I was in a meeting recently, when the owner of a small business I often frequent complained to me about the lack of things her local Chamber does for her business. She also commented that being in the Chamber is not a great value to her and her business . She plans on leaving it when her membership renewal comes due. She stated to me that there are absolutely no benefits from a Chamber membership. Now, this is not the first time I have heard of unhappiness with one’s local chamber. But this is the first time I want to tell you about why she is wrong.
I respectfully and politely disagreed with her comments and I told her that the local Chamber of Commerce is often the best vehicle for business opportunity. This is what I said.
As a current four business member of the Apex Chamber of Commerce (Kiwanis Club of Apex, Woomer Insurance and Financial Services, T.O.P.S Club of Apex, and VTR Consulting LLC) I have a unique opinion of my Chamber, both as a profit-driven small business owner and as a non-profit organization member.
Without a second thought, my Chamber, the Apex Chamber of Commerce, is where my businesses need to be. The Apex Chamber offers many opportunities for growth. It offers continuing opportunities to participate in the community. It offers key opportunities for business success. With an outstanding website www.apexchamber.com and an excellent business public directory, the Apex Chamber is a continuing investment with very large professional and personal return.
Morning and evening networking events create even more opportunities for meeting the people you need to meet to help your local business grow. Joining the member supported committees within the Chamber give you not only a communal sense of accomplishment and participation, but a straight and true focus of making businesses better.
But it is up strictly up to you. You must make the most of what is offered. Opportunity is an action word. The Chamber is what you put into it. It is a conduit for so many things. And there are many additional byproducts that are benefits for growth. For example, the byproduct of an effective and well established Chamber is a stronger local economy. Another byproduct is having all of our businesses on the same page under the same umbrella moving forward in a tough economy in the same way. Success is a team sport. “We” are always stronger than “me”. An ancient African proverb states this: “no person is truly a person until they are with other people.” This is the true purpose of a Chamber filled with opportunity. The Apex Chamber of Commerce is the principal vessel of local business prosperity through participation.
Finally, here are some things I know the Chamber is not. The Chamber is not an extension of your marketing department. It is not an organization that automatically makes your business more successful. It is not a profit making apparatus. The Chamber is simply what you make it to be. The Chamber works full-time setting up success. But it does not create it. It puts into place the professional opportunities to help you grow. The Chamber is only as successful as the businesses it supports.
In my view, the best move any business can make is to be a visible and contributing member of the local Chamber. Let’s hope this business owner stays in her chamber and makes it a little better.
Showing posts with label Chamber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chamber. Show all posts
Friday, February 18, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Halo Everybody!
Halo Everybody Halo!
First heard on 1940’s CBS Radio, and then continuing through the T.V. Seventies, Halo Shampoo featured the famous jingle that still dances in the heads of most Baby Boomers. It is as familiar as “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” and “Oh, I’d like to be an Oscar Meyer wiener”; now, before you head to YouTube to play these jingles, please note that this article is not about shampoo, tobacco, or hot dogs. It is about the simplicity of selling. I just want salespeople to be remembered by their clients like those famous jingles of old.
Training people to be successful has always been my passion so I have developed a new sales strategy, Halo Selling, named in honor of that famous shampoo. This is a sales seminar focusing on the systems approach that I have been working on over the past few years. I wanted to introduce the process right here in Carolina Business Connection. Now, since angels are known to wear halos and to be near perfect beings, successful salespeople must be the same, especially in this economy.
A near perfect selling strategy is the only way to have eternally happy customers whose referrals generate even more referrals. It is that simple. This Halo Affect not only minimizes the problems of the cold call, but creates the strategies that can help make the salesperson so popular with the client base that customers will be singing loud praises just like the church choir. In sales, success always brings more success.
Here are the Ten Halo Selling Commandments that should indeed help put your sales into the heavens.
First Halo Commandment: Thou shall always listen more than thou speak. You must always remember that you can upset many customers by over- talking, but you can never hurt a deal by over- listening. Out-listening your customers is the key to sales prowess. You must plan and control your message. Active listening is critical. Listening for purpose is indeed a learned trait that is sometimes difficult to master.
Second Halo Commandment: Thou shall always be enthusiastic and passionate in public. No matter what is going on in your personal life, you are always on stage with your customer.
Third Halo Commandment: Thou shall always control the fear of asking for the business by being prepared. Consider ASK as an acronym for “Applying Strategy with Knowledge”. The order is often yours if you simply ASK for it.
Fourth Halo Commandment: Remember the customer is never wrong when profit is the central variable. Serve the customer; no matter the cost or sacrifice. It is about winning for your customer.
Fifth Halo Commandment: Thou shall not covet commission. Your share of the revenue is the byproduct of your satisfied client base and your individual effort.
Sixth Halo Commandment: Honor your smile and sense of humor. If you have a great smile, use it. If you are funny, use it. No one wants to listen to a boring sales presentation.
Seventh Halo Commandment: Remember to always be patient. Use your sense of urgency and persistence with great care and control. Pushy is never a positive customer satisfaction ingredient.
Eighth Halo Commandment: Remember that the customer can eliminate you at any moment. No sale is a certain one. The customer controls all the decisions, and you are often the only deciding factor.
Ninth Halo Commandment: Thou shall always remember trust is everything in a relationship. If the client trusts you, the sale is a certain one if the needs and wants are met.
Tenth Halo Commandment: Honor the power of attitude. Attitude is a learned skill that only grows with practice. Customers are naturally attracted to positive, upbeat professionals.
The Sales Commandments should help determine your message and your plan of action. These two factors are everything in the sales game plan. You build a customer base just like you would build a congregation. You do it one seat at a time and one pew at a time. Soon both sides of the aisle will fill. Pay attention to your customers in a positive way and involve them in what you do. If you want heavenly sales and near perfect customer satisfaction, use these Ten Halo Commandments. Talk about them at your next sales meeting. Discuss the importance of being the best. You are in sales to serve others. You create solutions. These things must never be forgotten.
Good luck. Visit www.vtrconsulting.com and take advantage of the specials you see on the site.
Have fun and happy selling!
Jim Vogel is the owner of VTR Consulting LLC, a sales training, recruiting, and career services organization that customizes retail sales training to fit the needs and wants of the sales professional. VTR Consulting LLC offers classes and seminars of every length and sales purpose.
Sales Recruiting is now fast and easy with VTR’s “ad to inbox” interview process. Career Services includes resume writing and simple steps to write quality blog posts and articles for social networking.
Jim is also an Independent Insurance Agent for Woomer Insurance in Downtown Apex, N.C. Woomer Insurance is a full service agency located on Historic Salem Street. Its motto is: “Independent for you since 1932.”
A native of Detroit MI, Jim was an editor and internal communicator at Ford Motor Company for over two decades and spent almost 10 years with Hendrick Automotive Group in sales, sales training, hiring and recruiting. He has taught writing and public speaking classes at both the University of Michigan and the University of Phoenix.
First heard on 1940’s CBS Radio, and then continuing through the T.V. Seventies, Halo Shampoo featured the famous jingle that still dances in the heads of most Baby Boomers. It is as familiar as “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” and “Oh, I’d like to be an Oscar Meyer wiener”; now, before you head to YouTube to play these jingles, please note that this article is not about shampoo, tobacco, or hot dogs. It is about the simplicity of selling. I just want salespeople to be remembered by their clients like those famous jingles of old.
Training people to be successful has always been my passion so I have developed a new sales strategy, Halo Selling, named in honor of that famous shampoo. This is a sales seminar focusing on the systems approach that I have been working on over the past few years. I wanted to introduce the process right here in Carolina Business Connection. Now, since angels are known to wear halos and to be near perfect beings, successful salespeople must be the same, especially in this economy.
A near perfect selling strategy is the only way to have eternally happy customers whose referrals generate even more referrals. It is that simple. This Halo Affect not only minimizes the problems of the cold call, but creates the strategies that can help make the salesperson so popular with the client base that customers will be singing loud praises just like the church choir. In sales, success always brings more success.
Here are the Ten Halo Selling Commandments that should indeed help put your sales into the heavens.
First Halo Commandment: Thou shall always listen more than thou speak. You must always remember that you can upset many customers by over- talking, but you can never hurt a deal by over- listening. Out-listening your customers is the key to sales prowess. You must plan and control your message. Active listening is critical. Listening for purpose is indeed a learned trait that is sometimes difficult to master.
Second Halo Commandment: Thou shall always be enthusiastic and passionate in public. No matter what is going on in your personal life, you are always on stage with your customer.
Third Halo Commandment: Thou shall always control the fear of asking for the business by being prepared. Consider ASK as an acronym for “Applying Strategy with Knowledge”. The order is often yours if you simply ASK for it.
Fourth Halo Commandment: Remember the customer is never wrong when profit is the central variable. Serve the customer; no matter the cost or sacrifice. It is about winning for your customer.
Fifth Halo Commandment: Thou shall not covet commission. Your share of the revenue is the byproduct of your satisfied client base and your individual effort.
Sixth Halo Commandment: Honor your smile and sense of humor. If you have a great smile, use it. If you are funny, use it. No one wants to listen to a boring sales presentation.
Seventh Halo Commandment: Remember to always be patient. Use your sense of urgency and persistence with great care and control. Pushy is never a positive customer satisfaction ingredient.
Eighth Halo Commandment: Remember that the customer can eliminate you at any moment. No sale is a certain one. The customer controls all the decisions, and you are often the only deciding factor.
Ninth Halo Commandment: Thou shall always remember trust is everything in a relationship. If the client trusts you, the sale is a certain one if the needs and wants are met.
Tenth Halo Commandment: Honor the power of attitude. Attitude is a learned skill that only grows with practice. Customers are naturally attracted to positive, upbeat professionals.
The Sales Commandments should help determine your message and your plan of action. These two factors are everything in the sales game plan. You build a customer base just like you would build a congregation. You do it one seat at a time and one pew at a time. Soon both sides of the aisle will fill. Pay attention to your customers in a positive way and involve them in what you do. If you want heavenly sales and near perfect customer satisfaction, use these Ten Halo Commandments. Talk about them at your next sales meeting. Discuss the importance of being the best. You are in sales to serve others. You create solutions. These things must never be forgotten.
Good luck. Visit www.vtrconsulting.com and take advantage of the specials you see on the site.
Have fun and happy selling!
Jim Vogel is the owner of VTR Consulting LLC, a sales training, recruiting, and career services organization that customizes retail sales training to fit the needs and wants of the sales professional. VTR Consulting LLC offers classes and seminars of every length and sales purpose.
Sales Recruiting is now fast and easy with VTR’s “ad to inbox” interview process. Career Services includes resume writing and simple steps to write quality blog posts and articles for social networking.
Jim is also an Independent Insurance Agent for Woomer Insurance in Downtown Apex, N.C. Woomer Insurance is a full service agency located on Historic Salem Street. Its motto is: “Independent for you since 1932.”
A native of Detroit MI, Jim was an editor and internal communicator at Ford Motor Company for over two decades and spent almost 10 years with Hendrick Automotive Group in sales, sales training, hiring and recruiting. He has taught writing and public speaking classes at both the University of Michigan and the University of Phoenix.
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