STREAMLINE YOUR DEPARTMENT IN
ONE WEEK

Is your marketing/sales department operating at peak efficiency? If you want to increase productivity, follow this one-week plan.

Monday: Make a list of all your current marketing activities, and arrange the list in order of importance. Cross off the bottom half of the list, and discontinue those programs. You're better off concentrating your efforts on a smaller number of projects, rather than taking a scatter-shot approach.

Tuesday: Make a list of all current employees and underline the ones you think do either "good" or "excellent" work. Whoever you don't underline should be considered for replacement. Sub-par performers bring down the total team effort.

Wednesday: Evaluate your outside service providers, including your advertising agency. If you are not happy with them, fire them! Relationships of this type rarely get better over time.

Thursday: Make another list of your marketing projects, ranking them in order of how effective they are. Cross off the bottom half again, and stop those campaigns. Invest your efforts and monies in your top-performing activities..

Friday: Call you people together and explain your strategy. Don't apologize for any tough decisions you made. Instead, let people know that you did it for the benefit of the company-and the more the company succeeds, the more success its employees will have.

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR
By now, everyone and their brother/sister/etc. has welcomed you to the new millennium. Please add our voices to that chant along with our best wishes for a great year ahead. To get things going with a BANG, please see the Special Offer from Deutsch Luggage for the readers of the EMBA Marketeer. Much has transpired since we began our newsletters 23 issues ago. Most recently, we have completed the coordinating of a trade mission from Nova Scotia and have developed a public relations campaign for Business Finance Magazine. Other activities have included assisting CMI, Inc., MHA Communications, California Closets, Frame Factory and the Chicago Computer Society. Our efforts with the Josselyn Center for Mental Health , North Suburban YMCA and Symphony II continue unabated. Several seminars are lined up including our "High Impact Marketing On A Shoestring Budget" and "Proverbs for Business Success". And next year looks even better!

Stage Fright:
Easy Rules for Reducing Its Effect

Stage Fright is the number one fear in the country. It consistently beats heights, insects, flying, financial problems, deep water and even death as America's top phobia. If you get it before every group presentation, you're not alone?
The primary ground rule is to recognize the fear and confront it, realizing that you have to take action to diminish it. Set yourself a goal to reduce your stage fright and follow these steps:
Approach strangers. Ask people on the street what time it is. Introduce yourself to people you don't know at a party. Ask a question at a church or community meeting. Put yourself in situations where you become more comfortable in meeting strangers.
Memorize a brief introduction of yourself. When someone asks you what you do, your response will be practicing a mini-presentation.
Volunteer for small speaking situations. Starting with situations where you are comfortable, such as a lunch table discussion, give a presentation on your viewpoint. Move gradually to more stressful settings such as committee and employee meetings. Always volunteer to be the "spokesperson". It's stressful, but it's also good practice.
Now it's crunch time. You have a major presentation or speech to give. Instead of worrying, take these step-by-step actions:
Write your ideas in detail, then reduce them to note cards. The detail assures you that you haven't missed any ideas. Reducing the key ideas to note cards keeps you from reading a speech. Make sure you have a shortened version prepared in case you end up with less time.
Rehearse in an unstressful setting. Give your talk to yourself, in the posture you will be using. Use a video recorder, if possible, but than, after you've seen yourself, concentrate on audio recording only. It's the words that are important.
Rehearse in a stressful setting. Use the conference room where you will give the talk. Find a vacant church pulpit. Talk outdoors in a part (the nervousness you feel will be very similar to stage fright in front of a group). Give the talk to a few of your peers and ask for feedback.
Assure yourself of the logistics. Make sure you know the room, the sound system and where you and your audience will be. Get there early to make sure everything is okay.
Breathe deeply and relax. Learn a pre-speech regimen to free your mind and get your body full of oxygen.
Be conversational. Taking into account what you've learned from your rehearsals, pretend you're talking to just one person. The microphone will pick up your voice.
Use productive eye contact. Look at individuals, not at the wall or over their heads. Use eye contact with a positive listener to build confidence. Do not use eye contact with an audience member who looks skeptical.
Smile. Look like you're having fun. If something goes wrong, make light of the situation. You and the audience are all in it together.
Remember, your audience wants you to do a good job, even if they don't like the subject you are presenting. Stage fright is their number one fear, too.
The final word: You'll never rid yourself of all your stage fright. That's not the objective. The trick is to turn that fear into excitement and communicate that excitement to your audience.

...By Carter Johnson: Buying Time Seminars
630-910-1927

Did You Know?
The United States Postal Service processes over 650 million pieces of mail and parcels daily, and 80% of that mail is deposited at 4:00 p.m. daily.

Main is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous.

If your eyes are six feet above the surface of the ocean, the horizon will be about three statute miles away.

There was once a town named "6" in West Virginia.

According to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, it is possible to go slower than light and faster than light, but it is impossible to go at the speed of light. Also, there is a particle called a tackyon which is supposed to go faster than light. This means if you fire a tackyon beam, it travels before you fire it.

Employees need to
understand where company dollars go...so show them

$ $ $ $ $

Employees at a Chicago company knew what their company charged customers, and they knew that their pay was only a fraction of that. Management wanted them to understand that the difference between invoice prices and their salaries wasn't all profit. So the employees were treated to a demonstration of the company's expenses, illustrated as portions of a hypothetical $100 order.
As the presenter explained where the money was going, different departments came forward to claim the proceeds of the sale. An oversized $5 bill, for example, was disbursed to cover the cost of the company's Yellow Pages listing, which costs the company roughly 5% of its receipts. The pile of cash was whittled down as claims were made by rent, health insurance, and other fixed and operating expenses which many employees don't think about. When all the bills were paid, $5 remained.
The demonstration improved morale by giving workers an understanding of the company's expenses, and challenged them to look for ways to save the company money.
Now, buyers are ordering in bulk and watching inventory carefully, and clerks are finding ways to handle orders more efficiently.

SALES TALES
One of the best ways to bring a sale to a close is with the sentence, "Where do we go from here?" This question, used when all needs have been identified and all solutions are explained can help the prospect feel comfortable enough to make the deal
...The Competitive Advantage

Begin sales calls by placing your order form and a pen in front of you where the prospect can see them. This sends a subtle but effective message that you plan to do business.
...Selling Smarter Radio

When making an appointment for a sales meeting, ask for and promise only a ten-minute meeting. In the meeting, offer to leave after seven minutes, and stay only if invited. You'll impress prospects by your respect for their time and your willingness to keep your world.
...Speaking Up

Don't waste top salespeople on prospecting. Many companies are starting to realize that it is cost-effective to hire sales trainees, or interns, to generate and qualify leads. Then, these entry-level people give the leads to experienced salespeople who do the actual "selling". The additional cost of hiring trainees is more than offset by two factors:
1) You will do a lot more prospecting and generate a lot more leads; and
2) Your top people will close sales at a much higher percentage, and not waste a lot of time cold calling and running down marginal leads.

Add power to your sales letters. Research shows that the most powerful section of your sales letter is the postscript. It is one of the first, and sometimes the only, item a prospect looks at. Use the P.S. to restate your key point, emphasize a deadline, and/or pique the customer's curiosity enough to read the entire letter.
...Your Company

Getting through a "gatekeeper" when you're making a sales call can be easier if you handle him or her the same way you would handle a prospect: by focusing on the positive benefits of your product. Instead of, "We sell widgets and I'd like to talk to Ms. Smith about them," try something along these lines: "I have some ideas that have helped companies in your industry cut expenses and increase efficiency. I'd like to ask Ms. Smith a few questions to find out if this is something your should look at.
…TeleProfessional

Most customers don't complain...they just stop ordering product.. Only 4% of dissatisfied customers take the time to complain. The other 96% just quietly take their business somewhere else. That's why it's a good idea to do "customer checkup calls". Call customers at random, ask if they're satisfied, and proactively solve their problems, if they have.any.

EMBA = Increased Sales and Profits through Effective Marketing & Business Assistance.

Your success is our goal. From small to large - from simple to complex - EMBA is here to provide your business with the 3M's: Marketing, Marketing Research and Management Assistance. Our team of professionals has been on your side of the desk and understands the daily problems, pressures and tough decisions facing you and your organization.

WE CAN HELP!

Let us be your marketing partner. Call, fax or write for a no cost, no obligation consultation.
OUR SERVICES ARE COST EFFECTIVE
AND WE GET RESULTS!

Special for Our Friends

One of readers wants to show their appreciation with a special offer for readers of the EMBA Marketeer. Deutsch Luggage is offering a 20% discount exclusive to readers of our newsletter. To take advantage of this program, contact Ken Levine at Deutsch Luggage by phone or e-mail to receive the special discount cards useable at any of their 4 locations. Ken can be reached at 312-939-2935 or electronically at klevine@deutschluggage.com. Be sure to visit their website at deutschluggage.com.

MAXINE, Newsletter Editor
c/o EMBA. Inc.
Tel. 847/272-2884 Fax 847/272-3551
E-mail: emba10@aol.com.
Web: www.embainc.com

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