Jason Romrell

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS:

•1. Objections are GOOD and you WANT them! Objections are just QUESTIONS that you haven't answered yet (or haven't answered completely). Do not have an "overcome objections" mentality.

•2. The best way to handle objections is to LISTEN carefully, ASK more questions (so you completely understand the objection), then ANSWER honestly. Be real, not scripted.

•3. Your ENTHUSIASM and CONFIDENCE will help you successfully respond to objections. (Who wants to buy from someone who sounds bored or uncaring?)

•4. ANTICIPATE the most common objections (by listening carefully) and answer them before they come up.

•5. Remember what sets YOU apart from the competition and don't be ashamed or afraid to say it (but do it in a positive way, not by bashing the competition).

•6. Always remember your role as a sales professional: to help the prospect make the right buying decision. If you are HELPING them, you'll always have the right answer.

•7. Don't be a dud. Emotions are allowed (even encouraged) from you and your prospect. Humor is OK too.

•8. Focus on BENEFITS over features. If you don't know the difference, stop talking to prospects until you know. (Hint: FEATURES are things, BENEFITS are the "why do I care" about those things).

•9. Objections are great opportunities to CLOSE THE SALE. Once you've addressed the prospect's concern properly and completely, CONFIDENTLY ASK for their business.

Finally, don't be afraid to use the FEEL FELT FOUND method of handling objections. It works if you incorporate all these other tips.

Here are a few practical tips on using Social Media and Social Networking (from a panel presentation I gave yesterday to about 150 in-house lawyers in Los Angeles):

1. If you think Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is only for 12-year-old girls or teens, you're wrong. If you're an [insert your profession or vocation here, such as Realtor], it can help you build a great network. If you're an attorney, you MUST understand social media to effectively advise your client on a myriad of issues.

2. Social media is very "conversational", and therefore it's easy to write something that you may regret later. I suggest taking a few seconds before you post ANYTHING online. Consider what you're posting and who could read it ("could" is a whole lot more than you might think at first).

3. All the same rules still apply. In other words, the risk of a lawsuit isn't diminished just because you might have done something online in the (wrongfully-presumed) privacy of your own limited network.

4. You can't unring the bell. Once you post it, it's out there for the world to see. See #5 for more wisdom on this subject.

5. Sarcasm doesn't translate. You can be creative and funny and sarcastic and full of nothing but love for your fellow onliners, but your good-natured sarcasm may not translate online...so if you are the sarcastic type, find a way to let people know you're being sarcastic (you could be very upfront about it and put "insert sarcastic tone here" or something similar).

6. Know what you're getting into. Social media includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and thousands of other sites. Take a minute to learn about the product you're using, who uses it, what its privacy settings and defaults are, what you can control (and can't control), etc. Know what's beneath the water before you dive in head first.

These are just a few common-sense ideas that will help you enjoy your experience as a social networker. Feel free to add to the list and I might repost later with everyone's ideas.

Want an easy and sure fire method to improve your customer service? Become a student of life. If you're observant, present and willing to learn, life can be a fantastic "coach".

Consider every customer service interaction a learning opportunity. Whether you're on the phone with AT&T complaining about their lousy coverage, or at the movies buying popcorn, be aware of the service you receive. Was your experience positive, negative or neutral (in my opinion, neutral goes into the negative column...if it's not memorable for the RIGHT reasons, it's not positive and therefore it's negative).

Here's an almost irrelevant experience that made a significant impact on me. Driving to San Diego a few weeks ago, I took a toll road. The toll booth operator was there to take money and make change. Not much you can do for "customer service" there, right? Well this particular toll booth operator gave me such a warm and caring smile (notwithstanding the weather was pretty lousy) and wished me a happy day. That reminded me that ANY interaction with my clients or prospects should be done with a happy, helpful and grateful attitude.

Next time you have a customer service experience (as a customer), consider what went right, what went wrong, and what you'll do to learn from your experience. Being more aware will make a world of difference when you're on the business side of the transaction.

I'm helping a client determine how best to measure involvement in social media from an ROI perspective. These are some of the links I've shared...and thought they'd be useful to you as well. It's one thing to be in social media (blogging, tweeting, etc.) spending your time conversing with people. It's quite another to be making money (even if only indirectly) from your time and energy. I hope these links help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI (SM stats...food for thought)

Look at this short article for some ideas how you might start to quantify SM better. Perhaps special offers that are ONLY available through SM channels might be a start. Monitoring for customer complaints is also a good idea. http://www.seomoz.org/blog/is-social-media-roi-unmeasurable

http://www.pamorama.net/2009/12/21/measuring-social-media-roi/ This excellent article contains the above video and another excellent videom, as well as text that I'm sure you'll enjoy reading.

Best of success!

I like to be a positive person. I teach my clients (mostly sales professionals and small business owners) to look at things in a positive light. For every complaint, struggle and frustration, there's an opportunity for growth and improvement. I could go on...but the purpose of this blog posting is to change directions a bit and encourage a small amount of healthy cynicism in your life.

I was on Twitter earlier today browsing useful business topics and corresponding with the Twitterverse, when I happened upon this post from @larsonllc:

Wow, I thought! $87 per hour. And this is from one of my followers, so it must be legit, right? (I generally try to follow reputable people, and routinely unfollow spammers or people trying to reach into my wallet without providing value or useful conversation.)

I followed the link, and it lead me to a "news article" that looked legit (after all, the heading is "United States News Daily"):

...but the more I read the more skeptical I became. It started sounding like a sales pitch, which is never really a good thing for a legitimate news story. Then I hung my head in shame and embarrassment as I read the small print under the "United States News Daily" banner, which reads "This publication is an article advertisement for Fast Profit From Home":

From this experience, I'm reminded that the internet is not only a great source of information and collaboration, but it's also a breeding ground for greedy, unethical and opportunistic creeps to prey on anyone willing to click...

Just be careful what you read, and make sure you keep a healthy dose of cynicism in your life. Don't let the unethical conduct of others turn you from being an optimist or from looking at the bright and positive side of things...but also don't let yourself be a sucker! Read the fine print, be skeptical and don't automatically trust those you don't know (or whose motives you may not understand).

Finally, for those who like to do internet advertising, hopefully this will inspire you not to cross that line from effectively getting people's eyeballs on your message to being dishonest and unethical.