hope she did. What a difference when your friend’s father bragged about how good you were. Endorsements from others always have clout — you know there's no ulterior motive.

Remember, the Internet is viral; if someone likes what they see or hear they can pass it along to others. In addition, you can link your blog to Facebook or Twitter for all the world to see. Start collecting those friends.
Develop a blog following. Get your friends to “opt in”, which is basically signing up for a subscription to your blog. It means, "send me updates, I like what you say." Encourage people to pass your blog along to others that they think might like the information. Now we have more people involved. Ask that you send them your blog updates and provide a testimonial for you. A testimonial is really an advertisement.

Create excitement and fun on your site. There’s enough boring things in the world without you adding to it by supplying a commercial about your business. 
You want to be the person with the blog that people want to come to. You’re credible and interesting. Well, maybe/yes/no. Is it compelling? Are you trustworthy, fun and someone I want to see or hear again? Or was once enough? Try to solve it. A blog is a way to share information — information that interests all.

As Chad Rothschild said, “Remember, people buy from people. So don’t forget the human element. It is more powerful than corporations think."

Resources

Chad Rothschild
Chris Bowcutt

In sales, people are always talking about objections you can overcome. Yesterday I started thinking, are there objections that absolutely can't be overcome, no matter how good you are at sales?

Here are a few that I think are worth thinking about.

Poor appearance – What do you look like? Do you forget to use mouth wash or get the poppy seeds out of your teeth? I actually had the poppy seed thing going the other day and I couldn’t believe I had those dark outlines around my teeth. I would have found it funny if it hadn’t been me. My friend Cynthia was kind enough to tell me.

Lack of enthusiasm – So you’re not happy and you don’t want to make the sales call or talk to the customer. Did you ever notice no one really cares what is going on in your life and what’s getting you down? How about giving yourself a pep talk — get excited. What makes your product great, your company great and your life great?

Lack of preparation – So you know everything about your product but don’t have your numbers straight and rely on others to do things for you. How often do you leave your cell phone at home or forget to charge it when you need it? Are there critical items you forget when you go on a sales call?

Lack of courage – So you've been avoiding dealing with your customer, your landlord, the rental car place and your boss. Courage builds self-confidence. Your approach doesn’t have to be perfect, just do it. What can you learn from having courage?

Getting off the subject – You like your customers so much you just think they’ll buy from you–so you talk about anything but business. You’ve decided to waste everyone’s time including your own. Be respectful of your customers no matter how well you know them; honor their time and their business. Stay on track.

Talking too much – About nothing, I should add. If you’re making a sales call or meeting with a customer, have something to add to the conversation. Don’t just talk because you like your own voice. Be clear, straightforward and get business done.

Lack of focus – So you have lots on your mind, so what? What makes you good at what you do is your focus and your ability to get things done. If you’re working with me, get things done in a timely matter.

Hesitancy - So you’re not sure and you’re waiting around to get sure. Does that really work? Strive to find out why you're hesitate. In the meantime though, get out there and get moving. If you’re not going after your customers you can be sure someone else is.

Adapted from The Sales Closing Book: Field Tested Closes for Every Selling Situation, Gerhard Gschwandtner, McGraw Hill.

Want to talk more about sales strategies and how to market your business online? Contact me!

“Encouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” Dale Carnegie

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and New Years is right around the corner, but don't wait until then to start finding ways to drum up sales!

With business being so stinky, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and go look for some new leads — and the earlier you start, the better. One of the best approaches for this is to simply cold call, which literally means to go out and call on people you don’t know. All you need is a phone listing and some thick skin.  While cold calling can be grueling and disheartening sometimes, it also is the most time-efficient way to reach new people. And you don't even have to have the "gift of gab!"

My friends used to tell me how they got this new great job and they were going to make millions. They told me they had great products that would sell themselves and all they needed were customers. Of course, I was intrigued. What a great job!  Making millions appeals to me quite a bit.  But as I watched them, I saw that most of them never made it past week three. Why? Well, no customers and no pay checks.

When I was about 14 years old I got my first sales lesson. Our neighbor, whose name was Bela, was a salesman for Nat Pack selling freezers and frozen food. His job was to get an appointment in the "right" customer’s house; the right customer being the "woman of the house." His theory was if he could get into the house and talk to her about cooking, recipes, budgets and food, he could get her. You see, the freezer was free if she bought enough food. Bela used to affectionately call his approach “win-win.” The women got the food and the freezer and he got a sale. The problem, however, was getting a customer—this required a lot of cold calling.

Bela taught me his approach one summer. He'd pick a city block in a medium size town and I would knock on the doors and tell women about my friend in the food business. I would give them a gift, a set of knives, and ask if it was okay if Bela came back later. If she was married he preferred to come back when her husband was home. Sometimes I would bring flowers as a gift, which, I’m ashamed to say, I'd sometimes pick from a neighbor’s yard. But I was friendly, sincere and was able to make plenty of appointments. Oh did I mention I got 5% of the first month’s order! These days, a lot of people think it's impossible to get anyone to open their door to a stranger, and most people would blanche at the thought of sending their 14 year old out selling door-to-door.

Here are some other tips to consider to help make cold calling easier:

• Find someone to introduce you to the person who is the decision maker for your target company. This could be someone who knows the person in your industry or who's within the company. It could even be a friend. Start asking around!
• Put on a seminar and invite people you want to meet. A color and design seminar for designers, a marketing seminar or advertising seminar. How about a “meet and greet” for people who could benefit meeting others in their field?
• Read the newspaper for articles about companies that might be prospects for you. Drop a note complimenting them on the article or the award they received. Tell them you will follow up with a phone call on such-and-such a date. When you call tell the gate keeper you promised this person a call and he/she expects to hear from you. This will get you past the gate keeper. 
• Know what you have to say but don’t memorize a script. Just call to set up an appointment–not to sell anything.
• Go online and find out as much about the company as possible. Find out about their community connections, what boards they sit on and where they send donations. Cold calls are never cold if you know who you’re calling on.

For more on cold calling:

• Effective cold calling techniques, tips and methods for selling and sales training
• Cold-calling tips from the blogs

Happy holidays!

Customers often have trouble making decisions. Fear is one reason, guilt another. A few people have recently told me they aren't sure how to approach indecisive customers — especially in this economy. Is it appropriate to push them or not?  Should they offer more discounts or not? My thoughts are: why would the economy change the way you sell? If you pushed before, why not push now? If you gently guided before, why not continue to gently guide? The economy — or any other external factor — shouldn't dicate how you approach sales. Do what you've always done, just strive to keep doing better.

Remember, a customer's decision to not buy has more to do with uncertainty than price. Work to remove their fear by talking about your product's benefits, warrantys, and how well you're doing. Customers want to be sure that you will survive to be able to continue providing them what they want. Discounts might work–but offering gifts will work more in your favor. "A gift with purchase" around the holidays is what the fragrance manufacturers are currently offering.  It certainly has an appeal. On the other hand, huge discounts yell huge desperation.

Showing genuine concern for your customers will always take you far. Call them up to see how they're doing. Call as a friend. Ask your customers if they're planning on entertaining at home for the holidays or if they're going away. They'll appreciate the concern and your interest.

The other day I was talking to my friend J.D. Green about sales. 

My friend Chris Clark, a Mohawk Territory Manager, sent me an email the other day about the importance of calling on end users and contractors. With business having been so good in the 90's, Chris feels that many of his dealers may be neglecting this profitable aspect of their business. At this time it's wise to think of all possible avenues and look outside your business as well as inside for new customers. In addition to picking up some new customers you are adding a stronger foundation for your business. 

Here are Chris's tips:

1. No one likes to make cold calls, so warm yours up before you go out. Before you call on anyone, go online to find out who you're calling on, their background, how long they've worked in the field and anything else that's pertinent to your call.

2. Make a list of end users, contractors and specifiers in your areas. Who do they represent? What types of products do they use and who do they presently do business with? Get yourself armed with this information so that you are focused and know the purpose of your call.  Business is tough for everyone so the more you know and the less time you waste the better.

3. Remember that with outside sales the possibility of sales is endless and you don't have to wait for the customer to come into your store. With business slow everyone needs to go out and "beat the bushes" as they say. In addition, think of how your attitude will improve everytime you find a new customer.

4. Objections? Sure, many of the people that you call on already have suppliers. This doesn't mean that they aren't looking for the future. In addition, good business takes time, business that is based more on value than price. It's up to you to have the patience and the knowledge.

5. Don't forget the annual report of a business and other subs that also call on these businesses. Hopefully you belong to a leads club or a networking group and can ask if there's anyone that might know the person you want to call. Can someone provide an introduction for you, in person or make a phone call on your behalf?

6. Want to increase your value? Know as much about your new contact's business as they know. Know their challenges and how you can supply them with solutions. This also means you've done your homework and they're not just another customer to you.

7. Plan not only the products that you want to show but your presentation. I'm amazed at how many salespeople know their products but stumble through their presentation, not anticapting objections and questions.

8. A good salesperson knows what to expect from their customers. If you do mostly retail business and you're going out on commercial calls you'll have to brush up on "what makes these people tick." One thing to remember is they're used to buying products, are aware of pricing and always are looking to save a dollar.This doesn't mean that they won't pay higher prices. It's for sure they won't pay you more money for the same product that they purchase from someone else at a cheaper price.

9. If you want to play the game "their way,"all  things being equal winning this game means having the cheapest price. The key is to change the rules of the game. Changing the rules means changing the products, providing  an additional service that they can't get that has value. When I was in the commercial floorcovering business I remember one of my installers, instead of standing around watching her husband and son install the product, she would clean the windows and the window sills. Unknown to me she couldn't stand the carpet fibers and dust that was created during the installation so she took out her glass cleaner and started to "tidy up." The word got around and she became the deciding factor on some of our jobs. Stella was our added value.

10. Don't hurry the process. Put together a plan, how can I add value, what written material would be useful to your new customer?

11. Get yourself dressed up, a jacket and a tie. Looking like you care what you look like also gives the impression you care about how your jobs look. Get yourself a good looking briefcase and hit the road.

Next time: what to do when you get there.

Sure, getting new customers and keeping the old ones is difficult, but this is no time to sit home and get depressed about it if you’re going to be in sales. Sales is all about having a plan and working your plan. Maybe this is the hard and not too exciting part, but things could be worse. It all depends on your attitude and what you want to happen in your life. And it all starts with a plan. With business up one week and down another, it’s time for you and your outside salespeople to get organized.

Make some promises to yourself and your customers. Be on time, look right and follow though. Keeping promises and being consistent makes the process work. Remember, you’re not the only one going through hard times — so is your customer. The more you understand this the better salesperson you will be. It doesn’t mean you back off because times are tough and your're afraid your customer's going to go out of business. You should be worrying about how they’re spending their money—are they buying the right products for their situation and are they buying their products from you?

Do you understand your customer’s business? As a salesperson you must understand your customer’s business and situation as well as you understand your own. This is called empathy. Having empathy is the most powerful skill you can have. It means "I understand; I really understand."

Know how much money you made last year and how much you need to earn next year. How many new accounts will you need to bring in to get this revenue? How much more do your existing accounts have to buy?

Know your closing rates; the real ones. How many customers do you actually close and how many customers will you have to call on to get that rate? How many brochures do you have to send out in order to get the appointments you need. How many emails must you send out or follow up?

Know your products cold. Spend time each day working on your products and understand what makes your products better, more useful and sweeter than your competitors. With customers having limited budgets they will have to spend their dough wisely.

Know your lines. Spend as much time or more on how you do what you do. Salespeople spend all kinds of time on what they sell but not how they do it. Hey, if the sale is worth $10,000 ask yourself if you’re putting in $10,000 worth of time.

Try not to get distracted by the gloom and doom or the fact your customers just want to talk. Sales people often want people to like them so they spend more time than necessary building rapport. Remind yourself to stay on schedule.

Stick to your plans. Prospecting for new accounts takes times and sometimes the pay off is slow. The biggest pay off comes from people who went to a competitor but then come back to you for another try. Maybe now they’ll tell you the new reason they left you.

Fluff isn’t going to work anymore. There just aren’t as many customers out there and there are probably twice as many competitors after your customers. Determine what is your added value and can you deliver it?

Stop making excuses. Sure times are tough but someone’s making money and it might as well be you. But it will only happen if you’re out there. So get out there! Improve you presentation skills, have your manager ride with you, watch you sell and give you feedback. You’ve heard that feedback is the breakfast of champions—if you want to get better maybe now's the time to start eating some!

Remember old cowboy wisdom: Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of the rain dance.

As businesspeople, we spend so much time hyping up the details of a product when in the end, women don’t really buy products — they buy the outcome.  They're thinking "this is where I'll put it," "this is how I'll use it," "this is what it will look like" and "this is how it will feel."  In other words, women buy the "look” of a completed interior.

It’s sort of like this: Send a man out for a pair of pants and what does he come back with? A pair of pants.

Send that same man out with a woman to buy that same pair of pants and he’s lucky if he comes back with his wallet. Hey, it’s the beauty of it – a woman wants her man to look great for her so she's going to get him the whole outfit: shoes, shirt, tie, cologne—the works. Why? Because that's just how we do it.

Salespeople tell me they don’t understand why women take so much time, why they can’t make up their minds and when they do, why they suddenly change their minds.

What’s there to get? Women buy differently than men, period. If you’re waiting on a man, he buys differently than a women. Younger customers have different needs than older customers. Is this any different? It's important to understand that if you want to sell to women you need to be more like a woman than a man. Yep, that’s it in a nutshell. Some tips for you:

• Don’t ask a women what she’s looking for. Why? Because what they’re looking for is in your showroom and may not yet be determined. Men know what they want, come for it and go home. Women use the showroom to determine what’s available and how to create “the look.” If you want to get her in your corner, have a great looking showroom and plenty of photos and magazines with “the looks.” Here's a great story from the owner of a flooring store in Florida. Tony tells me about the male customer who came in and said, "I need a floor for my bathroom." Since Tony is used to female customers, he says "let me come out and look at your bathroom." The customer reluctantly agrees and Tony heads out armed with samples, photos, paint swatches and the like. Tony starts in with his ideas for the bathroom, the customer’s eyes gloss over and never calls Tony again. Yep, as Tony says, "I forgot the customer just came in for a pair of pants!" You’ve probably read "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus". Also try "Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps: How We’re Different and What To Do About It," by Barbara and Allan Pease.
• Ask questions. "Have you seen what’s new?" "Let me show you what’s in." "What look are you trying to achieve in your house?" "Do you have any photos of the room?" Did you bring any fabrics or wallpaper samples with you?" "Do you have a digital photo of the room(s) that I can download?" "By the way, great earrings!"  Sure you can say it. Why not if they’re great? This sort of alludes to the fact that you have good taste. 
• Start with fashion, not price. Sure price is important to everyone, but if you don’t show fashion, how will the customer know she’s in the right store? Not all women want to be “trend setters” but no one wants to be “out of date.” Women know all about fashion. We’ve been breathing fashion since before we could read. That’s why there are literally hundreds of books on fashion for us and about three for men. I believe that Men’s Vogue is really written for women too. High fashion usually means higher prices. Be more frightened that you don’t have fasionable items rather than price items. Leave the price stuff to the box stores. Show your style and good taste; that’s what she wants from you.
• Give her space and let her lead you to what she wants. Your job is to provide the right questions to keep her focused on the decision-making process – not to tell her what she wants. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.

That’ll get you started.

I'm told the selling season is underway. By December, customers will be decorating for the holidays and there'll be shoppers right up until Christmas Eve. And then it's over.

How will you maximize these 10 weeks? Especially with customers expecting a long winter and worrying about heating and electric bills? It doesn't matter. Long or short winter, you just need to get moving!

• Get on the phone. Stop procrastinating. Who have you been meaning to call?
• Get notes out to your existing customers. These are the "gold" customers. I was in a State Farm office last week and asked how business was. They said they'd recently sent a mailing to their 2,000 active customers and 200 of them had called the office. I asked what their note said and the rep, Susan, descibed it simply as "How are you? How's your life? We miss you." 50% of the 200 bought various products.
• What are you waiting for? Your customers already love you and want you to succeed. It's like calling old friends. Give them a call with a special holiday offer. How about a  gas card? Though prices are dropping, a gas card still wouldn't hurt! The bigger the purchase, the bigger the gas card.
• Turkeys for the holiday might work. Don't forget soy turkeys for your veggie customers.
• How about a bag of groceries from Whole Foods or your local co-op?  Something a little different.
• Network with everyone you know. Your dry cleaner, where you get your coffee, where you get your car fixed…
• A great game to play to think about new leads is to pretend you're in another business (for example, running a small hotel). How would you get business? Which ideas could cross over into your business? Someone mentioned having a Wii system in their hotel room and decided to put one in their store! Destination floor store!
• Are you working your personal hangouts?
• Who do you give business to? Who keeps asking for favors? Have they reciprocated?
• Who haven't you seen in a while?
• Buy locally – the little bakery, the convenience store, etc. Ask, how can we work together to do business?
• Working on a job, have you asked for more leads? Why not?
• Finishing a job? Ask if you can take photos, then ask "Who did your landscaping and your painting?" You should have a bunch of names. Go see them and tell them you saw their work and it was great and you would like to refer them. Now you have a good business connection. Don't forget to show them them photos of your work and ask if they can refer you too.
• Call up customers who are on the fence. Holidays are a great time to spruce up the house.
• Host parties featuring jewelry, Mary Kay, clothes, candles, or simply to exchange holiday recipes –anything fun to bring in women. Ask your female employees, they'll know what will work.

So what are you waiting for… start dialing!