Snippets about: Sales
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Hunt for Leads in Your "Before" and "After" Markets
Look at your customer's "before" and "after" markets to find untapped partnership opportunities. "Before" markets are businesses that serve the customer right before they buy from you. For example:
- A personal trainer could partner with weight loss clinics
- A car detailer could partner with auto mechanics
- A dog groomer could partner with veterinarians
Offer these partners a commission, exclusive discount, or lead trade arrangement for sending business your way. "After" markets are businesses that serve your customers after they buy from you. For example:
- A landscaper could refer customers to a tree trimming service
- A wedding cake baker could refer to event rentals
- A business coach could refer to a bookkeeping service
You could trade leads, pay commissions, or even private label these follow-on services to increase your LTV. Look up and down your customer's journey to find win-win referral partners.
Section: 3, Chapter: 9
Book: The 1-Page Marketing Plan
Author: Allan Dib
Small Voluntary Commitments Open the Door to Bigger Requests
Salespeople and marketers leverage the principle of consistency to make bigger sales:
- Start by getting the prospect to make a small, easy commitment
- This could be agreeing to fill out a survey, accept a free sample, or make a statement supporting the product
- Later, pivot to making a related larger request, like buying a subscription
- They feel internal pressure to act consistently with their earlier commitment
- To resist unwanted influence attempts, be very careful about making commitments you don't want to be held to later
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Influence
Author: Robert Cialdini
"The Money Is in the Follow-Up"
"Fifty percent of all salespeople give up after one contact, 65% give up after two and 79.8% give up after three shots. Imagine if a farmer planted seeds and then refused to water them more than once or twice. Would he have a successful harvest? Hardly."
Section: 2, Chapter: 4
Book: The 1-Page Marketing Plan
Author: Allan Dib
How a 'Free Gift' Exploits the Reciprocity Rule
The Hare Krishna society leveraged the reciprocity rule to get donations:
- In airports, they would give people a 'free gift' - a book or flower
- Though the gift was not requested, it still triggered a feeling of indebtedness
- When they then asked for a donation, people felt compelled to reciprocate
- Even those who didn't want the gift often made a donation just to relieve the sense of obligation Using unsolicited gifts is an effective way to exploit the automatic reciprocity response.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Influence
Author: Robert Cialdini
Perceived Fairness Affects Willingness To Pay
The "beer on the beach" study illustrates how perceived fairness affects willingness to pay, even for identical products. Thaler asked people to imagine buying a beer from either a fancy resort hotel or a run-down grocery store. The catch: the beer is to be consumed on the beach, so the drinking experience will be identical.
Results showed people were willing to pay much more for the beer from the resort ($7.25 on average) than for the one from the store ($4.10). The location's perceived fairness as a reference point shaped their valuations, even though the consumption experience was the same. This effect, which Thaler calls "transaction utility," has important implications for pricing decisions.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: Misbehaving
Author: Richard Thaler
"If You Confuse Them, You Lose Them"
"Understand a very important concept: confusion leads to lost sales. This is especially so when you have a complex product. Many business owners erroneously think that a confused customer will seek clarification or contact you for more information. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you confuse them, you lose them."
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: The 1-Page Marketing Plan
Author: Allan Dib
Scarcity - The Rule of the Few
The scarcity principle states that opportunities seem more valuable when they are less available. Items and opportunities are more desirable when they are rare, dwindling or difficult to obtain
This is a widely used weapon of influence - advertisers emphasize scarcity to drive demand
- Scarcity works on the pain of "loss" - we don't want to miss out or lose access to something
- It especially affects us when we perceive we are losing freedoms we previously had
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: Influence
Author: Robert Cialdini
Distribution Channels Across Customer Segments
Enterprise Executives: Direct sales are the preferred channel for reaching enterprise executives due to the complex nature of their needs and the high value of the solutions being sold.
End Users: Web-based self-service is effective for reaching individual consumers or end users who prefer a convenient and transactional buying experience.
Department Heads: Sales 2.0 can be an effective way to reach department heads who seek solutions for specific use cases within their organization.
Design Engineers: A two-tier distribution model, often involving distributors and manufacturers' representatives, is common for reaching design engineers who specify components for new products.
Small Business Owners: Value-added resellers (VARs) often serve as trusted advisors to small business owners, providing bundled solutions and localized support.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: Crossing the Chasm
Author: Geoffrey Moore
Information Asymmetry Exploited By Real Estate Agents
The authors argue that real estate agents utilize a similar information asymmetry as the KKK to further their own interests at the expense of their clients. An analysis of over 100,000 home sales in suburban Chicago showed that when real estate agents sell their own homes, they keep them on the market an average of 10 days longer and sell them for 3% more than comparable homes owned by their clients.
This is because agents have a strong informational advantage over their clients on market conditions, buyer interest, etc. But they only capture a small portion of incremental profits from a higher price on a client's home, so they have the incentive to sell it quicker even if that means a lower price. This is a prime example of an expert exploiting an information imbalance for personal gain.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Freakonomics
Author: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
