A NEWSLETTER FROM SMEI ARKANSASA NEWSLETTER FROM SMEI ARKANSAS

Volume 61, Issue 8 Sales and Marketing Executives International Arkansas February 2013

Lunch Meeting

Wednesday February 13, 2013

Wyndham Riverfront Razorback

East & West Rooms

11:30—12:00 Networking Opportunity

12:00—1:00 Lunch and Program

(Riverfront Steakhouse Buffet)

Door Prizes will be given away!

Bring your items for

the Member Marketing Center!

Join us on

February’s guest speaker is Jack Lankford, Marketing Consultant for Lamar Outdoor Advertising. Lankford, a Little Rock native, was previously a district sales manager and key account manager for The Coca-Cola Company, where he managed eight account managers and oversaw promotions within retail outlets such as Walgreens, Dollar General, Family Dollar and convenience stores. In his new role at Lamar, a Fortune 500 company, Lankford is responsible for account management and business development. Lamar operates 150 outdoor advertising companies in more than 40 states and Puerto Rico, encompassing more than 149,000 billboards and more than 97,000 logo sign displays. “Being the son of an ad man like Dick Lankford makes this a special move for me,” Lankford said. “Like dad used to say, “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise!” Lankford is the former team president for the Arkansas Twisters Arena Football team. He serves on the board of directors for Little Rock non-profits the Centers for Youth and Families and ACCESS. A University of Arkansas graduate, Lankford has won Clio, Andy and Addy Awards for voicework he has produced locally, regionally and nationally since

Outdoor and the

New Generation

Speaker: Jack Lankford

Marketing Consultant Lamar Outdoor Advertising

age 9 and is a former Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 honoree. He lives in Little Rock with his wife, Meg, and their two children. Make plans to attend the February 13th lunch meeting. Bring a guest or two and share the experience!

The member who brings the most guests to the February monthly meeting will be recognized and receive a $50 Benihana Gift Card at the end of the meeting! If there is a tie on number of guests, there will be a coin toss. A Kindle will be given to the member who brings the most guests during the 2012-2013 year and will be awarded at the July 2013 lunch meeting. A new monthly prize will be awarded each month so watch your emails for details. Our membership is growing and will continue to grow as more and more sales and marketing professionals are invited to see what SMEI-AR can do for them and the benefits they can receive by being a part of the only association in Arkansas for sales and marketing professionals since 1940. This is an exciting way to introduce SMEI-AR to your friends and colleagues and invite them to be a part of our networking community.

A special Thank You to Benihana’s and the Wyndham Riverfront for sponsoring the Gift Card!

Bring a Friend or Associate to the February meeting and introduce them to SMEI Arkansas! Reservations must be made no later than Monday, February 11th by calling 425-7781.

Bring the Most

Guests to the February

Meeting and Win a $50 Gift

Card to

Benihana’s!!

Dear Fellow SMEI Arkansas Members: Rationale Selling Isn't Rationale. A sales pitch that relies on customers to make purchasing decisions based on rationale reasons only is overlooking a major factor in the buying process — emotion. In fact, recent research from behavioral economist show that most of the brain is dominated by automatic processes, rather than deliberate thinking. Meaning a lot of what happens inside the brain is emotional not cognitive. With this understanding certain things begin to make more sense about selling success and brand power. If you look at the fast food industry from a rationale standpoint, you would most likely conclude that based on food quality and serving size compared to its competitors, McDonalds would be at serious risk at losing its number one position in the industry. But today, the golden arches have a firm grip on its leadership status and Wendy's and Burger King continue to fight it out for 2nd place, a very distant second place. Why is this? Of course, being the world's largest hamburger fast food chain helps. But we've seen industry giants fall before. Look at Sears. From the 1930s to 1950s it was the leading department store in the country. And before it opened a retail store, for 30+ years it was the king of the mail order catalog business; beloved by Americans of all ages. So how did its brand lose power and market share? How Sears failed is for another discussion on branding. But the point here is being the biggest does not guarantee unending success. A great case study for showing the critical role emotions have on consumers' buying decisions is presented in the book Buy-ology by Martin Lindstrom. In the mid 70s, the Pepsi-Cola Co. introduced the famous marketing campaign known as The Pepsi Challenge. It was a very simple concept, Pepsi reps set up tables in malls and supermarkets all over the world, handing out two unmarked cups to all interested volunteers. One cup contained Coke and the other Pepsi. After taking the sip test, people were asked to pick their favorite of the two. When Pepsi's marketing department finally evaluated and posted the results, the executives were very pleased. More than half of the volunteers claimed to prefer Pepsi over Coke. So, by all accounts (rationally thinking), Pepsi should be trouncing Coke all over the world. But it wasn't. Why? Decades later, one expert's opinion was that the sampling size impacted the decision. Pepsi was sweeter than Coke, and when presented in a smaller sample, the extra sweetness was a positive but at a regular serving size it was overkill. This is an interesting point that may have influenced results of the 70's campaign. But that doesn't explain why Pepsi did not at least have sales spikes for initial trial. Consumers would have to drink a good amount of regular servings to make the determination that Pepsi was too sweet. I think another study in 2003 tells the real truth behind why the rationale results of the Pepsi Challenge did not translate to greater sales and market share growth. Conducted in the Neuroimaging Lab at Baylor College of Medicine, researchers created a set up exactly like The Pepsi Challenge except this time the test subjects were told they were sampling Pepsi or Coke before they tasted it. The results: 75% of the respondents preferred Coke. The same taste test with the inclusion of the knowledge of what brand you were drinking changed people's decisions. What this shows is the emotional connections to a brand influences the buying decision. As the people took sips in the Baylor College of Medicine test, the reaction to the product was infused by all the emotions that each person felt about the brand — logo, design, fragrance, print ads, childhood memories. All that stuff matters. And it factors in to which product they select for purchase. In the 70s, The Pepsi Challenge took the brand clothes off both products and the results produced were totally based on rationale thought. But that's not how consumers buy things. And we have seen by Coke's sales compared to Pepsi's, from the 70s to now, that more is at play— emotions. Emotions are the way in which our brains encode things of value. Companies (brands) that engage us emotionally will win the sales challenge every time. Much success in selling, Shawn Solloway SMEI-AR President

FROM THE PRESIDENT…...

2012-2013

OFFICERS

President Shawn Solloway

President EXIT Marketing

VP of Programs/President Elect

Jane Wayland, Ph.D. Stephen Harrow Smith

Dean of Business—UALR

VP of Membership Shareese Kondo

Director of Public Relations Philander Smith College

VP of Marketing/Public Relations

Jason Burt Owner

Jason Burt Photography

VP of Finance/Treasurer Ryan Holder

Director of Business Services Hudson, Cisne & Co., LLP

Chairman of the Board

Jim Hyden Member Manager

Hyden, Miron & Foster, PLLC

DIRECTORS

Karen Dunne Sales/Catering Manager

DoubleTree Hotel

Jonathan Hurd Senior Advisor

Iberia Bank

Dale LaMotte Senior Account Consultant

NetGain Technologies

David Simpson VP/Senior Account Executive

TCPrint Solutions

Jeanie Reed Executive Director

SMEI Arkansas

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February 13. 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30 - 1:00 p.m. Speaker: Jack Lankford, Marketing Consultant, Lamar Outdoor Advertising Topic: “Outdoor and the New Generation”

March 13, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting 11:30—1:00 p.m. Speaker: Jim Karrh, Ph.D, Marketing & Sales Consultant, Author and Speaker—Karrh & Associates—The Marketing Doctors Topic: “Sales Messaging: Bringing Marketing Messages into the Field Through the Sales Force”

April 10, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. “Honor the Person Who Has Your Back” Invite your assistant or team member that always has your back and show your appreciation. Speaker: Rodney Parks, President, Parks Professional Group Topic: “You Got This! An Organizational Approach to Support Management”

May 8, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. Top Sales Person Recognition Luncheon Speaker: Paul Vitale, President Vital Communications Topic: TBA

June 12, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. Speaker: Bob Gee, President—Bob Gee & Associates, Inc. Topic: TBA

July 10, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. Speaker: Panel Discussion—Member Panelists TBA Topic: TBA

August 14, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. Speaker: Mark Greenhaw, VP of Marketing—Bank of the Ozarks Topic: “Tools and Techniques of Branding, Marketing and Advertising”

September 12, 2013 46th Top Manager of the Year Roast and Toast Honoree: TBA

October 9, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. Speaker: Tim Whitley, Social Innovation Topic: TBA

November 13, 2013 Wednesday Lunch Meeting Wyndham Riverfront 11:30—1:00 p.m. Speaker: Laura Stanley, Stanley Jewelers Topic: TBA

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If you have a specific topic or speaker you would like to hear at one of our meetings, please contact Jane Wayland at

jpwayland@ualr.edu.

March Copy Deadline is February 15, 2013

The SMEI Arkansas-Trends is published monthly by the Sales & Marketing Executives International Arkansas. ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION and ADVERTISING INQUIRIES should be directed to Jeanie Reed, Executive Director, SMEI-AR, P.O. Box 6917, Sherwood, AR 72120, phone 501– 425-7781 or email arkansas@smei.org. SMEI Arkansas is an affiliate of SME-International.

Member News

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Sydney Gilbert, Financial Advisor, The O’Quinn Group passed the Certified Financial Planner exam! Congratulations, Sydney!!

SMEI-AR is proud of our members!

If you have some exciting news, you would like to share, please email it to arkansas@smei.org.

Create an Image of Excellence Excerpt from Seasons of Success

By Valerie Sokolosky

1. Imagine Yourself Successful: Visualize the new you that you desire to become. Set aside time each day to be alone and undisturbed. Close your eyes and reflect on where you are now and where you want to be in the future. Play out the story in your mind. If visualization is a tool used by sports teams, why not use it for yourself?

2. Remember Your Past Successes: Rehearse your past successes. Never minimize any success you have experienced, no matter how small. Write them down. Then develop a habit of focusing your attention on these successes. By focusing on the positives in your life, you can generate more positive experiences. Remember, we are what we think we are!

3. Forget Failures: What do we do with the failures? Yes, they are real too. If we’re smart and care about our own well-being, we’ll learn from the failures...and then forget them. Dwelling on past failures causes “loser’s syndrome.” Instead, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep striving for that Image of Excellence. Here’s a fact—successful people fail 70% of the time. Whew—we can all make it!

4. Celebrate Your Successes: No matter how minor they may seem at the time, celebrate your successes! These are your memory makers. I don’t care if you celebrate with a chocolate chip cookie or a fine meal—do something meaningful to YOU. It makes the wins more fun.

5. Set Definite Goals: Nothing happens by accident. Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. You must be ready for them. We all know that writing goals down and reviewing them regularly does make a difference.

6. Respond Positively to Life: There are more and more things in this world which are completely beyond our control. But your image, your positive reaction to life and the decisions you make are completely within your control. So take control of what you can—and for the most part, THAT’S YOU!

About the author: Valerie Sokolosky founded Valerie & Co. in 1981, an international leadership development consulting firm focusing on people skills. Her executive coaching and training in Fortune 500 companies has impacted employees’ productivity, resulting in significant profits for these organizations. Valerie is a widely published author of eight books, has helped thousands reach their goals in strategic executive branding and professional presence, both in the US and Internationally. She and her team have custom designed leadership training programs to address the changing needs in the global marketplace in a wide range of industries.

Jan Grimsley ............................... 2/2 Barry Simon ................................ 2/5

Hugh Pollard ............................... 2/7

Clay Sanders ............................... 2/9

Dick Marendt .............................. 2/26

February February February February

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays

Congratulations to January’s

Guest Contest Winner Jane Wayland,

Stephen Harrow Smith Dean of Business—

UALR, for bringing the most guests to the January

meeting and winning a $50 Gas Card!

AT THE

SMEI-AR APRIL LUNCH MEETING!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10TH

11:30—1:00

WYNDHAM RIVERFRONT

GUEST SPEAKER:

RODNEY PARKS PRESIDENT, PARKS PROFESSIONAL GROUP

TOPIC: “YOU GOT THIS! AN ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH

TO SUPPORT MANAGEMENT”

THIS IS THE TIME TO INVITE THAT SPECIAL PERSON

WHO ALWAYS HAS YOUR BACK, IS ALWAYS THERE

FOR YOU, SUPPORTS YOU, AND HELPS YOU

WHENEVER THEY CAN TO A SPECIAL LUNCH TO

SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION AND RECOGNIZE

THEM FOR ALL THEY DO FOR YOU.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE

PLANS TO HONOR YOUR SPECIAL SUPER PERSON.

WATCH UPCOMING NEWSLETTERS FOR

MORE LUNCH DETAILS!

WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY ABOUT SMEI-AR

SMEI-AR member, Jeananne Hawking says, “I have been involved in SMEI-AR for many years and served in every officer capacity and as President in 2009-2010. The professional contacts I have made through my affiliation with SMEI-AR have been well worth my time investment. In the various hotels I have worked in during my career, I have always booked enough business with SMEI members to more than pay for my membership dues. The other benefit is the excellent speakers and monthly programs that are offered. I always learn something new and also take away at least 2-3 ideas that I can apply to my own personal sales and marketing programs.

I highly recommend SMEI-AR to all Arkansas sales and marketing professionals.”

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There is still time to take advantage of the New Member Discount!!!

Let Your Friends Know About the...

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“Would you like to know the difference between these products?”

“Can I explain what makes us different than our competitors?”' “Is saving money important to you?” “Do you want this feature?” Do you ask these questions or variations of them? I certainly hope not. They are feeble questions and they do nothing to help you stand out from the crowd or give people a reason to buy from you. Yet, many of the salespeople I encounter still have a tendency to ask these types of questions. Let’s face it. Selling today is a heck of lot more challenging than it used to be. Virtually every business I know faces more competition than ever before. That’s why it is so critical you ask high-quality, thought-provoking questions instead of feeble ones. I delivered a sales training program to help a sales team become more proficient with the sale process. To accomplish this, we invested the better part of a day discussing the best questions to ask, how to ask them, and what to do with the information gained from these questions. Initially, the team felt that they were adept at this aspect of the sale process because they were usually able to uncover each person’s needs. However, their questions were primarily fact-finding and closed-ended in nature and they did little to gain insight into each customer’s real buying motives. As we progressed through the day, the reps began to see the difference between great questions and feeble ones. However, an even more interesting observation came to light. While everyone knew—at least intellectually—what questions they needed to ask, the actual execution and application was much more difficult. Most of the group struggled to find the appropriate question and found it challenging to incorporate these questions into their routine. However, after several practice sessions, some of the reps started to become more comfortable asking more high-quality questions. Feeble questions kill your business and prevent you from increasing your sales. Here’s why: 1. You don’t get the opportunity to move the sales process forward. Feeble questions do nothing to help you determine buying motives which means you will have more difficulty moving the sales process in the right direction. 2. You don’t present yourself as a sales professional. Average sales people ask average (aka feeble) questions. If you want to be perceived as a professional, you need to change your questions. 3. You don’t distinguish yourself from everyone else selling a similar product or service. Feeble questions don’t give you the information you need to adapt your sales presentation so that it reflects the issues and concerns faced by your prospect.

4. You don’t give people a reason to buy from you. Feeble questions don’t motivate people to make a buying decision. Even questions like, “If I could do that price, would you take it?” are seldom effective in getting people to buy from you versus a competitor. Most sales people are desperate to talk about their product or service or to present a solution. And, in many cases, they end up talking too much, too soon. I will never dispute that it is difficult to NOT discuss a solution because we feel that if we aren’t talking we aren’t selling. Yet, the most successful people in sales understand this approach costs them money. They know that presenting a solution too early will not address all of the key decision-making criteria and that only by asking a few more high-quality questions will they fully uncover the buying motives of each prospect or customer. When I ask people in my sales training workshops why they don’t ask more questions I usually hear these answers: “It takes too long.” “What if people don’t give me the answer I want?” “I don’t know what to do with the information.” “I just want to pitch my product/service.” I grimace when I hear these responses because I know that these individuals are losing sales and they probably don’t even realize it. A small investment of time early in the sales process will pay great dividends later on. Here is an example of some high-quality questions: “What goals are you striving to achieve this quarter/year?” “We have noticed these trends occurring in the industry…How are they affecting your business?” “What are some of the biggest challenges you’re faced with right now?” “How does this project compare in priority against the other ones you have on your plate?” Stand out from your competition and increase your sales by asking great questions. Questions that require your prospect or customer to think. Questions that the average sales person won’t ask. Questions that demonstrate your expertise. Questions that will help better present your solution, product or service. Questions that are not feeble!

© MMXII Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the Author:

Do you know what sales blunders are costing you money? Increase your sales with a FREE audio program, Sales Blunders That Cost You Money and two other sales-boosting resources by subscribing to Kelley’s newsletter at www.Fearless-Selling.ca. Kelley helps people master their sales conversations so they can win more business and increase their sales. He does this by conducting sales training workshops and delivering keynote speeches at conferences, sales meetings and other events. Book Kelley to speak at your next sales event: 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.

Feeble Questions Can Kill Your Business By Kelley Robertson

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For more information about becoming a Certified

Marketing or Sales Professional, visit the “Certification” page on the SMEI website at www.smei.org.

GET CERTIFIED AND GET AHEAD!GET CERTIFIED AND GET AHEAD!

UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO A CORPORATE SPONSOR MEMBERSHIP… AND EXPERIENCE GREAT BENEFITS!

NOW AVAILABLE AT SMEI-AR

While conventional media advertising loses its effectiveness, smart marketers are turning to alternative means of reaching customers. Corporate involvement in a professional association, when properly executed, has the power to strengthen a brand, build customer loyalty and increase sales and service revenues, while at the same time supporting those values and activities a community cherishes.

SMEI-AR’s Corporate Sponsor Membership program is an excellent way for your business to align with the principles and ethics of a worldwide and centrally located association for sales and marketing, made up of an above average representation of individual professional members.

Not only does your Corporate Sponsor Membership create a marketing win for your organization, it positions your company among a corporate group that supports ethical practices in sales and marketing by promoting the principles of SMEI-AR. Your company’s Corporate Sponsor Membership directly contributes to the association’s mission while giving you many direct benefits. Corporate involvement shows that your company believes a high standard in the sales and marketing profession is important. Available Corporate Sponsor Membership Levels are:

Diamond Scholarship Member—$5,000 Platinum Scholarship Member - $2,500

Gold Corporate Sponsor Member—$2,000 Silver Corporate Sponsor Member—$1,500

Bronze Corporate Sponsor Member—$1,000 Friend of SMEI-AR Member—$500

Each membership level is for one year.

For more information email arkansas@smei.org or call 425-7781.

If you choose to upgrade to a Corporate Sponsor Membership now and your membership is not due for a few months, you will begin receiving the benefits for your chosen level the day you sign up and they will continue for one year from your next actual renewal date. Now that is a DEAL!

Bring your promotional items, brochures,

business cards, etc. and display them in

the Member Marketing Center each month

at the lunch meetings.

Friends of SMEI-AR

CORPORATE MEMBERS

Bronze Sponsor

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January Meeting

Dr. David Gilliam,

UALR

College of Business

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