However, once going, some locomotives have reached break-neck speeds of over 350 mph, can easily go through a brick wall and have enough momentum to be virtually unstoppable—what an amazing feat for something that wouldn’t have even shared it’s raw power with the world had the obstacle of the penny never been removed!

This makes me wonder, how much raw power do I have? What pennies do I put in my own way without even knowing it? How many small obstacles wouldn’t be obstacles at all if I allowed my momentum to really get going?

I’m in the business of advertising sales and you would think I lost a family member by the condolences I receive; the friendly arm touches with the half-smiles, squinty eyes and soft voice that beckons: “how are you doing?”

“Fine” I respond, “we’re sort of like the Campbell Soup of advertising” (no joke, I really say this—because it’s true), “maybe were not as glamorous as that quaint French bistro but you can sure feed a family of four on a budget”. And the response is sort of an obligatory head nod. The kind that says “I hear you but I don’t believe you. You’re just saying that to keep up appearances”.

And certainly, things could definitely be better but, things could be way worse!

I think what is saving my bacon while ad budgets are being slashed like the tires on a cheating boyfriend’s car is the fact that I have learned to embrace the cold-call.

Notice I didn’t say “love” or even “like” the cold-call. I don’t like it. In fact, I almost loathe it except for one simple fact—it works! In a time where other media is dropping dramatically, my business is up. In an era where people, even phenomenal sales trainers, will tell you “the cold-call is dead” I get 90% of my appointments that way. In a conversation where I am being pitied, I can hold my head up high because business is good and I have the cold-call (at least partly) to thank.

Now, one thing you must understand is it’s a very strategic cold-call; one that I did not make up on my own. This cold call was developed, practiced, tweaked, practiced some more and honed to fit my business and the times in which we sell.

I don’t wing this cold-call; in fact, I use a script. It’s the same thing, every time. It’s not fast; it takes about an hour to get through around 10 calls. But you know what? It works. Not only does it work but I get about two appointments from those 10 dials—wouldn’t you like to get two appointments from 10 dials and only an hours worth of work?

Well you can and here’s how: I will share this script with you if you just ask. Let me stress again, that I didn’t invent it; there’s nothing secret or confidential or slippery about it. It’s merely a set of concisely written words on a paper, that when said confidently but with the intent to understand what a business person is facing, it elicits an overwhelmingly open-minded response. Amazingly enough, I have even had people ask me for the appointment before I am even finished—it is that good!

If this sounds like something worth your time crafting, practicing and actually doing, send me an email and I would love to share with you something that I credit with helping me avoid the bad-economy-pity-party that has infiltrated even the most optimistic of business people.

This will probably never make it to Letterman’s desk but here is a Top 10 List that you can easily implement to see results.

1. Facebook your way to the top…of someone’s Profile page—don’t just have a social networking site but connect with people on it. The algorithms involved make it more likely for you to show up on their page if you communicate with them regularly. Make comments, interact and tell your boss it’s all in the name of growing your business.

2. Have a quality (not quantity) list of prospects— figure out what criteria makes up your ideal customer and narrow down your search to those prospects first.

3. Make the Calls—it’s funny how the phone doesn’t dial itself. Sound cliché? How many business people do you know that act like it does? Even bad calls are better than no calls at all; practice makes perfect.

4. Practice. Practice. Practice—whether you are making cold calls or sales presentations don’t wing it. Practice your craft like a professional athlete or professional lawyer would practice his. Even one or two quick run-throughs can make a difference; just don’t practice on your prospects if you can avoid it!

5. Ask for referrals—don’t wait for them or wish for them; ask for them. Offer rewards if you must but usually the “who else do you know…” works wonders.

6. Set goals—whether you are networking or making calls, set goals of what you would like to accomplish. Something on paper is more meaningful than something that’s not; after all, why else would we sign credit card receipts, contracts and thank you notes.

7. Talk to new people—when attending a networking event, find the faces in the crowd that look new and unfamiliar; if you introduce yourself, ask them about their business and show them around or introduce them to others. You have not only helped out someone who was possibly too shy to do the same (good karma for sure) but you have made an ally who could just help you find who you may be looking to meet (or better yet be the person you are looking to meet).

8. Use eye-catching subject-lines—when sending emails & e-newsletters make sure that your subject line heading is interesting (think cover of Cosmo or Enquirer for your business). This is the cover page to the rest of your message so make it intriguing.

9. Keep you message above the fold—an old newspaper term but nowadays many people have a preview pane for their email so use a good headline or picture in the beginning of your email as the hook that causes them to actually open it and spend some time thinking about you.

10. Do something—sure, there are a million good ideas out there and sometimes we can get caught up in feeling like we have to change everything or start it all right this minute. Guess what? We don’t. The good news is action is usually better than inaction so even making the commitment to implement just one new idea a month will still give you 12 new consistent (hopefully) activities a year! Maybe it should have been a Top 12 List.

Please post your own ideas on anything that you have tried that is working for you!

One quick way to potentially impact this recession is to properly incentivize those who are out of work to get a job and add to the economy as oppose to drain it.  Most of us have friends who in light of the current economic conditions have found themselves unemployed and faced with the decision of what to do.  Do they work 40 hours a week at $10 an hour and bring home $400 a week, or collect unemployment at $500 a week.

The current structure of unemployment in Oregon is one sided, in that the requirement to receive unemployment dollars is to prove you are actively seeking employment.  There is an obvious monetary value received by the individual on unemployment, yet there is no value exchanged back to the provider.  At the core this system does not prepare the recipient for future employers, as it does not require nor incentivize the recipient to work or improve work skills in the process.

My recommended is mandatory community service hours.  If every individual on unemployment was required to work just one day (8 hours) of community service per week imagine what this could provide and incentivize. 

Let’s explore it:

According to the US Census Bureau  the population of Oregon is 3,747,455 as of 2007.  Lets be conservative and assume  2 Million (slightly more than 50%) of this population makes up the potential workforce.  Now take the current unemployment rate of approximately 10%.  This means approximately 200,000 Oregonians are out of work and on unemployment.

If these 200,000 Oregonians completed just one day (8 hours) of community service a week, it would result in 6.5 Million hours of time spent making our local communities a better place.  It would also teach/enforce necessary skills such as being on-time, communication, reporting, as well as build relationships.  This could lighten monetary burden for the State of Oregon, as there would be fall off for those who fail or are unwilling to show up.  Those who get laid off seasonally now don’t simply have a vacation, and those who are working while collecting unemployment and getting paid under the table would at least have to work one day of giving back to the community.

And… for for some it may provide the extra incentive known as pride- not wanting to be seen in the unemployment work crew may result in taking an available opportunity that is a bit below the desired income level, rather than simply waiting on unemployment for the perfect opportunity.

We are in the process of writing our first Bill and would love any feedback you may have on this issue or other possible reforms! 

Thank you for reading this AM Buzz Cut.

At first I was hesitant about publishing them for fear that my prospects would see them and then they would ‘be on to me’. Then it occurred to me that nothing could be better than to have my prospects ‘on to’ the fact that I have a genuine interest in truthfully learning about their business and their situation. Nothing could be more perfect than sharing the fact that I am meeting with people on the basis of not having preconceptions of their personal challenges and not making assumptions that my solutions are always going to be a cookie-cutter fit.

With that in mind, do not confuse not making assumptions with not having convictions and strong beliefs in myself and my product. While I am strongly convicted, I would be doing a disservice to myself and to my prospects if I failed to uncover it with good questioning- and that, Buzz fans, is the entire point.

In coming from a place of true understanding and in no particular order I want to learn:

1. If your advertising was only reaching half of your audience how would you know?
2. How did your best 10 customers learn about you?
3. How do they stay connected with you each month?
4. What is the cost per customer with your current advertising?
5. How much does each advertising impression cost you?
6. How many impressions per month do you average with your current advertising?
7. How many impressions does one of your prospects need to become a customer?
8. What does it cost you to reach that?
9. How do you currently track your advertising results?
10. How much did you budget last year for your advertising?
11. How much do you wish you had budgeted? How does that compare to this year?
12. What do you look for from your current advertising/vendor?
13. How do you know if you are getting those things?
14. How would you improve your current advertising/vendor or what would you change?
15. What does your competitor do for advertising?
16. Do you want to be more like your competitor or do you strive to differentiate yourself?
17. How do you plan to grow/increase sales?
18. How much would you like to grow/increase?
19. How do you plan to accomplish that?
20. What does it cost you if you do not reach that goal?
21. How committed to that goal are you?
22. If you felt like what I offer would help you reach that goal would you be interested in beginning?
23. How much is making an impact worth to you?
24. Do you have a plan for making an impact on new/existing customers this year?
25. Why is it important to you to stay in front of your customers regularly?

So now you know my questions; in fact, if we meet in a sales setting you will probably hear me use some of them! I challenge you to come up with questions of your own. Gittomer recommends 15-25 and I recommend you read his book because it’s got more Buzz-worthy information than just tips on helpful questioning.

So with the idea of bringing a collective brain trust to the masses in areas on which we are both educated in speaking (AJ, with his MBA degree among much experience currently with a wealth strategies company as Marketing Director, and I, Marjorie Dudley, with a BFA in Graphic Design, door-to-door sales experience and my current position in outdoor advertising sales) we came to the online world to fill a niche including both the artistic and business sides of marketing, branding and sales. However, equally as important is the goal of adding a flair that was befitting to our personalities and passions- something that both AJ and I agree is what will set this blog apart.

And here we have The AM Buzz. A for AJ, M for Marjorie, Buzz because that’s what you deserve- something that gives you a buzz, something that you will be buzzing about around the proverbial water-cooler and something that, like the word itself, has some pep (clever, huh?). It’s the AM Buzz because we all know the early bird catches the worm, right? So our commitment to you is to provide wormy goodness in every early morsel of this publication- we are committed to having this to you at least weekly by 7:30am every Monday morning. Now if that’s not a great way to start your week off with a buzz than I don’t know what is!

Please look to us for Buzz Interviews (exactly what they sound like- we will interview and write about some of our favorite experts in the field, local celebrities if you will), Buzz Briefs (summaries in four or fewer paragraphs with strategies, updates, suggestions and information relevant to the sales & marketing umbrella), Buzz Debates (opinions and the devil’s advocate sides to current issues and local challenges) and Buzz Cuts (quotable quotes and one-liners that pack a wallop). We won’t stop until you get Buzzed!