Vol. 6, No. 19 – September 10, 2007

 

TEN Ways to Kill a Sale

By Bob Janet

 

10.     Keep your customer waiting. Customers do not have time to waste. We are all used to fast food, drive-in banking, and self-service gas stations. Even a few minutes seem like an eternity to the customer when they have to wait for you.

 

9.   Do not return calls promptly. Your competition is only a 9-digit telephone call away.  Do not let the customer have time to call the competition.

 

8.  Do all the talking. If you are not listening 80 percent of the time, you are talking too much.

 

7.  Do not ask for the sale. The reason most sales professionals do not ask for the sale is they are afraid of rejection. But rejection is not bad when you learn to turn rejection into a positive.

 

6.  Sell features, not benefits. Sell the sizzle not the steak.

 

5.  Show the customer you are in control. Be in control but give the customer the feeling of control.  People buy and buy more when they believe they are in control.

 

4.  Do not deliver what you promise. Most products and services can be purchased from many different businesses. If you disappoint the customer, you will not get a second chance.

 

3.  Do not involve the customer in your sales presentation. The more you involve the customer with touch, feel, smell, and thinking, the easier it is to sell them.

 

2.   Do not plan your sales presentation. The top sales producers plan what they are going to say, when they are going to say it, and how they are going to say it.

 

1.   Do not ask questions to discover your customer’s needs and problems. The one who solves the customer’s needs and problems the easiest for the customer will get the sale.

 

See Bob Janet at the MLA Fall Fling – November 2^nd in Kansas City. For more information go to www.themla.com

 

 

MLA ANNOUNCES NEW REGULATORY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

 

The MLA Board of Directors has announced a new program for members to ease the pain of compliance with government regulations, from DOT to OSHA, and everything in between. MLA has entered into an agreement with Brittney, Inc. to provide regulatory services to members.

 

Complete information appears in the MLA quarterly “News You Can Use,” being mailed this week. In the meantime, if you’d like to get in touch with Brittney, Inc., please contact them at:

 

2237 E. Kearney

Springfield, MO 65803

Telephone: 417-866-8686

Toll Free: 866-248-8961

Fax: 417-866-1350

 

What they do:

 

?         Audits of OSHA & workers compensation injury records.

?         Complete wall-to-wall inspection of your business.

?         Written safety programs, such as:  Lockout/Tagout; Hazard Communication; Hearing Conservation; Emergency Evacuation; Respiratory Protection; Forklift, Ladder & Stairway Safety; just to name a few.

?         Training for employees to meet all OSHA requirements.

?         Forklift certifications.

?         Accident investigations.

?         First Aid/CPR training.

?         OSHA 10 & 30-hour industrial and construction courses.

 

If you have an on-site accident and OSHA is on the way – your first call should be to Brittney. Keep their toll-free number handy: 866-248-8961.

 

For more information, or to have someone from Brittney, Inc. contact you, please call MLA at 800-747-6529.

 

 

“Gain Market Share While Increasing Profits in 2008!”

Plus guaranteed closing techniques to close sales faster for higher margins

 

Plan to attend this year’s Fall Fling – the Annual Meeting of MLA members – on Thursday and Friday, November 1-2, 2007, at the Marriott Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Mo. We’ve brought back the popular “dine-around” on Thursday evening and you won’t want to miss the presentation on Friday morning by industry veteran, Bob Janet.

 

Get ready for a sales and marketing program you will never forget. The skills, ideas and techniques Bob Janet will present in his unique, fun-entertaining style will help you increase your sales and profits immediately.

 

This is more than a speech… much more! This is a highly interactive selling/marketing skills and techniques program that will help you to increase sales with existing customers, as well as attract new buyers and close sales faster!

 

Sign up for this fun-entertaining, sales and profit growth program presented by sales growth expert Bob Janet. Perfect for: Owners, managers and sales professionals – from seasoned veterans to beginners. Watch for additional information and registration form with your MLA newsletter in early September. This information is now posted on the MLA web site at http://www.themla.com/Fall-Fling.htm, along with complete sponsorship information.

 

Bob will show you the selling and marketing skills and techniques the top sales producers know and use.

 

After attending this program you’ll be able to:

 

• Close sales faster for higher profits

• Never hear the word “NO” when asking for the sale

• Attract high volume, high dollar customers.

• Take customers away from your competition

• Lower your marketing costs

 

All this and more, explained and demonstrated in Bob Janet’s fast moving, fun-entertaining style, so you can start employing these skills and techniques right away to get great results!

 

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and relearn selling and marketing skills and techniques to put your business on the fast track of increased sales and profits! 

 

About Bob Janet…

• Grew up in his parents' retail / wholesale business

• 30 plus years experience as owner/operator, simultaneously, of retail, wholesale, manufacturing and professional businesses. He has real-world experience selling large ticket items.

• 10 years helping business and sales professionals gain and retain their most profitable customers using keynote speeches, seminars, and workshops

 

UNPREPARED FOR AGING WORKFORCE*

 

?         More than 25% of U.S. businesses have failed to plan for the effects of the aging American workforce.

?         Only 37% of employers have adopted strategies to encourage late-career workers to stay past the traditional retirement age.

?         Only 33% of employers have made projections about the retirement rates of their workers.

 

*Information was provided by The Boston College Center on Aging and Work, Boston College Center for Retirement Research and the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, 2007

 

Source: Employee Benefits News, September 1, 2007

 

  

 

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Cost to Make a Penny Reaches Nearly Two Cents... Although the U.S. Mint switched from a full-copper penny to a copper-coated zinc penny 25 years ago to stave off the rising cost of copper, it seems they'll have to come up with a solution again – the cost of zinc has risen nearly 450 percent since 2003 and shows no sign of slowing down.

 

In response, Congressman Luis Gutierrez, chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, and Congressman Barney Frank, Financial Services Committee chairman, introduced H.R. 3330, the "Coinage Materials Modernization Act of 2007." This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to change the materials used to make the coins less expensive to manufacture.

 

The Treasury Department estimates that by changing the materials used in pennies and nickels (75% copper and 25% nickel) it will save over $100 million per year. If the initiative is carried over to dimes, quarters and half-dollars, savings could reach $400 million a year.

 

Currently, it costs 1.7 cents to make a penny and 10 cents to make a nickel. Demand for "core metals," such as copper, zinc and nickel, have substantially risen since 2003; nickel's price has gained 300 percent since March of that year.

 

Source: NACM E-News Weekly Update, August 28, 2007

 

Builders Get a Break… Builders got a bit of good news today when the Commerce Department reported that new home sales jumped 2.8 percent in July, reversing by about two-thirds the 4 percent decline in June.

 

The Commerce Department said new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 870,000, up from the revised June rate of 846,000. Sales were up 22.4 percent in the West, flat in both the Midwest and South, and declined 24.3 percent in the Northeast.

 

Source: Builder Business Update, August 28, 2007

 

The Home Depot Completes Sale of HD Supply… The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, announced today that it has completed the sale of HD Supply. As announced earlier this week, the terms were as follows:

?         Purchase price of $8.5 billion.

?         The Home Depot to own a 12.5% equity interest for $325 million.

?         The Home Depot guaranteed a $1 billion senior secured loan of HD Supply.

Source: Home Depot, August 30, 2007

 

Bush Steps In To Help Subprime Mortgages… On Friday, President George Bush announced a plan to help homeowners who currently face foreclosure due to subprime mortgages.

 

Bush's plan would overhaul the Federal Housing Administration, and allow certain homeowners to refinance their mortgages. And although groups like the National Association of Home Builders are calling the plan a "good first step," investors are saying that the plan is "too little too late," and wondering why the administration took so long to step in.

 

Source: LBM Daily, September 4, 2007

 

Pending Home Sales Index Falls Largely on Mortgage Tightening… Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator, shows existing-home sales are likely to decline in coming months as mortgage disruptions work their way through the housing market, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

 

The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in July, fell 12.2 percent to a reading of 89.9 in July from the June index of 102.4, and was 16.1 percent lower than July 2006 when it stood at 107.1.

 

Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said abnormal factors are clouding the horizon.  “It’s difficult to fully account for mortgage disruptions in the index, and our members are telling us some sales contracts aren’t closing because mortgage commitments have been falling through at the last moment,” he said. 

 

“These temporary problems are primarily with jumbo loans, and there are continuing issues for subprime borrowers, but there are no serious problems for the majority of buyers who qualify for conventional financing or FHA-insured loans.  Some consumer concerns remain, but since mid-August the market has been stabilizing somewhat. 

 

Source: National Association of Realtors, September 5, 2007

 

Home Builders Issue Call for Action on Economy… Brian Catalde, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), issued the following statement today from the association’s Fall Board of Directors meeting in Seattle. The statement follows the release of August employment figures that shows the U.S. economy suffered a decline in payroll employment for the first time in nearly four years, including a large drop of 23,000 jobs in residential construction:

 

“In light of the significant decline in employment reported today, NAHB and its 2,800 board members call on the Administration, Congress and federal regulators – along with stakeholders in the private sector − to work in concert to prevent further deterioration in the housing market and erosion of growth in the nation’s economy. Today’s job report jolted Wall Street, demonstrating the paramount importance of restoring consumer and investor confidence in the U.S. economy and housing market.”