Communicating the stuff rattling around in my head is so much fun. It’s even MORE fun when someone uses that information and successfully implements a program (more on that at the end of the article). We have a great customer story to share with you this week. I know you will enjoy understanding how someone like you could implement this sales program. There is NO TIME like the 1^st quarter to establish how the rest of the year will play out for your business. Please join us next week for our webinar. We’ll be talking about how best to take advantage of the traffic in your center today to grow the sales for tomorrow!

Last year, I published an idea for an All-Star Sales Campaign in Replay Magazine (all of my Replay articles are archived and available to members of Xpress Training) as the Party Professor. Now is a great time to discuss this process again. Kyle Allison (of Allison’s Fun and Altituse 1291) took this idea and created a hugely successful sales campaign during the last quarter of 2009. I know you will enjoy understanding how someone like you could implement this sales program.

If you missed the article, GAME ON! is reprinted here in Replay.

Now is the time to party. Many groups have been very cautious over the last 12 months to do so. I’m no economist, but I do think confidence in finances is beginning to return.

The theme for party development at your center should be celebration. We are approaching the most celebrated time of year. Companies, churches, schools and groups of every kind will be getting together in the coming months. The holidays give us a terrific opportunity to have theme parties for the entire center. Fall festivals in October; Thanksgiving–themed programs in November; Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa in December; then New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, St. Paddy’s Day . . good grief, does it ever end? The time to focus on what you have to offer groups is right now.

With that thought in mind, I’ve realized that many people are challenged when it comes to going out and selling because they are terrified that they’ll fail. Much of the time, I find that they just don’t have a good way to keep score. More often than not, a sales person that has failed has simply failed to follow up because they don’t have good enough systems of tracking or keeping score of where they are in the sale.

Every lead has possibilities. A lead that says “no” or can’t be converted doesn’t have to be a failure; it simply belongs in the loss column for this game or inning, if you will. I was thinking about the best way to keep score, and with the World Series coming up, I considered baseball. I decided we could keep score by putting our sales opportunities in these categories:

• A hit is a good lead that requires follow up.
• A run is closed lead. We made the sale.
• An out is the hit that we can’t convert or the sale is lost.

The game is on, and everyone knows where they stand. If you combine the scoreboard idea with the top 10 plan of goal setting, then all you need to do is decide who you want to do business with, put them in the lineup, and let the games begin. The sky is the limit when you have strategy that helps you
get this focused.

Groups can also be easily classified into three categories:

• Youth-based groups that include schools, day cares, YMCA/YWCA, scouts, etc.
• Churches.
• Corporate.

If you focus on creating a top 10 list for each of these three groups, then you have a system for establishing the lineup of the game. Each lead has the potential to be the batter that is scored as a hit initially. When you make contact, set an appointment, find out if they have parties at all, then you have a hit. The lead stays on the scoreboard as you try to get them around the bases and score a run. The run is scored when you’ve booked a party. If they stall and you can’t get them to convert one way or another, you’ll have to decide if they’ve been left on base or, better yet, count it as an out and add a new group into the game. Outs don’t play in this game. Replace that lead with a new one. Keep 10 on your roster at all times.

What happens is that you get something done. One way or another, you know what the score is. I challenge you to put three big scoreboards up in your office today. One for youth, one for churches and one for companies. Give at least 10 lines for your batters and three additional columns so that you can keep score. I promise that the focus on playing the game and winning will take the pressure off those who feel as if selling is some horrible task that is reserved for their loudmouthed, plaid-jacketed uncle who talks too much at the Thanksgiving dinner table! Selling can be so much fun. Planning group events and helping them have a great experience at your center is even more fun.

Now, here’s the fun part! Kyle Allison’s hugely successful sales campaign and the email he sent us are listed below.

Beth,

Last year, you had a newsletter about a sales contest involving the baseball concept. Attached is the contest that I adapted from your info and implemented in the 4th quarter at our event planning company (we also did one at Andy’s, but the results are not in yet). It was a two–person team because one of the sales girls was brand new to the company.

The contest brought in $13,400 in new business by Dec 31st. Another $5,000 is still in negotiation.

Thanks for the fresh new ideas! Keep’em coming!

Kyle Allison
Allison’s Fun Incorporated – (405) 447–1118
Fax – (405) 447–8311

Congratulations, Kyle, on your team’s success. What a great plan!

Have you successfully executed one of Trainertainment’s plans? Do you have a great success story to share? Please leave your comments below.

As I travel the country, I see lots of terrific promotions. I try to pay attention because it is difficult to create that irresistible promo that guarantees people will flood your front door. Last year, the BEST promotion I saw came at the end of the year, and I can’t wait to tell you about it.

I interviewed the proprietor and have his permission to share his contact information, and I will do so at the end of the article. We had the privilege of working with this center last year, but I can’t take credit for this cool promotion. The brains behind the promotion go to Parker Coddington’s wife. Parker and his brothers own and operate Shenaniganz, a beautiful bowling–based Family Entertainment Center in Rockwall, TX. They have a terrific restaurant, laser tag, a sexy boutique bar/bowling lounge, a WOW game room, and indoor go-karts.

I saw the promotion because I’m a VIP card holder and email subscriber of the center. If I have my days right, I received my first in a series of 12 emails from Shenaniganz on December 14th titled “On the 1st day of Christmas Shenaniganz gave to me . . ”. It included a FREE offer! No strings attached. (Click here to our blog and read my interview with Parker, the 12 offers, and the promotion results.)

The Interview

Beth: How did you come up with the idea?

Parker: It was my wife’s brain child. They were doing something similar at her job and had called it the 12 days of Christmas. We thought it might be a great way to build our database and to reward our VIP Club.

Beth: How many people do you have in your database?

Parker: Only 1300. That’s one of the big reasons we wanted to try this promotion. We believed that people would forward the email to their friends. They had to be members to take advantage of the 12 offers, so when they received the email, they immediately signed up.

Beth: Was there one promotion that worked better than another?

Parker: It seemed to gain momentum. Those who live close and could take advantage were coming almost daily. We had one guy tell us that he had been here 6 of the 7 days to take advantage of the daily promotion and had spent more money than he had planned every time he came in. In answer to the BEST promotion-unbelievably, the 7–layer cheesecake wins. The great thing about that promotion is that those who redeemed the coupon ate lunch or dinner and then cashed in their daily offer.

Beth: Of the activities, which one seemed the most well-received?

Parker: Free bowling (Day 8 with free shoes weekdays). By Day 8, everyone was into it.

Beth: How difficult was it to execute the program?

Parker: Not difficult at all. We met, decided on the daily giveaways, and then used the same email template for each day. We use a program called Fishbowl that is much like your Constant Contact. We scheduled delivery of each daily email at once and then let the promotion work for us. I did goof on the delivery time for Day 6 and began to receive emails early in the morning looking for the 6th day of Christmas. I knew then that we had done something right for our VIPs.

From my point of view, I was very motivated by the campaign. I looked forward to each day’s email and was increasingly impressed each day. Below is the 10th-day email, which looks exactly like each day before and after.

I asked Parker if they had people opt out because the frequency was daily, and he said it was no more than normal. Overall, they felt like it increased their business, grew their database, and was a great way to give back to their VIPs. If you want to contact Parker, you may do so at pcoddington@shenaniganz.com.

Here’s a complete list of the 12-day offers:

• Day One: Free hour shuffleboard or billiards
• Day Two: Free cheese fry appetizer
• Day Three: 7–layer chocolate cake
• Day Four: Free go karts
• Day Five: Five dollar game card
• Day Six: Two rock wall climbs
• Day Seven: Free kitchen sink
• Day Eight: Free bowling game (including shoes)
• Day Nine: Free laser tag
• Day Ten: $10 game card
• Day Eleven: Free burger/
• Day Twelve: Unlimited laser tag 5p-6p, or free 30 second dance lesson from Justin

Holding promotions brings people to your center. Email is a great, inexpensive way to target the market.

Do you have a “BEST PRACTICE” that you’ve succeeded with when getting people to give you their contact information? Please share that tactic here on the blog.

Happy New Year – Let’s make it the best one yet!