Do you ever find yourself feeling like this lately?  I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtKT0lwHNKo

With the effects of the “Economic Downturn” still impacting business for agencies across the country, it’s easy to get into super-salesman mode.  You know how it goes, clients all collectively tighten their belts at once and we start to panic.   And then start to sell.  “We’ll get you on Facebook!  We’ll reach new customers!  We’ll go global!  Dear God don’t stop spending money!”  We start giving reasons why we’re such a big deal and explaining what exactly that smell is in our office, it’s mahogany by the way.  I catch myself feeling like I did in the middle of a bad junior high breakup.

And it’s natural.  It’s the fight or flight instinct in us kicking in.  But it’s not the best approach.  In times like these, we need to go back to the first lesson in Selling 101 – Listening.  Instead of coming up with a plan to fix all your client’s problems, spend that time drilling down on what the problems are exactly.  This is when all the effort you spent building your relationship with the client pays off.  Go listen to them – their fears, their goals, their ideas.  If they want to change things up, great, maybe it’s an opportunity.  One of my accounts told me they wanted to cut ad spending in half and I about choked on my coffee. But after an hour of listening and asking questions to understand their motivations, we came up with a plan that has the possibility to grow our business with them.

So talk to your clients.  Find out their needs and see how you can help.  Resist the urge to sell yourself and force yourself to listen.

Ryan Neely/Account Exec

A friend recently told me he replaced his Lexus with a Hyundai. I thought, “Dude! A Hyundai?” Then he took me for a ride. Wow. What a car. His new Genesis drives great. Comfortable. But more than that, the fit & finish and materials are world class. And the stereo is nothing short of amazing. Seems like they thought of everything.

Hyundai is doing it right. They started with the consumer and are building cars that people want to drive. A quick read of Facebook reveals that their customers can’t stop raving about them. In fact, JD Power named them #1 in initial quality, ahead of Honda and Toyota.

Great product is the foundation of a great brand. But Hyundai didn’t stop there.  Their marketing boss, Joel Ewanick said “It’s important to keep our foot on the gas even in a down economy.” He did– They increased spending by 58% and launched aggressive promotions including guaranteeing gas prices at $1.49 and even offering to take your car back if you lose your job. Talk about listening to your customers’ concerns.

A few years ago, Hyundai’s were a joke. In the worst economy since forever, the big three lost 29% in sales while Hyundai improved by 6% and gained 28% in market share. I doubt their competitors are laughing now.

What’s the lesson? Pay attention to your customers. Deliver products they want. And talk with them about things they care about.

Branding is becoming more and more about listening. It’s working for Hyundai. I bet it works for you and us in 2010. Happy New Year,
Ged King, President

I find it tough to go second. History is not kind to second. Whether you finish second or perform second or simply toil away as a competent #2 in a business, you tend to get lost in the historic shuffle. Few remember your accomplishments.

So, when the idea for The Sales Factory blog came up I just had the feeling that I would go second. Mike Fowler set the stage and threw down The Gauntlet. He posted a simple and direct guidepost replete with a Bruce Lee quote. He opened a Twitter account as FollowFowler. The pressure builds. Like Mike, if I could be like Mike.

Where to begin? Tiger Woods has a famous quote about second place but all things Tiger seem to be off the table for the moment. I hesitate to even mention Jean Van de Velde. His colossal collapse at the Bristish Open resulted in the moniker Van de Veldian for anyone who chokes under pressure. My B.A. in History might lead me to William Jennings Bryan, a 3-time runner up for President of the United States, eventual Secretary of State, and WINNER of the famous Scopes Trial where he defended the teaching of Creation Theory over Evolution in schools. Despite a successful career he is remembered as a perennial runner up.

Where should I go with this daunting second blog? I know. I’ll go back to original purpose of The Sales Factory blog and talk about it openly. I think its evolution illustrates a good lesson in business.

We are those marketing people who put all our collective energy into our clients. We don’t market ourselves well. We’re like the plumber who has leaky pipes in his own house. Not Joe the Plumber from the last Presidential campaign, but the generic plumber who has leaky pipes in his house because he works hard for his clients. Get it?

The blog is just one cog in our marketing wheel but we have proven that certain processes combined with great creative gets results. More importantly, we set up campaigns that get MEASURABLE results.  This leads us to goal number one : treat ourselves like a client and grow our business. AND measure the returns.

The other goal of the blog is to give our people an avenue to express themselves. We have an internal program that helps our staff get to know more about each other personally but the blog is intended to hear what we all think on a professional level. What is important in the work place? What new technologies or ideas will help our clients win? What do YOU think?

The two goals of building our business and building personal connections get to  the heart of what The Sales Factory is all about. Our tagline is “We Build Your Business Personally”. A blog allows us to connect on a more direct level with our clients, customers, and co-workers. We would suggest the same to our clients. CONNECT directly with your customers AND your own people. What is more important? It’s more rewarding to do business with people you know and trust.

I’ll wrap this up by setting a professional yet personal goal for the New Year. I am going to take care of first things first. I have a book of clients and I am going to knock it out of the park for them. That leaves plenty of time, however, to put my own house in order. The house I’m referring to here is The Sales Factory, but if I do this correctly the benefits will trickle down to my own house. Thank you very much Ronald Reagan.

My goal : restart and sustain a concerted sales and marketing effort for The Sales Factory. Roll with it like a real client as we are fond of saying here. We are a small business that produces big work. As part of a small business, I know my co-workers and their personal goals and challenges well. I know the impact more business would have on 15 individuals and it doesn’t get any more personal than that.

I wish all of you a warm, safe and Happy Holidays!

Brian Cole

Director of Operations

The Sales Factory proudly introduces our web blog.  We have become experts in brand strategy and management using a wide range of techniques, inspirations, innovations, and enthusiasm.  It is our intent to use this blog to give you a glimpse of the madness to our methods, offer up some helpful hints, provide some inspiration, share our passions and promote some open and honest interaction. Bruce Lee once said “I can show you some really fancy movement, but to express one’s self honestly, not lying to one’s self, and to express myself honestly, that my friend is very hard to do”. It is hard to do, but that is what we seek to do with this Blog through different authors, perspectives, topics… Subscribe to the Blog below or check back periodically to see if we’ve posted anything profound. At worst, we may just continue to quote Bruce Lee.

Mike Fowler, Senior Account Executive