Monday, April 23, 2018

The perfect way to sell 100,000 of your products.

The secret to your success is sitting right in front of you.

As a Podcaster, it is extremely important to know your audience and who you want to cultivate as your audience.

That simply means, who is your ideal customer. You have heard that over and over again for many years now. And that is extremely important to understand. What does your ‘avatar’ look like.

I know when I first heard that I was like, what the heck is an avatar. Because I thought it was about the movie, Avatar! Why would I want a big blue alien to represent my audience?

Then someone tried to clarify and what I took from that was, oh! Create a cartoon character that looked like me. And again, I wondered, why would I want to do that.

But you see, I am not afraid to be dumb. So I asked and asked, and FINALLY someone actually listened and helped me to understand exactly what an avatar was and why it was vital to my success as a podcaster. Please note, not just as a podcaster but as a business person, politician, celebrity. All of these need to know who, what, why, where their audience is and comes from.

I finally learned that my AVATAR was actually the intimate detailing of the perfect description of my perfect client/audience/listener/customer.
And why? Well, let me put it another way, if you could absolutely capture the attention of just the person you describe in your avatar description, that person represents over 25,000 people in America alone.

What I am saying is, if you could ONLY sell that one perfect description and they all bought from you your business would be selling at least 25,000 items. Now I don’t know about you but if my podcast could capture an audience of 25,000 people every single week think of my advertising clients. How much would they each pay to tap into a list of 25,000 perfect customers and how much would that be worth to them?

If you could find that place and sell 25,000 of whatever it is your market, would that change your business? But wait!!
Remember this. That perfect client does not buy ONE THING. They buy many things from their perfect store, their perfect service, their perfect supplier of… whatever it is that you sell. They buy many items many times each month or year. Over and over again because you know what makes them happy. You designed your business to make that AVATAR client happy and keep coming back time after time.
When I designed The Happiness Agenda podcast, it was designed so that women would share each episode with their friends and colleagues. They would listen, hear stories of overcoming terrible events in the lives of others, it would help them. And they know, meet, share lives and stories with other women. And to help them, they would share my podcast in order to help other women create lives beyond their own struggles and devastating setbacks.

And I keep saying, women, even though about 20% of my listeners are males. Because my AVATAR was a 48-year-old, white woman, divorced, middle American, living off $50,000 a year with teenage children living at home, with a decent but not new car, fighting to keep enough money to pay the rent and mad as hell that she had not planned better for her husband’s demise/divorce/disease but needs to hear positive things about how other women overcame similar circumstances and not only survived but overcame and excelled.

But I also understand that in today’s society we look for other ways to entertain ourselves. So, yes, come tune into The Happiness Agenda but I am acutely aware of needing other happy places.

Today, one of my fun discoveries was https://armchairexpertpod.com/ a podcast by Dax Shepherd. You may not know him by name but you will recognize him when you see his face. An actor doing a great job interviewing other celebrities. And as we all know, we are a society driven by our worship of athletes and celebs.

So, go ahead, tune in to his video or audio shows but just make sure you come back to The Happiness Agenda you can find it on my website at www.stevesapato.com/podcast


And, while we are at it, find your way to the SmartFem Network on Facebook with my great friend Lea Woodford. If you are an author, speaker, podcaster, publisher or just want to belong to the most amazing and uplifting group of people you can hang with, this is the place. https://www.facebook.com/SmartFem/

Steve Sapato - the most famous unfamous speaker in America and damn fine business coach. You can reach me at steve@stevesapato.com or my website is www.profitbuildercoaching.com but only when you want your company to grow, to get a great speaker, to stop boring meetings, to enhance your employees productivity and happiness... oh, wait... just call - 563-370-4938 and leave me a message. You will be glad you did.

Friday, April 13, 2018

STOP using your Rubber Band elevator pitch? It’s losing you money.


You have no idea how much business you are missing


You're missing business because your elevator pitch looks like this…
Hi! I’m a Rubber Band. I am stretchy and fun. You can buy me in many colors and different sizes, lengths, and thickness.
Will you buy it? NO!! Why not? Because that’s what a rubber band is. That is NOT what it does.  Now answer this for me. What can YOU use a rubber band for? Think about it, what can YOU use a rubber band for? Wrapping cords, holding a place in a book, wrapping a bunch of ink pens in a drawer so they don’t spread all over, holding your remote front and back together, closing your chip bag or especially your saltine cracker package. A lid on, one thing to another, groups of things banded together. You see, there are dozens of things you use a rubber band for. And now that you are thinking of the uses you might even have to stop on your way home just to pick up (buy) some rubber bands!
Here is my point – in YOUR elevator pitch, isn’t that what you are doing? Telling people WHAT YOU ARE. Hi, I am Bob the Realtor. I do what other realtors do but I expect you to believe that my company and I do it better than all other Realtors. Hi, I’m Kathy, the attorney and I do lawyer things better than any other attorney. Hi, I’m Tom the electrician, and my company does everything better than all other electricians.
STOP IT!
Instead, start marketing in the 21st Century and leave your 20th Century elevator pitch behind.
What can YOU help people do?
Hi! I am Steve Sapato. What is your greatest challenge today?

Answer 1 – I need more leads.

                If I can help you generate more leads and generate more income by helping you close more business, would that be of interest to you?

Answer 2 – I need to convert more sales

                If I can help you generate more leads into sales faster and a higher percentage than ever before, would that be of interest to you?

Answer 3 – I need to retain my staff

                If I can help you retain your staff, increase morale, improve employee attitudes, and reduce employee errors through miscommunication, would that be of interest to you?

Answer 4 – I want to be better at networking

                If I can show you a method that guarantees you getting an appointment with someone you consider a qualified lead at every networking event you attend, would that be of interest to you?

Answer 5 – My business is growing so fast I can’t keep up but I don’t know what to do next?

                If I can show you proven methods for handling your business growth, gave you peace of mind, more time to relax and increased your profits, would that…

Do you begin to understand that, instead of TELLING people what you do in your elevator speech, you asked them questions to find their pain, problem, struggle, motivation… that you would get more leads? More referrals? Because then people would understand HOW you can help them and their friends and contacts. It is NOT what you do, it is HOW you do what you do and WHO you can help.

I understand the struggle you are going through. That’s my job, to help you grow your business. I am Steve Sapato, business coach. Do you want your business to improve?

Hi! I am Steve Sapato, what is YOUR greatest challenge today?


My job is to make yours easier and more profitable.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Mental Prosperity is the ability to get the most out of yourself and get the most out of people around you.

One of the greatest challenges in our society is how do we live a longer and fuller life?

Well, I  have been noting for many years how we are getting less and less involved in each other's lives.
Walking down a hallway and no one makes eye contact anymore. No one says hello! No one gets on the elevator and asks the first person who got on to PUSH THE BUTTON for our floor.
I have been in a crowded elevator and people will squeeze forward to push their floor button because they are afraid of bothering someone else to push that damn button!
I have walked down an empty hallway at work and someone walking towards me would rather look at the wall rather than say hello or make eye contact with a stranger. (OK, I may seem stranger than most.)
But, we stopped talking in elevators, in hallways, in lines. Now we text or stare at videos on our phones.
And it is this lack of communication and connection that will contribute to us dying sooner and more unhappy than ever in our history.
And now I can add, it is backed up by facts. Mine were observations and beliefs until this research and wonderful Tex Talk offered more significant proof.
Listen and learn my friends.
Steve Sapato
Learn To Win workshops   steve@stevesapato.com

https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_pinker_the_secret_to_living_longer_may_be_your_social_life?utm_campaign=tedspread--a&utm_content=talk&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_term=science

 http://t.ted.com/nMk9fKb

https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness?utm_campaign=tedspread--a&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Become a Great Manager to get that promotion

Great Managers need to understand their roles.

Being a good manager isn’t just about managing your people. It is about managing your assignments, clarifying your duties and understanding the nature of your job.

Becoming a great manager means you not only can do the job but it means you are good enough to take charge of that job.

As a manager, you need to define your role and all of the limitations as well as expectations for each assignment. You have to know what is expected of you and you have to know what to expect. What you are allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do. Each of these areas carries a huge responsibility and great knowledge required to attend to those duties.

A great manager will have to know the resources available to them both the physical resources and the people resources. What each area offers and what the people bring to their positions.

A great manager needs to know the principals involved, understand their personalities, the power structure and their relative position within this as to who they can and cannot connect with and ask for assistance or admit their shortcomings. A great manager will understand that these connections are not just who is above them or below them in the hierarchy but also who are the resources that are across from them that they can ask assistance from or offer assistance to.

A great manager will learn who they can trust to accomplish a job or assignment, who talks a good game versus who plays that game. They will understand personalities of who needs to talk to accomplish their game and who will achieve their success quietly and how to involve people to help them accomplish their goals or achieve their purpose for working in the group. They will also learn who they can confide in and who will spread a weakness or confidence to undermine their position within the organization.

A great manager will consistently and continually develop their people skills, listening skills, and observation skills and they will learn how to use their communication to achieve their goals.
A great manager begins as a good manager and develops through interaction with their peers to become great managers.

Always remember that Great Managers Are Made Not Born.


I am Steve Sapato and I am Leadership and Professional Growth Expert. And I developed the ‘Learn To Win’ life system for success.

Friday, January 26, 2018

How to Double your restaurant deliveries.

15% More Deliveries Strategy that will work for any business

It does not matter what you are selling, delivering, or offering it’s all about the marketing. And it does matter if you learn what you need to know.

Imagine it’s a cold winter day and you are just arriving home after a very long day at work. You are standing waiting for the elevator. Standing next to you with his hands full is one of those Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Caviar delivery guys with his earphones on, holding a heavenly smelling bag of sumptuous delight, called someone’s dinner.

The elevator opens, everyone gets on. As usual these days, no one speaks and you all get off on your floor now wondering what you might prepare for dinner and as usual, you get pizza or a bowl of cereal.

How different that could be. Let’s imagine the very same scenario except … the delivery person was hired for their personality and trained to make a great living.
The delivery person enters the elevator and says, ‘How is everyone tonight? What are you all having for dinner? Because I am delivering two meals. It starts off with a delicious Black Forest Mushroom soup, loaded with mushrooms, scallions, and garlic slow simmered all day to extract the shitake flavors. One entree is Maine Lobster Ravioli consisting of lobster tail and claw, creamed spinach, julienne red and yellow peppers, butter sauce and chives. The other is Black Pepper Fettucine made with house lamb sausage, red wine, cherry tomatoes, and pecorino.’

Can you imagine the comments?

‘Well, I would love to deliver a meal to you also. If you want my card I happen to have some right here with a link to the menu and our delivery service.’

Do you think there might be a couple people who would take his card? How about if they brought a roll with butter in a separate baggy for the doorkeeper/bellman/front desk person and laid a couple cards on them and said, ‘tell you what, on my next delivery, I’ll bring you a small dessert if you want?’

Do you think the front person would offer this delivery person as a source if someone asks?

Now you tell me, do you know anyone training their delivery people to do any of this? Or hiring delivery people who have a great personality knowing full well, that the delivery services burgeoning today are producing incomes to rival full-time professional waiters at upscale restaurants.

I am Steve Sapato and you pay me to teach you marketing that no one else is taking advantage of our techniques that others just aren’t considering.



I am Steve Sapato with Profit Builder Coaching. steve@profitbuildercoaching.com

Monday, January 30, 2017

DO NOT SELL ME – INVITE ME

DO NOT SELL ME – INVITE ME

I recently added a new domain because I was adding a whole new coaching system. But here is what I received from a company in an attempt to market themselves… is this you? Is it familiar?
Do you really expect get ANY business from it? Or… is it just what someone who knows nothing about business has told you to do in hopes that it might work? Do not sell me on your first contact like this…
_____________      
Hello Bob, (the names were changed to protect the unsuccessful)

I’m Ted, a Business Development Executive at ABC Technologies. 

I came across your domain today www.starthereforsuccess.com and found that you had registered it recently. 

We have developed more than 900 web presences over the last 7 years. We take pride in our consultative approach that takes you from developing a Website to implementing Online marketing and Mobile Applications to suit your business’s needs. 

Kindly let me know if you are interested in seeing a few samples of our work and I’d love to show you. Alternately, I can send you specific samples if we can connect on the phone and have a quick conversation about your needs. With just 15 minutes of your time we can see if we’d be a good fit for each other.

When would be a good day and time to talk?

Looking forward to hearing from you!
Here is one simple response… NO!
Maybe you should start our communication by saying - Congratulations Bob! on your new domain name!
I would love to see the finished web page and know what it is you do for a living that you would purchase a new domain name?
Could you tell me when it will be up and available to view?
Excitedly
Steve Sapato

I would learn about Bob, his business AND his plans or lack thereof for his new domain! I would establish some rapport. I would connect us. This approach would tell me if I were wasting my time because- the website is already up and active, or if Bob has a clue or if Bob needs or will need advice, help and support.
This approach would tell you if Bob needs basic web training and information or if he needs advanced information. It would tell you lots and lots of things... IF
IF you will ASK, compliment and offer support!
Don’t tell me what you do. Don’t advise me unless I ask. Instead, invite and establish a connection.
What else might you learn from this approach rather than the first approach? Can you add how else I might approach someone? What else I might learn and how?
Would love to hear from you. Excited about your response.
Steve Sapato