Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 296

Weekly Recap, October 11, 2015

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Monday: Read  The Referral Engine , by John Jantsch, and discover how to create a system for leveraging referrals to grow your business. 




Tuesday: Learn about your prospect’s industry by getting in contact with their investor relations department.




Wednesday: Learn why it pays to stay positive, even when sales are slow.




Thursday: Discover the three pieces of information you should put on the back of any business card you receive.




Friday: Find out how to estimate the savings that will result from reduced maintenance costs.




Saturday: Read this article from the Inc blog and learn why you should consider shutting off your smartphone for at least 30 minutes a day.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja Blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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30 Minutes Off

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Smartphones have become one of the most valuable tools in the business world. They give us access to our email, contacts, and a wealth of productivity-boosting apps. 

Unfortunately, these same devices also have the potential to interfere with our ability to stay focused on our work. By availing ourselves of the many beneficial features of a smartphone, we’re allowing ourselves to be reachable by others at virtually all hours of the day, whether by text, phone, or email. The resulting constant stream of “pings” can not only take us out of the focused work zone, but also result in excessive communication that ends up being counter-productive.

An article published in Inc suggests nine reasons that it may be a good idea to shut off your smartphone for at least 30 minutes a day. If you find that your smartphone is becoming less of a productivity tool and more of a distraction, I highly recommend reading this article:

http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/9-surprisingly-good-reasons-to-turn-off-your-smartphone.html

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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The Cost of Maintenance

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One of the many benefits of upgrading to more efficient equipment is reduced maintenance costs. In some cases, the cost savings from reduced parts and labor is significant enough to make a very compelling case for change.

If you plan to approach a prospect with an efficiency product that you know will yield significant savings through reduced maintenance, how do you accurately estimate the amount your prospect has been spending so that you can produce a realistic financial summary? In my experience, there are several great ways to find out this information without talking to your prospect ahead of time:

Befriend a trusted contractor who maintains the equipment you intend to replace
Talk to a chief engineer in a similar building who is open kimono and willing to show you the receipt books of what he or she has paid to maintain the equipment.
Contact a manufacturer’s rep in your territory to find out what the local cost is for labor and materials.
Talk to a mechanical service contractor who has a maintenance agreement or is in the business of selling maintenance agreements. You can be fairly certain that they know how much it's going to cost them to maintain if they're willing to sell contracts that are fixed-cost to maintain the equipment over time. 

I can assure you that you’ll be far more successful if you invest some time before you approach a prospect to come up with an accurate estimate of old vs. new maintenance costs.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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What's on the Card?

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Think back to the last networking event you attended. You probably walked out with at least a couple dozen business cards of people you met at the event. Unless you have a super-human memory, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to remember details about every person with whom you exchanged cards. So how do you make the business cards count? As soon as you turn away from the person, write three pieces of information on the back of their card before you stow it away:

Where you met
What you talked about, particularly if it was something funny (this can be used when you follow up with the person)
What the next step is

In my experience, most people don’t take the time to write these detailed notes, so be sure to jog their memory using your notes when you follow up with them. One great technique that my wife uses for making sure people remember you is to give them two of your cards. She will hand someone two cards and say, “Here’s my card…and here’s an extra one in case you lose the first one.”  Then when the person is going through their stack of cards from the event, she’s the only person with two cards in the pile. It’s memorable and helps set you apart from the rest of the group.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Sales Attitude

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There’s a significant correlation between positive attitude and sales performance. If you look at sales performance data, you’ll probably notice that people are most likely to make a new sale immediately after they’ve just made one. Why does this happen? Because a successful sale boosts your general outlook and attitude, and that emotional lift makes you a more effective sales professional.

What’s also interesting is that many salespeople alternate between great sales months and lousy ones. This pattern can also be explained by attitude. After a great sales month with back-to-back sales, one might rejoice, "Woo-hoo! What a great month! Now I can relax a bit." There’s only one problem…As soon as you relax, you run the danger of falling into a slump. You stop doing the blocking and tackling. You stop making the cold calls. You stop being responsive. And then all of a sudden you’re in panic mode: "Oh my gosh, I’m really behind on my numbers. I now have to scratch my way up to the top of the mountain again." That desperation actually delays your next sale. Prospects can sense it in your voice, which can unnecessarily elongate the trough. Moreover, once you finally do work your way back up to the top, you may very well repeat the cycle unless you’re vigilant about the perils of doing so.

So what’s the moral here? You can make every month a great sales month provided you keep a positive attitude and never rest on your laurels.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Investor Relations Research

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Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while or have taken any of my sales-focused classes have probably heard me talk about industry research and the importance of becoming an expert in your prospects’ businesses. Reading trade publications, attending conferences, and researching company history are great ways to prep for a first meeting and to deliver the highest value proposition to a new prospect.

One of the more unusual – yet highly effective – ways to learn about a prospect’s industry is to contact their investor relations department. Get a brokerage account with Charles Schwab or any of the other big brokerage firms and then have your broker give you analyst reports that were produced by their research department for the segment that you’re interested in targeting.

The investor relations department of your prospect’s company can also tell you everything about their business goals and what they stand for. And as a bonus, they’ll probably do a bunch of bragging about green sustainability while they’re at it. And that information is exactly what you should be peppering into the conversation when you talk to your prospect.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Referral Engine

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In the efficiency business, a successful referral can mean the difference between a lousy month and a great one. You can’t always rely on marketing and promotions to drive new business, so it’s vital that you set up a well-oiled “referral engine” to help manage the heavy lifting.

One of my favorite books on referral strategy is (aptly) titled The Referral Engine, by John Jantsch. In it, Jantsch argues that people instinctively enjoy making referrals. The trick is to help your clients use their instincts to reach the right prospects. This book will help you create a system for leveraging referrals to grow your business.

Here’s a summary from Amazon Books:

“The small business guru behind "Duct Tape Marketing" shares his most valuable lesson: how to get your customers to do your best marketing for you. 

"The power of glitzy advertising and elaborate marketing campaigns is on the wane; word- of-mouth referrals are what drive business today. People trust the recommendation of a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger with similar tastes over anything thrust at them by a faceless company. 

"Most business owners believe that whether customers refer them is entirely out of their hands. But science shows that people can't help recommending products and services to their friends-it's an instinct wired deep in the brain. And smart businesses can tap into that hardwired desire. 

"Marketing expert John Jantsch offers practical techniques for harnessing the power of referrals to ensure a steady flow of new customers. Keep those customers happy, and they will refer your business to even more customers. Some of Jantsch's strategies include: 

-Talk with your customers, not at them. Thanks to social networking sites, companies of any size have the opportunity to engage with their customers on their home turf as never before-but the key is listening. 

-The sales team is the most important part of your marketing team. Salespeople are the company's main link to customers, who are the main source of referrals. Getting them on board with your referral strategy is critical. 

-Educate your customers. Referrals are only helpful if they're given to the right people. Educate your customers about whom they should be talking to. 

"The secret to generating referrals lies in understanding the "Customer Referral Cycle" - the way customers refer others to your company who, in turn, generate even more referrals. Businesses can ensure a healthy referral cycle by moving customers and prospects along the path of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer. If everyone in an organization keeps this sequence in mind, Jantsch argues, your business will generate referrals like a well-oiled machine. 

"This practical, smart, and original guide is essential reading for any company looking to grow without a fat marketing budget.”

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Weekly Recap, October 4, 2015

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Monday: Read  The Never Cold Call Again Online Playbook: The Definitive Guide to Internet Marketing Success  by Frank Rumbauskas, and learn some proven techniques for capturing the online marketplace and turning the internet into a tool for growing your business. 




Tuesday: Discover the benefits of bundling your products and services.




Wednesday: Learn why you should renounce popular, substandard financial metrics and insist on using proper ones.




Thursday: Highlight your experience to capture your prospect's attention.




Friday: Discover some ways to convey the value of your efficiency projects in the built environment.




Saturday: Read this article from the Business 2 Community blog and learn why you should be measuring sales productivity.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja Blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Measuring Sales Productivity

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As a business owner and sales professional, having the ability to analyze metrics and performance statistics is vital to my success. Early in my career when I was working primarily in sales, I would log and analyze all aspects of my performance to figure out exactly what did and did not work. This allowed me to hone my sales strategy, improve my productivity, and increase my closing ratio.

I think it’s safe to say that most of you probably have some system in place for measuring your sales productivity; However, there are many different ways to analyze performance… and guess what? Some ways work a lot better than others. The Business 2 Community blog published an article called “How Should You Measure Sales Productivity.” The author of this piece interviewed eight top-performing sales professionals to find out which metrics they think are most valuable for measuring sales performance and productivity. Give it a read and see if any of these strategies might provide you with valuable new insight into your performance.

http://www.business2community.com/sales-management/measure-sales-productivity-0857713#!FWIyE

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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The Value of the Building

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If you’re selling efficiency solutions in the built environment, you may find yourself being asked by your prospects, “Will this energy efficiency upgrade increase the value of my building?” This can be a difficult question to answer because it varies from situation to situation. The first thing you should do is determine whether you’re dealing with an owner-occupied building or a non-owner-occupied building.

In an owner-occupied building, there are at least two ways to connect enhanced energy efficiency to increased value. The first approach relates to the value of the real estate itself. If an appraiser notices that the building has been outfitted with state-of-the-art energy-efficient equipment, he/she should assign the building a higher value per square foot. Those improvements insulate the purchaser from deferred maintenance, technological obsolescence, future regulatory imperatives, occupant comfort issues, and similar concerns. The “cost approach” to appraisal should consider the quality of the installed systems.  Moreover, the “market comparison approach” to appraisal should give the appraiser ample justification for adjusting the value per square foot higher when recently sold similar properties are used for comparison.

The other way to connect the dots between enhanced efficiency and higher value focuses on enterprise value rather than the real estate itself. Let’s assume you’re a publicly traded company whose stock price is conditioned on earnings per share and the price-to-earnings ratio that the market has presently assigned to the company based on a variety of factors beyond the scope of this blog. If energy efficiency lowers operating expenses, earnings increase… which means earnings per share increase… which means (at a stable P/E ratio) the share price increases… which means (at a constant number of shares outstanding) the market capitalization of the enterprise increases. Admittedly a lot of dots to connect; however, the positive correlation between enhanced efficiency and higher enterprise value can be described… and this analysis doesn’t even consider the earnings increase an enterprise may enjoy as a function of the non-utility-cost financial savings (e.g., productivity benefits resulting from improved thermal comfort, indoor air quality, etc.).

In income-producing buildings, connecting efficiency solutions to improved building value is a whole lot easier. The appraiser will be focused on a number called “net operating income,” abbreviated as “NOI.”  When the appraiser feels comfortable with that number, he or she is going to divide it by a market-considered capitalization rate. The higher the NOI, the higher the value of the building, assuming a stable cap rate. Perhaps you secured that higher net operating income by raising the rent (because the building is now more comfortable or the tenant’s operating expenses are reduced). Perhaps the building enjoys higher occupancy (because the building is now more attractive to occupy, or more people renewed their leases).  Perhaps you reduced the landlord’s share of operating expenses. As long as the NOI is higher, the appraisal should reflect a higher value at a stable cap rate. That's what you need to do: increase NOI before the appraiser evaluates it. You needn’t worry about whether the appraiser has the technical background to recognize a magnetic bearing chiller or variable frequency drives or whatever your efficiency enhancement(s) might have been. 

Keep all of the above in mind and you’ll be better prepared to demonstrate how your efficiency solution might generate higher property value and/or enterprise value.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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