Depth of a Salesman

Selling is a complex business in today’s world. A successful entrepreneur or salesperson who wants real success must be part product expert, part problem solver and part psychologist.

Not only does successful selling require matching your company’s products and services to your customer’s needs, it can require adapting your style to that of your customer – telling your story in a way that fits his or her slant on life.

And often, the second is more important than the first. If you and your salespeople can establish a solid rapport with your prospects and assure them that your company is committed to serving their needs, you can establish long-term relationships with long-term customers.

Product or Approach?

Many companies struggle to make their products or services different from those of the competition – often with good reason. What really differentiates one brand of house paint from another? One brand of salad dressing from the next? A shirt from a discount department store versus one from a boutique?

In some cases, the differences are tangible – texture, taste, quality – while in other cases, there are nuances that are mostly a matter of perception. Skilled salespeople and successful businesses understand not only how to identify the tangible differences that will appeal to their customers, but how customers perceive both their options and their motivations for making a purchase.

As a business owner, you’ve almost certainly met and learned how to deal with prospects who:

• Don’t like or resist change;
• Just want the facts and figures;
• Seek guidance and reassurance that their choices are the right ones;
• Think (correctly or not) that they know more about your product than you do;
• Buy for subjective or emotional reasons; or
• Are argumentative, or simply enjoy haggling.

In such cases, you may have to set aside your personal style and come across as someone who is able to solve a problem for a prospect, not someone who is simply pushing a product at him or her. Accomplishing this puts you way ahead of the game.

Everybody Wins

The more accurate your understanding of why your customer is considering a purchase, the greater the likelihood that you and/or your sales team will close the sale – particularly if you are able to appeal to the customer on his or her terms. That means that the more you know about your customer – and his or her industry, competitors and objectives – the simpler your job becomes.

And the more you know not just your customer’s style but his or her situation, concerns and objectives, the easier it will be to come up with a solution to effectively address his or her perception of the problem at hand.

You and/or your sales team should become adept at finding cues not only from what your prospects say, but from their body language, clothing and surroundings. Someone leaning back in a chair dressed in a sweater and slacks and surrounded by pictures of family and vacation is going to require a different approach than a customer sitting tall, dressed in a designer suit and surrounded by a gleaming expanse of desk.

Of course, few situations are that clear cut. A prospective customer may reflect a mix of traits, or you may be dealing with multiple decision-makers. Nevertheless, entrepreneurs and salespeople who can establish relationships with their customers, identify common ground – and adapt their styles to those of their customers – can not only close the sale, but often can guide a prospect into a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.

Start Building Success With Your Company Name

Your business has only one chance to make a first impression – just because you’ve heard this before doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Chances are, the name of your business will shape that impression.

From the sign on the door to the logo on your business card, the name you give your business is fundamental to how people perceive your company.

That’s why it’s vital to choose the right name the first time around. So, before “brainstorming” on names with friends, family or employees, consider:

• The customers you’re targeting;
• The value you provide; and
• Your competitors’ names, and, as a consequence, what types of names would stand out in your market yet avoid being either too outrageous or obscure.

Avoiding Enigmas

Once you’ve answered those questions to your satisfaction, you can narrow your focus and start considering specific names. Here are some guidelines:

• Make the name different, not difficult. Customers and clients need to be able to remember it – and find it easily in a phone book, office directory or through an Internet search engine.
• If possible, select a name that lends itself to an image.
• Make sure the name leaves the impression you want – both literally, in that it reflects what you do, and figuratively, in that it reflects the tone you want to convey. There’s a reason football teams have names like the Lions and the Buccaneers rather than the Pussycats and the Philanthropists.

Of course, exceptions to these rules of thumb exist, but for every Nike (originally Blue Ribbon Sports) or Apple, there’s a Unisys – produced by the 1986 merger of Sperry and Burroughs – or Allegis, which United Airlines adopted in February 1987 but quickly dropped in favor of the original UAL Corporation after its CEO was terminated. Critics at the time made fun of both names, claiming that they were uninformative and sounded like diseases.

Clarity Rules

Don’t be so clever that you outsmart yourself. Whether you own a roofing company or a hair salon, why not make it clear in the firm's name?

Once you’ve narrowed the possibilities, you’ll have to make sure your favorites are available. Start by checking the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office files at uspto.gov. To see if the website domain name is available, visit icann.org.

Mid-Year Economic Outlook
By Dr. Scott J. Brown, Chief Economist

U.S. economic growth was lackluster in the second quarter of 2008, but at a pace better than many had feared. The housing market correction has continued as home prices have fallen at a fast pace. The credit market crisis has been eased by special lending facilities created by the Federal Reserve. However, conditions are still far from normal.

Despite aggressive cuts in short-term interest rates by the Federal Open Market Committee, banks have generally tightened terms and standards on a wide variety of consumer and business loans. Higher food and energy prices, particularly the sharp run-up in the price of crude oil, have severely pinched household budgets, and job market conditions have weakened.

Economic stimulus payments have provided some support for the economy, but their impact will wane quickly. Inflation fears have increased, which may lead the Fed to raise short-term interest rates.

Food and Energy Costs

Household budgets are being squeezed by rising food and energy prices. After six months at more than $3 per gallon – a level previously associated with noticeable restraint on consumer spending growth – gasoline prices have breached $4. While energy costs have been trending higher for a number of years, people are now less able to borrow to finance consumer spending. Home equity lines of credit are tighter than before.

Consumers are responding to high gasoline prices by driving less, carpooling and taking public transportation. New vehicle purchases have shifted away from SUVs and toward more fuel-efficient vehicles. A lot of these adjustments will take time. In the near term, many consumers have had to cut back on other types of spending.

The futures market suggests oil prices may stabilize. If they do flatten out, consumer purchasing power will improve over time and headline inflation will decline.

However, the oil futures market has not done a good job of predicting the path of oil prices. A price drop would be helpful for the consumer; a further increase would be a significant restraint on growth.

Inflation Fear

Federal Reserve policymakers are concerned about inflation. Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the Fed will “strongly resist” an increase in inflation expectations – low inflation expectations are a necessary condition for maintaining low overall inflation. Some measures of inflation expectations have increased in recent months, apparently in response to higher oil prices and a mistaken belief that the Fed will be more concerned about slow growth than higher inflation. High inflation expectations will lead firms to raise prices, and workers will ask for higher wage increases. The lesson of the 1970s and early 1980s is that the Fed should not accommodate higher inflation. Once it’s allowed to take root, inflation is much harder to get under control.

Foreign central bankers also have expressed concerns about inflation and inflation expectations. The Fed, in concert with the Treasury, recognizes that a weaker dollar has contributed to the run-up in global commodity prices and has led to increased inflation pressure from import prices. However, it is unlikely to raise rates simply to defend the dollar. On the other hand, it must be able to react to inflation threats.

At present, it doesn’t seem likely that the Fed will launch a campaign to raise short-term interest rates sharply. Labor cost pressures have remained moderate and sluggish near-term growth should help keep inflation pressures contained. However, the Fed is likely to raise rates a small amount in order to get inflation expectations under control. That could lead to a more gradual economic recovery in the quarters ahead.

Stimulus Package Allows Tax-Saving Opportunities

While most of the publicity concerning the economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by the president in February has concerned the $300 or $600 payouts to individual taxpayers, business owners have cause to celebrate, too.

First, economists seem to agree that most of the consumer spending will be at small businesses. Bars, restaurants and many other small retailers are counting on an infusion of stimulus cash to bolster their revenues. Second, businesses themselves have an incentive to help the sagging economy along by taking advantage of a two-pronged assist from the legislation.

Companies this year only receive a 50% bonus deduction on new equipment that normally would have to be depreciated over several years. Second, also for 2008 only, the limit on expenses that can be deducted from annual income has been raised to $250,000 (from $128,000). There is a total cap of $800,000. The increased expensing provision encourages businesses to expand more than they might have felt able to otherwise, or to make investments designed to improve productivity.

Taken together, they are incentives to make new capital investments yet leave more money in the hands of small business.