Alien Dubstep Shoe
by LaTonya Shaw
This is the latest design from our Kurbuhaun Dubstep Collection on Zazzle. Check it out on our store and leave comments if like or don’t like the shoe. We are also considering future Dubstep Give-A-Ways so keep coming back for details.
Alien Dubstep Shoe
by LaTonya Shaw
This is the latest design from our Kurbuhaun Dubstep Collection on Zazzle. Check it out on our store and leave comments if like or don't like the shoe. We are also considering future Dubstep Give-A-Ways so keep coming back for details.
RUSKO O.M.G.
by LaTonya Shaw
First off this tee is "sold out" but wanted to show you what's out there in Dubstep Tee shirts. I'll keep an eye out for when it's available again from the bluecollardistro.com site.
Dubstep fans check out this dubstep tee shirt. Visit www.kurbuhaun.com. for this dubstep tee and many others.
A sales team is the backbone of many companies. In order for your company to profit and grow, you need an effective sales team to bring in the big bucks! But figuring out how to go about having an effective sales team can be a job in and of itself. You need them to find ways to get the business, or at least a chance to give their pitch, and following established methods just doesn’t work the way it used to.
If you have a sales team that could use a little help, it may be time to think beyond the “smiling and dialing.” Instead, consider these eight unexpected ways to get sales booming:
1. Join a board. Have your sales team members join the board of a not-for-profit, as there are usually a lot of powerful decision-makers on the board. This will give them a chance to have at least the opportunity for an introduction and meeting.
2. Go for voicemail. You rarely get people live on the phone, so most of your competition is reverting to e-mail these days. Ironically, voicemail is the better option, as it is targeted to the person you want to talk to, and your voice message typically gets their individual attention. Plus, you can master your message (as long as it sounds personal) and leave the same message for a number of new prospects.
3. Focus on vendors. Have your team focus on calling on vendors, rather than prospects. This way, they can put their efforts into building referral networks.
4. Pitch outsourcing. Have the sales person scour the job ads of big companies. Once they locate the ads, have them place a call to the company that is looking to hire employees and suggest that perhaps your company could fill that need instead.
5. Lumpy mail. Have you ever noticed that bulky mail gets put on top of the stack? Take advantage of the fact that lumpy mail always gets noticed! Have your sales person send a piece of mail that is not a standard envelope. Maybe they can send a shoe and then include a note that says, “Now that I have one shoe in the door… let’s meet.”
6. Volunteer. Let your sales people volunteer for fundraisers or other events where your key prospects will also be in attendance. It is a great way for them to get some face time and build relationships.
7. Become a journalist. Have your sales person conduct interviews of prospects for your website or blog. The interviews must be genuine, and you should post them to your site. It will allow you to build a foundation for ongoing dialogue, which is exactly what sales people need.
8. Clip articles. When a prospect is highlighted in a newspaper or magazine, have your sales person clip the article, mail it to the prospect and congratulate them on the exposure. Have them include their business card; if nothing else, they will likely get a thank you, and it will start the dialog. Alternatively, send along an article that you think will be of interest to the prospect.
If you follow the old-school method of sales, you have your sales team making cold-calls or stopping by someone’s office. But that’s no longer the best route to take. Try using some of these other active routes. They may just bring your sale team that much need victory. Plus, if your old method of sales isn’t working, just doing more of it won’t fix things.
We see it happen every Halloween and Christmas. Stores set up shop, let everyone know they are there, get lots of traffic and yet, before you know it, you can’t remember what business used to occupy the now-empty building space. But if you look a little closer, you may notice that these stores that come and go – usually specializing in a single product, theme or niche – are around much more than just around the holidays.
Walk through any mall and you will see these “pop-up” stores, as they are referred to, in the form of kiosks selling the latest nail-bed oil, the hottest gadgets that all the teens are after, or even temporary bookstores selling a collection of close-out books.
At the outset, it may seem that these pop-up retailers are more of a headache than they are worth. But if you really look at what is going on with this trend, it becomes clear that the transaction is a win-win situation for all concerned.
How it Works
Pop-up stores work by someone setting up a temporary store, either in a kiosk or by renting retail space. Just like any long-term store that opens, the business moves in, stocks its shelves and then opens its doors to the public.
The only real difference between a pop-up store and a permanent one is that the pop-up store knows it is only going to be there for a set amount of time. The traditional store, in all honesty, has no idea how long it will be there, because that is largely dependent upon its ability to sell a lot and not see its lease go through the roof when it comes up for renewal.
Many commercial retail spaces are sitting empty, in today’s economy, and more businesses close their doors each month, adding to the problem. Building owners who may have been reluctant to do short-term rentals in the past are now, shall we say, much more open to the idea of short-term rentals. Gone are the days of being bullied into one- or two-year-long lease agreements.
Why it Works
In short, pop-up stores create big time buzz. When people see them, it’s something new and exciting, and they stop in and purchase. The stores give the public a crack at what you are selling, but with more of an urgency to buy, simply because the consumer knows that what you are selling won’t be there in a week.
Pop-up stores are highly effective, not only when it comes to selling holiday-related items, but also for specialty items, trendy products, limited-edition goods and believe it or not, restaurants! These stores provide entrepreneurs with a chance to test their product on the community, without having to make long-term commitments in the form of lengthy leases and agreements. It also gives you a chance to let people know you are a real person and company, to get your name out there, collect your prospects contact info and then to continue those sales online.
Deep down, we all know that some businesses may only thrive this way, which is not necessarily a bad thing; it really comes down to knowing your product and your audience. If you are selling Halloween costumes, for example, you will spend 11 months out of the year simply chewing through what you made during the month of October. A Halloween costume retail store would have a difficult time being profitable each month of the year.
Let It Pop
So think about what you have to offer, and whether a pop-up store would be the better route to take. If you love to make fudge, for example, open a pop-up fudge shop mid-November and close it down January 1st. (We all know that everyone starts their diet then.) If you like to make watermelon boats for backyard picnics, set up shop just during the summer months. You may be amazed by how much you can cash in over such a short amount of time.
Pop-up stores may not be the best route for every type of business. (I mean, who wants to hire a pop-up pool installer, for example?) But stores like this are a sensible approach for many types of businesses. And, in our current economy, they provide a win-win situation both for entrepreneurs and for those trying to lease retail space. So let the popping begin!
