Standing Out In A Crowded Street

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 If you have never been shopping in Mexico, the experience can be initially jarring. As you walk down a street (in a tourist area) you have person after person after person come up to you and beg you to come into their store.  They might entice you by telling you their merchandise is totally different (which at a glance you can see is not true).  They sometimes compliment you and tell you how their items will match your beauty.  My favorite is the juke where they pretend that you know each other (they will notice your armband and say they work at the resort you are staying).  You have to admire the hustle. On the other hand, after 50 people come up to you saying the same exact thing, you get really good at tuning them out.  You get really good at saying no.  You might even get a little more comfortable being rude.  They have trained you to mistrust them. And by hustling through the marketplace, you might really miss some good things.  It’s a shame, really.  But it’s just too much. Though we might think that this is just “the culture,” I think all of us do this a lot in sales.  We engage with prospects on a very crowded street (of competitors) and try to convince them why we are different, or better.  We might make claims about our goods and service.  We might pretend to be impressed with them.  Heck, we might even pretend we know them.  But we don’t spend nearly enough time trying to make our offering be better, or different or more valuable. On that very same street, a small bar and restaurant has an acoustic band.  They are playing cover songs, but playing them really well.  They have live music.  And on street where there is activity galore, they are the only ones offering this value for free.  Here are two questions:  As a shopper, where are you most likely to stop?  And as a business, how can you add that real value to make you stand out on a very crowded street? To make sure you never miss an update, please sign up for our VIP list here!

4 Essential Products for Vacation

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Let’s say an amazing thing happens.  Your two daughters surprise you with a vacation to the beach (yes, my daughters rock out loud).  It’s a quick trip and it’s coming up quick.  What do you do?  First, you fight back tears.  I mean, wow, right?  But after that, you put together a list of only the essentials for the trip.  You grab your sunscreen, your passport, phone, money and credit cards…and what else?  What are the rest of the essentials? Here is a short list of things, Amy and I never go on vacation without. For us, vacation is a mission.  So I grab the Mission Pack from Origaudio.  It’s big enough for me to take a change of clothes and work essentials.  It has a place for my laptop and even a small cooler to keep snacks and drinks while on a plane.  But I don’t need the full Mission Pack when heading to the pool.  So my wife’s new “go to tote” is the Duet Tote from Imagen Brands.  It’s a great size so you can fit books, sunscreen, magazines and more when you head down to lounge…and it’s has a great retail look. Now I don’t know about you, but I like to have a nice cool beverage on a hot day.  That’s why Amy and I never head to the beach without our Viking Tumbler.  It keeps your hot drinks hot for hours and cold drinks cold even longer.  I usually say that if you need your beer cold for 24 hours “you are doing it wrong.”  But on a hot day this is a great way to keep the drinks cool longer.  Finally, we want to make sure we have plenty of juice!  Our devices get used a lot (yes even on vacation) so we take the JuiceBox.  This is a great charger that gives multiple charges to our phones, so it’s great that we can both use it. So that’s our list of vacation essentials.  There are many other awesome ideas to make you (or your team’s) trip extra special.  If you want more specific information on any of these products, please email us here and we can hook you up!  P.S. If you want to make sure you never miss an update, sign up for our VIP list here.  

Weekly Word – Give

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Each week Kirby will dig into a word that will help in personal development, sales, and growth.  The weekly word is designed to be short and sweet, and provide a quick lesson that will help you grow each week. The Hasseman Marketing weekly word this week is GIVE.  Kirby believes that we are in a GIVE first economy.  What does he mean by this?  GIVE first economy means those salespeople, those entrepreneurs, those businesses who build value upfront are going to have more success when asking for sales. Kirby tells us that if we want to build a long term service, built on integrity and trust, we should figure out certain ways to give first.  In this video Kirby encourages us to think about the customers that we want to reach and GIVE them value first. Remember, those who GIVE value first will have the integrity to go for the ask.  Stop for a second and think about that statement.  GIVING value first can be given through a multitude of ways.  For instance some of the ways Kirby points out are through promotional products, content, articles, or send a personal thank you card or note.   Kirby reminds us to make sure to GIVE first and always keep in mind those who GIVE first will succeed! Want to keep up all the time?  Make sure to join our VIP List!  Our VIP’s get an email with the latest content…and other special offers as well.  Join here.

The Power of Patience

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 I have been repeatedly told I am impatient.  For years, those closest to me will tell me to “slow down” or “calm down” or “just wait.”  The ironic thing is, that makes me more impatient…but I digress.  The fact is, once I decide I want something, I want it right now.  I remember thinking it was weird when older relatives would tell me they “enjoyed the trip” on the way to vacation.  What?  I just wanted to be at the beach.   But here’s the thing…that is not how you create real success.  The real success comes from the small act of putting one foot in front of the other…every day.  The real success comes in the grind.  And real success takes time.   My daughter, Skylar Hasseman is struggling with this right now.  She is an aspiring dancer (she was mentioned on this blog here) and is working to create a name and a brand for herself.  She has started to do a “Daily Dance Video” (subscribe to her Youtube here) and is putting herself out there.  But she is wondering why it’s taking so long.  The thing is, it’s not. If you are watching from the outside you see that.  People are sharing her videos.  She is gaining engagement.  Other dancers are even starting to copy some of her ideas (that’s when you know you are making progress).  It’s about consistency and patience. Gary Vaynerchuk has a great response to this in this cool Q & A session from one of his talks.  In this short video Gary talks about being quick on the day to day (taking action) but being patient with the long goals.  Most of us, as Gary says, get this backwards.  I know I struggle with it.  It’s a long game.  We need to play it that way. In his new book, The Motivation Myth (pre order here), Jeff Haden blows this up.  He says that so many of us are waiting for the motivation or the inspiration so we can act…and then we will succeed.  Haden points out that we have this backwards…and he’s right.  We need to have the courage to take small actions in the direction of our goals.  Once we do this, these small successes will actually give us the motivation we have been waiting for.  It’s not about some big “aha” moment.  It’s about taking action…over and over. Why is this great?  Because it’s not about genius.  It’s not even (to an extent) about talent.  It’s about showing up when everyone else does not.  And YOU control that.  Now…go do it. Want to keep up all the time?  Make sure to join our VIP List!  Our VIP’s get an email with the latest content…and other special offers as well.  Join here.  Oh, and if you are in sales and want our Sales Playbook, click here and sign up…we will send it over!