by Kirby Hasseman
If you have followed Hasseman Marketing, or this website, you might know that I have written a blog for quite some time. Then last year, I created challenged myself to write a blog post every day. I did that for over 6 months. It was a rewarding, powerful and tiring experience! After taking a break from the daily blogging, as you might expect, I fell out of a rhythm. I certainly still write a blog…occasionally. But (as of late last week) I decided to get back to writing on a more consistent basis.
I have several goals with this exercise.
First, I want to get the voices out of my head! I am kidding (for the most part) but I do find the writing process cathartic. It makes me feel good to push something good out in the world in the morning. It’s a bit of therapy for me.
Second, I do truly want to provide you some value. Generally, I write about a few different topics. I focus my time on personal development, sales & marketing and entrepreneurship. These are things that I am super passionate about. I find that I have inspiration everywhere for these topics and I hope they resonate with many of you.
Oh…and to set the table, I have decided I will not write every single day. The weekend will be “my days off” from posting. The goal is to go for August…and see how I am keeping up!
With the goal of providing value in those areas in mind, let me start with a few posts that have most resonated in the past in each of those areas.
I Am Not For Everyone (Personal Development)
Ever create something quickly without a lot of thought? Sometimes inspiration just roles out and you get out of the way. This was the case for this blog. I needed to get a post done quickly, and this is what I wrote. I talked about the fact that “I am not for everyone.” This can be a very hard thing for many of us to accept. But it can also be very freeing. This post was one of the most read of 2018…check it out here.
20 Great Questions To Ask (Sales & Marketing)
This was another post that I had no idea would have the impact it did. The fact is, in sales and marketing, we need to ask better questions. We hear all of the time about “story telling” and that is really important. But in order to know what story to tell, you need to first ask the right questions. Here is a list to get you started.
10 Must Read Books for Entrepreneurs
I have had the opportunity to read quite a few books over the past few years. And though this list is certainly not exhaustive, it’s a great list to start with if you are thinking of starting a business. The best of the best continue to learn every day. So if you know of a book that I should read, please let me know too!
So I am getting Back To The Blog. Here we go. If you want to make sure you never miss, you can check out out blog page. We have all kinds of content there. And as always, you can sign up to be a VIP here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Every year for over 10 years, Hasseman Marketing has created an “End User” trade show and have invited our customers. It’s evolved and grown over the years and we are quite proud of it. This year’s event will be Thursday October 10th from Noon to 5pm at Coshocton County’s Lake Park!
It started as a “Customer Appreciation Show” and it still has those elements. But we have expanded it and now call it our annual Trade Show (you can register here). This year the theme is “Christmas in October! Why? Because it’s a Trade Show build for our customers and prospects.
But why should you come? We want this event to be fun AND add a ton of value. Here are a few reasons why we think you should attend.
Incredible Product Access: We invite some of our top (and favorite) supplier reps to showcase their lines at the show. I like to say “There is no way I could fit all of this in my trunk.” You get to see and touch and feel the product and see what it’s really like. We all know that many products look the same online or in a catalog. But when you get them up close you can really see a difference. This is the perfect place to make sure your brand materials are on point.
Idea Generation: As you walk around and see the latest and greatest in Promo, you will come up with some great ideas for upcoming projects. The reality is, the show is at a great time of year for year end gifts for your team or customers. But some of our best customers come every year and start to plan their marketing for the next year and beyond.
Great SWAG: Nobody leaves empty handed! We put on a fun event where (with the help of our suppliers) we invest in putting some really cool SWAG in your hands. In addition, we build the event around a theme so you can see how we use a bunch of different items around a theme!
Additional Services: You may think you know all that we do at Hasseman Marketing, but we find that most people discover some new ways to promote their organization! By having all of the ideas in one place, it can be very illuminating!
Tasty Food: You have to eat right? We have food and drinks as well. Each year we get compliments about the tasty treats and we know this year will be no different. The event this year is on Thursday October 10 from Noon to 5pm at the Lake Park Pavilion (in Coshocton). Our goal is to create an event that provides value and fun…and you never want to miss.
So if you want to join us (and you do), please feel free to to RSVP here. We are actually going to build in some extra value for those that RSVP!
Make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our VIP newsletter here. Oh…and as always, we have all of our content here on our blog page…check it out!
by Kirby Hasseman
So far this spring and summer, Coshocton County has been completely overwhelmed by rain. What seemed like a wet spring, led to a night where the local town of West Lafayette reportedly got nearly 7 inches of rain in a few short hours. The already wet ground gave the water no place to go and the devastation was difficult to see. Areas that had never seen standing water in generations, were flooded. Basements were full of water and foundation walls collapsed.
In addition to the devastation in homes around the area, acres of farmland spent time underwater as well. As a matter of fact, some weeks later, some areas are still seeing the affects of this rain. It leaves many people in our area talking about the long term effects of the season to farmers. Many have not had the chance to plant their seeds.
There will be nothing to harvest this year.
I am reminded of this as I look at our summer sales season. For many organizations, July is a tough month for sales. The sales team will talk about the fact that July is the month of vacations. They will say that “no one wants to talk about xyz in July!” And let’s face it, often the sales team wants to take time off then as well! This combination of reasons leads to a continually disappointing summer selling season.
And though those factors certainly play a role, I don’t think they are the real reason that sales lag in the summer. It all comes back to a lack of seeds to harvest. My hypothesis is, for the last few months (for lots of reasons) fewer and fewer seeds were planted. It was probably a little at a time. There was not a giant flood in the sales team. That’s why it was hard to notice. But little by little, fewer calls here made.
That is why there is less to harvest today.
As much as we would love to imagine it, business rarely just falls from the sky. These opportunities are harvested after months and months of work. They come from the seeds that were planted.
The bad news is, you can’t just go in and harvest today if you have not planted the seeds. The good news is, you can get out in the fields and start planting.
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by Kirby Hasseman
There are plenty of great ways to determine the value of a promotional item. You might want an item that is flashy and gets someone’s attention. Your organization might want something with lasting value, like a calendar that hangs on the wall. Some companies want to focus their promotional efforts on tech items, that tie their brand to your phone. These all make sense in executed properly.
I like to keep it simple. I want Promotional items to be:
Useful: In my opinion, the best promotional items are ones you (or your customers) use on a regular basis. They are useful. That’s why the top categories of promo center around apparel, drinkware and writing instruments. They are used every day.
Have Lasting Impact: I also think great promo lasts. It’s the reason that calendars are still a valuable marketing tool. I love it when I give my customers and prospects items that they keep for years. That makes the “cost per impression” very low…and the value very high.
High Perceived Value: Finally, I love it when I am able to spend $5 on an item that my customers and prospects think costs more! One of the reasons t-shirts continue to be a great promo items is because they have high value. Your customers think they cost more than they do. You can create a huge impact when you get this value proposition right.
This why you should NEVER buy YETI (in promo).
YETI is a fine brand of products. They have created a brand that people are loyal to and appreciate. I love the idea that they create drinkware that can keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for hours. But they were really late to the Promotional Products game. They decided they did not want to play in the promo industry. That’s cool. But they challenged an industry known for “knocking stuff off” to knock them off. And guess what…the promo industry did not disappoint. Not only did suppliers create Vacuum Sealed Drinkware, but they created a product that was really good!
Multiple studies have been done. In some studies, the YETI did a little better. In some studies, the YETI did a little worse. But most of them will tell you that the product is VERY comparable. In addition, the companies that live in the Promotional Products world are way better at creative decoration and branding. So if the products is (essentially) the same (and it is), and the branding is better, I want to ask you a simple question.
Why would you pay 3 to 4 times more for the YETI?
The simple answer is, you should not.
If you want a really cool Vacuum Sealed Tumbler (and you should, they are awesome), we have many options to choose from. Please let us know how we can help.
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by Kirby Hasseman
In one way or another, we are all in sales.
You might be tasked with convincing your boss to chase your idea. Or you might be out in the field, doing door to door sales. Either way, we all have to sell (or persuade) people every day. With that in mind, it makes sense to get better at sales…especially if it’s your job to drive the top line in a business.
So here are 5 blog posts designed to help salespeople grow.
3 Reasons To Focus on Long Term Sales Success: When you are in sales, it’s easy to focus on the short term. We need to “make the sale” to put money in our pocket. But focusing on short term in sales rarely creates long term success. Here are 3 reasons to focus on the long term.
The Best Sales Strategy: Sometimes the best sales strategy is not to be in sales at all. Just be a human. Read more here.
3 Good Things From “Seeing the People:” One of my first mentors in sales told me “When in doubt, go see the people.” With new technology and tools, we sometimes lose sight of that foundational principle. But there are 3 good things that happen when you get in front of your customers. Learn what they are here.
20 Great Questions To Ask: I love this one. We are always told that we need to be a better listener. So how do you do it? One great way to be a better listener is to ask better questions. Here are 20 questions that are sure to get your customers and prospects talking.
Just One More: Sometimes the secret to success is simple…but not easy. Here is your motivation today to do “Just One More.” Read now.
And with that in mind, let me throw this bonus blog post in as “just one more.”
Selling To Someone Who Doesn’t Want To Buy: I get this question all the time. What do I do if the prospect does not want to buy? What if they already have a vendor? Here is a post that tells you want to do when you run into someone who does not want to buy.
So I hope these posts will help to motivate and inspire you to sell more effectively. If you want to learn more about Hasseman Marketing, you can check out our About Us page here. And if you want to catch every piece of content, sign up for our VIP list here.
by Kirby Hasseman
When I talk to new sales people (on my team or in other areas), I find myself saying one thing a lot. “You need to go and see the people.” This was the advice one of my first sales mentors gave to me. And in a world that is driven by technology and social media, I think it is even more important than ever. (I wrote a blog about the science behind why it works here).
Why do I say that it’s more important than ever? Because most people are not doing it. When you find that everyone is going one way, in business it sometimes makes sense to (thoughtfully) step the other. When everyone else zigs, sometimes you should zag. In addition, because we have so many wonderful tools for marketing and sales, we can get really lazy. It’s not that new and current tools are bad. They are not…and you should use them. But you shouldn’t forget the basics either. They are the foundation.
So should you continue to send emails? Yes. Should you prospect and sell using social media? Of course. Does it make sense to create content marketing that matters to your audience? Yes…it does.
But you should also take the time to “see the people.” Here are the three things that can happen when you take the time to meet your clients where they are.
They Will Feel Appreciated: If you visit a client and show them real appreciation, you can go a long way to solidifying the relationship. The fact is, none of us really say “thank you” enough. I talk about this Appreciation Gap here. By taking some time to show your clients they are appreciated, it will pay off long term.
You Might Learn Something: It seems like every time I go and take time with a client, I learn something about them. Sometimes it’s about a sales opportunity. But sometimes I learn about an issue at home, or a challenge they are struggling with. I often uncover something they are excited about. Every time I feel like it helps to bring us closer. It helps me serve them better. I bet the same happens to you.
They Might Buy Something: And yes, if the timing is right and the proposal is great, they might buy something. That is, of course, the point of the exercise. But I find that people are more likely to engage with me, listen to me, and buy from me if I am there.
So of course you should use all of the tools. You should tap into the tech. But don’t forget to be human…and see the people.
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