Now Online: U.S. Retailers' Black Friday Secrets

NEW YORK (Reuters)—On the prowl for the best deals from U.S. retailers this Thanksgiving weekend? A quick check online can provide the answers that retailers are not yet ready to reveal.

Numerous Web sites have cropped up in recent years that publish in advance what they claim are copies of the newspaper ads retailers will run for Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving, which marks the chaotic and ultra-competitive launch of the holiday shopping season.
Another Web site, Black Friday Ads (http://bfads.net) says Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will be offering a 42-inch high-definition plasma television for $988 from 5 a.m. until 11 a.m., while supplies last, on Nov. 24.

Jon Vincent, founder of BlackFriday.info, said he gets copies of the ads from employees working at newspaper distribution facilities, who take snapshots of the inserts and send them to his site.

Vincent said he does not call the retailers to verify the information, but he makes sure the pictures look legitimate and the prices seem reasonable before posting them.

"People are really interested to find out what's on sale on Black Friday," he said. "If they know a plasma TV is going to be on sale for $500 off, they're not going to buy it now, they'll just wait until Black Friday and then they'll buy it then."
But retailers are not happy having their holiday sales plans revealed ahead of schedule to either shoppers or to their competitors.

Black Friday Ads said privately held home goods retailer Linens 'n Things sent a letter asking it to remove the information from the site or it would take legal action.

Linens 'n Things did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

BlackFriday.info had a note on its site on Nov. 13 saying it had removed a Best Buy Co. Inc. advertisement after the electronics retailer threatened to try to shut the site down.

"We can't really fight Best Buy," Vincent said.

A Best Buy spokesman said he was unaware of the note posted on BlackFriday.info, but said the retailer does not acknowledge or comment on "rumor" sites.

But it is hard to make the information disappear once it is online.

The day after BlackFriday.info removed the Best Buy ad, Black Friday Ads had a copy of what looked like a Best Buy newspaper insert, promoting a 42-inch LCD high-definition TV for $999.99, after $500 in instant savings, until noon on Black Friday.

BlackFriday.info's Vincent said this is the third year his site has published Black Friday deals. While every year one or two retailers complain, he does not expect that to hinder these sites.

In Print and Online: Acquisitions in the Media Sector

The media sector has been seeing a fair amount of merger and acquisitions activity lately. Traditional print and broadcast media firms, struggling to compete with new online and mobile media outlets, have been targeted by private equity buyers. Meanwhile, online players have been buying up innovative new content providers in order to remain competitive and keep up with the latest technologies.

Radio station operator Clear Channel Communications recently agreed to be acquired by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners for about S18.7 billion.
Thomson Financial describes the deal as the largest buyout to date in the media and entertainment industry. But the deal is only one of several recent private equity buyouts in the traditional media sector. After an extended bidding war, Spanish-language broadcaster Univision sold to a consortium of private equity firms for S12 billion.

On the publishing and printing side, Reader's Digest Association recently agreed to be acquired for $1.6 billion, plus the assumption of about $776 million in debt. The Tribune Company, which owns 11 newspapers and a number of television stations, has received considerable interest from buyout firms and private investors after announcing that it might sell all or part of the company.
Traditional broadcast and print media companies are facing competition from other media sources. Between the Internet and the media content now available for mobile devices such as cell phones and handhelds. consumers can access news, information, and entertainment on demand. Advertisers are responding by shifting a significant portion of their ad dollars to new media clients. With the loss of advertising revenue, many traditional media companies are seeing a corresponding decline in their share value.

The low stock prices make these companies attractive targets for private equity players, since with stock values depressed the media companies can be acquired for less. Since traditional media companies still enjoy fairly stable sales figures, buying them up makes good business sense for investment companies. Subscription services take money up front and deliver product over time, generating a lot of available cash. And once a company is taken private, equity firms can make up for lost advertising revenue by selling off assets or making drastic operational changes.

Consolidation is also occurring in the Internet media sector, as major corporate players such as Google make new acquisitions. Recent sector deals include Google's S 1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube and media conglomerate News Corp.'s 2005 acquisition of Intermix Media, the owner of popular social networking site MySpace. Current deals reported to be in the works include Google buying iRows, an Israel-based provider of a browser-based spreadsheet service, and a Yahoo! deal to acquire Bix.com, a site that allows users and advertisers to stage online contests. Bix.com was founded in January 2006.

As popular Internet sites feature more social features and user generated content, major Internet players have turned to acquisitions to remain competitive. While the previous boom in Internet start-up companies was driven by speculative investment buyers, the current run of acquisitions is being led by established companies within the industry who already have successful business models.

MTV Rallies Together Online Sales Forces

MTV Networks Online today is expected to announce the formation of a consolidated advertising sales group, a move the online arm of New York-based MTV Networks hopes will allow it to better address the specific needs of advertisers looking to enter the online space. The new ad sales division will service online subsidiaries MTVi and Nickelodeon Online.

Peggy Mansfield, formerly vice president and publisher of Nickelodeon MediaWorks, is being named senior vice president of advertising sales for MTV Networks Online.
Mansfield said that MTV Networks Online's breadth of offerings would he compelling to advertisers looking to reach markets that ranged from "cradle to older adults." Mansfield will lead the centralized ad sales force to help advertisers make buys across all online properties. She noted that the group would continue to work with the cable TV ad sales groups to create innovative packages for advertisers who want to advertise on different platforms, a process that can be confusing to some advertisers.

"I think some advertisers are getting it now, but it's an education process," said Mansfield. "As sales people, we need to be prepared not only to educate our advertisers to all the opportunities that are available on our sites, but also really listen to what their needs are, whether it's creating high-profile events on the Web or doing advanced targeting."
"The opportunity to work with advertisers across all of our businesses and to really understand the unique needs of advertisers in the online space is the reason why we wanted to get these guys together," said Fred Seibert, president of MTV Networks Online. "Peggy comes from a very eclectic background, having worked in print, TV and online. She has not only the online experience, but the traditional media experience that allows her to understand the unique needs of clients in a new space."

The Miraculous, Curative Power of Selling!

Jim’s dad died when he was just 15, and he had a stay-at-home mom who didn’t have marketable skills.

So he dropped out of high school to work, choosing encyclopedia sales as his ticket to an income sufficient to support himself and his mom.

There was only one small, technical difficulty.

Jim had a terrible speech impediment, a stutter, so how could he make it through presentations?

He asked for a glass of water before he started his pitches, and when he began to stutter, he took a sip.

He was always well hydrated.

But he was also well compensated, because he simply had to succeed. There was no other option.

As his success grew, his stuttering improved until it became barely discernable.

Jim went on to publish his own encyclopedias and he started a finance company to make them affordable. Now, he and his family live in one of the most beautiful and famous golf communities in America.

This goes to show the curative power of selling.

One of my consulting clients told me, “I’ve never met a problem in business that a few more sales couldn’t cure!”

Let me add to his thought.

I’ve never met a problem in my personal life that a few more sales couldn’t cure, either!

One of them is SHYNESS.

When I started to sell I was a shy, 19 year-old teenager, but pleasantly, people took me seriously because I initiated my career by working on the phone. I can’t tell you how broadening and confidence-building it was to successfully persuade mature businesspeople, many decades my senior, to buy what I was offering.

Every “yes” I got chipped away at my shyness and insecurity, and this benefit carried over into interpersonal relationships, face-to-face selling and to public speaking.

So, the next time someone thinks he needs one of those pills that you hear touted on TV for “social anxiety” or some other disorder that involves a lack of self-confidence, do him a favor.

Sales Team Psychology

Goal setting is powerful way of keeping sales psychology on the up-and-up. We all know that goals dictate future performance by giving team members a sense of purpose and direction. I can think of nothing less motivating than not knowing why I’ve been asked to do something. Instill in your team members what the end objective is and explain to them the necessary steps to get there. It is much easier to put forth the effort when we can answer who, what, where, when, why and how. Make sure your goals are realistic and attainable, but lofty enough that they are inspiring.

It is a general rule of thumb that greater or more difficult goals actually increase performance. The reason for this tendency is that loftier goals or objectives set higher expectations, and expectations in turn strongly influence behavior. The power of effective goal setting or setting a target can be seen in the following example: In a particular production plant, workers with little experience were divided into two groups. One group was told to simply observe the experienced workers and try to be able to perform at a skilled level themselves within twelve weeks.

The second group received specific weekly goals that were progressively more and more demanding. Needless to say, the second group fared much better. Similarly, Yale University once conducted a striking twenty-year study that found that the 3 percent of students who put their goals in writing had significantly higher incomes than those who did not—in fact, higher incomes than the other 97 percent of students combined. From these examples, it is obvious that proper goal setting goes a long way toward promoting sound sales psychology amongst your team members.

Years of observation and study have produced personality profiles of what are considered to be outstanding salespeople. Perhaps the most recognized of these profiles is the model that was developed by Gallup Management Consulting Group. Gallup has spent more than two decades interviewing hundreds of thousands of top salespeople to help corporate clients form and develop their own sales teams. Its findings suggest that the top four qualities of top-tier producers are: 1) solid persuasion and closing skills; 2) self-motivation; 3) strong work ethic and 4) excellent people and relationship skills.

Why do I highlight these findings? It is likely that as a sales manager, you already look for these skills when you hire someone anyway. But how do you enhance these essential sales characteristics after your recruits are on board so that your team can become even better? My hope is that by giving you four key concentration areas, you can streamline your efforts into getting the greatest results with the most focused effort. When you are trying to draw out any one of these characteristics, or any characteristic for that matter, it is helpful to assess the kind of personalities you’re dealing with. For some, a strong drive to close a sale exists just because they possess a need to “win.” Whether that “win” translates into financial rewards, recognition, the glory of being at the top or whatever, some individuals just have an almost instinctive need to win. This need is compelling enough that they are not deterred by long hours, rejection or time away from their family.

For others, it is not just about winning in and of itself. Beyond that, some individuals have a competitive edge that relishes the defeat of others—even their own colleagues. Half of the victory for these types of people is seeing others left in the dust. I believe that some competition can be a good thing, but you’ve got to be on your toes to buffer this type of personality. If you think pitting your team members against each other might actually create unhealthy rivalries and negative feelings, then you’ve got to have a way to counteract those negative effects.

Next, there are those personalities who are very ego-driven. They aren’t motivated by a need to conquer others. Rather, they want success solely for their own personal satisfaction. This is the type of person who is constantly out to beat her/his own previous records. In other words, these types of individuals compete with themselves. Moreover, they are very focused on being experts. While this competitive orientation has significant strong points, its main downside is that it is too self-focused—even in a well-intended way—and not conscious enough of the team element. The self-motivated person is the one you want to be sure you can draw into the team so you have the best that both approaches have to offer.

Then you have those individuals who seem to get the most satisfaction out of seeing their customers happy. They don’t really have the burning desire to win or compete, but they are very much into relationship building. These people are naturally gifted at being empathetic, caring and good listeners. They are the ones who are much more inclined to stay in touch with clients after the sale has come and gone.

As you step back and evaluate what kind of team member mix you have, realize that no one is purely one temperament or another. We tend to be a combination of at least two of these different types of producers. However, we are usually dominated much more by one area than the others. Your job is to get a grip on what you have to work with and figure out how to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together so your team solidly represents all of the best qualities of top sales producers.

In closing this section, I wanted to touch on the topic of working with a rep who has hit a plateau. Why? Because it’s a very real obstacle that sometimes happens even to the very best. The most typical cause for a plateau is simply feeling burned out. In this case, a very obvious solution would be to lighten the stalled rep’s responsibilities or even give her/him some time off. On the other hand, it may be that the rep is burned out with doing the “same old thing.” If that’s the case, simply changing her/his responsibilities would provide the necessary stimulation to get her/him moving again. New responsibilities could be things like training, forecasting or recruiting. Even performing the same tasks with new prospects or in a different community may alleviate boredom and present exciting, new challenges.

Sometimes it works to have reps come up with their own solutions. They may be more apt to pursue something they feel they’ve come up with on their own than something that is imposed. Furthermore, this way they really know what’s at the heart of the issue and would, therefore, likely know the best remedy better than anyone else. Lastly, review the possibility of how bonuses and other forms of recognition might spur renewed motivation. This approach is especially effective when your team members’ financial needs are already being met and they’re looking for reward and acknowledgment in other forms. In the next section, we’ll discuss what kinds of rewards and incentives work the best.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! His message and program has helped thousands and will help you achieve unprecedented success in both your business and personal life.

Feasts, Failures and Food for Thought

It’s the year end. It’s holiday time. It’s time for banquets and budgets. Along with assorted food items accumulating in the office, most companies are deep into their budgeting process. Those responsible for revenue are getting the emails, calls, and memos saying “more.” Those controlling expenses are getting emails, calls and memos saying “less.”

It is the same stuff different year. Cut the cake and cut the costs. Have some sweets and sweeten the revenue. When all the snacks have disappeared and the office party is only a blur, the revenue goal will have been set and the expense budgets confirmed. The sales manager’s food for thought will be, “What can I do to hit my number this year?” The answer may well be the calculated and consistent avoidance of the top three mistakes sales managers make.

I hasten to add, I have made each of these mistakes myself more than once. I have observed them habitually being made by others. They creep back into the sales manager’s life like dessert into a diet. They are neither new nor surprising. They are simply the most common mistakes made. Because they are so common, the corrections are simple. A disciplined approach to correcting each is a sure ticket to a better revenue feast in the year ahead. Go ahead, help yourself.

1. Mistake: Feeding the weak: --Giving your weakest producers the biggest cut of you management time sandwich. Because your biggest producers are producing, you invest your time in the lowest producers. What would time and support for your best producers do to your overall revenue picture? Often a 10% increase from the biggest producers will be greater than a 20% increase by our weakest producers.

Correction: Feed the Strong first

2. Mistake: Ignoring the food you ordered --Sales people respect what you inspect not what you expect. Have in place and pay attention to a sales activity reporting system. Most companies have one, but do most sales managers check it daily? Asking sales people to report their activity and outcomes is basic to the sales management process. Reading their reports and examining their input daily is a primary management task. The fact is, as managers, we dislike reading the reports just as much as most salespeople dislike creating them. Writing and reading the reports, however, must be a non-negotiable element for everyone, including you.

Correction: Feed on the food you ordered

3. Mistake: Failure to feedback: -- If you ask sales people to do something and they do it, acknowledge it. If you ask them to do something and they don’t acknowledge that too. It goes to the heart of mutual respect and accountability. Reading sales reports is one thing, taking the time to let a sales person know you have done so, is another. A quick and specific note that indicates that you have read the report is not only courteous it is productive. It says you are paying attention, care, and take them seriously. Sales reports and feedback are a critical communications vehicle in the well run sales organization.

Correction: Feedback what you’ve been fed

Three steps to making next year better:

1. Feed the Strong first
2. Feed on the food you ordered
3. Feedback what you’ve been fed.

How To Deliver More Next Year With Less!

I want you to deliver more:

- Profit

- Sales

- Productivity

- Customers

- Quality

And, by the way, you’ve got less:

- Money

- Staff

- Time

Sound familiar? Year on year, sales leaders are being asked to achieve improved results with fewer resources or, at least, more from the same. To most Sales Directors, the attainment of a permanent increase in sales revenues must seem like the search for eternal youth; unending and, ultimately, unavailing.

Unfortunately, the task of selling never becomes any easier and as competition continues to intensify, sales people will face issues that can be extremely difficult to deal with e.g. decreased product uniqueness, increased competition within ‘safe’ markets, longer sales cycles and shorter product life spans.

The reality is that whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there. A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organisations must develop.

Change is continuous and will become more rapid as we move forward over time. Sales management must be capable of reacting to those changes, be prepared to take advantage of them and yet stay within the overall framework of a formalised strategy.

The role of strategy is fundamental if the people within an organisation are to be enabled to make the level of contribution of which they are capable. Strategy, based on a good grasp of the core competencies of a business, is an essential precursor to achieving optimal shareholder value.

Getting more for less or more from the same level of resources, is my simple definition of efficiency.

Here then are six steps you can take in 2007 that will help you achieve those increased targets:

Step One: Understand your operation

- Do you know your operation well enough to improve it?

Step Two: Set the right objectives

- Do you have the right objectives to steer improvement?

Step Three: Check customer perception

- How can you identify non-value-added (wasteful) activity?

- How can you remove it?

Step Four: Increase capacity

- Are you meeting demand?

- What action(s) can you take?

- How efficient are your resources?

Step Five: Continuously improve

- Do you have a systematic approach to constant improvement?

Step Six: Check customer perception

- How effective have your efforts been?

- How can you tell?

And finally, when you review your performance in 2006, consider benchmarking yourself against the Sales Management Acid Test:

The Acid Test – When thinking about your own sales force,

- Did you understand their motivators – what was driving them?

- Did you always have visibility of their numbers – year to date, forecast vs. required performance?

- Activity levels – did they work hard and smart enough?

- Engagement – did they always meet with the right level in their prospects/accounts?

- Messaging – were they capable of delivering an appropriate message at the right level?

- Qualification – did they only spend time on deals where they could compete and ultimately win?

- Closing – did they construct successful campaigns and close enough business?