What do Super Bowl ads and lead generation campaigns have in common?

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The Super Bowl is next month folks!

Answer: Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they bring in substantial leads and increased revenue. Sometimes they don’t.

The funny thing about sales, marketing and advertising is that some campaigns works. Some don’t.

Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s bad timing. Or the wrong audience. Or just part of life.

When a $3 – $4M Super Bowl ad becomes a dud, the network doesn’t return the money.

Just because a Super Bowl ad doesn’t work (Groupon a few years ago), does that mean you never run another one? Of course not.

Same way with lead generation campaigns.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Happy Friday to you!

Holiday Gifts for Clients and Potential Prospects

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Happy Monday Everyone!

As may or may not know, Connect 5000 is primarily an inside sales organization. I have clients I’ve never met in person before. It’s part of the way business is conducted in today’s economy and I’m okay with it.

For outside sales reps who meet with their clients or prospects face to face or in person, they can take these executives out to dinner, hit the golf course, or take them to an entertainment event.

Not so much for B2B sales reps. Read more

Sales lessons learned from my father’s death

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Happy Holidays everyone!

Disclaimer: This is not a “get sympathy” post.

Unfortunately but not unexpectedly, my father passed away two days before Thanksgiving. He lived a long and fruitful life and he will be missed.

Through various channels, I informed friends of mine about the news.

During this time I unexpectedly received several cards by snail mail as well as phone calls from friends offering encouragement and support.

Receiving cards by postal mail was a pleasant surprise. I don’t hand out my home address too often but a few of my friends were resourceful enough to find it and drop a card in the mail. No matter the occasion, who doesn’t like to get a hand written card in the mail?

Who doesn’t like getting calls from friends letting me know that they were thinking of me and my family and that their thoughts were with me?

Unfortunately we live in a very impersonal, technology driven world and things like “phone calls” or ” handwritten letters” are considered too old fashioned and quaint. Emails and text messages are more modern and less intrusive.

Yet the calls and letters stood out greatly and I’m forever grateful.

As we approach 2016, perhaps we should go back to “quaint” ways of reaching out to prospects and clients. They may not respond but the extra effort and thought counts.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Recent Asking For a Discount Story

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Good morning everyone!

Recently my credit card expired and the bank issued me a new one.

I have a few monthly company bills on the credit card where vendors bill me automatically.

I happened to open a monthly statement that looked higher than normal. They charged me a late fee of $20. I called them up and asked why. They said my credit card declined and assessed a fee. I gave them my new expiration date and decided to ask them to waive the late fee since they didn’t notify me that my credit card expired.

Would I have stopped using them if they said “no”? Of course not.

I figured I had nothing to lose.

The customer service rep waived my fee and billed my card for the appropriate amount.

Key takeaway:

1. It’s okay to tell customers no when they request a discount.

2. Too many buyers are trained to ask for  discount but aren’t necessarily price driven. They too figure they have nothing to lose.

3. Even if you tell them no to a discount, that doesn’t always mean they’ll take their business elsewhere. It’s a buyers market and people are taking advantage of this. Of course if the amount is higher than $20, that’s a completely different story.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Hope you have a great week!