Small Business Sales: 7 Things Sales Experts Wish You Knew ...

June 14, 2012

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What are some of the biggest mistakes small businesses make when it comes to selling? These seven experts reveal essential sales tips and share what you could be doing wrong.

1. Ditch the sales script.

Reading from a script is a big mistake. People don?t want to be sold to, they want to connect with people and at the same time be given a solution to a possible obstacle. Relate to people and understand their needs before you pitch them something.

Alice Heiman, Owner of Alice Heiman, LLC

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2. Tell us why you?re better.

Failing to convey a unique value proposition for your product or service. If your business cannot clearly define why your offering is different and/or better than the competition then you will be eclipsed by them. The most successful sales pitch will answer the following questions: ?Our product and/or service is, for ?whom,? so that ? _______.?

John Ostman, VP of Sales and Marketing at Snap Agency

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3. Understand who you?re selling to.

Pursuing the sale before defining your ideal customer.? Without a laser-focused understanding of who your target customer is, you might as well draw random names out of a hat when prospecting. Your best customers must want and need what you sell ? and be willing to pay for it.

Stephanie Nivinskus, Principal at Impressions Marketing Studio

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4. Share features and benefits later.

Don?t engage in a sales ?bake-off? (i.e. discussing product features) too early in the buying cycle. Instead create ?the buying vision? (i.e. how to help solve their business challenges). Share insights that address challenges the prospect might not even realize s/he has, then communicate ?why they should buy. Traditional feature/benefit ?why us? messaging is better suited for later in the buying cycle.

Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Corporate Visions

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Childhood obesity found linked to math performance

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Obesity among children has increased dramatically over the past 40 years and has been tied to many health problems. Now a new study has found that children's weight is associated with their math performance.

The longitudinal study, published in the journal Child Development, was carried out by researchers at the University of Missouri, Columbia, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Vermont.

"The findings illustrate the complexity of relations among children's weight status, social and emotional well-being, academics, and time." according to Sara Gable, associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, who led the study.

The researchers looked at more than 6,250 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, a nationally representative sample. The children were followed from the time they started kindergarten through fifth grade. At five time points, parents provided information about their families, teachers reported on the children's interpersonal skills and emotional well-being, and children were weighed and measured; they also took academic tests.

When compared with children who were never obese, boys and girls whose obesity persisted from the start of kindergarten through fifth grade performed worse on the math test, starting in first grade, and their lower performance continued through fifth grade. For boys whose obesity emerged later (in third or fifth grade), no such differences were found, and for girls who became obese later, poorer math performance was temporary.

In addition, for girls who were persistently obese, having fewer social skills explained some part of their poorer math performance. And for both boys and girls who were persistently obese, feeling sadder, lonelier, and more anxious also explained some of their poorer math performance.

"Our study suggests that obesity in the early years of school, especially obesity that persists across the elementary grades, can harm children's social and emotional well-being and academic performance," Gable said.

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Society for Research in Child Development: http://www.srcd.org

Thanks to Society for Research in Child Development for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Video: Betty White?s first job

Elderly teens, real hickeys: 'Grease' is the word

You can make a case for "Jaws," "A Summer Place," or any number of surfing or camp movies, but this lively musical, which hit theaters 34 years ago this week, can make a solid case for being named the best summer movie ever.

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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Devin Thorpe Author of Building ...

Author Interviews ? By Becky Camarena on June 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom Book Tour

Devin D. Thorpe, author of Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom: A Financial Planning Guide for Latter-day Saint Families, lives in China and teaches business at a local University on behalf of Brigham Young University.? Previously, Devin?s 25 year career in business, included seven years running an investment banking firm as well as other corporate finance positions. ?He served an LDS Mission in Argentina.? He earned an MBA from Cornell University after earning a BS in Finance from the University of Utah.? More information is available at Devin?s blog: bw4bk.tumblr.com; follow @devinthorpe on Twitter; like Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom on Facebook.

Thank you for this interview, Devin.? Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?? Do you remember your first published piece?

A:? Yes, I started writing at a very young age, almost forty years ago.? My first published piece was a short article in the Salt Lake Tribune co-written with a friend when we were just ten years old.? Though I admire those who can write great fiction, from my youth I?ve always been a non-fiction writer.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

A:? The new publishing environment in which many authors are self-published is exhilarating.? We no longer have to wait for publishers to tell us whether or not our ideas or our expression of them are good enough; instead, we can ask readers.? As a person with a 25-year business career, I find the publishing business to be challenging and exciting.? I love it!

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life?? Do you have support?

A:? My wonderful wife has given me permission to pursue a full-time writing career.? I consider this a sacred privilege.? I owe her so much that I find myself working harder than I ever have worked writing and, yes, promoting my work.

What do you like to do for fun when you?re not writing?? Where do you like to vacation?? Can you tell us briefly about this?

A:? It has been my good fortune to have traveled around the world and I?m presently living in China.? My pastime is photography.? Whether shooting a man-made wonder like the Eiffel Tower or natural wonders like the rivers and mountains of China, I take tens of thousands of pictures every year trying to get that perfect shot (emphasis on trying).

If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?

A:? If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I?d be right where I am: seated next to my wife on the sofa at home.

Who is your biggest fan?

A: ?My wife.

Where?s your favorite place to write at home?

A:? I?ve found that I can only write sitting on my bed, where I have absolute peace and quiet.

Do you have any pets?

A:? Nope.

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

A:? I peaked at a height of 5?6? many years ago; I?m now shorter than 5?5? tall.? At the rate I?m shrinking, my wife will be taller than I am within five years!

What?s on your to do list today?

A:? Having spent the day teaching, I?m pushing off grading papers (again) to do this interview.

Now I?ve got a couple of fun questions for you.? If Tom Hanks, in the movie Cast Away, unearthed a copy of your book, how would that help him find a way off the island?

A: The principles in the book about saving and preparing for the future would help him to plan over the long span of time to leave the island.? Although it would not likely have helped him get off the island sooner, I?d like to think it would have helped him take the long view, thereby avoiding the depression that caused him to think about killing himself.

You just got word that your book has received the 2012 NY Times Bestselling Book Award and you have to attend the ceremony to give an acceptance speech.? Anyone who?s anyone will be there and it?s your shot for stardom.? What would you say and who would you thank?

A:? (This question isn?t so much ?fun? as ?funny,? but not wishing to be a bad sport?) This recognition says little about me or my writing and everything about how important financial planning for Mormon families really is; LDS families face unique financial planning challenges and deserve a good resource to help them face those challenges.? It is impossible to recognize appropriately all those who helped make this book a success, but certainly my readers and my wife deserve the lion?s share of my appreciation.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in June via a virtual book tour.? Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

A:? The message of Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom will help Mormon families to accomplish their goals of service to others, self-reliance and tithing their income to the Church.? Life is full of challenges; this book makes some of life?s biggest challenges a little easier.? Of course, while I?m living in China, no other sort of book tour is possible!

Thank you for this interview, Devin. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

A:? Thank you for all of your help!

About Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom

Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom is a simple, practical guide to help LDS families organize their personal financial plans to meet their unique goals. The book provides simple answers to questions like:

How much should I be saving each month for my son?s mission?
How much should I be saving each month for my children?s college education?
How can I save enough to be able to retire while I?m healthy enough to serve a mission?

Avoiding tips on pinching pennies, the book focuses on opportunities to save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars by making smart moves with big decisions, like home and car purchases.

Mormon families will appreciate the gospel-centered, scripture-based focus on putting tithing at the center of a financial plan. Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom will help prepare families to enjoy the benefits of their labor while simultaneously contributing to the growth of Church.

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Tags: author Devin Thorpe, book tour, Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom, Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom Book Tour, Devin D. Thorpe, Devin Thorpe, Pump Up Your Book, virtual book tour

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Holy sacred cow! Why reactions to the exercise and depression trial go to the heart of scientific controversy.

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Reputation preservation and enhancement: Use social media to ...

Note: These are my rough notes from the?3rd Annual Corporate Social Media Summit, NY?and may not perfectly reflect the?thoughts?or intent of the speaker(s). Please let me know if you think there are improvements, corrections, etc. to be made. Other notes from this conference are tagged?CSMNY.

Brandy King, Southwest Airlines

• Reality show mentions caused job applications to spike, so they started a southwest airlines blog
• Team of 5, rotating around the clock, names with a personality, profile on their blog
• Get other departments involved in blog
• Paid owned earned media is a huge focus
• Paid includes sponsored stories, and they do have a way to track revenue from specific posts to website with link tracking, the tweet gets credt
• Some of their highest revenue generating sales have come completely from social media
• Wifi on flights allows customers to tweet to them while they?re on the flight
• ?if you don?t feed the dogs quickly, they?ll rummage through your garbage? ?- prepare for crisis before it happens ? they have brainstormed 50+ categories and have crisis plans for all of the that include social
• When there was a hole in their airplane, the first picture the CEO had in the crisis command center of how big the hole was, was from twitter
• Going dark is not an option, they have an alternative website that is not as happy cheery, and let?s them still be up and online during a crisis
• Wen they have an issue that involves a pilot, they will check the pilots social spaces to see if there?s anything negative or identifiable there
• Used cotweet to track back relationship with @BlueStMuse when they tweeted pic of sunroof inn SWA Flight 812
• Her calm demeanor helped the situation
• They must communicate during crisis, but don?t have to show all their cars. Not what they say, but how they say it and how quickly it is said is important
• Social biz implications: this journey is 1% finished

Sarah Carver, Radian6

• Customers no longer have to line up to complain
• You have to find the voice for your brand, even if it isn?t the voice you planned to have. It has to be real and authentic
• If you monitor your social, always monitor for ?Dear (brand)?, it?s either a love letter or a hate letter
• When a crisis happens, if you say you?re sorry, people trust you

Panel Q&A, also included Bill Tolany, Whole Foods Market

• Issues have different levels of time sensitivity, ex Whole Foods soggy pear isn?t as time sensitive as an airplane issue
• Customers are still surprised whe SWA responds [CB: eventually this will become the norm, although I see customers expecting immediacy]
• Responses to customers get retweeted, showing youre helping them
• How do you decide what smaller platforms to engage in? Find where the conversations are happening that align with your and your customers interests. Also, create relationships with these platforms early on
• For Whole Foods, Facebook and twitter were very localized efforts, Pinterest is being treated as a global effort
• Most people don?t understand what they?ve agreed to when they go on Facebook, and brands struggle how to deal with that
• They might Like us, but they don?t necessarily want to marry us, be careful about using them for sponsored stories

Were you there too? Add your notes in the comments below and I?ll update the post.

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Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app

Last we heard, Aviary was being chosen to replace the deceased Picnik as the main photo editor on Flickr, and now the startup is getting ready to launch its first iOS app and give its previous Android offering a major boost. The Jeff Bezos-backed company has just announced its entry into the application game, giving iOS and Android folks access to an array of its image editing tools -- much like Apple's iPhoto on Cupertino devices or Photoshop Express on ones powered by Google's OS. Naturally, you'll be able to do run-of-the-mill tidbits such as cropping, rotating, sharpening and blurring, which are bundled alongside others like cosmetic tools, one-tap auto enhance and "gorgeous effects." It's also worth noting Aviary was once present on Google Play as a plugin, but has now made the change to a full-on, feature-packed application. Those interested in taking the fresh app for a spin can hit either of the source links below, where a mighty free download awaits you.

Gallery: Aviary photo editing application

Continue reading Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app

Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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