Laptop, tablet or both?
Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga is said to be both laptop and tablet. The device achieves its duality from a patented hinge that lets the keyboard flip flush to the back of its 13-inch screen, according to a review in the New York Times. With the keyboard folded back, the screen is controlled through touch as with any tablet. The hinge design allows the user to hold the gadget partway open, so it can be set on a table as a display for watching videos. The IdeaPad Yoga runs on the Windows 8 operating system; it has an Intel Chief River processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB solid-state drive, with a claimed battery life of eight hours. It is expected to be available in the second half of 2012 for $1,200.
Dell hopes to one-up MacBook Air
Dell hopes its ultraslim XPS 13 will help the company steal away would-be buyers of Apple’s super-slim MacBook Air. The XPS 13 has some nice features, says Wall Street Journal Technology Editor Walt Mossberg. Its 13-inch screen is no wider than other models with 11- and 12-inch screens. Dell uses edge-to-edge glass for its screen and leaves much less of a bezel, or border, around the screen, than the Apple does, says Mossberg. It’s thicker and a tad heavier than the comparable MacBook Air, and, like the Apple, it’s significantly heavier than Toshiba’s ultrabook. If there’s a downside, it’s the battery life, which is four hours under heavy load. The 13-inch XPS 13 costs $1,000.
One of the best sales techniques is to ask for referrals from your happy customers. As much as I want my sales people asking for referrals, I would much rather have my happy clients refer business to me without having to ask.
Wouldn’t you just love for that phone to ring with a constant stream of new business that comes as a result of your happy customers or clients voluntarily spreading the word about you? Of course you would!
Recently I worked with one of my clients at a sales rally that celebrated their success and also emphasized their newest theme, which is based on Fredrick Reichheld’s book, “The Ultimate Question.” In my preparation, I read this book for a second time, and it was time well spent. (If you haven’t done so, get the book and read it – tomorrow!)
The ultimate question is exactly that, the one single question that will tell you if you are doing a great job by your customers and/or clients. You can ask all types of questions, but at the end of the day, this is the only one that matters. It is simply that on a scale of one to ten (ten being best), how likely are your customers to recommend you to their friends and colleagues?
A nine or ten puts you in the zone for creating advocates, the people who will refer you without asking. This is a survey question that happens after you’ve done your business with the customer. While I always like good feedback from customers, what strategies might we implement to help get that nine or ten?
At anytime during your interactions with the customer ask yourself two questions.
1. “Is what I’m doing right now going to make that customer come back to me the next time they need what it is that I sell?” You may remember from my past writings that I believe loyalty is less about a lifetime and more about the next time. This is the question you ask yourself over and over.
2. “Is what I’m doing, or about to do, going to make the customer feel good enough to recommend me to a friend or colleague?” While this is a good follow-up to the above question, it can also stand on its own. If what you are doing is good enough for one of their friends, it is surely good enough for them to come back.
So, it isn’t just about loyalty. We have added another layer. Loyalty plus advocacy is a winning combination!
Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE is the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. As a professional speaker and author, Shep helps companies develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep’s speaking programs and books, please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com Web: www.hyken.com. For information on customer service training, go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com.
More and more products in healthcare are being viewed by decision-makers as commodities. In an era of accountable care, products that are good enoughare displacing those regarded as the “gold standard.” Selling commodity-type products can be a challenge, but the bigger problem is when you, the sales professional, are a commodity yourself.
Hopefully, your value proposition is not explained by simply telling your customers that your product is the best. For one thing, they don’t believe you and for another, they don’t want the best. Most just want an acceptable product that produces acceptable outcomes at the lowest price.
Products that get the job done and are almost indistinguishable from competing products are, by definition, commodities. If the only differentiator you offer for your product is price, then you’re a commodity too. Not good.
Let’s say you sell adhesive bandages—just the plain vanilla kind, no special coatings or proprietary secret formulas. Just some sticky tape with a piece of gauze is all that you’re selling. How do you differentiate such a hard-to-differentiate commodity so that a customer might feel like it’s worth more than a me-too product?
Offer more.
Buyers and sellers of commodities focus on price. There is always more than price—there’s you! What additional value can you morally and legally offer the customer to make a difference?
Can you or an assistant help with inventory management?
Can you provide in-services to staff with accompanying CEUs or CMEs?
Can you provide just-in-time delivery to minimize inventory costs for the customer while providing the same level of dependability?
Can you bundle products together to give the customer even better pricing, reduce the cost of acquisition and win more business in return?
Does doing business with you and your company mean less mistakes, less stress, and less work?
Are you having best-practices conversations with procurement managers and financial personnel to help them make better buying decisions? Do you share information and methodologies that help customers to be more efficient and competitive? When you do, your value goes up.
Even if your product is seen as a commodity, you can be the differentiator that gets the sale. Commodity sales reps sell price. World class medical sales professionals differentiate themselves by revealing unseen opportunities and helping the customer to operate more efficiently and produce good patient outcomes at a lower cost.
You might sell a commodity, but you don’t have to be a commodity.
Mace Horoff has spent the last 28 years working with the medical device industry. He is an award-winning speaker, trainer, author and consultant focused on sales force effectiveness for
the medical device, pharmaceutical, dental, and other related healthcare industries. To learn how Mace can make your medical sales force more effective, please call (561) 333-8080 or
First the rules. DO NOT POST your answer here or on Facebook or Twitter. Instead, email to ggarrison@mdsi.org.
Now, on to the question:
This messenger had no idea that his travels to announce the victor of an ancient battle between Greeks and Persians would become a popular long-distance running event. Who was he?
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