Sales Ninja Killer Newsletter

for Sales & Customer Service Lessons I: click here
for Sales & Customer Service Lessons II: click here
for Sales & Customer Service Lessons III: click here

I was in Changi Singapore airport a couple of weeks ago. Had a little time before i board and was a bit hungry. So i walk around and see what is available. Realise they have Subway on the second floor above Gucci. So i settled for Subway. Went to the counter and i know the routine pretty well. (it’s amazing how companies can train their customers to order – on a sub story, if you discount your price to get the first sale, guess how you just trained your customer to purchase from you? What happens when they want to reorder? What will they expect as a result from your training? Ever thought of that? Gets you thinking doesn’t it?) Back to the Subway experience…

I ordered the Hearty Italian bread, six inch, Spicy Italian which means Pepperoni and salami meat. And then what happened really ‘Toasted and pissed me off’!!!

I told the guy i want it toasted. He replied, we can’t toast it here. I said, what do you mean you can’t Toast it here? He then replied, well, it says here (he points to a tiny sign to my right) that Toasting is not available here. At that moment i was slightly Toasted. I said to him, i always had my subway sandwiches toasted everytime i have them, anywhere around the world. Sorry sir, we can’t Toast it here. Do you have a oven i asked? No sir! A microwave? No sir! Ok, nothing i can do, except cancel the order, but i didn’t since i already ordered it. I chose my choice of vege and then i was Toasted again. Which sauce sir? I want everything. Sorry sir, you can only choose two. WHAT? As i was double Toasted, i said, i ALWAYS have every sauce in my Subway sandwich! That means mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, barbecue, chilly, and what ever is there! Sorry sir, you can only choose two. I asked the guy, what logic is this? I can choose all types of vegetables and i can’t choose all types of sauce? At this moment, rather than request and educate i ordered him to put all the sauce in the sandwich and he did. Phew~, what an experience.

Know what? That was the worst tasting Subway sandwich i ever had! For one reason – it wasn’t Toasted and to me it doesn’t taste any good. Subway is a very large company and yet in this situation the sandwich wasn’t Toasted but the customer was Toasted.  Consistency in service is vital to the brand, the business and not to mention loyalty. Will i switch to O’briens sandwich because of this? Maybe not. I buy Subway because i trust Subway anywhere in the world can deliver me the same tasting sandwich that i can expect from Subway. When they don’t – they lose points from me.

How about you? Are your sales and service level consistent? Have you been checking it lately? Maybe it’s time for all of us to make sure we are giving what the our brand is promising consistently. Don’t worry Subway, i’ll still have a sandwich from you – just make sure you don’t Toast me but the sandwich.

Unconventionally,
HANZO NG
Sales Ninja Grandmaster

© 2009 Sales Ninja Training. All Rights Reserved.

Hanzo Ng is Sales Ninja Grandmaster, lingo for Chief Trainer of Sales Ninja Training, Asia’s #1 Unconventional Sales Training. Sales Ninja Training specializes in helping small-medium, listed and global companies transform their sales people into the ultimate sales professional known as Sales Ninja. For more information on our sales, motivation and leadership trainings, visit http://www.SalesNinja.com

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Motivating And Rewarding Sales People – part 1!

Get To Know Their Inner Desires!

Different sales people are motivated differently. There is a saying that says You can’t motivate people, you can only influence people’s internal motivation. Some are in for the money for themselves, some are in for the money for the family, some are in for the money to gain a social position, some are in for recognition or psychologically known as to be accepted, some are in for the challenge. Have you ever asked your sales people what motivates them? Link your motivation speech to their inner desires. Craft an inspiring talk catered to your sales team’s goals and dreams.

Unconventionally,
HANZO NG
Sales Ninja Grandmaster

© 2009 Sales Ninja Training. All Rights Reserved.

Hanzo Ng is Sales Ninja Grandmaster, lingo for Chief Trainer of Sales Ninja Training, Asia’s #1 Unconventional Sales Training. Sales Ninja Training specializes in helping small-medium, listed and global companies transform their sales people into the ultimate sales professional known as Sales Ninja. For more information on our sales, motivation and leadership trainings, visit http://www.SalesNinja.com

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Why do we make excuses? Because we want to be pardoned for failing to deliver a task expected of us. Being a prolific and avid reader, I always ask my training participants to read. My personal experience is that reading has transformed me from a nobody at the age of 19 to achieving great things ever since. “I don’t have the time” is the typical excuse. Do you watch TV? If you have time to watch TV, you have time to read.  “My company doesn’t pay for my training”. In sales, you write your own paycheck, if you want to earn more, then start learning more by investing in yourself. No excuses!

Unconventionally,
HANZO NG
Sales Ninja Grandmaster

© 2009 Sales Ninja Training. All Rights Reserved.

Hanzo Ng is Sales Ninja Grandmaster, lingo for Chief Trainer of Sales Ninja Training, Asia’s #1 Unconventional Sales Training. Sales Ninja Training specializes in helping small-medium, listed and global companies transform their sales people into the ultimate sales professional known as Sales Ninja. For more information on our sales, motivation and leadership trainings, visit http://www.SalesNinja.com

   Click here to subscribe to Sales Ninja Killer Newsletter

Passed by Starbucks during my trip to HSBC. Went in there to get a cup of coffee. Walked in and heard a loud… “Welcome to Starbucks” greeting from the barista, a young smiling girl eagerly standing in front of the counter awaiting my order. I asked, “what’s new?”. She pointed me to the Vanilla latte with coffee jelly. Not too new apparently but what the heck. Ordered the Tall (small) and then she asked me whether i wanted the Grande (medium) for just an additional $1? I didn’t take the offer but good up-selling attempt. Since it’s lunch time, she then asked me whether i wanted to do lunch? Since i just had my lunch i had to pass, but good cross-selling attempt. Is that all? Nope, she came back with, why not you get a cookie together with your drink? Since i am very full from lunch i also had to pass, nonetheless, 3 attempts to increase the size of transaction, she is indeed very well trained.

There are basically 3 ways to increase sales:
1 – get more customers.
2 – get the customers to buy more.
3 - get the customers to buy more often.

Since i walked into Starbucks to buy coffee, it would be a wasted attempt not to do strategy 2 & 3.

2 – get the customers to buy more.
The barista upsold me from small to medium.
The barista cross sold me lunch.
The barista cross sold me cookies.

3 - get the customers to buy more often.
The barista gave me a redeption card, buy 7th drink and get a free one. Which means it builts loyalty and i have to go back. Pretty typical strategy used by retailers. They also have an option to fill up the details to receive updates, good practice as well because collecting customer’s database and mailing them often makes them remember you and get to customers ‘top of mind’. Besides that, she also gave me the receipt and on the back of the receipt says, get 50% any beverage when you present this receipt on the same day after 3pm at Starbucks. I thought, hm… Interesting, they want me to come back after 3pm to get another drink but rewarding me for loyalty at 50% off. Wow!

How are you getting your customers to buy more and buy more often?

Unconventionally,
HANZO NG
Sales Ninja Grandmaster

© 2009 Sales Ninja Training. All Rights Reserved.

Hanzo Ng is Sales Ninja Grandmaster, lingo for Chief Trainer of Sales Ninja Training, Asia’s #1 Unconventional Sales Training. Sales Ninja Training specializes in helping small-medium, listed and global companies transform their sales people into the ultimate sales professional known as Sales Ninja. For more information on our sales, motivation and leadership trainings, visit http://www.SalesNinja.com

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What should you do when times are tough or when the market gets tougher? As a sales leader, how should you go about motivating your sales people before they get burnt out, stressed out and quit? Imagine if they quit, you have to recruit, select and train all over again. A lot of hassle, a lot of work, a lot of time, energy and money goes into these unproductive activities versus skills improvement and coaching.

When a sales person gets burnt out, they are stressed, they get skeptical about the market, they feel pessimistic and negative, they start to procrastinate, they work less, they get less productive and become inconsistent. What do you do? Here are some ways a Sales Ninja Leader would do in these times:

Have Great Energy!

Walk into the office with great energy. Brighten up the room. Infect everyone with your power. Sales people are already down. In order to bring them up, a Sales Ninja Leader must infect and influence them with your own energy. Let them see you not being affected by external circumstances. Let them feel that even though in tough times, one can alter their attitude by adjusting their energy level. When I do trainings, a lot of people are walking, living in an Energy 5 level. Moderate, ok kinda level. Level 1 is when you are dead, not a good place to be in – a walking zombie. And most Sales Leaders are at Energy 5. They want their sales team to be charged but they look like a clock where its hand ticks once a while like when the batteries are running out. You got to lead by example. You want them to be charged, be charged yourself. More ideas to come next time…

Unconventionally,
HANZO NG
Sales Ninja Grandmaster

© 2009 Sales Ninja Training. All Rights Reserved.

Hanzo Ng is Sales Ninja Grandmaster, lingo for Chief Trainer of Sales Ninja Training, Asia’s #1 Unconventional Sales Training. Sales Ninja Training specializes in helping small-medium, listed and global companies transform their sales people into the ultimate sales professional known as Sales Ninja. For more information on our sales, motivation and leadership trainings, visit http://www.SalesNinja.com

   Click here to subscribe to Sales Ninja Killer Newsletter