The word ‘Autoresponders’ has been used more and more over the last few months and pretty much all of us have now experienced them even if you don’t yet realise it. 

But just what is an autoresponder and why should you think about using one in your business? 

Well, let me explain. 

The simplest form of an autoresponder is when you send a message to someone and you immediately receive an email back that tells you that person is out of office. This email will have been sent automatically (no human response was required) and it will have responded to you – hence the name autoresponder. 

You will have also probably seen an autoresponder if you’ve purchased products off of a website. Take Amazon for example or Ebay. If you’ve purchased something from Amazon or made a bid on Ebay, the chances are high that you will have immediately received an email from the company confirming your purchase or your bid.  

And you may have seen autoresponders at work if you’ve subscribed to a newsletter from a website. In most cases now, you will have immediately receive an email from the company concerned welcoming you to the website with a copy of the newsletter. 

Now, trust me when I say that a human is not sitting there at all times of the day or night responding to messages that come in from a website or order confirmations – these emails are sent automatically from you by a computer programme that has been specifically written for this purpose. 

But, why should you care? What has this got to do with your business? 

Now (hopefully) you’ve got your head around what an autoresponder is, I want you just to think for a minute about the power of autoresponders and how they can help your business. 

Imagine that while you’re on holiday, a potential customer visits your website.

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Perhaps you’ve heard that sharing Features, Advantages and Benefits is a more effective approach than just feature dumping on our prospective customers. But do we effectively do that in our sales conversations?

Let me share a simple experience where a young shoe salesman did this well. We need shoes and since we are on our feet a lot, we select some that are comfortable, yet stylish to wear at work.

I was window shopping in Puerto Vallarta. Along the way a very stylish, yet simple pair of Italian, two-tone brown loafers caught my eye in a little shoe store off the cobblestone street. Thinking I was only looking, I stepped into the store to check them out. I picked them up and quickly put them down, as my initial reaction was, “Wow…that is not cheap!”

My young and very wise shoe expert approached and engaged me in conversation about my visit to the store, to Puerto Vallarta, and what I did for a living. I made the mistake of telling him I was a professional speaker who traveled sharing ideas on how others could be more successful in their lives, careers, sales, etc. (Guess he figured I could really afford them… smile.)

Picking up the shoes and holding them with reverent care, he said, “You know, when you wear these traditional Italian loafers, in these rich spring hues, you’re going to have a big smile on your face because ‘one of the great things’ about these shoes is they’re soft calfskin leather with a full leather lining. And as you wear them, they will mold to the shape of your feet, giving you a custom-made feel.” He continued, “It would be fun to walk around in custom-made shoes, don’t you think?”

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As a selling professional, I would expect you have created a simple system to record your sales activities and results. Hopefully you are recording and measuring these areas on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis.

• Sales to new customers
• Sales to repeat customers
• Sales presentations and closed sales (closing ratios)
• Sales to referrals vs. cold calling or walk in customers
• Other metrics of importance as discussed with your manager

Like many of you, I am not a fan of paperwork. I have learned it is necessary to help me succeed in achieving what I want in life, and so I invest my time to improve my ongoing results.

Recording your activity on a consistent basis gives you some solid metrics to evaluate and will often reveal areas that you can work on to enhance your selling abilities and results.

You can’t improve what you can’t identify.

I challenge you to invest time (5 mins a day; 30 minutes a week; an hour a month; or a day at the end of your year) evaluating your activities and your results.

I can guarantee you’ll be more in touch with the ‘reality’ and connections between your activities and results. In addition, you’ll be in a good position to make productive changes that will increase your closing ratios, earn more money, and build a better repeat and referral customers base.

Remember, what gets measured gets done. Make it a point to reward what you want to see. Treat yourself when you increase your results.

What do your activities and measurements reveal?
As you evaluate your measurements, ask yourself a few ‘honest’ questions:

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What kind of buyer are you?
If you are normally a ‘price’ buyer and your prospective customer raises objections to the price, you may be more open to accept their objection as real.

If you are the kind of person who tends to ‘think it over’ before you buy and your customer says, “I want to think it over;” you may tend to go along, as this objection makes senses or sounds rational. After all, that is the way ‘you’ buy.

The objection you will normally find the most challenging will be the one that is the most‘consistent’ with your own value system and past track record.

By accepting sales objections that make sense or resonate with you, because you can relate to them, you are essentially projecting your personal attitudes into the sales process. Hold on!

This is not your role as a selling professional. And, for the record, just because someone says the price is too high, does not always mean ‘they’ believe it. I’ve had folks say ‘that’ and go on to invest even more in the final results.

When you project your personal bias into the sales process you wrongly assume that everyone buys like you do and for the same reasons. And, conversely, that they don’t buy for the same reasons.

People make decisions to buy for their own reasons. Sometimes they even buy items they don’t need. And, as you probably know they don’t always tell you (the sales person) the truth.

This erroneous attitude and action will cost you customers and money.

Your role is to be a neutral in the sales process, there to help, to provide solid resources, to guide, and to nudge for a buying decision.

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Part three: The following ideas have proven effective for the Business enhancement success of ‘any’ business. Fill in the ‘__________’ with your field, and apply accordingly.

Sell an inexpensive ‘introductory’ product:
If you are in a position where you have a product line, make it easy for people to start dealing with you. Find something that they will enjoy using and get them on your client list. Perhaps you can also offer something for ‘free’ to get them hooked? Not necessarily a ‘loss-leader,’ perhaps something that is inexpensive and will demonstrate your ability to deliver when you say you will, as well as introduce them to what you have to offer.

Use business discussion and news groups:
Internet based groups are a source of business research and if you are careful a source of subtle self promotion and awareness. A word of caution here, don’t be overtly commercial as it will backfire on you big time!  Selectively use online social media as a way of building connections and credibility.

Personalize with your picture:
People like to deal with real people. Even if your business is internet based, they like to know that there is a real person behind the product or service they acquire from you. As speakers and trainers especially, we are in the personal services business. Make sure it is a current picture and that it shows you smiling.  Personalize your business – you’ll be glad you did!

Up-sell to all of your clients …add on, premium, extras, and related items:
This is one of the success secrets of generating additional business and increasing your bottom line. Design what you offer so you can provide a choice of at least three levels: good, better, best and then offer it to each client. Give them a choice with at least 3 alternatives.

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Part Two: The following ideas have proven effective for the Business enhancement success of ‘any’ business. Fill in the ‘__________’ with your field, and apply accordingly.

Build rapport with clients …teach or provide something new:
I got my start in the speaking and training business, as a kitchen designer, by offering in-house and continuing education programs to assist my potential clients in their quest for a better kitchen. I wrote, “How to Remodel Your Kitchen & Stay Married!” as a tool to help them prepare and survive the ‘marriage stretching’ kitchen or bathroom renovation.

In any business, we are more successful when perceived as value-added or solutions-oriented.  Ensure they see that you are there to help and are committed to their success.  I thank my clients for allowing me to be a part of their success team in their training programs or conferences. It is a statement of commitment on my part and a reminder to me to always seek to add value and build on the relationship. It helps with the referrals as well.

Promote your delivery time-lines and unique strengths:
Do you have something special you ‘do’ in relation to how quickly you can respond, a service, or deliver on a request?  Is there a way to capitalize on something you do and do consistently well.

One of the ways I service this meetings market is by providing complimentary copies of my ‘How to Host a Successful Meeting, Training Session, or Convention” e-book which uses some of the custom checklists and resource materials developed to help the meeting planner succeed.

Co-promote with strategic alliances:
Our global economy is getting more competitive on an hourly basis. 

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The following ideas have proven effective for the Business enhancement success of ‘any’ business. Fill in the ‘__________’ with your field or business, and apply accordingly.

However, since I am primarily in the speaking and training business, I will share ideas drawn from what I am learning in my quest to make what I do more productive and profitable. Ideas to make sure I stay competitive in this growing and globally competitive field. My speaking has taken me to 9 countries on 4 continents, so far. I am sure you will be able to see how you can apply them to your specific areas of concern.

Use client testimonials:
People hire speakers and trainers based on several factors: They have heard us speak personally; someone they trust has heard us; or another speaker, trainer or client has heard us and says nice things about what we did for them. They do not normally hire on the basis of a cold call. They may if the timing is correct, but will still go back to one of the above three factors as a part of their decision process.

This applies to any business format, and is important, as it helps minimize the risk factor in the decsion process to engage or do business with us. How can you ensure your clients talk about what you’ve done for them? How do you get them to do so? Who have you successfully served who would be willing to tell the world what a great job you did? Ask them!

Two points: 1) Do a simply outstanding job and keep in touch afterwards – remember out of sight out of mind and; 2) Ask them to give you feedback on what you did and how it affected or assited them in their business. Ask for quantified answers, if you can get them, as they are more effective tools. Ask permission to quote!

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As a teen entrepreneur coach, I work with young entrepreneurs who are often bootstrapping when they start out. They are searching for simple ways to build a presence online to compliment whatever they are doing in the offline space. Even though they are often technologically savvy, when starting a business, marketing a business online can be information overload. So these are the simple steps I share with them so that they can get started. And they can use supplementary resources, advanced programs and tools and fee based 3rd party applications to build on this foundation as they acquire more knowledge, visibility and money.

1. Name It and Claim It. When you decide to build an online presence pick a topic that centers on a theme and try to make sure everything you set up from your social networking sites to your blog, somehow ties back to that theme. It helps to build greater brand awareness. The more niche or specialized the theme, the easier it will be for your target customer and the media to find you vs. you trying to find them. Express your unique voice as it will make you more memorable i.e. Relationship Marketing Expert, Mari Smith, always wears turquoise in her videos, online avatars and at conferences so she can be easily recognized….not to mention she is a 6′ blonde =) When creating a name for your blog or user name, try to think of an all encompassing term that someone might use to search for your site or blog.

2. Choose Your Platform. Think about the behaviors of your customers or do a survey (www.surveymonkey.com) to find out what online tools they are using. The places where your customer are spending their time are the places you need to be active. You don’t need to register for a lot of sites or the latest and the greatest. Register for one or two sites.

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