How many hundreds if not billions of dollars has McDonald’s made asking you if you want something in addition to what you’ve ordered?

This week I want to remind you about the power of suggestive selling. Remember, if you’re a professional, you always show the client or prospect what’s possible. And I do mean always. Here are several examples for inspiration for you.

• If you sell pest control, how about suggesting you not only treat for termites, but you also suggest you do some perimeter pest control and mosquito spraying?

• If you sell kitchen remodeling and new cabinets, what about suggesting you do some garage storage cabinets as well?

• If you are a professional speaker, why not suggest a follow-up webinar with your speech?

• If you sell landscaping, why not suggest a maintenance program to take care of the new landscape?

• If you own a restaurant, don’t just sell your customers dinner, offer them dessert and remind them of your gift certificates at the time they pay the bill.

I literally could go on for hours. We all need to show our clients and prospects what’s possible. Don’t be pushy or annoying, just make the suggestion. If you learn how to do this right, your clients, prospects, and your wallet will appreciate it.

Talk to you next week.

My great idea this week is pretty simple. Spring is here and many of us are about to go from being half asleep to working 24 hours/day. This is very hard to do and you need to proceed with caution.

I used to think that if I just worked a little bit harder, I could get everything done and everything would work itself out. I have learned that you can’t just keep working harder and expect things to always be better. As I often say, “The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.” (I did not make that up; I’m not smart enough to have thought of that, but I’m not exactly sure who did. The Internet does attribute a variation of it to Gerald Burrill.) If you feel you might be in a bad spot, it’s advisable to stop and look at the situation. That’s my advice this week.

In the coming weeks, if you feel overwhelmed and aren’t sure what to do, take a deep breath and go to lunch. Get out of the office and go for a walk. Do something, but don’t neglect your health or your mental well being.

As I finish this up, it’s 4:00 pm and I am walking out the door to go work out for an hour. Years ago, I NEVER would have or could have done this. But, I’ve learned that my company pays me to think from the neck up and the only way I can think is if I get all the frustration and concern and, yes, stress out of me. Great ideas come to me when I am working out, relaxing and the like. They DON’T come to me when I am working. As CEO of Grunder Landscaping and Marty Grunder! Inc., I need to be thinking, not always grinding away at work.

Now, I’m a big proponent of hard work, but I also have learned when I’ve reached the point of diminishing returns. I only hope you know this point as well. Talk to you next week.

Oh yeah, you’re not going to miss my Sales & Marketing Symposium, are you? Click here for details. Or call me right now and I’ll talk to you personally about it. Thanks.

Here’s a photo of yours truly with my annual “recycle the brand new phone books we just got” routine. If you are still advertising in the Yellow Pages, I’m going to tell you−you are wasting your money. We don’t and many of my clients don’t either. Why? Pretty simple really. Do you use the Yellow Pages? End of discussion; most consumers do not. They use the Internet.

So, my great idea for the week is this. Go to Google; enter the service your company provides and the area you serve. For example, enter Landscaping, Dayton, Ohio, and see who comes up on your screen. In your area, enter the service you provide: pest control, painting, plumbing, landscaping, lawn care, consulting, speaking, or whatever, and the area you service, the city, the county, the region and see where you stack up.

If you aren’t on the first page, you need to talk to an expert on Search Engine Optimization. And I mean an expert, not a so-called expert, someone who has tons and tons of referrals. I have found there is a big difference between a web designer and someone who understands SEO. And, by all means, quit wasting money on Yellow Page ads; there are way better uses for your money.

Oh yeah, don’t miss my Sales & Marketing Symposium in two weeks in Dayton, Ohio. Here’s what we’re going to do. It’s limited to 30 folks; I will be teaching in a very intimate setting, sharing all I’ve got on selling, marketing, and the management of this whole process. You’d be a fool to miss this opportunity; you’ll recoup your investment the first week you try my systems. Sign up today!

Recently a subscriber to my Great Idea, Phillip German, from Lewis Center, Ohio, sent in a question asking for some input on how to implement the advice I give here weekly. Specifically, he asked for insight on how to implement the ideas and how to succeed with a smaller company with operations in the $500,000-$1,000,000 range. So, here goes, Phillip.

The way you implement ideas at a big company is the same way you implement them at a small company. I know that is hard to believe and understand, but it’s very true.

I remember around 12 years ago giving a keynote to a very large group of managers from a publicly traded, multi-million-dollar company. I remember being worried if my small business message would resonate with their “big business.” And you know what? It did, perfectly.

Every company should do 3 things to implement ideas.

1. Create a Culture of Constant Improvement. Never ever be satisfied with where you are; keep looking for new and better ways to do things. Try new things. If you make a mistake, don’t look at that as a problem; look at mistakes as learning, very valuable learning. Demand that your people give you new ideas and reward them for this. This works for big and small companies.
2. Constantly Communicate What’s Important at Your Company. I mean constantly; each and every day is fine. Share your mission statement (Don’t have one? Get one!). Reward those behaviors you want to see more of. Squash the behaviors you don’t want and remember that “whatever you allow, you encourage.” This works for big and small companies.
3. Listen to your clients. I say all the time that your clients will tell you what you need to do to be successful; you just have to ask them and then listen. This works for big and small companies.

How can anyone argue that big companies do anything differently than small companies? I don’t think you can. At small companies it means the owner has the responsibility of doing all the above-mentioned and that’s tough at times. But no one is ever as passionate as the owner is. At big companies more people have to help out with the 3 items above, but rarely can the passion of the owner be outdone, so big companies are at a disadvantage there.

Phillip, great question. Moral of the Story? Business is Business, Leadership is Leadership. Get to work, everyone!

PS Note that the dates for the Sales & Marketing Symposium in Dayton, Ohio, have changed. The new dates are Friday, March 25th, with an optional tour of Grunder Landscaping Co. the afternoon before on Thursday, March 24th. Sign up today!