Selling versus consulting
By Ray Barry, Chief Shreducation and Member Relations Officer “People will pay more if they perceive there is greater value or a deeper reason for buying from one provider over another.” ‑ Chet Holmes, “The Ultimate Sales Machine” This quote from the late great Chet Holmes tells me one specific thing: It’s not always about […]
Read more »People buy for their reasons, not yours
By Ray Barry, NAID Deputy Executive Director People buy for their own reasons, not yours. This is a mindset that average sales professionals do not understand. The top sales professionals understand that everyone makes their purchasing decisions based on different motives. No two decision-making processes are exactly alike. The only way to discover what these […]
Read more »Relationships feed the sales funnel
By Bob Johnson, NAID CEO Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded twice that the networking and partnership techniques taught at Shred School are both valid and valuable when marketing secure destruction services. Last month I spoke at a large convention of businesses that provide assistance to senior citizens who need varying degrees of care. They […]
Read more »What’s your number: A strategy for publicity
By Bob Johnson, NAID CEO I spend a little time in the Shred School workshops talking about the use of press releases to get publicity. Over the years, I have found that most secure destruction companies miss the opportunity to use them effectively due to a number of misconceptions. They aim at the wrong target. They don’t […]
Read more »How to create an incident response plan
By Holly Vandervort, NAID Chief Compliance Officer One of the more game-changing additions to the NAID AAA Certification Program in 2014 was the requirement for certified companies to develop a written incident response plan for suspected or known security incidents. The NAID Certification Rules Committee developed this criterion in direct response to data protection regulations […]
Read more »He who listens, gets the sale
By Ray Barry, NAID Deputy Executive Director The sales professional who listens the best, wins the sale. It is the most important part of the sales process yet it is the most overlooked sales skill. Unfortunately, most salespeople would rather talk instead of listening to the client. Salespeople are not trained properly how to listen […]
Read more »You’re not their friend, you’re their adviser
By Bob Johnson, NAID CEO As I write this, I’m at the Los Angeles Shred School workshop. At the front of the room Ray Barry is teaching 35 industry professionals how and when to best submit a proposal for maximum results. It is hard to describe how captivated the audience is. Ray is giving them information they […]
Read more »Do you brag or provide proof?
By Ray Barry, NAID Deputy Executive Director We are taught at a young age to not brag about ourselves. I tell my son this all of the time. Any time we brag about ourselves and our companies, our prospects are unimpressed. But why do 80 percent of sales professionals start each proposal they give to […]
Read more »Creating a barrier to entry into your market
By Bob Johnson, NAID CEO In my most recent SDB magazine column, I ruminate on the low barrier to entry in the secure destruction industry. I encourage you to read it if you haven’t. First, as I stated in the aforementioned SDB column, established service providers should see barriers to entry as a good thing. Low […]
Read more »Top questions to ask in the decision-making process
By Ray Barry, NAID Deputy Executive Director One of the most challenging things in developing new business is identifying the stage of buying in which your prospect is and aligning that with your sales process. If you looked at the last 10 opportunities that you lost, I bet you lost them for failing to truly […]
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