To Thine Own Self Be True.
To Thine Own Self Be True.
Live with integrity.
Never underestimate how important keeping your word is to a prospect or a customer. One thing that has come clear to me over the past 34 years is that when you are just starting out with an idea for writing a book, most publishers will not give you the time that day. In fact, most of them will not even take a manuscript submission unless you have a literary agent representing you. However, having now published more than 20 books, I get calls from publishers every week trying to sell me a marketing package.
I always try to be respectful when people call me because I appreciate it when I make my sales calls. But I have noticed that some people are better at this than others. During one recent week, I was in contact with three different publishers. The first one went through the normal steps, telling me that it’s a good idea for me to republish one of my older books because there’s a new audience online waiting to discover it. I explained that all of my books are already profitable. I’m not interested in investing heavily in a book that’s been out for 10 to 17 years — especially when I have new books coming out all the time. I also explained that most of my customers are buying seminars and pick up the books as an additional purchase to take home from the event. Between having a television series for five years and presenting seminars for the past 24, there’s very little additional marketing that I need to do in order to sell books.
This first publisher was very understanding of the circumstances and did not do a hard sell to change my mind. A second publisher called that was bound and determined to get me to sign up for his republishing marketing plan. I did explain that I was not interested in paying any additional money for my older books. He assured me that there would be no cost to me. I asked him a second time to clarify and he said there would be no charge. I then said to him, “Then how does your company make any money?” He said, “There’s no charge for step one. After we design your new book cover then there will be a marketing charge to promote your book.”
I wasn’t surprised about the charge however; I was disappointed in the deception. After having spoken with him for more than 25 minutes, I told him to please mark in his records to indicate that I am not interested today, tomorrow, next week, next year, or ever in his services and that he should not call me anymore.
Ironically, I received a second call that same day from another publisher who was very respectful and asked me a few questions about my business and book plans. I explained the same information to him that I did to the other publishers. He was polite and professional. I actually enjoyed speaking with him. Since I was pressed for time, I complimented him on his approach and invited him to call me again in the future if he had something that was in line with the specific guidelines I shared with him.
Prospects are skeptical; they evaluate everything — especially from a first-time interaction. When you’re calling on prospects, make sure that your word is your bond. Never deceive or try to trick a prospect into buying from you. The consequences will be severe and long-lasting. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
“Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.”
– Anonymous
(This excerpt is taken from my seminar entitled Winning with Integrity) I encourage you to click here to watch my Winning with Integrity seminar video available at Romeo Network Online University.
BLOG SPONSORS
