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Get More Sales by Recognizing These 5 Selling Seasons

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 17:49:19 +0000

Everybody in the consumer products business knows how important the winter holidays are to retail sales.

But wait, there’s more, a whole lot more! In fact, the entire year can be divided up into at least nine selling seasons. Each one can have special significance for your product or service.

What most selling seasons have in common is that they begin right after the last three-day bank holiday weekend and run through the next three-day bank holiday weekend. During that period, most retailers and smart producers are putting out signs, decorations and trade dress on their consumer products in an effort to take advantage of the seasonal theme. In most cases, every seasonal selling promotion has to be scheduled substantially in advance to reserve display space, ad space and special pricing.

Let’s examine the first five of these nine selling seasons (theme-promotional periods) and the opportunities they present for producers to help their retailers decorate, celebrate, and move product:

To read the entire article, please visit The Business Journals

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Sell the Positive Emotion Your Product or Service Can Bring

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 18:00:31 +0000

In this digital age, when so much is sold on line, we are in a race to the bottom pricewise. All we want to know is, “Where can I get it for less?” Once manufactures get swept up in that game, the features and benefits of their products seem to get reduced to a set of bullet points with the price as the main attraction. Are they missing something? We think so.

If it is true that people buy with their hearts and justify with their brains, then shouldn’t we address their heart felt positive emotions first? The modern simplification of the selling process has created an opportunity for an old-fashioned, but classic, approach to sales, “How will they feel when they buy your product or service?”

Is it freedom, confidence, strength, or security? Is it health, wealth, power or satisfaction? Or is it frugality, popularity, fun, or admiration? What is the positive emotion you are offering your customers? Once you can define those feelings, you have the key to their first decision – the one that comes from the heart. This can be stronger than the features, benefits, and yes, even the price!

When we started in the wine business, it was staid and standoffish, isolated and insulated. We were outsiders and didn’t think about it as the “wine” business. Because of all the controls and compliance associated with beverage alcohol, we thought about it as the “beverage alcohol business” which was broader and included various types of beverage alcohol. It included spirits and beer as well as wine.

So, we looked at the way these three types of beverage alcohol products were being presented in their marketing materials. We saw that wine was all about how the grapes were grown and how the wine was made. When we looked at spirits, we noticed it was geared to a predominately male audience, with how it’s made, and, at the time, generally portraying females.

But then we looked at beer. It was, “Just want to be your Bud!”, “It’s Miller time!”, and “The Silver Bullet!”. Not much about how it’s made, but more about how to have fun with the product. “Have fun,” we thought. Our wine sales slogan became “Get Barefoot and Have a Great Time!”

We sold the feeling of having fun in an industry that was all about how it was made. Fun was not on the agenda in those days. By selling the feeling we wanted our customers to enjoy, we had an advantage in the marketplace that wasn’t realized by the industry for nearly a decade.

Today, it’s time once again to realize that, after all, people make buying decisions with their hearts. The more we can access those feelings the greater our advantage in the marketplace. This is not to say that you don’t also have to have superior features, benefits and competitive pricing, but it is to say that all things being equal, feelings win! And lately, we’ve gotten away from selling feelings first.

So, your take home assignment for the New Year and beyond is to convert your products’ features and benefits into the positive feelings your customers will have when using them. Get that feeling up front in your catch phrase, marketing and merchandising materials. Get your endorsers to say how owning and using your product or service made them feel. When you successfully communicate the feeling, your products become more appealing!

You will be delighted to have the advantage this classic idea will give you in the New Year! See? It’s working already!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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The 9 Selling Seasons: Seasonal Selling Can Get You More Sales, Part 2

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 18:00:29 +0000

The calendar year is already divided up into at least 9 distinctive selling seasons. Each selling season, for the most part, is named after the 3-day holiday they run through. The selling seasons all start right after the previous holiday and end on the next holiday. These selling seasons can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months and they all have their particular festive themes. By understanding and anticipating these various seasonal themes, astute brand builders can secure displays and lever their marketing and merchandising materials.

Last time we examined the first 5 selling seasons of the year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Valentine’s Day/Presidents Day, St Patrick’s Day/Easter, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. Now let’s take a look at the remaining 4:

Labor Day – Starts the day after Independence Day and runs for 2 months. This is the “official” end of the summer and the beginning of back-to-school days. This is the last chance of the year to promote anything “summer” such as picnics, outdoor activities and summer vacations.

Halloween – This is another relatively long, 2-month plus selling season interrupted only by Columbus Day, which, although a Federal 3-day-weekend holiday, does not sport a “Columbus” theme with much popularity. Although Halloween is not a 3-day-weekend holiday, many Americans enjoy celebrating it, and the markets are decorated with the fall harvest color theme of gold, orange, brown and rusty red. Plus, there are the mandatory pumpkins and goblins.

Thanksgiving – The time between Halloween and Thanksgiving is just over 3 weeks. Now we are officially into “The Holidays.” With the addition of Veterans Day on November 11^th which is also a Federal Holiday, the dominating theme during this period of time is family, food, and home. Discover how your product or service fits in, and how you can best present your offerings in a way that compliments these predominant themes.

Christmas-New Years – From Thanksgiving to New Years is about 5 weeks and the theme is holiday shopping, home, family and friends. Vacation time adventures, snow recreation, and year-end themes also abound. This is the most competitive time of the year for many businesses but a relatively slow time for others that rely on fair weather. Savvy consumer products marketers will have already pre-sold displays to retailers many months prior. They will be watching their inventory to replenish it when it depletes at every level including the supplier, manufacturer, distributor, and retailer warehouses. They will also be watching the retailers’ shelves for out-of-stocks. They will point out that retailers can order more without fear of over stock because they can sell off any unsold balances during the Valentine’s Day- MLK Day selling season starting January 2. This also is the last chance for brand builders to move product that will be counted in the total sales for the year. Those numbers will be critical in January when most buyers make all their buying decisions for what to keep and what to discontinue for the coming year.

The key to seasonal selling success is to look at the year in advance and decide how your products and services can work with the various holiday themes that already exist in the marketplace. Make plans sufficiently in advance so you can reserve the space, pricing and programming, and have all the celebratory materials designed, produced and delivered in ample time to take advantage of these seasonal opportunities.

Seasonal selling seasons are going on whether you jump on them or not, so get with the program and plan ahead!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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The 9 Selling Seasons: Seasonal Selling Can Get You More Sales

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:00:08 +0000

Everybody in the consumer products business knows how important the winter holidays are to retail sales. But wait, there’s more, a whole lot more! In fact the entire year can be divided up into at least 9 selling seasons. Each one can have special significance for your product or service.

What most selling seasons have in common is that they begin right after the last 3-day bank holiday weekend and run through the next 3-day bank holiday weekend. During that period most retailers and smart producers are putting out signs, decorations, and trade dress on their consumer products in an effort to take advantage of the seasonal theme. In most cases, every seasonal selling promotion has to be scheduled substantially in advance to reserve display space, ad space and special pricing.

Let’s examine these selling seasons (theme-promotional periods) and the opportunities they present for producers to help their retailers decorate, celebrate, and move product:

The Martin Luther King 3-day Weekend – the 3rd Monday in January celebrating the great civil rights leader. The selling seasons begins on January 2^nd. It’s relatively short but this is the time when retailers try to sell off any unsold inventory they bought for the Christmas – New Year’s selling season. Expect big sales and volume discounts during this selling period, making it difficult to sell in when retailers want to reduce inventory. It’s a great time for snow sports and winter recreation, however.
The Valentine’s Day- President’s Day Weekend – the 3^rd Monday in February and because Valentine’s Day (February 14^th) falls so close, we end up celebrating our two greatest presidents and romance around the same time. Super Bowl Sunday also occurs during this period. The period starts the day after MLK Day and is a month-long selling season. You guessed it, a perfect time for all thing romantic – flowers, chocolate, wine, pajamas, travel, restaurants – you get the picture. How can you make your product romantic?
St Patrick’s Day – Easter. Although neither is a bank holiday, Good Friday is generally observed as a day off making Easter a 3-day weekend. Some years when Easter falls early, it’s very close to St Patrick’s Day which can combine the two into one selling season. When Easter falls late we can have an up to three-week Easter selling season. You get the idea, shamrocks, eggs, bunny’s and new items.
Memorial Day – in honor of our military service people, the last Monday in May. It is also considered by many as the “official” first day of summer, with picnics and barbeques, outdoor activities, and vacation time. Discover how your product can fit in. This is a two-month selling season starting the day after Easter. The only big selling day in between is Mother’s day, the second Sunday in May, which obviously has its own theme.
Independence Day. Depending on how close it comes to a weekend, it can be a 3 or 4 day weekend. Get out the red, white and blue! The Independence Day selling seasons starts the day after Memorial Day and continues with the summer vacation and recreational theme for over a month. The only other big selling day is Father’s Day, the 3^rd Sunday in June.

Next time we will examine the last 4 selling seasons of the year and their commercial implications. But knowing what’s coming and how you can lever each one gives you a real advantage, if you sell with the seasons!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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It’s Easier to See Opportunities When You’re Moving Toward a Goal

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 18:00:59 +0000

We are frequently asked by aspiring entrepreneurs, “How do I spot the next big opportunity?” The short answer: do something, anything, but get going! It’s hard to see what the folks in the cars on the freeway are wearing until you catch up with them. From the road side, it’s all just a blur.

When you are on a mission and you need a product or service and it doesn’t exist, that is the time to realize the opportunity. We, for instance, have discovered several applications that we would buy if only they were for sale. We have had to use work-arounds, coble together various applications, and overpay for poor services that sort of do the job, but not really.

On the other hand, we have had to buy certain services that try to be all things to all people and offer huge options we just don’t need and can’t use. But we still have to pay full price for the big clumsy service. Every day we see the opportunity for improved services and applications. Why do we see these opportunities? Because we are on a mission to share our knowledge with others, and that mission requires integrated services. Yet others are asking us where to find the same services we need.

The building industry is a great example. Many of the innovations in fasteners, brackets, materials, and jigs come from the construction workers themselves. They wanted to get the job done in a faster, cheaper, better and safer way than what was readily available. If they hadn’t been building, they never would have seen these opportunities.

There is the big advantage to working with an entrepreneur prior to starting your own business. You’ll see what they are missing, what could help them, or how to save them time and money. Keep your eyes open. Look at the applications they are using, the service they subscribe to, and the other tools they use. Take notes! There is huge room for innovation and you can be the one to spot it – if only you are moving toward a goal! Even though it is someone else’s goal, by working with others you will be more likely to see the opportunities.

Opportunities exist wherever there is an unsatisfied demand. So make sure that you are not the only person who would pay for the solution. Then get ready to devote your time to the opportunity. There are no half measures.

We are often asked why, if we see so many opportunities out there every day, do we not jump on all of them. The fact is there’s not a shortage of opportunities, but there is a shortage of time, commitment, and focus. Michael’s father used to say, “Good ideas are like belly buttons; you have to push them to get them going, then you have to run to keep up with them, and nobody has time for two!”

So it’s not about where the opportunities are so much as it is if you are willing to do the research, prove the market, and see it through to fruition. And it’s this latter part that kills most new ventures. Many proponents have no idea what is involved in seeing it through to fruition. We surely didn’t when we first recognized the opportunity for a low-cost, high-quality everyday American house wine. But we found out while doing it, learned our lessons, and stuck with it.

Opportunities abound! But you must get started in the business world to discover what is needed by you and others. So, get out there and get going!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Thinking About Taking the Plunge into Entrepreneurship in the New Year?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 18:00:18 +0000

A lot of you are sitting on the fence between a comfy, secure job that bores you to death, and taking that adventurous plunge into the unknown – entrepreneurship.

What’s going through your mind? Short-term security with a good “solid” job and get-by retirement, with apparently little risk? Or a much bigger risk but a giant paycheck for building and selling a business?

Before you take the plunge, take stock of your philosophies. That’s right, your philosophies, how you think about stuff, how you make decisions, and how your judgements are formed. More than any other single factor, success in entrepreneurship comes down to making more right decisions. What influences those decisions? What standards do you hold up as guides and measures? In entrepreneurship it is your decisions that can make or break you.

Do you think, for instance, that if your idea is good enough, your quality high enough, or your prices low enough, sales will take care of themselves? In other words have you bought into the popular notion that it’s all about the product or service? We did! And boy were we surprised! This is a commonly held misconception! Sure, you must have a great product at an attractive price, but actually getting it to the ultimate customer is a much bigger challenge than producing it in the first place.

Do you think that those who have a financial interest in seeing your product stay in stock and reordering it, will keep selling it? We did! Wrong again! They have too many other products to sell to put much energy in to a new, unproven one. Especially in the critical early stages, we found that we had to sell it for them, over and over again. In fact we had to do so much of what we thought was the other guy’s job that we wound up with our own sales team, and that cost us plenty.

Do you think you need tons of money to get started? In retrospect, we found that being undercapitalized actually forced us to be resourceful and innovative. If we had been “properly financed” we would have never discovered how to get the word out about our product through worthy cause marketing. We would have just thrown lots of money at advertising, the common approach to marketing.

Do you think your vendors are trying to squeeze you for payments? We actually increased our credit when we were late on our payments! How? By treating our vendors the way we wanted to be treated, with a friendly heads-up call in advance of a late payment, along with a plan to bring our account current. We met with them bi-monthly to appraise them of our progress. Your vendors can be your strongest strategic allies!

Do you think salespeople are out to unload merchandise on you or somehow get over on you? If you do, you will lose one of the best sources of information about your competitors and the market changes. Vendors and salespeople know what’s going on and they can share it with you.

Where do these inaccurate business philosophies come from? It could be your childhood, what you have heard from others, or assumptions you have made about the market. For instance, you may think no one has come up with your great idea yet because you haven’t seen it. In fact, you may not have seen it for sale because the original developers may have been unable to bring it to market. Don’t be like them.

We can help by sharing the lessons we learned most often the hard way. Get the big picture before you take the plunge!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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World’s Best Sale Pitch: “My Product will help you Increase Sales”

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:50:23 +0000

We’ve spent over two decades in sales, and it’s true – nothing happens until the sale is made. We have a friend who described her sales job as “conveying the value proposition of (her) product to (her) buyers.”

There are many books written on the subject of sales, sale techniques, and best closing strategies. We’ve often said the best sales person is the “Assistant Buyer”. The key to sales success is simply to sincerely have the buyer’s best interest at heart.

When you produce a product that goes through distribution channels, or when you offer a service business to business, the funds your buyer has to buy from you came from the sale of their product or service. If you are selling direct to the consumer, you still have to recognize that they have to work for the income, one way or another, that enables them to buy your product.

Everybody who sells products or services wants to sell more. The ultimate question from your prospect is: “How does your product or service help me sell my product or service?” or “How can you help me make more money?” That’s why positioning your sales pitch as enhancing theirs is so effective.

Here are some ways your product or service can help your customer’s bottom line:

1. Reduce his overhead cost per unit sold. He has to pay rent, lights, power, insurance, staff, cleaning, etc., whether he sells your product quickly or slowly. If it’s a fast seller, his cost per sale is reduced. He improves his ROI on his capital investment, maintenance, advertising, and staffing.

2. Increase his profits with lower acquisition costs and, consequently, higher profit margins on your product. Give him a volume purchase program that enables a lower retail price and increased volume resulting in higher profits per month.

3. Make his retail environment more attractive with seasonal point of sale materials and promotional programs geared to the theme of the given holiday. Make your displays festive decorations to his retail space.

4. Increase his business with local promotions and support for neighborhood causes. Use Worthy Cause Marketing to bring in customers who have a social reason to buy your product. Let the membership of the non-profit you support know where your product is for sale in his neighborhood.

5. Sell him a product or service that makes him more attractive and more competitive to his clients or retail customers. Give him the best price in your category, or an area-wide exclusive for an introductory period.

6. Add value to his total sales package. Is there something you can sell him that makes what he’s selling more valuable, adds an extra feature or delivers another benefit – like a guarantee, excellent customer service or loyalty program? Does your product give him “green” bragging rights?

7. Improve his personnel’s efficiency by providing training, benefits or tools his staff can use to increase his sales. Help him find and keep good people.

These are just a few examples of how you can help your buyer increase profits and do his job more efficiently. When you focus on what your buyer is trying to do, you can quickly get a clue as to what you can do to help him increase his sales. Adding value to his sales efforts with your product allows him to say to his customers, “But wait, there’s more!”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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B2B or Not to Be? That is the Question!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:13:01 +0000

We often hear, “Oh, we’re B2B (business-to-business), so we don’t have to worry about customers at the general public level.” The fact is, you do.

It is an erroneous assumption that B2B is somehow insulated from the source of most income, the general public. If your client goes out of business, your B2B loses that account, and you lose an income source. Of course you need to worry!

The more your company understands and assists your clients to sustain and grow their customer base, the better your chances of keeping that revenue. Don’t be the last one to find out your client is in trouble. Be proactive and help them stay healthy so you too will benefit from their success.

Here are some ways your B2B can help your client or customer:

1. Take an interest in how they make their income, including its source. Is it another business that sells to another business that eventually sells to the public? How many layers exist before reaching the end-user? Do they sell direct to the public?

2. Take an interest in their industry, including the trends that are on the rise or decline. Are your customers experiencing rapid growth, or having difficulty maintaining their market or price points? The answers to these questions can give you a big hint about how you can possibly help them.

3. Show them how to buy your products or services to best match their current needs. When they are in a growth cycle, provide them with discounted quantity purchases. When they are struggling, provide them with longer terms. By being sensitive to their needs beyond your product or service, you help them and your company succeed.

4. Provide them with information and objective feedback. Show them that you care and act like an engaged team member. Your input will be respected since they know you have an interest in their success. You may have some insight that only an outsider could have, or you may see something in the market that they may have missed.

5. Keep your eyes peeled for talent. You may have more contacts than they do, thus, you may be aware of hiring opportunities they may not know about. Find out what they are looking for and pass the word. Strong companies and strong clients are made up of strong people. It’s their most valuable resource.

6. Call for a meeting in person, if possible. Ask about their business challenges, growth, and customers. Let them know you care about their business and are interested in helping them succeed. A face-to-face will reveal lots of information that an email or phone call can never achieve. And it helps build an invaluable personal relationship.

When you think about it, there are many ways you can help your client remain viable beyond what you are selling. You will win their loyalty and increase their purchase orders by being a real team player.

No business is truly isolated and insulated from their client’s customers. As these last few years have painfully demonstrated, we are all interdependent. The more you know about your customers, the more you can help and the more your B2B will continue to be.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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