I am putting the final touches on the Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing book and to give it some zest, I would love to include more stories that were small, conscious acts that created big buzz and transformed your organization.

If I use your story, I will sight you as the source of the story, which is a good way to create some buzz for yourself. I will also send you a complimentary book when it is available.

Please be sure the stories are true and you provide me with enough detail so that I can tell it accurately.

You may email me the story at ron@buzzoodle.com. Please include your name, organization name, story, address and phone number (In case I have questions.) I will not use your information beyond what is stated in this message. If you want to get emails from us, you need to sign up for our newsletter here.

Thanks in advance.

Buzzoodle Buzz Challenge #56
Celebrate Success (From the upcoming book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing)
Difficulty: Simple
Time: Ongoing
Cost: Minimal
Technology Required:Simple

How do you get more people to create more buzz? Celebrate success and let people know when you do something buzzworthy.

There are many tools that can be used to celebrate your successes as an organization. If no one in the organization has set up a formal way to disseminate success yet, mention it to management. It is critical that an organization knows what successes they are achieving and what stories they can tell.

The tools to tell the stories depend on what works best for the organization. A simple bulletin board can work if some people do not have computers. Also a company newsletter or reading the items at a staff meeting work well.

If you have a technical workplace and everyone has access to the Internet, you can use your Intranet to post stories. If that is not available, consider starting an online group, setting up a wiki or a workplace blog to let people know about your success stories.

One of my clients has an eNewsletter that they have been using for years. The software archives the article on the web as well as sending it via email. The archives now get more hits than the main website, even though it is only published for employees. Of course, the public reading about success and how the organization treats the employees is a good thing too.

Celebrate success every day in a public way.

Yes.

One of the main tools of Buzzoodle is the “Buzz Challenge.” By challenging people to step out of a normal day and create some buzz, you can get some extraordinary results without spending a fortune.

To see and example of buzz from a contest, read this post.

What kind of challenge or contest can you do to get employees or customers involved in creating more buzz for you?

What are 5 goals you can set to create more buzz tomorrow?

• Do at least one press release per month.

  By sending out monthly press released you can increase the visibility of your organization. Make the press releases interesting and send them out through web-based press release services.

• Review all documents for buzzwothiness.

  Every document you have can be made to be more interesting and buzzworthy. Make a list of the documents you send out to clients and review each one for ways to improve the selling aspect of the document.

• Update website weekly

  Nothing kills interest more than a stale website. Update at least the news regularly, and blog for even more active and engaging content on the web.

• Get non-sales staff involved.

  Regularly mention the importance of creating buzz and word of mouth to all staff. Let them know the successes and examples of how non-sales people have made an impact on sales. Schedule meetings regularly.

• Ask clients if they know someone that would be interested in talking to you.

  Chances are, your clients know what you do and what the benefits are, and if they are a fan of yours, they will be happy to spread some buzz and give you some referrals. Ask clients for people they know that could benefit from your service. Also, ask if they ever talk about you and ask what they say. If they say they never talk about you, ask why.

All of these items are long term operational issues that need specific goals put into place. Create those goals, track your progress and watch the buzz grow.

If you read the previous interview, one question I always like to ask people is, “What are you buzzing about and why?”

If you visit the Buzzoodle Squidoo Lens, I have put up a comment area just for that. The only rule is that you cannot have any financial gain in promoting it. The box did not work in IE, but I am sure they will get that fixed in a day or two.

If you read the previous interview, one question I always like to ask people is, “What are you buzzing about and why?”

If you visit the Buzzoodle Squidoo Lens, I have put up a comment area just for that. The only rule is that you cannot have any financial gain in promoting it. The box did not work in IE, but I am sure they will get that fixed in a day or two.

In my last question, I asked dan what he creates buzz about? I love to know what people sell just because they like it.

Ron: What are the last 5 products or services you recommended without compensation or coercion and why did you recommend them?

Dan:
1. The fish tacos at Rubios Baja Grill. It’s a franchise restaurant with a location near me. They’re incredible.

2. The Hilton Suite Dreams Mattress. It’s made especially for Hilton by Serta, and after sleeping on it I knew I had to have one. I even took the sheets off the bed before I left trying to find the maker, with no luck. I Googled “hilton mattress” and discovered hiltontohome.com. You can buy anything that was in your Hilton room…how cool is that! I have told many, many people about the mattress.

3. The University of California football coach’s clinic. I’m an assistant varsity coach at a local school, and Cal puts on a great coach’s clinic every year. Go Bears!

4. I don’t know if this counts, but I’ve told lots of sales people that they should watch NBC’s “The Office” starring Steve Carrell. Smart, well written, and hilarious. I worked in an office like that when I was a sales rep for Pitney Bowes.

5. GoDaddy.com. I’ve built a website with them, host two e-mail accounts with them, and they’re awesome. Great service, low prices, fun site. Plus the founder, Bob Parsons, has a great blog.

Thanks for the interview Dan. If you have not read his blog Landing the Deal, get over there and learn how to close the big ones.

Ron: When someone is starting out in sales, everything is a challenge. What do you think someone new to sales should focus on for the first year to get the best results?

Dan: Another great question. You’re on a roll.

During the first year, one of the things I think a new salesperson needs to master is the compensation plan. That may sound a little surprising, but I’ve seen a lot of sales professionals get depressed and down in their new job because they don’t understand the commission and bonus plan. Once they understand how the company compensates them, they are able to better understand how they should approach their new job.

The other thing they need to focus on is building up their bank of business quickly, and demonstrate that they can close business. Managers may say that they are patient and will give the new sales rep time to “grow” but I find that this is rarely the case. Non-performing sales reps are quickly replaced unless they prove that they have potential. That’s the nature of the business.

Ron: Do you always have that deer caught in the headlights look that is in your picture?

Dan: Sadly, yes. I’m easily amused. By the way, when I was younger, I was the spitting image of “Cameron” from Ferris Buehler’s Day Off. When I’m sad, I look like he did just before he sent his Porsche through the big plate glass window.

Hopefully dan does not have that surprised look when he lands a deal!

Part 3 in our Landing the Deal Interview with Dan Tudor

Ron: You mentioned in one blog post that you lean a bit to the right… what do you think are the advantages and disadvantages for someone’s success in sales if they freely talk about religion and/or politics?

Dan: That’s a great question.

In some situations, I think it could hurt. In others, it could help. Obviously, if I were representing a company or organizations that was selling a specific product or service, I would make those types of conversations rare unless I knew – without a doubt – that a prospect or customer shared my point of view. Otherwise, its got the potential to be damaging to the relationship. Plus, in representing another company, I don’t think you have the right to interject too much of your own personal, non-business beliefs into the way you sell.

I agree Dan, and I would say be really sure before you start assuming someone you are talking to shares your views.