by Kirby Hasseman
In nearly every sales force you have three kinds of team members. You have your Rock Stars, the average performers, and the Laggers. And your success as a business is dependent upon working with (or not working with) the right groups with the right amount of time to grow your sales.
1. Rock Stars: These are the folks that are self-starters. They are driven. This group takes very little of your time to motivate and (most of the time) they are actually pretty low maintenance. There is not a need or want of any hand-holding (for the most part) because they don’t have time for that. They are working to get the next sale.
Sometimes they are so easy to deal with you might ignore them. Don’t.
2. Laggers: As one sales manager once told me, “You can’t push a rope.” Many organizations make the mistake of spending a lot of time with the Laggers. They are often very nice guys and gals (that’s why they were hired). And the tendency is, we think that if we “coach them up” they can turn into Rock Stars. Most of the time, this is fantasy. Raise your hand if this has happened to you…everyone!
3. Average Performers: The fact is, most of your sales team falls into this category. These are good sales members that have moments of “rock star status.” They just don’t perform at this level consistently. They very well could be “rock stars” but they are not…yet. One of the jobs of an entrepreneur, sales manager, or sales guru, is to raise the level of these team members.
But how do you thank and appreciate the Rock Stars and incentivize the rest? That is, literally, the million-dollar question. Let’s take a look at a few options…
1. Status Award: When it comes to affecting sales members’ behavior, a great option is to create Status awards they “wear.” This allows them to be reminded of their accomplishment nearly every day. It also shows the Average Performers who to model their behavior after.  When thinking of a status award, think of the Green Jacket that is given to the winner of the Masters.  What are some other ideas for status awards? Think of doing a cool custom watch. The average person looks at their watch more than 10 times a day. Make it a fashion statement and you have something they are proud to wear. Not a fan of a watch? No problem. What about a custom ring or a special shirt. You get the idea.
Make it cool and it will get the attention you desire.
2. Fun Award:  Sometimes you can really have fun with the celebration! If you create a contest or incentive around lifestyle and the fun that success can bring, you might create awards that celebrate that. What do I mean, think about toting around a very nice Coleman cooler to every event this summer with an award message. What a great way to remind your team of their success (and get people to ask about it!).
3. Public Awards: Another way to make sure your sales team knows how they are doing is to create an award program that is a very public display of accomplishment. Read more on how to really do this right here. But when you create a public display, you can really give your sales team a way to showcase their own accomplishments to everyone that walks in their office! The other cool effect of these awards is that it tells all future customers that they are dealing with a Rock Star…and we all want that. If you want to dig deeper on learning how to create a program to help grow sales, just contact us here and we will reach out to you. In addition, you can shop online for other ideas here.
If you are a Promo Pro, head here and download our Sales Playbook.Â
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by Kirby Hasseman
Whenever there is a milestone in the year, I find myself reflecting. I try to take a look back at the goals I set for myself this year. Am I close to accomplishing them? Am I on track? Most importantly, do I feel like I am really putting in the work to make them happen? No Excuses That last one is the hardest, of course. It’s really easy to look back at the year so far and name all of the reasons we are not on track. “Well it’s been a tough time for the family,” you might be saying. “The economy in our area has been sagging.” And here’s the thing, that all might be true. That’s the tough thing about excuses, they are often very real reasons. I get it. But this is a great time to ask these questions… 1. Did I really mean it when I set that goal?2. Do my actions show that I mean it?3. Can I do more to move me toward it? No matter whether the goal is for finance, faith, or fitness, that last one always gets me. Yes. I can do more. But don’t beat yourself up. Understand that most of us are in the same boat. So here are some quick steps to get back on track. 1. Renew Your Commitment: Spring time is a great time to take a deep breath and renew your goals. It’s a new season. Spend a little bit of “alone time” and make sure your mind is right to go after it in this next season of the year. 2. Review the Actions: Many people say they want to accomplish something, but have you thought about the specific actions you need to take each day to get there? If you have not thought these actions out, and then act on them every day, you will never consistently reach your goals. 3. Get It on the Calendar: I often say, “If it’s not on my calendar, it doesn’t exist.” As you get busier, it will be harder to keep things all in your head. Set your time to work on your goals. Whether it’s working out or making cold calls, you need to create a habit of doing the hard stuff. Get a time on your calendar when this happens so you can push through the times you don’t want to do it!
If you want to shop online, feel free to click here to check out our site.
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by Kirby Hasseman
This is the post where we flex our “hustle muscle.” At Hasseman Marketing, we are in an award winning creator of business content, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to find it all in one place. So please check out this week’s line up of videos, blogs and podcasts…and feel free to share with anyone you think would enjoy! Weekly Word: Each week, Kirby digs into a word to provide motivation to the masses. This week the word is Desk. What? Just remember, there is no money behind your desk. Check it out here. Delivering Marketing Joy: For over 2 years now, the award winning Delivering Marketing Joy web show has interviewed business leaders, authors, entrepreneurs and marketers. It’s must see business TV! This week Kirby talks to Ben Taylor from BamBams about Content Marketing…and how to do it right. Watch this one now! Welcome Stephanie Ansel: We are so excited to welcome Stephanie Ansel to the team! Stephanie is hitting the ground running with us after 7 years with Barnes. Read more about Stephanie here. Books for 2017: Those who know Kirby know he is a voracious reader. In this post he tells us what he has been reading so far in 2017. Check out his list of books here. unScripted Podcast: For those in the Promo and Marketing world, check out the unScripted podcast with Bill Petrie and Kirby. Each week they riff about topics in and out of the industry. It’s a fun and light podcast and it truly is “unscripted.” Listen here. Jeff’s Pick: It’s become a tradition like no other! Each week Jeff picks a great product in the Promo area that he thinks you should know about. The video is here as Jeff explains his affinity for the Embarcadero Backpack from Origaudio. Want to see pics and pricing? That’s right here. So that’s a quick look at the week of content hustle at Hasseman Marketing. Intrigued? Cool. There are lots of ways to learn more about us. If you want to learn more about working with us, feel free to check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here. If you are a Promo Pro, head here and download our Sales Playbook. If you want to learn more about working with us, feel free to check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here.
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.
by Kirby Hasseman
It’s time for a quick does of Weekly inspiration and education. Each week Kirby takes a word and digs into it for a lesson on business (and sometimes, life). It’s the Weekly Word! This week the word is Desk…watch here. 
This week Kirby reminds all salespeople, entrepreneurs and leaders that they need to take the time to get out from behind their desk. “There is no money behind your desk!” The fact is, we can all fall into a funk where we wait for the phone to ring, we wait for email to come in, and we get lazy. When you find yourself in a rut like that, it might be time to schedule some time to get out and “see the people.” It can be a great opportunity to remind your customers and prospects what is special about you and your organization. But it also might be a great time to remind you what you best customers need. So when you are looking for something pro-active to do to jump start your mood and your sales, it might be time to get out from behind that desk. That is this week’s Weekly Word! Make sure to never miss a Weekly Word…subscribe on Youtube here.
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by Kirby Hasseman
As an entrepreneur, it’s hard to stay on top of it all. We get it. You are working to balance sales, employees, payroll, accounts payable, marketing and much, much more! In addition, if you are like a lot of business owners, you want to be on the cutting edge when you can. It makes you look more professional and in touch.
But it’s hard to make the time to do it all!
So at Hasseman Marketing we did some of the homework for you on Promo! Here the 6 promo items you need to know about right now!
16 oz Persona Tower Travel Mug
We have all seen the cheap tumblers in the promo industry. They are fine, but they don’t really do the job of keeping coffee hot. What does that mean? It means your customers won’t really use them, so your marketing dollars are wasted. The Persona will become your clients favorite coffee mug. It keeps coffee hot for over 5 hours…so when you are on the road you want this mug! This is the mug that will give you marketing impact when you give the gift…and for all the miles down the road! These tremendous tumblers are on special for $13.89 (setup $55) right now.
The Wedge Mobile Device Stand
The fact is, some of the most valuable marketing space today is around your mobile device. Want your client’s attention? Be near their phone! This high quality phone stand offers a great full color decoration and even a screen cleaner on the bottom. Want to tell a story? Want to drive traffic to a website? Just want to have VERY valuable ad space on your clients desk? This fits the bill. These are in the current HMC flyer for $6.45 (setup $80).
Economy Retractor
Once you get one of these you will be surprised how often you can use it! The Retractor is a great item for trade shows or events. You will also find that you can use it in your office, networking events or even sales calls! These are an extremely affordable way to “silently sell” new services or add on products. With the right design, these can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.
Clip It Vent Mount
Have we mentioned the power of marketing around the phone? This is not only a perfect tool for that, but also helps with safety. The clip it vent mount holds your phone so that it is always within arms reach. It is functional and easy. In addition, it keeps your logo (or message) in front of your clients all the time they are in the car. This is one of our favorite new products in the industry! You can get these in the latest HMC flyer for $2.75 (setup $50).
The Juicebox
Want to be a hero in someone’s eyes? Give them a charger when their phone is about to die! You may have seen some of these on the market in the past, but the Juicebox is a nice phone charger (will charge your phone 2.5 times) and it comes in a FUN package! If you want to grab attention and keep it…this item is perfect. And think outside of the (juice)box. These are awesome for trade shows, golf outings, traveling…anytime someone will need their phone and cannot plug in! Oh…and did we mention this marketing piece revolves around their phone! 🙂
365 Performance Pique Polo
You want your team to look like a team, but you don’t want to spend a fortune. Sound familiar? Here is a low cost performance golf shirt for under $17 (with embroidery)! Lots of colors and sizes. This makes outfitting the team a lot easier.
So there you have it! These are 6 items that are sure to keep your name on the lips of your customers and prospects. Now get back out there and keep up the hustle!
Hasseman Marketing is a full service Marketing firm that specializes in promotional products (known as SWAG), video production, graphic design, social media management and more. We Deliver Marketing Joy! If you want 3 awesome tips to Super Charge your SWAG, fill out the form to get the free report below! It’s time to take your promotions to the next level.
