Deck The Malls With Boomer Shoppers

How can marketers reach more Boomer shoppers this season? For answers, let’s turn to the blizzard of holiday shopping surveys out there. 

First of all, will 2014 be dominated by Santas or Scrooges? The National Retail Foundation has tidings of joy: For the first time since 2011, holiday sales will increase more than 4%. However, a short selling season of just 27 shopping days doesn’t leave a lot of time to capture Boomer customers. So, what’s the best way to reach them? Although different surveys reached different conclusions, some common themes emerged. 

The FIVE W’s of Boomer Holiday Spending

For WHOM are Boomers buying? According to the 2014 Mintel Holiday Forecasting Study, the purchase of most categories of gifts declines with age. However, women aged 55 and older are very likely to buy food to entertain the extended family at holiday meals. 82% of women aged 55 plus also buy gifts for family members, many of them earmarked for grandchildren. In fact, according to a recent Forbes article, Boomers spend a collective total of $35 billion a year on their grandkids.

WHAT are Boomers buying? 

The generation that marched on Washington now leads the country in purchasing small, rectangular pieces of plastic. According to the Shullman Research Center, Boomers buy more holiday gift cards than any other demographic. 62% of Boomers purchase gift cards, more than Gen Xers (57%), Millennials (38%), and seniors (18%). Boomers are right on target with their gift choices: According to a National Retail Foundation study, gift cards are the most requested gift item for the eighth year in a row. 

If your business doesn’t already offer gift cards, the holidays are a good time to start. If you already offer gift cards, consider offering them electronically. According to Pace Perspectives, electronic cards are gaining in popularity since plastic gift cards are so easily lost. In fact, 40% of 18-29 year olds admit to having lost at least one gift card. 

WHERE are Boomers shopping?

According to Mintel, Boomers’ number one source for researching holiday gifts is the Internet, but many still prefer to make their purchases in the store. 43% of men ages 55 and up, and 38% of women in that age group, say they research items online, then wait to find them on sale in stores. How can you capitalize on their shopping habits? Mintel suggests offering online coupons that shoppers can redeem in the store. 

WHEN do Boomers shop? 

According to a recent PunchTab survey, Boomers are the least likely of any demographic to shop on Black Friday or in the entire month of November. They spread out their shopping throughout the season: 22% in September, 20% in October, 34% in November, and 21% in December. In contrast, Gen. Xers and Millennials do the bulk of their shopping in November. 

WHY are Boomers buying?

During the holidays, it’s important to look at Boomers’ life stages, not just their ages. That’s because Boomers in larger households tend to spend significantly more than empty nesters in one-to-two- person households. Another surprising fact reported by Mintel: Affluent Boomers do not necessarily spend more than their less-wealthy counterparts, unless they have children at home. 

HOW do Boomers choose gifts? 

According to PunchTab, Boomers are influenced by a number of sources. 62% ask friends and family for input, 61% browse in person, 50% check recipients’ wish lists, 39% browse brand websites, 38% read online reviews, 30% check flyers or catalogs, 24% open emails, 17% browse online magazines or blogs, 14 turn to Facebook, and 9% log on to PInterest.

Are Boomers motivated by price? Not as much as Gen Xers, according to the CFI Group Holiday Retail Spending Report. Only 23% of 55-65 year olds are influenced by sales and coupons, versus 40% of 25-34 year olds. 

One final idea from Mintel to get cash registers ringing: Since only 11% of grandchildren currently give presents to their generous grandparents, how about leaving something for Boomer Santas under the tree? Art or photography classes, books for Kindle, or restaurant gift cards are all possibilities.

 Derek Dunham, Media Post Nov 24th, 2014

U.S. sales of gluten-free foods rise 63 percent in two years

According to global market research firm Mintel, dollar sales of gluten-free products are surging. A new report from the company, "Gluten-Free Foods — US," forecasts the gluten-free food market to reach sales of $8.8 billion in 2014, representing an increase of 63 percent from 2012 to 2014.

“Overall, the gluten-free food market continues to thrive off those who must maintain a gluten-free diet for medical reasons, as well as those who perceive gluten-free foods to be healthier or more natural,” said Amanda Topper, food analyst at Mintel. “The category will continue to grow in the near term, especially as FDA regulations make it easier for consumers to purchase gluten-free products and trust the manufacturers who make them

All gluten-free food segments increased in the past year, Mintel noted, although the snack segment increased the most. Gluten-free snacks increased 163 percent from 2012 to 2014, reaching sales of $2.8 billion. Sales increases were mainly the result of a 456 percent increase in potato chip sales.

Meanwhile, the meat/meat alternatives segment is the second-largest gluten-free food segment in terms of sales, reaching $1.6 billion in 2014, a 14 percent increase from 2012 to 2014. In addition, Mintel said, the bread products and cereal segment saw gains of 43 percent during that same time period and is set to reach $1.3 billion this year.

Despite strong growth during the past few years, retailers and suppliers will still find opportunities to innovate, Topper said, especially in categories that traditionally contain gluten. Bread and cereal are ripe for gluten-free growth, Mintel added, with only 1 percent of the overall segment termed gluten-free.

“Gluten-free products appeal to a wide audience; 41 percent of U.S. adults agree they are beneficial for everyone, not only those with a gluten allergy, intolerance or sensitivity," Topper said. "In response, food manufacturers offering either gluten-free alternatives or existing products with a gluten-free label have increased dramatically over the last several years,” adds Amanda.

But it seems not everyone is convinced of the health attributes of gluten-free products. Thirty-three percent of respondents to a 2013 Mintel survey agreed that “gluten-free diets are a fad,” and the number increased to 44 percent of Americans in 2014. However, gluten free’s popularity has not waned — 22 percent of Americans currently follow a gluten-free diet, compared to 15 percent in 2013, Mintel said.

By Store Brands, Stagnito Business Information

Cyber Monday grows as busiest day of season

Great article from USA Today, Dec 2nd. ~Curt

Cyber Monday proved just as big a draw as ever after a weekend that saw fewer people shopping in stores.

Sales grew 8.5% for the 24-hour period, according to IBM Digital Analytics, solidifying Monday as the largest online shopping day of the year. Shoppers spent an average of $124.21 per order, down 3.5% from last year, though the number of transactions was up and people bought more items on average per order.

Monetate, a company whose software helps major retailers including Macy's and Best Buy personalize the online shopping experience, also tracked more shopping sessions this year with about 49.3 million sessions, up 11.8% from 2013. Revenue per session increased 7% and the number of people who completed a purchase increased 8.3%.

The National Retail Federation expected a different outcome, projecting fewer shoppers would head online Monday at about 127 million vs. 131 million in 2013.Growth did slow compared to previous years: in 2013 online sales were up 20.6% vs. 2012, according to IBM data.

That may be because shoppers have more chances to get deals later this week as Cyber Monday prices continue through Saturday with some brands. With promotions spread out across November and December this year and many retailers having offered pre-Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to spur people to shop early, those days themselves have become less important as shopping drivers.

Meanwhile, more people than ever are opting to online shop and use their phones to browse for deals. Online sales over Thanksgiving weekend were up 17% vs. last year and mobile accounted for more than half of all online traffic, according to IBM. On Monday more people shopped on desktops, though mobile still accounted for 41.2% of all online traffic, a 30.1% increase over last year, IBM says.

Retailers are hopeful that online deals this week will be compelling enough to get shoppers to continue to spend. Walmart doubled the number of deals available for Cyber Monday this year and will continue to have 500 new promotions a day through Friday. Walmart reported Monday was it's biggest day of online orders ever as customers shopped for deals on the 16GB iPad mini, HDTVs, and video games, all major traffic drivers, the retailer said.

Target is billing its Cyber Week as its biggest yet, with more than 100,000 items on sale all week. Kohl's is going a day further with deals online through Saturday. Amazon is offering new deals up to every 10 minutes all week.

Those deals may entice the roughly half of consumers who still have shopping to do, says Consumer Electronics Association Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac. "I would estimate probably close to half of consumers have completed the bulk of their holiday shopping at this point," he says.

And he expects people to continue to buy leading up to Christmas. "There's still appetite as we head into the remaining few weeks of the holiday season," DuBravac says.

That appetite may be fed by increasing parity between online and in-store deals and the convenience of options like same-day shipping and buy online, pick up in store, all of which are making it easier for consumers to wait out the season for the best prices, says Lucinda Duncalfe, CEO of Monetate, a company that sells software to retailers to help them personalize the online shopping experience.

"You can shop online later and later and still get things by Christmas Day," she says. "What will end up happening over time is this continued flattening of the season where people are more willing to wait to see what's going to happen."

Demonstrating credibility

It's not enough to tell prospects you offer better service or quality than your competitor. Prospects want to hear specifics about why you're better.

Here's a formula that helps show the difference more effectively:

* Unique qualities. What can you offer that your competitor can't? Try to convert the value of your products or services into financial results.  For example, I am a veteran television sales executive...but I am also certified in SEO, and other digital aspects that allow me to help outside of TV.

* Advantages. What do you do better than the competitor? Give prospects what they need to understand the unique qualities of your product or service.

* Parity. If there’s little difference between you and a competitor, look for minor ones that may add up to a competitive advantage.

* Disadvantages. Are there areas in your product or service in which competitors have a definite edge? Focus on the advantages you do have to offset these disadvantages.

Happy selling! ~Curt

Voice Success!

Five key factors when it comes to having a voice of success include:

Your Tone
What does the tone of your voice sound like? Does it reflect confidence? Strength? Assurance? Perhaps your tone reflects fear? Boredom? Immaturity?

Be honest with yourself; do you need to work on your tone? Grab a close friend or co-worker -- ask their honest opinion. It's important to find someone who will give you just that. Listen to what they have to say and take their criticism as constructive to help you develop a voice that will get you where you want to be in life.

Voice Inflection
When speaking and thinking about the key points you want to emphasize, make sure the inflection of your voice does just that. Inflection alone can change the meaning of a sentence.

Delivery
Practice, practice, practice. The delivery of your message when training your voice is key. Don't be afraid to rehearse a pitch or a proposal or even just a phone call. You won't always have to do this; just long enough to where a good delivery is natural and you can do it with confidence.

Sound
What do you sound like? Have you ever really just listened to your own voice? For example, when you record your outgoing voicemail message what do others hear? A smile? Joy? Authority? Don't be afraid to use a tape recorder as you train your voice. A tape recorder will allow you to hear exactly what others hear.

Energy
Similar to tone, but different. The energy in your voice allows people to feel like they are in the room with you. Does your energy make them want to be in a room with you? Put it in check. One thing that I have to watch is the speed at which I speak. I can rattle things off faster than most people can keep up with. I always know when I'm doing this because I often get asked to repeat myself. Breathe, think about what you are going to say and fill it with the right energy for the moment.

Create positive emotional experiences...a sales tip study in cupcakes!

Learn to make dealing with you fun, relaxing, and rewarding.

You always want to leave your customers and prospects thinking about you and remembering you positively, so it is imperative that you find ways to create positive emotional experiences for your customers.

The key is to focus on the little things. Remember birthdays, send handwritten notes, do the unexpected. For a few of my clients, I'll have my wife (who is a phenomenal baker) make homemade cupcakes for their birthdays.  Just as an anchor is used to hold a ship in place against currents, wind, tide, and storm, positive emotional experiences anchor your relationships. They leave people wanting more of you. 

Here's Why Automakers Are Ahead of the Game in Digital

Great article form AdWeek a few weeks ago regarding direct response auto advertising. ~CM

For years, automakers were synonymous with branding-based advertising, but the shift to digital has steered more of them toward direct-response marketing. Of course, sizable ad budgets help, but there’s more to why automakers are first movers on practically every new type of digital promo.

Honda’s Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana dealer group (which includes roughly 30 Midwest dealerships) announces that it is the first brand to use a new tool from Blinq Media—one of Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Developers—that targets in-market car shoppers with local promos. By squarely focusing on in-market car shoppers, the campaign only uses direct-response messaging to drive conversions.

With the help of agency RPA, Honda will begin using the new tool to buy Facebook’s right-hand rail and newsfeed ads on desktops, plus sponsored posts on mobile, programmatically. The ads target two types of prospects: Consumers who are near dealership, or people who have interacted with Honda’s content before—such as filling out an online sales lead form.

Nichola Perrigo, associate director of digital marketing at Honda’s agency RPA, described the social promos as a way to "optimize and rapid-fire test different ad units" by pulling in dealership-specific offers in real time.

Ad creative will change on the fly, too. "We’re going to be able to create very dynamic, custom ads that hit each one of those audience groups," explained Perrigo. For example, if a person has shown a past interest in a Civic sedan, he or she won’t be served an ad for an Accord. Clicking through on any ad drives consumers to a website with more customized information based on the Facebook offer.

Since GM’s famous exit from the social platform in 2012 (and its subsequent return in 2013), Facebook has made significant efforts to win back auto brands.

To Facebook’s credit, GM-owned Chevrolet was among a small handful of brands to test auto-play video ads earlier this year while Ford and Lexus have also forked over cash to the social platform.

Marc Poirier, co-founder and evp of business development at Acquisio noted the newest local ads may also pay off for other direct-response marketers. "The new local ad offering for Facebook is in theory very well-suited to direct-response local advertising, especially when the measured goal is something such as generating requests for test drives."

Moving Down the Purchase Funnel
Honda’s decision to home in on digital to target low-funnel consumers follows a string of similar investments from automakers.

In September, Toyota Central Atlantic—a group of dealerships along the East Coast—claimed a 45 percent increase in foot traffic from a mobile campaign.

The ads targeted in-market buyers who had previously visited a competitor’s lot and linked to car registration data, indicating if a consumer actually bought a car as a result of seeing the re-targeted mobile ads.

It’s easy to chalk up the emphasis on hyperlocal marketing to the fact that automakers typically have sky-high marketing budgets. But it also indicates that digital is working for brands to do more than branding.

"U.S. automotive [brands] have usually a 60/40 split between direct-response and branding," said Guillaume Lelait, general manager at Fetch.

In With the New, Out With the Old?
Even as more automakers employ direct-response advertising, not all brands are ready to ditch branding efforts. Instead, marketers like Mercedes are pulling double duty with social ads.

Mercedes recently released a case study from the first campaign to run Instagram and Facebook promos simultaneously. The German automaker’s effort claims a 54 percent increase in Web traffic. But there’s also an interesting branding data point: The Instagram ads by themselves increased brand awareness by 14 percent. The idea was to test which types of creative work best on each platform.

"We're not just throwing money at the platform—we're really trying to see what's going to break through and get engagement from our audience," Eric Jillard, general manager of marketing services at Mercedes, told Adweek during Advertising Week.

Lauren Johnson - AdWeek 10.21.14

U.S. auto sales projected to rise 6% in Oct. to highest total in a decade

New U.S. light-vehicle sales are expected to rise about 6 percent this month from last October, according to three forecasts, as gasoline prices fall to the lowest level in nearly four years.

LMC Automotive, TrueCar and Kelley Blue Book project sales of around 1.27 million vehicles, the highest October volume since 2004. They estimate the industry’s seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate to be 16.3 million, which would mark the eighth consecutive month with a SAAR of more than 16 million.

“The current environment of the auto industry is one of strength and stability,” Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC, said in a statement today. “The market is clearly seeing a second wave of SUV popularity … that will likely dominate market share for the foreseeable future.”

Sales of SUVs and pickups, which have been strong throughout the year, have been aided this fall by lower gasoline prices. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline fell 18 cents in the past two weeks to $3.08 this week -- the cheapest since December 2010, according to Lundberg Survey Inc.

Incentive spending is at “healthy levels,” up 2 percent from a year ago but down 12 percent from September, TrueCar said. KBB said it is concerned, though, that the ratio of incentives to average transaction prices has climbed to the highest level since 2010.

“Since inventory levels have remained consistent, this isn’t a red flag yet, but it does underline that the national industry growth we’ve had in recent years is slowing,” Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for KBB, said in a statement.

Industry sales are on pace to reach forecasts of 16.4 million this year, the highest since 2006. They rose 6 percent in the first three quarters vs. the same period in 2013.

KBB projects that sales will rise 14 percent this month for compact SUVs and crossovers and 6 percent for full-size pickups. Midsize cars and compact cars are each expected to generate slight sales gains but lose market share.

KBB and TrueCar project double-digit gains in October for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Nissan North America. TrueCar said it expects Subaru to post a 28 percent gain, the biggest among the 10 largest automakers.

Ford stalls

Ford Motor Co. is the only automaker whose sales are expected to fall. Ford is switching production of its F-150 pickup to the aluminum-clad 2015 version, which has cut into sales as the company tries to avoid depleting inventory too quickly.

The forecasts call for General Motors to lose market share, with sales increasing less than 5 percent.

TrueCar said FCA, which outsold Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. in September for the first time in three years, has a chance to repeat that feat this month, possibly even challenging a suddenly vulnerable Ford. TrueCar estimated vehicle sales of 170,600 for FCA, up 22 percent; 178,500 for Toyota, up 6 percent; and 180,000 for Ford, down 6 percent.

“Fiat Chrysler’s growth, fueled by Jeep and Ram, has set up a dogfight this month, with FCA, Ford and Toyota battling for second place behind GM in total volume,” TrueCar President John Krafcik said in a statement.

LMC said it expects retail sales to rise 6 percent and fleet deliveries to increase 5 percent. Fleet volume likely will account for 16 percent of total light-vehicle sales, it said.

J.D. Power, which helps LMC develop its forecast, said it expects consumer spending on new vehicles to reach $32.5 billion this month, 6 percent more than October 2013. It said 32.6 percent of vehicles sold this month will be financed with a term of at least 72 months, tying a record set in July. Long loan terms are helping push transaction prices higher by making more expensive vehicles feel more affordable to consumers on the basis of their monthly payment.

LMC said North American production rose 7 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, to 4.1 million units. Automakers built 90,000 more compact SUVs in the third quarter than in the same period of 2013, more than any other segment. 

Nick Bunkley - Automotive News, October 27, 201

Sales Tip: Do Not Interrupt

Frequently interrupting customers when they are speaking sends a negative message. It's usually done for one of these reasons:

• The other person said something that energized you and you just couldn't wait to contribute your idea.
• You disagreed with the customer and were so angry or disturbed by his/her position that you felt compelled to state your own.
• You felt the customer was being long-winded, and you were too impatient to allow him/her to finish.

None of these are valid reasons to interrupt a customer. Whatever you gain by getting your two cents in prematurely, you may lose from a relationship perspective.

You may be making a valid point, but your customer may not appreciate your delivery method. This also goes for sales managers in regards to your sales staff.

Sales Tip: Talking too much

Many salespeople get hired because they have the infamous "gift of gab." There is a pretty good chance that you've worked with someone who loved nothing better than the sound of their voice. These reps are great at telling stories, but they struggle to connect and create deeper dialogue with prospects and customers.

Many customers are being asked to do more with less today. Spending time with an overly friendly (see all chatty) sales rep isn't a priority, it's a liability.

Being able to clearly and succinctly articulate a compelling story is vital to your success. Your goal is to be brief, be bright and then be gone.

Before you make your next call, ask yourself: Why, given all of the competitive alternatives available, should this prospect want to do business with me right now?

Getting the customer involved

Next time a customer stalls out on you, ask them as a next step to review something for you. It might be a report you're going to email to them or it might be something on a website.

The key is to see if they will provide some input to you. This simple activity is one of the best ways to measure how serious a prospect is in doing business with you. Someone who is serious will do what you ask them to; someone who is not won't.

Their response to what you ask them to do will not only give you a sense of their level of commitment, but also may give them a quick "out" to indeed tell you they are not interested. Either way, it allows you to move forward. Either they are a serious prospect or it's time to drop them and move on.

Another great tool to measure the seriousness of a prospect is to ask them to share with you some proprietary information. It might be a question you ask regarding the strategic focus of their business or how their volumes are for this month.

It can be almost anything, but when you ask them a question that requires them to reveal something that is not known outside the company, you will quickly determine if the customer has confidence in you. Since confidence is what customers are really buying, then a key to knowing if a sale is going to occur is if they will share with you something of proprietary nature. 

Don't talk yourself out of a sale

Knowledge should be one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox. Knowing how to use specialized industry vocabularies should also be one of our basic and power tools.

In reality, for many of us, knowledge and specialized lingo are powerful — in costing us business.

Naturally, a great many new salespeople are tempted to try to impress prospects and clients by demonstrating their product knowledge and slinging their newly learned industry vocabulary around. They tend to oversell, answer questions no prospect has ever had, dazzle with words the prospect and client may not be familiar with.

They talk about the fine points of their product or service; discuss how their service or product will impact ROI; how their product or service creates a new paradigm to address the prospect's issues or needs; and the list goes on.

Some say that if you want credibility with your prospects and clients you have to speak their language. I don't have a problem with that in the least — if you're actually speaking your prospect's language. But how many prospects actually talk about creating a new paradigm to address an issue or problem? There's certainly something to be said about just talking to the prospect in plain English.

And very often new sellers butcher their newly acquired vocabulary and confound and frustrate their prospects with their enthusiastic demonstration of their knowledge of the minutiae of their product or service. Many lose more sales than they capture because of their lack of discipline and their need to impress.

Unfortunately I've noticed over the past several years that this desire to impress isn't confined to new sellers. I consistently run across experienced sellers who should know better that are making the same rookie mistakes. The only real difference between these experienced sellers and new salespeople is experienced sellers tend to have a better grasp of the industry lingo.

In the current tough selling environment even experienced sellers are falling into the trap of trying to oversell and to impress with their knowledge and "deep" understanding of the prospect's issues. We tend to pull out all the stops and often end up losing our discipline and the prospect's attention. We try to force the sale.

Rather than creating new clients, we end up alienating them.

Whether you're a relatively new seller bursting with enthusiasm and wanting to impress your prospects or an experienced seller feeling the pressure to produce, you need to step back and relax. Giving in to the pressure to oversell and force the sale is self-defeating. Address your prospect's needs and leave the unnecessary demonstration of knowledge and the impressive vocabulary at the office.

Sales Tip: Building Trust

Continually setting, and meeting, expectations is one of the easiest and most direct ways to build the strong, trusted relationships you need to close deals.

Building trust allows you to:

1. Set the agenda. If each encounter goes as expected and the prospect gets what they want, they will let you drive the process -- that, in turn, allows you to control the sale, determine the process, set next steps, and take it where you want.

2. Mitigate risk. Buyers want to be sure they are making the right decision. Unfortunately for them, any purchase decision comes with risk. You can mitigate this risk by providing direction at each step of the sales process. If there are no surprises, you create a sense of certainty in an otherwise uncertain endeavor. Certainty helps eliminate doubt in the prospect's mind, removing a major obstacle and allowing you to move the sale forward faster.

3. Be seen as the expert. Delivering as expected demonstrates a certain mastery that inspires confidence in you, your company, and what you are selling. This positions you as the thoughtful and trusted expert as you answer questions, listen and demonstrate understanding, and provide recommendations.

4. Demonstrate what it is like to work with you. Trusted relationships are built over time, and you can start building that trust during the sales process. When you consistently deliver on what you promise, you demonstrate what it will be like to work with you and your company day in and day out.

However, if you over-promise and under-deliver -- by missing deadlines, showing up late to meetings, setting inappropriate expectations -- you lose out on your best opportunity to build trusting relationships with your prospects.

Trust does not come overnight, in fact it can take months, in some cases years, to build, yet it takes only one instance of not following through on your promise to destroy it.

Be mindful of this in your sales conversations and interactions with prospects. Think things through, take the time to make appropriate decisions, and give each prospect the respect they deserve; this allows you to maximize the trust factor.

Take it one step further and think of how you can over-deliver in the sales process. I'm not suggesting you sandbag it. I'm suggesting you set expectations that you're sure you can meet and leave some room for yourself to go above and beyond.

Selling Yourself

Just as you are selling to people, you must also remember that you are not only selling and representing a product or service, but you are in effect selling yourself. When beginning a sales relationship, it is important to remember a few key aspects to representing yourself well.

First, be interesting. If potential customers are bored by you, they have less of a chance of being enthralled by any product or service you are representing.

Develop intellect. Of course you are an intelligent person, but can you converse in an intelligent manner? Can you discuss related subjects with thoughtfulness and hold your clients' interest? You are in their territory now, can you speak their language?

Never be arrogant -- never talk up or down to your potential clients. It's rude and will serve only to alienate them. Respect the buyer, and they will respect you.

Along the same lines, develop your empathy levels. If you can relate to your customers' situations authentically, it helps to build rapport.

Rapport is the most important process in influencing others. It is vital if you want to maintain relationships. Without it, you are unlikely to achieve willing agreement to what you want. People who have excellent rapport with others create harmonious relationships based on trust and understanding of mutual needs.

Finally, the greatest compliment a customer can pay you is to describe you as "professional."

Being professional is not one thing, it is three -- It is what you do, what you say and how you present yourself.

Keep It Short

Can you present your idea in 200 words or less? Agency and corporate decision-makers have less and less time and bigger and bigger stacks of irrelevant proposals piling up on their desks.

If you can encapsulate the campaign idea and why it makes sense for their product, brand, or service in 200 words or less, you've got an excellent chance of getting a meeting where you can dig deeper and co-craft a homework assignment; a key element to making the sponsorship sale.

Only 200 words, you ask?! Remember, the Gettysburg Address laid out a vision for the nation in only 272.

Understanding Body Language

Body language is a mixture of movement, posture and tone of voice. Research indicates that in a face-to-face conversation, more than 70 percent of our communication is nonverbal.

Our body language reveals our deepest feelings and hidden thoughts to total strangers. In addition, nonverbal communication has a much greater impact and reliability than the spoken word. Therefore, if your sales prospect's words are incongruent with his or her body language gestures, you would be wise to rely on the body language as a more accurate reflection of their true feelings.

Be mindful of your own body language gestures and remember to keep them positive by unfolding your arms, uncrossing your legs and smiling frequently.

Create harmony by "matching and mirroring" your prospect's body language gestures. Matching and mirroring is an unconscious body language mimicry by which one person tells another they are in agreement.

The next time you are at a social event, notice how many people are subconsciously matching one another. Likewise, when people disagree, they subconsciously mismatch their body language gestures.

An effective way to begin matching your prospect is to subtly nod your head in agreement whenever your prospect nods his or her head, or cross your legs when they cross their legs, etc.

By understanding the meaning behind your prospect's body language, you will minimize perceived sales pressure and know when it's appropriate to close the sale.

7 Paradoxical Sales Principles

Recognizing and acting on these 7 paradoxical sales principles is critical to your long-term success.

1. To win more sales, stop selling.
When people feel like they're being sold, they react negatively and put up barriers. Focus on helping your prospects achieve their business, professional and personal objectives -- not making a sale.

2. To speed up your sales cycle, slow down.
The more quickly you push to a close, the higher resistance you encounter. Go one step at a time. When your prospects know you want to help them make the right decision, not a rash one, the process moves faster.

3. To make decisions easier, offer fewer options.
When you increase the complexity of the decision, you decrease the likelihood of winning the sale. To help your prospects move forward, give them less to choose from. Keep it simple -- always.

4. To be more natural, prepare like crazy.
Today's customers suffer no fools. If you're not ready with the right message, questions or presentation, you'll stumble or be stilted in your meeting. When you do prepare, you can be your best self.

5. To get bigger contracts, start smaller.
When you pursue the "whole shebang," decisions are more complex and costly, making it much tougher to get approval. Reduce the risk by starting small and proving your capabilities. Then, it's easy to grow.

6. To speed up your learning curve, fail fast.
It's inevitable that you'll make mistakes. So don't wait till you've figured out the "perfect pitch" before moving forward. In sales, there is no failure -- just lots of opportunities for experimentation, learning and growth.

7. To differentiate your offering, become the differentiator.
That's the biggest reality in today's market. Your products, services or solution are secondary to your knowledge, expertise and the difference you make for your customers. Invest time in yourself.

Sales Tip: Rushing to Judgment

As a salesperson, you should work to focus all of your attention on your customer and his/her needs. It's all too easy to swoop in to present a solution instead of listening to your customer's complaints and the specifics of his/her situation.

In this rush to cut to the chase, you're in danger of coming across as arrogant, and your customers end up feeling their input is unimportant and unappreciated. This understandable mistake happens for two reasons:

* You want to come off as the "expert" or "hero," showing off all your knowledge by providing the solution before your customer even has a chance to finish her thought.
* You're in a hurry and don't have the time and energy to devote to your customer.

For example, let's say you're about to leave for a week's vacation when a prospective customer calls. He starts to go into a long story about his business and all the problems he's encountered in the last five years. You realize that you have heard his story -- or at least a similar one -- many times before, so you interrupt him to give your answer to his problems. You try to end the call as soon as possible so you can leave for vacation.

In this case, even though you might have given your prospect a good solution, chances are he won't feel satisfied with the conversation. He didn't have an opportunity to tell you about his business, so he feels shortchanged.

What should you have done? Next time, embrace any information your prospect gives you, whether you believe it's valuable or not. If you truly didn't have time to talk at length with this prospect, you should have requested the opportunity to call him back after you returned from vacation. Otherwise, you should have put down your briefcase, closed your office door, and listened to him for as long as he needed.

Remember, even if you hear the story all the time, it is unique and personal for each customer. Instead of interrupting your customer with your standard solution, let him have the floor and explain his problem. Only then can you proceed with the process of finding a solution for whatever ails him.

Sales Tip: Who Gets Past Gatekeepers?

A recent survey asked gatekeepers how they determined who gets through to a decision-maker. The top answer was, "People I like."

Treating gatekeepers with respect is in the salesperson's best interest. This person is very close to the decision-maker, and has a lot of valuable information.

So work with him or her to establish a friendly rapport. Use a conversational, yet confident tone of voice. If you were standing in the lobby of his or her office, the gatekeeper would first size you up based on your appearance and the way you sound.

Early in the conversation, ask for the gatekeeper's name. Use it, put it in your notes and greet the screener by name on your next call. You will seem much less like a stranger on subsequent calls.

You won't believe how big TV still is!

The study, conducted with ad targeting firm Simulmedia, contains plenty of insights, but among the most striking is the size of either industry. Nielsen rarely pulls back the veil on exactly how big the TV and video worlds are (they do mint the currency in the former, after all), but here it is in black and white: There are 283 million television viewers monthly (the population of the United States is 313 million), each watching an average of 146 hours of TV. Compare that with 155 million online video viewers averaging just shy of six hours monthly on mobile and almost six and a half hours over the Web. So while TV’s audience is still almost twice that of digital video, the amount of money in digital isn’t even 5 percent of the mammoth $74 billion chunk of change in television. What’s going to bring about growth in the former, said Amit Seth, Nielsen’s evp, global media products, is equivalency.

ABC already offers digital options for audience deficiency units (ADUs, or makegoods), and Fox said last year it would provideHulu inventory for the same purpose (neither network was able to provide comment by press time), but Seth said he foresees greater porousness between digital video and TV. The company isn’t just hoping for that—Nielsen’s DPR product, which measures non-mobile streaming video, is set to finally launch in the spring after a delay. Nielsen also will be continuing to refine a tool that other third-party data miners are already selling: purchaser data that gives a measurable ROI to advertisers. “We have access to 90-plus percent of credit card transactions, anonymized through a third-party data provider,” said Seth. “Do you shop home improvement? If so, do you shop at Home Depot or at Lowe’s?” Nielsen now knows.

Content producers likeNBCUniversal have pioneered similar initiatives, but it’s impossible to overstate the importance of third-party measurement as the analytics world gets more complicated. Lest this sound like too much progress too quickly, Dave Morgan, founder and CEO of Simulmedia, says not to worry. Business as usual will probably continue apace for a while. “The silos aren’t coming down anytime soon,” said Morgan. “There’s a Silicon Valley expectation that there will be a desilo-ization of TV imminently, and nobody who took part in these dinners and discussions, not even the most ardent online people, thinks that’s the case.”

Morgan and Seth agree that the industry’s best hope is in more granular data. “The fuzzy intermedia metrics can lead to nothing but more debates at the ARF and the 4A’s and the NAB and forever,” said Morgan. “But what you can’t argue with is what happened after they saw the ad. What happened at the cash register?”

4 Warning Signs That Your Sponsorship Proposals Suck

I've lamented on a few occasions about the bad news I often have to give to sponsorship seekers. A lot of it has to do with the quality of the sponsorship proposals they're creating, so I've decided to do this little self-diagnostic to see if your sponsorship proposals suck.

There are a hundred ways to get it wrong, but these are the big ones, and if you stay away from these warning signs, you'll do a lot better.

Search-and-replace

Do not EVER re-use a proposal for another sponsor simply by searching for one sponsor name and replacing it with another. It's a dead giveaway to sponsors that you a) don't know what you're doing; and b) don't give a crap about what they need to achieve.

Don't even do it for potential sponsors in the same category. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways don't need the same thing. Neither do Bupa and Medibank, Brother and Canon, or Kellogg's and Uncle Tobys. Their jobs as marketers are to differentiate their brands and encourage preference and loyalty in their target markets. They don't do that by marketing themselves in the exact same way as their competitors, so at the very least, sending the same proposal is counterproductive, and you could well be burning a bridge. Plus, more often than not, you'll miss one.

More than 25% is about you

If you're saying to yourself, "Of course it's about my event. What else would it be about?", you need to pay close attention here. You should only include enough background information about whatever it is that you're selling so that the proposal has context -- usually no more than a couple of pages. After that, the entire proposal needs to be about the sponsor, including...

• Who your target markets are, why they care about what you're doing, and how the sponsor can add value to that experience.
• How the sponsor can achieve their specific objectives -- research, research, research -- with this sponsorship. That's right, you need to include creative ideas for leverage.
• Fully customized benefits list and the investment required.

You use the term "general audience" or "broad audience" 

Sponsors don't want to reach a huge audience of people who don't really care about what you do, but might cast their eyes on a few logos. They want to connect with an audience that is passionate and involved, as those are the people who will be receptive to win-win-win leverage activities and achieve big results for the sponsors.

"It's just a teaser" 

I see a lot of uncustomized, often search-and-replace, proposals and letters. Often, the lack of effort put into these unsophisticated offers is dismissed with "It's just a teaser." Here's a bit of insight for you: Sponsors don't respond to teasing. They're not going to request a meeting. They probably won't even respond to your calls. They surely won't say "yes."

The mindset behind this is somewhere in the vicinity of wearing sweatpants to your first job interview, with the intent to wear a suit for the second interview. As with job interviews, you get one chance. You need to do your homework and put in your best effort the first time.

Tracking Data Boosts CPMs on Ad Exchanges

Online ad exchanges command higher rates when they have access to data about other Web sites that consumers have visited, per a Digital Advertising Alliance study.

"The results of our econometric analysis corroborate and extend an emerging body of empirical work documenting the value of information sharing in online advertising," authors Howard Beales of George Washington University and Jeff Eisenach of Navigant Economics write in a study commissioned by the trade group Digital Advertising Alliance. "Our estimates indicate that advertisers place significantly greater value on users for whom more information is available."

For the study, the researchers examined 3 million transactions conducted by two companies that run ad exchanges. One of the companies had cookie data for 89% of the impressions, with an average cookie lifespan of seven weeks. The other company had cookie data for 96% of ads served, but the average life of the cookie was just eight days. The study took place during a one-week period in August.

Overall, ad exchanges were able to command between three times and seven times higher cost-per-thousand impression (CPM) rates when serving ads to users with tracking cookies than without them, according to the study. Companies paid the highest CPMs to reach people with older cookies, the researchers reported.

The average CPM for all ads examined -- those served with and without cookies -- was 29 cents for the company with the shorter-lived cookies, and 47 cents for the company with cookies an average of seven weeks old.

The study only examined rates for ads sold by exchanges; it didn't look at how those rates compare to ones for ads sold directly by publishers.

Lou Mastria, managing director of the DAA, says the organization commissioned the study as part of an effort to quantify the impact of consumer data on the online ad industry. He says it shows that publishers can command more ad revenue when they have data about the types of products consumers want to purchase.

"Understanding whether someone's in market for a car, or in market for a vacation -- those are the things that are going to be important toward monetizing content," he says.

(Source: Online Media Daily, 02/10/14) 

Sales Tip: Words to Avoid During Your Sales Presentation

Needless to say, it's essential that sales professionals are comfortable in their roles, but when comfort turns into complacency language barriers can start to appear.

In sales training what to say to customers and how to say it is covered extensively. These keystone skills are the backbone of any sales career and every good salesperson knows that they need to be constantly sharpened in order to remain effective.

Communication is the sales expert's main tool. In negotiations a good communicator can make the difference between a non-sale and hearing the words "sold." When following that age-old advice "ABC -- Always Be Closing," the only way this is possible is by being able to freely and naturally talk to clients and customers.

Becoming too comfortable can be just as much of an issue as being too uptight, however, as complacent language has been found to be one of the biggest complaints among customers. Here are the most misused words in sales pitches which can turn-off clients in an instant.

Obviously
"Obviously" sounds vague at best and patronizing at worst. If you have to explain something, it probably wasn't obvious to the client. Dissect your pitch and find out where your explanations could be clearer. If you are using this word just to fill up your sentences, don't. It's a messy way to use your speech and off-putting to customers.

No problem at all
If you find yourself using this tired old phrase fairly often, it's probably because you feel obliged towards your customers for the job you are carrying out for them. Sales jobs can be challenging and some clients can demand more than others, but in their opinion, what you are doing for them is a part of your job. So naturally, it isn't (or shouldn't be) a problem. Try to limit this phrase to once a conversation, towards the end. Remember: The more you use it, the less genuine it sounds.

To be honest...
Either you're lying now or you were lying before. Your entire conversation should be genuine and pointing out that you're being honest only makes you sound dishonest. Honestly.

Erm
"Erm," "Umm" and "Ahh..." are all noises a client hates to hear. Filling up the spaces in your pitch with background thinking sounds appears unprofessional and can be very off-putting. The worst thing is the more you say it, the less you realize how prevalent it is in conversation. Practice confidence skills in telephone and 1-to-1 conversational situations and learn that short, snappy sentences and silent pauses sound so much better than a long thread of unbroken speech.

Basically
A lot of the things said in a sales pitch might be simple for the salesperson to understand, but especially in cold calling this might be the first time the customer or client has heard of anything like what you're proposing. "Basically" is often used wrongly in place of more helpful terms like "in other words" or "to put it another way" by well-meaning sales professionals. Unfortunately the word itself can sound like quite a put-down, especially when combined with a confident attitude and pushy manner. Your customers are not stupid, so don't treat them as such!

All of these words and phrases can easily be substituted and omitted from sales pitches and conversations, so there really is no excuse to be breaking the rules laid out here. All salespeople should be enthusiastic about providing the best services to their clients and this relationship starts from the very first phone call.

Cut these know-it-all phrases out and see what a difference it makes to your sales figures!