What impression are you leaving?

How you sound is just as important if not more than, what you’re actually saying. If you’re lucky enough to know me personally ;) you’re aware that I’m quite long winded. Therefore I’m not going to critique you on the length of your message. As you may know or can imagine, I leave jam packed, excited messages – a skill I inherited from my father!

Put yourself in the shoes of those that you hear your voice on the other end of the phone. When someone calls you and leaves you a message. Do you smile when you listen to their recording? Do you get excited to call them back?

When you’re calling someone and are promoted to leave a message. Are you attracted to the person’s voice? Are you pumped up to leave a message?

Make your messages reflect your positive side, establish credibility and be confident.

“Hi, you’ve reached Robyn Beazley, ____ (position & company). Please leave me a message, so that I can get back to you! I hope you’re having an amazing day. Bye.”

I love the responses I get: “I am having an amazing day, thanks” ”My day is going wonderful, I hope yours is too” “That is the best message I’ve ever heard Robyn, thanks for making me smile!” WOW – all this positive feedback, before they even tell me who is calling.

Action Steps to your personal message:

• Write out what you want your recording to say.
• Practice recording and listen to.
• Record in front of a mirror, so you can see yourself smiling (you actually sound happier, when you’re smiling and talking!)
• Have fun!

Action Steps to leaving a message:

• Be 100% present when recording, so that your message comes out smooth.
• Have a sense of urgency in your voice, to encourage a punctual call back.
• “I dare you to make someone smile or laugh” (Robyn Beazley) with your message.

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During the Super Bowl 2009, Denny’s ran a VERY clever advertising campaign on the US television stations (Canadians wouldn’t have been able to see it unfortunately)! Denny’s promoted that they were giving away a FREE Grand Slam to everyone on Tuesday from 6am-2pm (2 days after the big football game!). If you’d like to relive these ads, search YouTube! You may be thinking, well that’s dumb – how much would that have cost them?

WELL – if you’re a positive thinker and believe that the glass is half full, not empty – you’ll recognize that this strategy was BRILLIANT! Pancakes and eggs are quite cheap compared to a national advertising plan in hopes of reaching your ideal marketing. On a side note, did you know that on each given day, a person on average sees 5000 different brands/advertisements (I learned this fact at the Wizard of Ads Seminar) – you have to set yourself apart from the competitors!

HOW much would you pay to get clients to become one of your clients for the FIRST time? If you treat them right, they will keep coming back right? AND probably tell all their friends about your fabulous customer service!

WHAT can you GIVEAWAY for free? Do you offer a service that doesn’t cost you anything but your time? For example, if you’re a vet or a graphic designer – you could offer a free service for clients to experience what YOU offer! If this isn’t your case, what product could you giveaway that is tangible that says your name/brand on it? You have to GIVE up, to GO up! Keep the price point down, because it’s more about a kind, thoughtful gesture than to cost you your left leg. If you’re looking for ideas or require more information on what type of giveaway I’m referring to, contact me and I’ll help you brainstorm!

I dare you to give something away – to help you increase your sales!

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The moral of this example, is how do you measure success without setting goals? In order to feel satisfied with the outcome of an event, whether you’re a rancher selling livestock or a sales representative marketing shoes, you need to set realistic desires, to compare the results to. 

WRITE your goals down!  The key to achieving your goals is to physically write them down on a piece of paper!  After my Dad came to a number, we wrote it down in big numbers on a piece of paper and stuck it to a board in the house!  Under the average – I wrote down his desired total income from the sale of his bulls.

Not everyone is a numbers person, so I’ll give you a visual!

Example of a GOAL:

$2500 Average 
# lots – 20  
$50,000 Income ($2500 x 20 lots)

The day after the sale, we were eating lunch and I asked my Dad, “So, are you happy with how the sale went?” His response was, “Kind of, we brought home a couple more bulls home than I hoped for!” Fair enough I thought, because no one wants to sell bulls from home, after you’ve invested all the money into producing a sale. However, I had already calculated the numbers! 

The ranch had a higher average than my Dad was hoping for and had exceeded the Total Income we recorded before the sale!  Therefore, the bulls that came home, was just above and  beyond the goal! 

What an amazing feeling to exceed a goal and know that you can still increase your revenue, when you sell the remaining bulls!

Have an optimistic attitude and attract what you’re looking for!  Don’t be upset that you brought 2 items home – you’re already ahead!  Just think – the buyer you’re looking for just doesn’t know you have the item you’re marketing, for sale yet!

As my husband mentioned in a previous FarmOn.com blog, treat your customer like a friend and your friend will always be your customer!  Your clients are buying YOU and their relationship with you. There are lots of bulls (or whatever you’re selling) – you have to set yourself apart with your personal touch!  I’ll talk more about this soon!

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I recently bought a new car – and WOW was I ever shocked by my experience! After visiting 5 dealerships, I was ready to launch a Car Selling 101 course! When you arrive at a business – to buy a tractor, a new herdsire, fertilizer, or even to get a bank loan – you probably want to test drive a particular model OR have an idea of what you want/need in a product. How impressed are you when the salesperson (don’t always have that title – don’t get tricked!) was trying to sell you what THEY thought you should buy? Every salesman I interacted with in my car buying was closing the deal in their mind and was focusing on themselves (i.e. – calculating their commission instead of my payments in their head or dreaming of the bonus they were on track to get – apparently I have $ signs on my forehead) INSTEAD of getting to know me!

If this describes you when the perfect person enters your life that you just know will want to buy your product, they will quickly become the “would have been” client, if you don’t ask enough or particularly the right questions! When you ask someone a question, even a simple question – such as “How are you?” – are you sincere (soothing tone of voice, eye contact)? Do you really care what their answer is? You were born with 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason – as the salesperson or just a human at that – you should listen more than talk!! Have you ever left a conversation and felt amazing about it – that usually means that you did most of the talking. You want your client leaving the visit feeling warm & fuzzy inside and thinking that person really cared about me and that is achieved when people are given opportunity to talk about themselves! LISTEN and you’ll find the answers you’re looking for!

First impressions are everything – you have to value and respect THEIR time – who cares about your time; focus on getting to know your prospect. What product are you offering? Customer service – once a client, always a client. Ask questions that will start to answer your bottom-line question, “How can the product you’re offering benefit them” – without even having to ask! Selling is fun, if you want it to be!

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