Questions and Imagination!

I receive Jeffrey Gitomer's Caffeine Jolt newsletter every week in my email. This week there were two items in Jeffrey's latest article that I thought were very good to pass along. They concern answering questions effectively and using your imagination to connect with potential customers. 
Read the entire article here. 

ON QUESTIONS:
When someone asks you a question, ask yourself, “Why are they asking this, and what does this mean in terms of this person moving toward a purchase?”

There's a motive behind every question a prospect asks. And that motive is the sales driver. In reality they're thinking to themselves, if this function works, I can increase my sales. That's the motive, not the function.

For example, they may ask you, “Can this function take place?” If you answer, “Yes,” then you've gone right past sale. If you answer yes and then ask, “What will this function lead to?” or “What makes this function important to you?” you will then uncover the real buying motive. In sales this is known as the hot button. The reality is, it's your money.

ON IMAGINATION AND WOW!:
Salespeople are missing huge opportunities for engagement and opportunities to gain response from customers by not being imaginative or creative in their communications.

• Show me a sales script, and I'll show you a boring message.
• Show me a slide deck prepared by marketing, and I'll show you a boring message.
• Show me an email prepared by a salesperson, and I'll show you a boring message.

Where’s the value? Show me the value. Where's the WOW? Show me the WOW! If you show me WOW and value, I will respond, I will engage, I will connect, and I will buy.

'Follow Me' The Flexibility Of Your Private Ring Group

One of the most popular features on new IP-PBXs is the 'Find Me, Follow Me' feature. Many employees today are in and out of the office at different times of the day, often unscheduled, and this calls for high flexibility in call routing. The 'Follow Me' feature provides this flexibility.

Traditionally, when a caller was transferred to your extension, or when calls came directly to your extension with a direct phone number, you either answered the call in a specified time or it went to voice-mail. With the 'Follow Me' feature, the extension can be paired with other extensions, cell phones or even with phone numbers at other locations.

Follow Me

In the example below you can see that the first two devices to be called are the office extension and the cell phone. When a calls comes into extension 2209, the extension and the programmed cell phone both ring at the same time for 3 rings. Then as designated by priority 2, the call then rolls to the home phone for 2 rings and then the caller would go to the extension voice-mail. The system then can be programmed to send that voice-mail to your email account where you can listen to it on your cell phone, tablet, laptop or PC.

This flexible option allows users to customize a ring pattern that best suits their everyday needs. Someone who is in the office most of the day may want to ring their extension first for several rings and then try their cell phone, for example. Someone who is in and out all day can ring both at once, etc. This setting can also be changed on the fly from a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC.

Other Forwarding Options

For those who may be on vacation or out of the office for an extended period of time with limited access to office VM, they may want to have all of their calls go straight to their cell phone and then have voice-mails go to their cell phones. This is where traditional forwarding comes into play. The user would go in and direct forward all of their calls directly to their cell phone number, and if the call is not answered the cell phone voice-mail would answer. This gives the user flexibility as to where they want to receive their voice-mails.

Cell Phone Transfers

On IP-PBX systems such as the IPitomy IP-PBX, users can transfer calls they receive on 'Follow Me' to any extension on the system by dialing a code and then the extension. For example Susan has her 'Follow Me' set up to ring her desk phone, and then her cell phone. She receives a call while she is out to lunch and finds she needs to transfer the call to Paul who is back in the office at extension 2201, Susan simply dials ##2201 and the call is transferred over to Paul's extension.

Today's VoIP technology offers more flexibility than ever. No matter where you may be you can always get your calls and your voice-mail messages!

Author: Matthew Bellisario

Matt has over 23 years in the communications industry. Starting off in the US Coast Guard, he acquired the skills necessary to be successful as a senior technician in the telecommunications and wireless world. Now Matt has moved on to another side of the industry which includes sales, marketing and product training. Some of his recent accomplishments include publishing professional white papers, newsletters, sales articles, and producing training and marketing videos.

How $75.00 A Month Can Help Disaster Proof Your Telecommunications Network!

Now more than ever, businesses are looking for affordable ways to build disaster recovery options into their telecommunications networks. For those who utilize VoIP technology there is a great way to build redundancy into your system. For those who are still using old technology, this is yet another reason to upgrade your phone system.

IPitomy's SIP trunking packages now allow businesses to add in 10 DID phone numbers, burstable to 20 incoming, with 5000 minutes for just $75.00 a month. This means that your business can continue to use traditional analog lines or a T1/PRI on one carrier and add in additional SIP lines on another. Many carriers can automatically forward a company's main number when the D channel on the their T1/PRI goes down. If this happens you can have your main number forward over to your SIP trunks, which ride over the Internet. You can have the SIP trunks programmed to ring anywhere on your phone system as the PRI number is forwarded to an existing number on the SIP trunks. You can even have the SIP DIDs ring to cell phones if needed. This gives you versatility as to call routing should an outage occur. For those without an automatic failover option, you can call your carrier and have them manually forward your numbers to your SIP trunks until the outage is corrected.

The burstability feature allows a business to have twice as many incoming calls as they have SIP DID lines. So for example, on this 10 DID line package, when incoming call traffic increases, you can have up to 20 calls coming into your business at once. This is a great option for disaster recovery since you can use your 10 SIP trunks for normal outbound local calls for example, and if the need arises you can move traffic off of your PRI onto your SIP trunks. This gives you the capacity to route twice as many incoming calls.

For those businesses not utilizing SIP trunks, this basic SIP trunk package gives them incentive to add this option into their telecommunications platform. For those looking to utilize SIP for more than just disaster recovery, there are many other packages to choose from to accommodate your needs. SIP trunks can cut monthly costs by as much as 50%! If you are not utilizing VoIP technology yet, check out the IPitomy IP-PBX. The money you save with SIP trunks can pay for your new phone system!

If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call.
Matt Bellisario 941-306-2209

BMW's Marketing Videos

As you know, I am a huge BMW fan. Aside from that there is much to be learned from their marketing strategy. One great way to market your product and company is to produce videos. They can be product specific or they can be testimonial videos. Visual forms of marketing are always very effective in pulling your targeted audience into your "zone." Watch the two videos below and see how well done they are! Then figure out a way to do something for your YouTube channel and website!

Value Over Price: The Tipping Point of the Sale

Many companies today are finding it more difficult to increase sales in incredibly tight industries. How can we get those sales over the hump and close more business? One critical key element of the sales process is being able to demonstrate that you offer superior value than your competitors, and excellent value on your price point. Jeffrey Gitomer has said that when value exceeds price, a sale usually occurs. We have all heard the phrase "its a deal you can't pass up!" right? It is important to examine the process of how our clients come to find value in our offering. There are many ways to offer superior value, I will cover three. For more ideas, ask some of your existing customers what they like best about doing business with you, and make them even better.

The first value avenue is in our product or service. This is where we can differentiate tangibly our offering from our competitors. For example, in my case I have a very robust, feature rich Voice over IP telecommunications platform that I can offer at a very competitive price. Compared to my competitors I can offer more features, more options and higher usability than my competitors can, and I can offer it at a more competitive price point than they can. This is one avenue where I can offer superior value.

The second way to offer more value is in the way we conduct business at our company. Are you easy to do business with, or are you a pain in the neck to work with? Can you connect with your customers on a personal level and offer them superior service than your competitors? Is your company generic or memorable? Another example is in order. At my company I have the freedom to really engage my dealers on a regular basis and offer them a high level of personal service. I can be reached directly, very  easily by email or phone, and there is not a roll of red tape to go through for me to get something done for my customers. When they need something I can get it done, and I can do it very quickly. I am always available to them.

The third way to offer value is the "you" value. You are the most important differentiating factor in the sales equation. Products and services don't sell themselves. Who are you as a person? Do you have a positive attitude? Do people like you? Are you committed to your company? Do you go the extra mile to help your existing customers and potential customers? Are you genuine? Do you stay engaged with your customers and give them the tools they need to be successful with your product or service? Can you be reached when your clients need you? A final example is in order. Whenever I conduct an online webinar to share information on my product and company, I make every effort to find out what the potential customer is looking for, to make sure I can meet their needs. I know my product well and I know my industry well. I educate them on the market place and how my product and company helps other companies to excel in VoIP communications. Personalization is important in how you engage people. Find out what interests them, rather than focusing on what interests you.

I offer value personally by helping people make educated decisions. I make my existing clients a priority, and I make every effort to help them succeed with my product. I also enjoy training them on my VoIP solution and teaching them how they can offer superior value to their customers by offering my product. By conducting sales webinars for my dealers, I am able to educate their prospects on the benefits of my VoIP solution. Putting together quotes and answering any questions my customers may have is a priority for me. It is my belief that by helping others to succeed puts me on the road to success. In short, you are the key factor to the sales process. Yes, it helps to have the first two elements, but without the third one, the first two will not stand. So no matter where you are on the first two elements, always be sure to work on the third.

I believe that by knowing and communicating these key three values will help you in winning new customers and keep your existing customers coming back to do business with you. Do everything you can to bring your value offering over the top of your price point and you will naturally grow your business!

Gitomer Sales Tip Video: Overcoming Barriers Or Objections

The End of BLF Consoles? Desktop Call Presence Software is the Future.

Busy lamp consoles have long been a favorite tool of the trade for receptionists. Many consoles can have hundreds of buttons on them so calls can be transferred throughout a company to employees. Many times this has resulted in a cumbersome layout, often taking up large amounts of desk space. With the integration of desktop presence software  BLF consoles are slowly being phased out.

Although people are always prone to resist change, desktop call presence software has given receptionists, and even ordinary  phone users something to get excited about. Instead of having to hunt for BLF keys on consoles, now calls can be easily transferred with a click of the mouse!  For example, IPitomy Communications has developed a powerful desktop call presence manager called Q-Manager. For about the same price of a BLF console, you can put Q-Manager up on a separate computer monitor and see the status of all users on the system. You can easily transfer calls and chat to other users on the system. Important statistics such as call time, caller ID, alert windows and park queues all make the job of call management easy.

Calls can be transferred with one click directly to an extension or directly to voice mail. You can also page to an extension to announce calls. Park zones are located conveniently down the left side of the screen where they can be easily monitored and picked up. Chat bubbles appear in each extension block who are also utilizing Q-Manager on the system, so that texts can sent back and forth between users.

For those looking for more, Q-Manager also offers features such as whisper, listen, and record features as well as conference room monitoring and management. For example, call centers can use the listen and whisper features to coach employees on calls, they can also record calls on demand for later review and coaching.

As the need for conference calls increase, the desktop software utilizes color imaging to let the viewer know who is talking on the bridge by lighting up the call in red along with the caller ID and name of the participant. Conference participants can be muted individually as well, and the conference room can be locked and unlocked with a click of the mouse.

With an ACD package even more information is present on Q-Manager pertaining to call queues. Q statistics can be an effective means of monitoring the performance of call centers. Valuable statistics such as average wait time, average call length, answered calls, abandoned calls as well as individual agent stats are available on the screen.

The age of large BLF consoles and large phones with multiple tiny buttons on them crammed onto the face of the phone are coming to a close. As technology continues to push telephony in new directions, desktop call presence management is sure to continue to evolve and offer more options and usability for receptionists and ordinary users on their business phone systems.

DDWRT Can Supercharge Your Router and Make it Easier to Manage!

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I thought I would link to a great article explaining the benefits of having DDWRT on your router. You can either load it onto a router that is compatible or find a router like the Buffalo routers that have it on it already. Enjoy!

How Do You Close A Sale? Open The Relationship Well

Are You Ready For VoIP? Tips For VoIP Readiness

Voice over IP is the future of communications. Over 90% of phone systems sold today utilize VoIP. There are may reasons businesses are moving towards VoIP solutions. A few them are, mobility options, remote phones, cost savings on their monthly phone bills and trunking redundancy. The fact that VoIP is an attractive option brings about another critical question. Is your network infrastructure capable of handling VoIP effectively? There are a few basic checks you can make before implementing a VoIP solution.

1. 100BaseT Minimum: You should be using at least 100BaseT standards. Your entire LAN structure including your switch should handle at least 10/100 mbps.

2. LAN Cabling Cat5 or Better: You should have dedicated LAN connections from your switch to each desktop location that are Cat 5, Cat 5e, or Cat 6 rated. If you have old cabling and are replacing an old phone system you may have to rewire your office and replace old Cat3 cabling.

3. Switch Compatibility: You will want to use managed, layer 3 switches. QOS (Quality of service) is important with VoIP, and your switch must be programmed to match the QOS setting on your VoIP PBX.  POE switches are also beneficial to powering your IP phones, otherwise you will have to use power supplies on each phone, or POE injectors.

4. Router Compatibility: Having a capable router is also important for your VoIP solution to run smoothly. If you have a premise based IP system and are using remote phones, NAT is very important. Be sure to have a router that has consistent NATing and be prepared to enable port forwarding on the router as well. Be sure to disable any ALG on your router to avoid problems with VoIP traffic. The router will also most likely be used to serve DHCP and hand out IP addresses to your network devices. Most importantly, have a router that you or your IT department can manage competently. Many companies buy a router based on reputation, rather than on functionality and management.

5. Bandwidth Test: You must test your Internet bandwidth before using any SIP related trunking for Internet voice calls. This applies whether you are using premise based equipment or a Cloud based solution. Cloud based solutions are even more demanding on bandwidth since extension to extension calls go through the WAN rather than traversing the LAN as it would do with a premised based solution. The speed test must be run at different times of the day, especially at peak times to determine if you have enough bandwidth to handle all of your voice and data traffic. Generally, each voice call uses 64kb in each direction plus some extra overhead for SIP. It is safe to use a number of about 180kb per call. Estimate your maximum number of calls you will have at peak time and then add in some overhead on top of that to be sure you have adequate bandwidth. For example, lets say you estimate that the maximum number of calls you will ever have at one time is 12. 180kbs multiplied by 12 is, 2.1M. Its not a huge amount, but for those businesses on a DSL for example, which average 1.5M to 2M, it would present a necessity to upgrade Internet speed.

6. Network Performance Test: Have your IT department run a test on your network at different times of the day to ensure you have a clean network. There are many things that can cause latency, packet loss or jitter on a network that can effect voice packets negatively, which go unnoticed with data only. It is good to perform packet traces at different times of the day for a period of time to find problems on a network before installing VoIP.

Following these six checks will eliminate some of the most common obstructions to having successful VoIP deployment. Your local telephone installer can give you advice on upgrading your current network for VoIP implementation. In some situations you may have to upgrade routers, switches or wiring along with your new phone system purchase. VoIP is a different animal compared to the old digital systems. Once you upgrade however you will never look back! Its kind of like going from tape cassettes to CDs, or from VHS to DVD.

Using Wireshark To Troubleshoot VoIP (General Use)

This is an excellent video on using Wireshark to analyse packet captures on a network. The majority of problems with VoIP is caused by poor networks. This tool is essential for finding and correcting network issues. Check out the video and go download Wireshark.

The Importance of QOS and VoIP

There are many threats that can jeopardize voice traffic on a network.

1. Bandwidth/Packet Loss- The first key to having voice run on your network is having enough bandwidth to handle the amount of voice trffic you will typically have on your network. The IPitomy system typically uses the G.711 codec which uses about 160kbps for each active call. It is mportant to calculate the maximum amount of simultaneous calls you will have to ensure your bandwidth will meet your requirements, otherwise you will experience packet loss.

2. Latency- Latency is another term for delay. As packets pass through the network they are often delayed by network congestion. This is not as big of a problem for data as it is for voice traffic. Anything more than a 250ms roundtrip delay for voice traffic will most likely be noticeable to the caller. Common symptoms of this problem may be echo.

3. Jitter- Jitter is how much variation there is in that packet delay over a period of time. As the delay time changes it causes what is known as jitter. For example poor LAN connections are a common source of jitter. Setting Quality of Service on the data switch ensures that voice packets have priority on the LAN.

The QOS Solution

Quality of Service gives preferential delivery to your VoIP traffic on your network. This substantially reduces latency, jittter and packet loss. For example, the IPitomy system is capable of many QOS settings. Default it comes set up for DSCP 24 (CS3). On a Netgear Switch, turn on DSCP and then go to DSCP mapping and set CS3 to the highest setting. This will match up your default IPitomy QOS setting (PBX setup/SIP/Advanced) to your Netgear. Doing this will eliminate many problems with VoIP on your network.

Step Into the 21st Century: How Different Are You?

Today's economy demands companies to be unique in their particular industry in order to survive. I am in the telecommunications industry and I frequently speak to telephone system dealers across the country. When I ask them how business is going, the most common answer I get back is, "Not selling much, the phone is not ringing." Unfortunately many companies think they are still operating under a 90s business model.

Many businesses are still hoping people are going to find them in the yellow pages and then call them looking for their product or service. This is no longer a viable option. In order for a company to excel it must update its business model and separate itself from their competition. Over 50% of small businesses have terrible non-engaging websites. If yours is the same as everyone else's, why should they call you when they run across your website? Do you have engaging videos and articles, perhaps a blog to entice your visitors?

When your sales staff stop by to make a visit to a potential client do they just drop off your brochures like everyone else does, or are they creative? I like Jeffrey Gitomer's idea of putting brochures in a company logo-ed trash can, being that most people will throw away your printed brochures seconds after you leave, and keep your trashcan with your name on it. The real question is, will the potential client remember you distinctly from your competitor?

The same can be said for your business cards. Do you still have the standard cheap card with your name and phone number on it? Or did you take the time to make yours stand out from everyone else's? There are many areas of your business that you can be creative with to separate yourself from the competition. How different are you?

The Real Reason Brick and Mortar Stores Are Dying: Showrooms For Amazon?

The Real Reason Brick and Mortar Stores Are Dying

We hear it all of the time, "The Internet is killing brick and mortar stores!" While it is true that selling over the Internet has its advantages, especially when it comes to price, there is something a brick and mortar store can offer that Amazon cannot. It is a high level of personal customer service, or as Jeffrey Gitomer says, “its customer help.” Unfortunately based on my experience lately, customer help at most brick and mortar stores suck!

I went into a local music store to check out some guitar amps that I have been eyeing on the Internet. I read some reviews on them but I wanted to see one in person, so I went to the local music store. I figured if the price was in the same ballpark I might even buy it at the local store. If I can, I like to buy from local stores even if it may be a few bucks more, but what I do expect is a friendly, knowledgeable sales staff that can tell me about the product and show me how cool it is. I want them to show me the differences in the makes and models so I can purchase the best one that fits my music style and usage. I think most people probably don't mind paying a little extra if they can play with the product, and converse with an educated person at the store so they can make a more educated buying decision. 

I walked in the store and there were at least 4 sales people on the floor, a couple playing guitars talking about their next gig, the other two chatting behind the counter. I walked around the store for about 15 minutes and not one of them even recognized I was in the store! I don’t know if they realize this or not, but potential customers are not interested in an employee sideshow. They don’t care how good they are at playing guitar or what song they are going to play at their next gig. What we do want is a friendly, personable, knowledgeable sale adviser to show us the products and help us make an educated decision on buying an amp, or a guitar for example. In my eyes, the only time any of their employees should be playing an instrument is to learn about it, or demonstrate something about a product to a customer. 

I find similar situations at other stores. Best Buy for example, terrible service if you can find anyone. If you do find someone it is never their department. Their staff are not well trained and they know little about the products. I can usually learn more on the Internet than from one of their staff. The moral of the story is this. If many brick and mortar stores are going to survive the Amazon’s of the world, they are going to have to offer a high level of service "help" to do it. They are going to have to train their employees to a high level, and they are going to have to train their employees on more than just one area of expertise. Below is the email I sent after recently visiting the music store.

Hi, my name is Matt. I stopped by your store in Sarasota today to take a look at a Line6 Spider IV 75Watt 1x12 amp that I am interested in. I walked about your store for about 15 minutes and your entire staff sat around and played guitars and never once came over to show me how cool that amp was. I am in the sales business. Your potential customers do not care how good of a guitar player your sales staff are, they want a friendly person to stop over and show them how cool your products are. I like to support brick and mortar stores like yours when I can, even if it costs a few bucks more. But, I expect great service, not a sideshow of your staff noodling on their instruments talking about their next gig. I don't want to come across as a jerk, but the only way your brick and mortar stores are going to survive is to offer something Amazon, or your online store cannot, which is friendly, knowledgeable sales staff that can show me, the customer how cool your products are. Otherwise you'll end up being only a show room for Amazon or your online store. My advice is to make every sales person in that store learn about every product so they can greet customers in a friendly manner and show them your products in a friendly engaging manner. I know nothing more about that amp after visiting your store than what I read on the Internet, so I may as well buy it on the Internet. The only reason your staff should be playing any instruments is to learn how a product works, or to demonstrate something to a customer. Superior service is the only way many brick and mortar stores are going to survive.

Be More Productive: Build Your Own Standing Desk!

Sitting at your desk all day can be bad for you. It is also makes you lethargic. The answer? The standing desk workstation! I built my own about 6 months ago and I will never go back to a regular desk.

I used a nice piece of 2ft by 4ft Birch plywood for the top. I used 2x4s for the legs. Then I built the back computer monitor ledge with 1x4s sitting on top of pieces of 4x4s. The unit sits on top of my old desk, which gives me a nice accessible storage area underneath, as well as a niche for my PC to sit in next to it. Now I stand most of the time, but can sit for a bit to rest on my stool. It actually makes me more productive throughout the day standing most of the time, rather than sitting in my old office chair.

Once I had mine in place my CEO saw it and got his own standing desk, and he loves it. Others in the office are also considering having one. Take the standing desk challenge! You can put it together for about 25 bucks, and you will never do business the same way again.

Mom's 15 Minute Rule "Never Be Late!"

From my earliest years I can remember my mother telling me to never make people wait for you, and always be 15 minutes early. To this day, whether I have an appointment, I am going to work, or meeting someone I am always about 15 minutes early. My daily work hours are from 8:30 to 5:30. There is rarely a day where I have not been at the office at least 15 minutes early.

Why is the 15 minute rule important? It is important because you do not want to make someone wait on you! Everyone's time is valuable. When you arrive late you are implicitly telling the person you are meeting a couple of things. The first is, that they are not a priority. Try getting a job after you are late to an interview. Try keeping your job after coming in late every day. Good luck! Secondly you telling them that your time is more valuable than theirs. Not a good move when you are meeting with a potential client. When you are early you are telling the person you are meeting that you see value in them, and that your meeting with them is important to you.

Now you may ask, what can you do with all of that extra time? Great question. How about reading a good book that can help you in your line of work? Spend that time educating yourself. If you are meeting with someone why not use your fancy Android or iPhone for something other than playing a video game or chatting on Facebook with your friends? Read up on your client, or potential employer and make that 15 minutes a productive 15 minutes!

My mom's rule has helped many times over the course of my life and has played a role in making me successful. My advice is to apply mom's 15 minute rule to your life!