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3/07/2024 The Power of Attitude: Unleashing Success
Attitude plays a crucial role in various aspects of one's life including in business. Here are some ways how attitude can impact your business: 1. Positive mindset: Maintaining a positive attitude helps you approach challenges with resilience and optimism. It enables you to view setbacks as opportunities for growth inspiring creativity and innovation in problem-solving. 2. Relationships: Having a friendly and optimistic attitude encourages strong connections with clients colleagues and employees. It fosters a positive work environment where trust respect and effective communication thrive leading to better collaboration and productivity. 3. Customer service: A positive attitude is contagious and can greatly influence how you interact with your customers. Being helpful empathetic and genuinely interested in their needs fosters customer loyalty positive word-of-mouth and repeat business. 4. Adaptability: Business environments are constantly evolving and maintaining a flexible attitude helps you adapt to change more effectively. Embracing new ideas and technologies with an open mind gives you a competitive edge in staying ahead of the curve. 5. Leadership: A positive attitude is essential for effective leadership. Leaders who inspire confidence motivate others and remain optimistic during challenging times have a greater ability to guide their teams towards success. 6. Problem-solving: A positive attitude enables you to approach problem-solving with a clear and focused mindset. Instead of dwelling on obstacles you're more likely to find creative solutions turning challenges into opportunities. 7. Work-life balance: Cultivating a positive attitude allows you to find harmony between your personal and professional life. It helps avoid burnout and enhances overall well-being leading to increased productivity and success in your business. Remember attitude is not just about being optimistic; it's also about showing empathy resilience and adaptability. By maintaining a positive attitude in business you can optimize your chances for success and foster a more fulfilling work environment.

2/27/2024 Active Listening
In the world of sales effective communication is paramount. While many salespeople focus on perfecting their pitch or closing techniques one crucial yet often overlooked skill is active listening. The ability to listen attentively and genuinely understand a customer's needs and concerns is the foundation for building trust establishing rapport and ultimately closing the deal. In this blog post we will explore the concept of active listening in a sales situation and its tremendous benefits for sales professionals. 1. Understanding the Customer: Active listening is about more than just hearing; it's about truly understanding the customer's perspective. By paying close attention to their words tone and body language salespeople can discern their pain points desires and motivations. Engaging in active listening allows salespeople to tailor their approach ensuring that the solutions they offer align precisely with the customer's needs. 2. Building Rapport and Trust: When salespeople demonstrate genuine interest and actively listen to customers it builds rapport and trust. By allowing customers to express themselves fully and without interruption sales professionals signal that they value their opinions and prioritize their needs. This fosters a sense of mutual respect making customers more inclined to trust the salesperson's recommendations and be open to forming a long-term relationship. 3. Overcoming Objections: Active listening plays a crucial role in uncovering objections or concerns that customers may have. By actively listening salespeople can detect subtle cues hesitations or uncertainties that might not be explicitly expressed. This insight enables them to address objections head-on provide accurate information and offer reassurances that build confidence in the proposed solution. By proactively tackling objections sales professionals can navigate potential roadblocks more effectively and increase the chances of a successful sale. 4. Closing the Deal: Active listening directly contributes to closing the deal. By attentively listening to customers salespeople can detect buying signals or specific needs that indicate a readiness to move forward. This allows them to seize the right moment to present their solution highlighting how it aligns perfectly with the customer's requirements. By demonstrating that they've truly understood the customer's needs throughout the sales process salespeople increase the likelihood of a positive outcome and facilitate a smooth closing. 5. Strengthening Customer Relationships: Active listening extends beyond a single sale â€" it serves as a foundation for developing long-lasting customer relationships. By consistently demonstrating that they value their customers' opinions and actively seek to understand their evolving needs salespeople build customer loyalty. This loyalty leads to repeat business and valuable word-of-mouth referrals creating a virtuous cycle where satisfied customers become valuable brand advocates. Conclusion: Active listening is an essential tool in a sales professional's arsenal. By fully engaging with customers understanding their needs building trust addressing objections and ultimately closing the deal salespeople can significantly boost their success. Cultivating active listening skills takes practice and dedication but the effort is well worth it. In the competitive world of sales those who genuinely listen to their customers gain a distinct advantage building stronger connections and achieving greater sales success. Remember as a sales professional your primary goal is to serve your customers. By actively listening you show that you care and are committed to finding the best solutions for their needs. Adopting active listening as a fundamental practice will not only enhance your sales skills but also strengthen your professional relationships and pave the way for long-term success. So take a moment listen attentively and let your customers guide you towards sales success!

2/13/2024 Marketing Advertising Branding
I am writing this blog to assistant you with a clear understanding of the differences between marketing advertising and branding as these terms are often used interchangeably but hold distinct meanings and functions within the business realm. Marketing is a comprehensive strategy that encompasses all the activities and processes involved in promoting and selling a product or service. It encompasses market research target audience identification product development pricing distribution and customer relationship and service management. In essence marketing is the overarching concept that guides all other promotional efforts. Focus on the core problem your business solves and put out lots of content and enthusiasm and ideas about how to solve that problem. Advertising on the other hand is one of the key components of marketing. It is the specific avenue focused on creating and delivering persuasive and emotional messages to target audiences using various media channels such as television radio print digital platforms and more. Remember advertising aims to generate awareness build brand recognition and ultimately stimulate demand people buy emotionally then justify with facts the product or service being advertised. The most powerful element in advertising is the truth. Telling lies does not work in advertising. Branding while closely related to advertising goes beyond mere promotion. It is the process of crafting a unique identity personality and perception around a company product or service. Branding involves creating a distinct brand image establishing brand values and fostering an emotional connection with customers. It shapes the way people perceive and interact with a business cultivating loyalty and influencing purchase decisions. There are two components to branding who you think you are and what the public thinks who you are. A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is â€" it is what consumers tell each other it is. In summary marketing encompasses all the activities involved in promoting and selling a product or service while advertising is a specific component of marketing that focuses on delivering persuasive and emotional messages through various media channels. Branding on the other hand is the process of creating a unique identity and emotional connection with customers establishing a long-term relationship and influencing their perceptions and decisions. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for businesses to develop effective and cohesive strategies. By leveraging marketing to shape their brand and utilizing advertising as a means to communicate that brand companies can establish a strong presence in the market and foster enduring relationships with their target audience. This is a commercial for me. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line If you require any further clarification or have additional questions on this topic please do not hesitate to reach out. I am more than happy to assist you. Alan Rock HoldMasters (407) 834-5445 www.holdmasters1.com alan@holdmasters1.com

1/29/2024 Branding for A Small Business
Branding is just as important for small businesses as it is for big names. Indeed many corporate brands try to look more like small firms to appeal to consumers who prefer to support independent brands. Every doctor lawyer or any other business person is asking prospective patients clients or other buyers to come to them for their services. Even those of you who do MLM should consider branding yourself so you will stand out from the crowd. Branding is not just a logo or how the world sees your business. Branding defines your business to yourself. It also gives your team and those you want to sell or serve your identity. One could call ‘Branding’ your business identity. Your brand must define the heart of your business and your business values not just its looks and a jingle. Most potential customers can see through spin and fluff. Your brand is not the benefits that a strategically defined brand can bring is the same as when people fall in love with each other that emotional connection. Since most sales are made on an emotional basis great branding leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. Make sure your brand differentiates you in the marketplace. Think of your brand as a person with values beliefs and purpose. Carry that brand message on everything you do from your printed literature to your advertising and your PR to your phone. One place where you can enforce your brand message effectively is when your phone rings and the caller is placed On-Hold. Advertising On-Hold works because you have a captive audience to your message and it’s non-threatening. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/12/2024 D.E.E.P.
D.E.E.P. (Dedication Enthusiasm Emotion Persistence) In any or all aspects of a business one or all the following things remain a constant for success Dedication Emotion Enthusiasm and Persistence (D.E.E.P). Whether you offer products or a service one must be dedicated to your mission statement and if you don’t have one create it. A mission and vision statement is a concise explanation of an organization's reason for existence and describes its purpose intention and overall objectives. The mission statement supports the vision and serves to communicate purpose and direction to employees customers D.E.E.P. vendors and other stakeholders. A vision statement looks forward and creates a mental image of the ideal state that the organization wishes to achieve. It is inspirational and aspirational and should challenge employees as well as management. The dedication must be to adhere to both when dealing with the public. Always dedicate yourself to what gives your life true meaning and purpose; make a positive difference in someone's life. Enthusiasm is contagious and trickles down from the top of the ladder to the lowest rung. Every employee carries that reasonability. How this might be expressed depends on the product or service. With products management must imbue this feeling with every member of the team especially the sales team. The receptionist needs to greet all visitors and all phone callers with real enthusiasm that plants the seeds for both the company and the sales team. Every member of the sales team must greet each customer and prospect with this enthusiasm after all how can a customer or prospect be enthused if the salesperson is not? There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment. Emotion is next on the plan. Human beings are emotional and make decisions emotionally. Therefore from top management on down that emotional component dictates results. Never stop for it always works in decision-making. Again the receptionist helps keep that emotional connection alive in how she greets people or how she answers the phones. One way to keep that emotional connection alive when on the phone and placed on hold is with an informative on-hold message. The sales team needs to remember ‘facts tell and emotions sell’. Get the prospect emotional and keep the buyer emotional and most often a positive decision is reached. Emotions are contagious. We've all known it experientially. You know after you have a really fun coffee with a friend you feel good. When you have a rude clerk in a store you walk away feeling bad. Persistence is important. Keeping up-to-date records of your customers and keeping them informed in a subtle way with a newsletter sharing information about your company. Once a month with Constant Contacts being your delivery system. Remember ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. Adopt a D.E.E.P. mindset about your business and remember doctors lawyers and CPAs also benefit from this activity. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been creating On-Hold-Advertising and Marketing for businesses around the country helping those businesses obtain that 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales (AT&T Statistic). Let us help you when your business is on the line. Call (407) 834-5445 for any additional information.

1/06/2024 I’m Too Busy
I’ve been thinking about the start of the new year and some of the things that hold us back from growth both personally and professionally. In my mind the biggest culprit is being too busy to listen. I don't care how busy you are you must always make time for what's most important to you. It’s been said that “Being busy doesn't mean being productive.” Hearing and listening are not the same. Active listening is a skill that will help everyone learn and grow. As parents we should instill that skill in our children for only by active listening can we fully understand how to make intelligent decisions. In business it is just as important. Being the CEO of yourself and your profession only by actively listening can you make those decisions that help you grow as a person and as a business. In the business world it is detrimental to be too busy to listen. The decision-maker of every business has the responsibility to his employees and to the business to listen. Most every business uses computers therefore it’s imperative to have great IT backup. How do you get that backup? By taking the time to listen to IT professionals. The same is true about marketing advertising and branding don’t be too busy to listen to professionals. If sales are down get a sales trainer to build your sales team regardless of what you do whether a product or service remember nothing happens until a sale is made. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Remember if you want to be successful work on your business not in your business. Your job as the CEO is to grow your business. A business coach can assist you in seeing areas where you can improve your business for example in customer service or technical service. Your website must reflect how you want to be branded. Even your phone system and how it works to deliver the results you want to achieve. Having a great custom on-hold message tells callers you care about their time waiting on-hold so you have a professional create a message that emotionally connects with the caller. It amplifies your marketing advertising and branding efforts and informs the callers of your company’s philosophy. Don’t be too busy to listen that’s your job. Alan Rock Holdmasters The On-Hold Message System Phone (407) 834-5445

12/12/2023 Communication The Key To Success
It’s been said that “Communication is the response you get” and it couldn’t be truer today. Everyone reading this must understand how to communicate with every generation from the young ‘Jen Z’ all the way to those senior ‘Traditionalists”. Jim Rohn says “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.” If you want to communicate with someone it’s imperative that you learn the mores and style of the group. Think of it this way; if you were giving away twenty-dollar bills to people who brought you one dollar but you spoke Chinese and they understood English you would still have your twenties. Knowing what motivates or turns off likes and dislikes of each generation is powerful ammunition for communication and knowing the style of how people process information can make you a master communicator. Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise you will have the gift the style the sharpness the clarity and the emotions to affect other people. Regardless of how you generate income ‘Communication’ is key. There are countless books that have been written about communication and the science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) has been developed to enable people to understand how this communication thing works. In a nutshell everyone takes information in and processes it through one of the five senses. NLP teaches you how to understand and how to communicate in the preferred sense (style) of the person with whom you are communicating. You can keep that high level of communication on your phone just by listening to how the other person speaks. This type of communication gets you into a strong position of ‘Rapport’. You should keep that rapport alive when your caller is placed On-Hold with a custom On-Hold Message. Effective communication is a critical component of mastering success. By mastering the art of communication you’ll increase every level of performance in your life. It has often been said that if you just communicate you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully you can work miracles. Communication is more than hearing it’s active listening. Since 1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the country maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

11/27/2023 D.E.E.P. (Dedication Enthusiasm Emotion Persistence)
D.E.E.P. (Dedication Enthusiasm Emotion Persistence) In any or all aspects of a business one or all the following things remains a constant for success Dedication Emotion Enthusiasm and Persistence (D.E.E.P). Whether you offer products or a service one must be dedicated to your mission statement and if you don’t have one create it. A mission and vision statement are a concise explanation of an organization's reason for existence and describes its purpose intention and overall objectives. The mission statement supports the vision and serves to communicate purpose and direction to employees customers vendors and other stakeholders. While a vision statement looks forward and creates a mental image of the ideal state that the organization wishes to achieve. It is inspirational and aspirational and should challenge employees as well as management. The dedication must be to adhere to both when dealing with the public. Enthusiasm is contagious and trickles down from the top of the ladder to the lowest rung. Every employee carries that reasonability. How this might be expressed depends on the product or service. With products management must imbue this feeling with every member of the team especially the sales team. The receptionist needs greet all visitors and all phone callers with real enthusiasm that plants the seeds for both the company and the sales team. Every member of the sales team must greet each customer and prospect with this enthusiasm after all how can a customer or prospect be enthused if the salesperson is not. Emotion is next on the plan. Human beings are emotional and make decisions emotionally. Therefore from top management on down that emotional component dictates results. Never stop for it always works in decision making. Again the receptionist helps keep that emotional connection alive in how she greets people or how she answers the phones. One way to keep that emotional connection alive when on the phone and placed on-hold is with an informative on-hold message. The sales team needs to remember ‘facts tell and emotions sell’. Get the prospect emotional and keep the buyer emotional and most often a positive decision is reached. Persistence is important. Keeping up-to-date records of your customers and keeping them informed in a subtle way with a newsletter sharing information about your company. Once a month with Constant Contacts being your delivery system. Adopt a D.E.E.P. mindset about your business and remember doctors lawyers and CPA’s also benefit with this activity. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been creating On-Hold-Advertising and Marketing for businesses both in Orlando and around the country helping those businesses obtain that 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales (AT&T Statistic). Let us help you when your business is on the line. Call (407) 834-5445 for any additional information.

11/09/2023 The customer calling experience matters more than you think.
Customer calling experience isn’t as trendy or flashy as digital marketing. It’s not a buzzword or the hottest new strategy. However customers are still calling when they need support. It’s true that many customers like to research brands products and services online. But when they want or need help they want to talk a real person. Many are still ordering on their phone and On-hold messaging creates additional sales opportunities as well as keeping callers on the line and on the line longer. Remember that Callers want to talk to real people. They want a positive experience through all touchpoints. A negative customer experience will send a customer running. Businesses spend a lot of money to get inbound calls -- then fail to maximize on the engagement. Businesses spend 94% of their marketing budgets to get people to call their business then only just 6% on what happens after that. (KissMetrics). Businesses put almost all of their marketing resources toward promotions and advertising that get customers to call. Then they fail to follow through with a plan for what happens next. You can Improve Your Customer Calling Experience. Businesses and marketers need to start thinking about how they can maximize the calling experience for their customers and here are some srategies for improving the customer calling experience. • providing on-hold messaging to increase caller retention • delivering scripts that cross-sell products and motivate callers to act • delivering messaging that builds brand awareness • working with voice talent that matches the brand and accurately speaks to the target audience • utilizing a VoIP phone solution that allows communication with callers from outside of the office • providing auto-attendants and IVRs that quickly route callers to decrease customer on-hold wait times In this digital age you may think that customer calling experience is no longer a priority but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Stop neglecting this important element of your marketing strategy or waiting for the importance of calling experiences to fade away. Let HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company help you grow your business. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line. Call Alan Rock at (407) 834-5445. www.holdmasters1.com

11/03/2023 Using Your Phone to Build Business
If you own or run a business your telephone is one of the most important tools you have for communicating with customers and prospective clients. Here are some tips on how to use your telephone effectively for business: 1. Answer promptly and professionally: When the phone rings answer it promptly and in a professional manner stating the name of your business and your own name. 2. Smile when you answer: Even though the person on the other end can't see you smiling when you answer the phone can help you sound more friendly and approachable. 3. Speak clearly and slowly: Make sure you speak clearly and slowly enough for the other person to understand you. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that the person might not be familiar with. 4. Take detailed messages: When someone calls and you're unable to take the call make sure you take detailed messages that include the caller's name phone number and the reason for the call. 5. Use the on-hold and transfer functions appropriately. If you need to put someone on hold or transfer them to another person make sure you do so politely and professionally and explain the reason for the hold or transfer. Make sure you have a professionally created On-Hold message that is engaging and informing the caller. A well-crafted On-Hold message that engages the caller will pay dividends. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. By following these tips you can ensure that your telephone communications are professional and effective and help build strong relationships with your customers and clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. (www.holdmasters1.com; (407) 834-5445)

11/02/2023 It's Not Magic
Why do people buy? It’s not magic. You don’t cast a spell over them. Sure you can push entice urge but you really can’t force a sale. People buy what they want or need based on people they like and trust or how it serves them to relieve pain to solve a problem. Therefore your job in sales is to show that buyer how your product or service answers their need or needs. Everyone is a salesperson including doctors lawyers accountants even parents are included. I believe people like to buy products or services that help them reach their goals; they don’t like to be tricked or cheated. In place of being a “Salesperson” become a “Help-Person” or a Trusted Advisor helping that buyer reach his or her goals by offering great products or services that alleviate the pain. When a buyer calls your business and is placed On-Hold make sure you continue being helpful by reassuring the caller about your products and/or services. Mention different products or services that you offer. AT&T statistics says that 12% of buyers On-Hold buy something they just heard about while On-Hold and with On-Hold advertising there is a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Whether you are a home-based business mom-and-pop or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

10/30/2023 Using the 'F' Word
Too often the ‘F’ word comes into our lives. One use of it is ‘FAILURE’. We fail at a task. Thomas Edison said speaking about the light bulb “I have not failed. I've just found 10 000 ways that won't work.” Fear of failure is extremely common. It’s the ultimate loss leading to uncertainty pain and self-doubt. So would it surprise you to learn that most high achievers count failure as one of their greatest fears? Substitute the word LEARNING for FAILURE. The only time anyone fails is when they give up. Another ‘F’ word is FORGIVENESS. - Martin Luther King Jr said "We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love." To forgive means to stop feeling anger towards a person or blaming them for something wrong they did. Many people think of forgiving as a reconstruction of a relationship with the person who did you wrong but it’s understanding the situation and moving past it. I personally think forgiving is important for us to continue with our daily life it makes us healthier even happier. You might want to consider forgiving as it means not hurting yourself anymore as emotions might get in the way and it is life changing it makes you let go of the past that has haunted you. Basically you are forgiving yourself. Remember forgiving does not mean forgetting it means letting go of the hurt. Failure and forgiveness are important in your personal life as well as your business life. Since this is a business networking platform I will relate this to business. Many businesses I call are looking to offer their product or service to the public and ask the public to call them and that’s where customer service starts. Whether it is an old client or prospect how does your phone tree work for you to make it easy for someone to get to where they want to go? Take a test t and call your own company and see how helpful you phone tree is. Too often it takes many frustrating minutes if you are a prospect and a little less frustrating if you are a current client. Then how often is that caller placed on hold? According to AT&T 70% of the time callers are placed on hold. Sometimes there is contemporary music and other times some electronic music still other times the caller hears a series of beeps and sometimes it is dead silence. What kind of an impression does that make on your client or prospect? Now The Golden Rule comes into play; would you want to be treated that way? AT&T says that with on-hold messages 12% of the callers will take action on something they heard and your bottom line will see a growth between 2 Â1/2 to 5%. Isn’t that what you want? There is less caller abandonment meaning that prospects will stay on hold up to 5 or 6 minutes when they are being educated about your business while being entertained. Failure of great customer service makes the impression you don’t care. Learning about an on-hold message that could generally increase business and forgiving yourself for not having one is an easy fix. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been creating On-Hold-Advertising for businesses both in Orlando and around the country helping those businesses obtain that 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales (AT&T Statistic). Let us help you when your business is on the line.

9/05/2023 Growing a Business
If you thought starting a new venture is nerve-racking and complex then think again. In reality launching a business is the easy part. The tricky aspect is how you plan to expand and stay relevant in a competitive world. One of the main challenges owners face is keeping the business growth ball rolling. It’s safe to say all businesses want to be number one (not two or last). The pressure to succeed and compete with other businesses is complicated and risky on its own. Charles Darwin said "It’s not the strongest species that survive nor the most intelligent but the most responsive to change. There are some very basic things you can do to grow the profitability of any business These are marketing branding advertising networking and customer service. Your marketing tells the audience who you are and the branding tells your audience what people think you are their perception of you. Advertising draws attention to your business using mass media and networking supplies the one-on-one connection with your potential audience. I personally think that customer service is the key. It’s that customer service that ties together the preceding four. It’s great customer service that creates referrals and keeps the audience you’ve worked hard to acquire Its great customer service that up-sells and cross-sells your present client base and helps keep that client base. Since attracting new clients is good and necessary keeping them should be paramount and since most decisions are first emotionally backed up by facts and that emotional connection should never be broken. Every person within your business needs to understand and be a part of the emotional chain. Tapping into the emotional connection starts with sales asking what the biggest challenge that they see in their business having knowledge of that industry helps in how you present that question. In my business On-Hold marketing call abandonment seems to be the number one challenge. Having nothing silence is the leader since the caller feels within a few seconds that they have been disconnected. With music at least they know they haven’t been but what if they hate the music? Playing a radio also works however the station can be playing a bunch of commercials maybe the competitions. One area that can do this automatically is the hold button on your phone. Rather than letting callers sit in silence or listening to some nondescript music you can have an On-Hold message playing that communicates both your marketing (what you do) and your branding (who you are). Your message will help you both up-sell and cross-sell your current clients while reminding of who you are and what you do it will share your philosophy helping to maintain an emotional connection with the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

9/04/2023 Needs for Growing a Business
If you thought starting a new venture is nerve-racking and complex then think again. In reality launching a business is the easy part. The tricky aspect is how you plan to expand and stay relevant in a competitive world. One of the main challenge’s owners face is keeping the business growth ball rolling. It’s safe to say all businesses want to be number one (not two or last). The pressure to succeed and compete with other businesses is complicated and risky on its own. Charles Darwin said "It’s not the strongest species that survive nor the most intelligent but the most responsive to change. There are some very basic things you can do to grow the profitability of any business These are marketing branding advertising networking and customer service. Your marketing tells the audience who you are and the branding tells your audience what people think you are their perception of you. Advertising draws attention to your business using mass media and networking supplies the one-on-one connection with your potential audience. I personally think that customer service is the key. It’s that customer service that ties together the preceding four. It’s great customer service that creates referrals and keeps the audience you’ve worked hard to acquire Its great customer service that up-sells and cross-sells your present client base and helps keep that client base. Since attracting new clients is good and necessary keeping them should be paramount and since most decisions are first emotionally backed up by facts and that emotional connection should never be broken. Every person within your business needs to understand and be a part of the emotional chain. Tapping into the emotional connection starts with sales asking what the biggest challenge that they see in their business having knowledge of that industry helps in how you present that question. In my business On-Hold marketing call abandonment seems to be the number one challenge. Having nothing silence is the leader since the caller feels within a few seconds that they have been disconnected. With music at least they know they haven’t been but what if they hate the music? Playing a radio also works however the station can be playing a bunch of commercials maybe the competitions. One area that can do this automatically is the hold button on your phone. Rather than letting callers sit in silence or listening to some nondescript music you can have an On-Hold message playing that communicates both your marketing (what you do) and your branding (who you are). Your message will help you both up-sell and cross-sell your current clients while reminding of who you are and what you do it will share your philosophy helping to maintain an emotional connection with the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/25/2023 Reaching Your Potential
American psychologist Abraham Maslow said “You will either step forward into growth or you will step backward into safety.” Maslow is best known for his theory of the “Hierarchy of Needs ” which outlined the basic human needs that must be met before one can seek social business or spiritual fulfillment. I was amazed in doing research for this blog to read that just 5% of people say they are using 100% or more of their potential according to the latest reading of an ongoing query by Comparably. The most popular response among those polled was “50% to 75% ” followed closely by “75% to 90%.” Part of what holds people back is they don't know self-actualization is even an option. Most people have been raised with a low ceiling of expectations for what they can become. They legitimately aren't aware of the potential they have or that they could pursue a more fulfilling life. That nothing is easy and only you can change yourself and push yourself to doing things that you’d thought of never doing in your life. This is the true meaning of hard work and doing the right things. Your full potential isn’t a destination; it’s a path. It’s a journey of liberation â€" from your own limitations and the limitations that others (often with good intentions) put upon you. Reaching your full potential takes patience courage self-awareness and a whole lot of grit. Walt Disney. Said “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” On May 6 1954 it was a chilly spring evening with a crosswind blowing across the track. Earlier it had rained and the ground was still wet. At 6:10 pm the gun fired and what happened next is history. Roger Bannister a 25-year-old medical student who went against conventional training methods and developed his own training regimen. He then ran a mile in less than four minutes (three minutes 59.4 seconds). This fulfill his personal dream but in that moment he also proved that it was possible for humans to break the contested barrier of the four-minute mile. According to Maslow if you want to get to the top of the pyramid and fulfill our full potential you’ve got to build a solid base first. Start by building a growth mind-set by celebrating the small wins. Action and reflection work to build your momentum. See the big picture by taking a step back and review what you’ve done. Manage your time. Remember there are only 86 400 seconds in a day don’t waste any of them because they are gone in the blink of an eye and cannot be retrieved. What are your goals daily weekly monthly and yearly? Set up a ‘To Do List’ and a ‘To Be” list. To reach your big dreams take small steps and do not try to reinvent the wheel. Discipline has been said beats out raw talent every time. Everyone fails from time to time. Use that failure as a learning tool and accept it with self-compassion. Take some of those 86 400 seconds to recharge yourself. All the above is true about any business. Many businesses fail and many succeed. The question is having they reached their potential? Leadership of others starts with self-leadership so from the top of the organizational chart to the bottom everyone needs to be a leader of themselves. Making emotional connections with your employees co-workers and prospects is prime and keeping it is prime squared. That connection must occur with every touch even when they call and are put On-Hold. While On-Hold a business can continue the emotional connection by sharing special information and your company’s philosophy. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/17/2023 FACTS TELL EMOTIONS SELL
Using emotions to sell ideas products or services is a powerful strategy that can engage and persuade your target audience. By appealing to their emotions you can create a connection and influence their decision-making process. The following are some key strategies to effectively utilize emotions in your sales efforts: Start with understanding your audience. To effectively appeal to your audience's emotions it's important to understand their desires fears and pain points. Conduct market research gather feedback and create buyer personas to gain insights into what emotionally resonates with your target audience. Tell compelling stories. Stories have a unique ability to evoke emotions. Craft narratives that relate to your audience and highlight the benefits or solutions your products or ideas offer. Use vivid language and imagery to paint a picture that captures their emotions and helps them envision a better future. Create relatable and aspirational content. Develop content that triggers emotions such as joy excitement hope or a sense of belonging. Use visuals videos testimonials and customer success stories that showcase real-life experiences and generate positive emotional associations with your brand. Connect with emotions through language. Choose words that tap into the emotional core of your audience. Utilize power words that evoke feelings of happiness security comfort or accomplishment. Focus on the benefits and outcomes that resonate emotionally rather than just the features of your product or idea. Establish trust and credibility. Emotions are closely tied to trust. Build trust by emphasizing your expertise sharing social proof and showcasing authentic testimonials and reviews. Transparency and open communication also play a crucial role in connecting with your audience on an emotional level. Leverage social media and influencer marketing. Social media platforms provide an opportunity to engage with your audience on a personal level. Use emotional storytelling user-generated content and influencer collaborations to create emotional connections and make your ideas or products relatable and desirable. Appeal to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Fear is a powerful emotion that can motivate action. Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity by offering limited-time promotions exclusive deals or early access to your offerings. By highlighting what your audience stands to lose you can increase the emotional impact and drive conversions. In conclusion emotions are a key driving force behind human decision-making. By understanding your audience crafting compelling stories using relatable content and language building trust and leveraging social media you can effectively use emotions to sell your ideas products or services. Remember to always be authentic and ethical in your approach ensuring that the emotions you tap into align with the value you provide. Once you have connected emotionally you must keep that emotional connection alive with every interaction from sales to delivery from accounting to your receptionist and every incoming phone call to a custom On-Hold message. Although facts tell emotions sell. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/10/2023 Unleashing the Power of Passion in the Business World
Introduction: Passion is a driving force that fuels our desires motivates us to pursue greatness and enables us to overcome obstacles. In the business world passion plays a pivotal role in driving innovation productivity and success. When individuals are aligned with their passion and work their dedication and enthusiasm become apparent leading to exceptional outcomes. This blog delves into the significance of passion in the business world how it influences success and tips for harnessing and nurturing passion in the professional sphere. The Power of Passion: It has been said that purpose is the reason you journey. Passion is the fire that lights the way. Passion is the deep-seated excitement and enthusiasm individuals feel toward their work or a cause. In the business world passion serves as a catalyst for success by fostering the following: 1. Persistence: Passionate individuals possess an unwavering determination to achieve their goals. They are willing to invest extra time effort and energy into their work ensuring they persist and overcome challenges. According to Maya Angelou “Your mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive; and to do so with some passion some compassion some humor and some style.” 2. Innovation: A strong passion for one's domain drives the inclination to think creatively and challenge existing norms. Passionate individuals are more likely to identify opportunities for improvement and generate innovative solutions leading to growth and success. Remember as long as you’ve got passion and faith and are willing to work hard you can do anything you want in this life. 3. Engagement and Productivity: Passionate individuals are highly engaged in their work. They genuinely enjoy what they do leading to increased productivity and a desire to continually excel. Tony Robbins says “Passion is the genesis of genius.” 4. Resilience: Passion acts as a reservoir of resilience during tough times. When faced with setbacks passionate individuals are more likely to bounce back learn from failures and use them as stepping stones for growth. 5. Inspirational Leadership: Passionate leaders inspire and motivate their teams creating a positive work culture and driving success. Their enthusiasm is contagious and encourages others to perform at their best. True passion attracts. If you have passion in your business the right people will be attracted to your team Nurturing and Harnessing Passion: While passion can come naturally it can also be cultivated and nurtured. Here are some strategies to harness passion in the business world: 1. Identify Core Interests: Reflect on personal and professional interests to identify what truly ignites the spark of passion within you. Align your work with these interests to maximize fulfillment and drive. 2. Set Purposeful Goals: Define clear and purposeful goals that resonate with your passion. Setting ambitious yet achievable targets ensures continuous growth and provides direction for your efforts. 3. Seek Alignment: Find a work environment or business that aligns with your core values beliefs and interests. When your personal values align with those of the organization it becomes easier to cultivate and sustain passion. 4. Embrace Challenges and Learning Opportunities: Passionate individuals actively seek challenges that provide opportunities to learn and grow. Embrace new projects responsibilities and skill-building activities to expand your expertise and fuel your passion. 5. Create Meaningful Connections: Surround yourself with individuals who share your passion and encourage your growth. Engage in networking activities industry events and online communities to build a support system that fuels your enthusiasm. 6. Maintain Work-Life Balance: Burnout can dampen passion so it's essential to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Prioritize self-care set boundaries and allocate time for your personal interests outside of work. 7. Continuous Learning and Development: Stay up-to-date with industry trends technological advancements and best practices to fuel your passion through continuous learning. Attend workshops conferences and online courses to expand your knowledge base. Conclusion: Passion is the driving force behind extraordinary achievements in the business world. When individuals align their work with their passions they unleash a powerful source of motivation creativity and resilience. Nurturing and harnessing passion requires self-reflection goal setting alignment and continuous learning. By embracing and cultivating passion professionals can unlock their full potential and make a significant impact in the ever-evolving business landscape. Ultimately passion is the driving force behind success and happiness that allows us all to live better lives. Passion can be kept alive using the On-Hold feature of your telephone with a custom On-Hold message created by HoldMasters your on-hold message company. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

8/04/2023 Steps to Success
Success is not an overnight phenomenon; it takes time patience and perseverance. To achieve success one must understand that it is a journey full of ups and downs twists and turns and that every obstacle faced is simply a stepping stone toward achieving the desired outcome. Success is often portrayed as something that happens quickly or easily. However the truth is success takes time. It takes effort dedication and resilience. There will be setbacks along the way and each of these failures may seem like a major disappointment but the truth is that each setback brings us one step closer to success. In fact viewing failures as stepping stones is a key perspective shift towards success. Failures can act as teachers guiding us towards the right path and equipping us with the knowledge and skills required to overcome any obstacles that lie ahead. Instead of seeing failure as a discouragement we should see it as an opportunity to learn and improve. Every unsuccessful attempt brings us one step closer to our goal and every mistake we make can help us gain new insights into how we can do things better in the future. Moreover success is not just about the destination; it's also about the journey. The process of pursuing one's goals is an opportunity to grow and develop as a person. It is a chance to learn and refine our skills to become more resilient and to cultivate grit and determination. Success is not just a state of being it's a mindset that is cultivated by the hard work and dedication that goes into achieving it. When we experience failure we tend to view it as the end of the road but in reality it's just a small bump on the journey toward success. Each failure serves as a learning opportunity that helps us identify areas for improvement and refine our approach. We learn from our mistakes and try again armed with new knowledge and experience. The road to success is rarely a smooth one. Failure setbacks and challenges are inevitable along the way. But those who succeed do not allow these obstacles to crush their spirit. They view them as opportunities to learn and grow. They embrace failure and they use it as motivation to work harder and smarter. Success is not immediate nor is it easy. It takes time hard work and a willingness to learn from failures. When we fail it can be tempting to give up but we should never lose sight of our goals. We must keep pushing forward persisting through adversity confident that every setback is one step closer to achieving our dreams. It's crucial to stay focused and keep moving forward with determination and resilience. In conclusion success takes time and effort. We must be willing to embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. Every setback is one step closer to success and those who persevere are the ones who ultimately achieve greatness. It's important to stay determined focused and to never lose sight of our goals. One overlooked area that may hinder your success goal is customer service. Customer service starts when the phone rings and is answered by your receptionist; how is that call handled? Does the call get to the right person? When the caller are put on hold what do they hear? Hopefully information about your company; your marketing branding philosophy and any other information you want a caller to hear. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/27/2023 Serving Not Selling
The secret to failure is trying to please everyone. You don’t have to be the perfect salesperson. Prospects aren’t looking for perfection; they’re looking for human connections. They’re looking to form relationships with real people who are serious about business but who don’t take themselves too seriously. Selling is no longer about interrupting pitching and closing. It is about listening diagnosing and prescribing. Great salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win. Prospects are buying you just as much as they are your product or service so your best bet is to connect with them on a personal level by relaxing and just being yourself. Relationships are everything. Remember as someone selling something your job is to serve not to sell. Whenever you go in to see a clientâ€"and especially a prospect for the first timeâ€"you have to go in wearing your problem-solving hat. Your objective is to help this prospect find solutions to his or her challenges; to increase his or her business and profits. Only by increasing your customer’s business can you increase your own. Never go on a sales call with the purpose of pushing your product a or service you’re going to have to work very very hard to make that sale. It has been proven over time sales become a natural progression when you go in with a focus on how you can meet his or her needs and desires and bring value to this buyer and his company. That may mean using some creative thinking along with your knowledge and experience to come up with ways to improve your customer’s bottom line. This is the time to ask yourself “What can I do differently? What would be the ideal solution to this problem and how close can I make that happen?” Another tool in your tool chest is the ‘Hold Button’ on your telephone. When that buyer calls you and is placed On-Hold have a custom Message On-Hold that carries both your marketing and branding messages along with your company's philosophy to every caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping businesses in Florida and around the nation increase their bottom line. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/26/2023 The Essence of Trust: Building Strong Relationships
Brian Tracy says “The glue that holds business relationships (and all relationships) together that is trust and this trust is purely based on integrity.” Trust forms the bedrock of any successful relationship be it personal or professional. In the dynamic world of business trust becomes the lifeblood that nurtures and sustains partnerships fosters growth and forges enduring connections. Without trust no business can thrive in the long run. Today’s blog explores the profound significance of trust in relationships with a particular focus on its implications within the realm of business. 1. Establishing a Foundation of Trust: Trust is the cornerstone upon which relationships are built. Just as a solid foundation provides stability to a structure trust provides the necessary foundation for growth and collaboration in business. Establishing trust allows individuals to feel comfortable secure and confident in their interactions. It cultivates an environment conducive to open communication cooperation and innovation. 2. Strengthening Business Relationships: Trust fosters stronger and more meaningful connections between stakeholders. Business relationships built on trust are more resilient and better equipped to weather challenges and overcome obstacles. Trust empowers individuals to rely on one another align their objectives and work towards shared goals leading to increased productivity efficiency and profitability. 3. Enhancing Decision-Making Efficiency: Trust enables expedited decision-making processes in business. When trust is present individuals feel assured that their peers have their best interests in mind. This accelerates the decision-making process as there is a reduced need for excessive scrutiny or micromanagement. Trust liberates individuals to make well-informed decisions knowing that their actions are supported by a foundation of mutual respect and integrity. 4. Encouraging Collaboration and Innovation: Trust encourages collaboration among team members and paves the way for innovation. In an environment of trust individuals feel safe expressing their opinions sharing ideas and taking calculated risks. Collaboration becomes more effective and harmonious as team members are confident that their contributions will be valued and respected. This in turn fuels innovation and propels businesses towards fresh ideas improved processes and competitive advantages. 5. Building Customer Loyalty: Trust is not limited to internal relationships within a business. It extends to the relationships between businesses and their customers. Customers are more likely to choose companies they trust as they perceive these businesses as reliable credible and committed to delivering value. Building trust with customers requires consistent delivery of quality products or services ethical practices and transparent communication. Trust built with customers ultimately leads to loyalty repeat business and positive brand reputation. Each step to building that trust has your integrity as the foundation. Once you set your own ground rules of having integrity as your foundation lasting relationships develop Without trust nothing else matters. Trust is earned not given. Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. Trust is not a matter of technique tricks or tools but of character. We are trusted because of our way of being not because of our polished exteriors or our expertly crafted communications. The most precious thing in this world is trust. As Warren Buffett says "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it" so it's important to keep trust at the forefront of everything you do. It can make a big difference in your life business and leadership. Conclusion: Trust is the invisible force that propels relationships in business and life. It is the glue that holds partnerships together fuels collaboration and drives growth. As businesses embrace the significance of trust they foster a culture of integrity transparency and reliability. Building and nurturing trust becomes a strategic imperative essential for long-term success in an ever-evolving marketplace. In the realm of business trust is not merely a desirable attributeâ€"it is an absolute necessity. A cost-efficient and effective way to build trust in business can start with something as simple as a customize On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/30/2023 Selling The Sizzle
Sell the sizzle not the steak means to sell the outcome of what it is that you're selling. Too often many salespeople try to sell the steak that’s a Bozo no no; sell the sizzle. I mean by that when you are presenting do it with panache. BTW you don’t have to be in sales for this to make your outcomes a reality. You want your presentation to be vibrant persuasive and memorable although you don’t have to be a professional entertainer. When presenting the words you use need to create mental pictures in the mind of the prospect. Think of old-time radio before television when there were productions and we the audience had to see in our mind's eye the pictures. When you read a novel don’t you picture the action? What I’m speaking about are the words you use in your presentation make them vivid so that the buyer can see him or herself using the product or service. And you want to communicate that you’re saving them time and effort increasing their profitsâ€"whatever the appropriate benefit as you eradicate the challenge(s) they are facing. The key to developing a solid presentation style is to recognize your strengths and build on them. If you’re a born storyteller incorporate more stories into your presentation. If you’re not use fewer stories. Compelling delivery comes with practice and experience. Be yourself be passionate and most important be real. That’s all your customers want and expect. Never forget when that customer calls you have a custom On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding story. That allows you to up-sell and cross-sell your present clients and keep the emotional connection alive with prospects. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping businesses around the nation from Fortune 500 companies to mom-and-pop businesses increase their bottom line. Let us help you when your business is on the line.

6/29/2023 Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude
“Your attitude determines your altitude” I’m sure you’ve heard that before. All salespeople are made of the same stuff as every other human being. If you didn’t get discouraged and depressed sometimes you’d be a robot. It’s part of the life you’ve chosen. But the most successful people are those who can maintain a positive outlook despite the rejections and fulfill their jobs with passion. It’s been said that passion is the frosting on the attitude cake. An optimistic attitude lets you deal with whatever happens to you in life and passion lets you do it with elation and energy. Passion is almost like an electrical current that creates appeal. People like to be around real passion. Your passion invites people to join you in your belief about your product or service. It shows in your entire being in your voice body language and willingness to do whatever you can to provide your buyers with the best possible benefits. Over time this little gem becomes reality; “The harder you work the luckier you get.” There’s no getting around it it takes effort to get lucky. Tiny pieces of luck trickle into every small step you take toward your goal. Put all those steps together and you’ve got your lucky break. Luck is created by increasing the frequency of those activities that are most likely to lead to success. For instance a salesperson that calls on 10 people is going to be luckier in terms of finding a possible prospect than a salesperson who calls on just two people. A very subtle way to increase your “luck” is by having an On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding messages to every caller placed On-Hold. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling your current clients and helps share your philosophy Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping businesses in Orlando and around the nation increase their bottom line. Let us help you when your business is on the line.

6/23/2023 Objections The Bane Of All Salespeople
Objections are the bane of many sales situations and how they are handled can make the difference between a sale being made or lost. I would suggest that you bring the objection(s) up before the prospect does because it instills trust and after all you are working on becoming a trusted advisor to that prospect. And since you brought up the objection you can defuse it as well. I usually take the attitude that an objection is created by a lack of understanding by the prospect therefore by me bringing it up I afford myself the opportunity of delving deeper into my sales story and eliminate the objection. When I do get an objection I hear the prospect really saying “I don’t understand (fill in the blank) tell me more.” Objections are clues to what needs to be said and understood by the prospect. When that prospect or client calls you and is placed on hold by having a custom cost-effective and efficient on hold message can reassure that caller about his or her concerns while carrying both your marketing and branding messages forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/21/2023 Under Promise and Over Deliver
Under promise overdelivering means setting reasonable expectations and knocking them out of the park. The quickest way to build trust: Keep the promises you make don't over-promise. Over-deliver don't under-deliver. If you say you'll do something make sure you do but if things then run late or go wrong tell your client at the earliest opportunity Whatever business you are in greater success comes from building long-term relationships with your customers clients or patients. Never over-promise and under-deliver always try to do the opposite under-promise and over-deliver. Always be consistent for that helps maintain the trust bond and the emotional tie which drives every business. Every message you share with your client base should focus on being coherent yet sounding different. Carve out your own identity your own brand so your prospect base can see the difference between you and others in your field. Maintain that identity when your phone rings and that caller is placed On-Hold (Remember according to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. The very cost-effective and efficient Message On-Hold is a great way of keeping that emotional tie alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/20/2023 Understanding Empathy
Stephen Covey said “When you show deep empathy toward others their defensive energy goes down and positive energy replaces it. That's when you can get more creative in solving problems. A formal definition of Empathy is the ability to identify and understand another's situation feelings and motives while sympathy means understanding someone else's suffering. It is said that there are three components of empathy: Cognitive Emotional and Compassionate. So what does empathy mean in business? Studies correlate empathy with increased sales with the performance of the best managers of product development teams and with enhanced performance in an increasingly diverse workforce that includes top management. The question then is why is empathy important in business? Job shifts perspective from the company to the customer. Inside the company empathy helps with management and collaboration by helping to understand the other person's perspective. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes can make it easier to find a compromise between two points of view. Businesses show empathy by smiling and taking the trouble to remember people's names: that's empathy in action. You can drastically improve the customer experience by taking a few seconds to build rapport by simply expressing genuine empathy. Here’s how: 1. Listen carefully Be a good listener and try to repeat what the customer says (in your own words) to assure them that you are listening and that you understand their concerns. 2. Smile This may sound cheesy but smiling when talking to customers can and will make a huge difference. It comes across over the phone and they will feel it in your voice. 3. Make their problem your problem. Take ownership of the customer’s questions especially if it is a complaint. Have a one-to-one relationship with your customer so that they have a point of contact that they can come back to. 4. Allow them to ‘get it all out’ When the customer is angry allow them to vent without interruption. Listen to the person carefully while using the time to figure out what you can do to fix their issue. 5. Be respectful. Make sure you talk to the customer with respect. Never talk down to the customer or talk over them. Approach it like a regular professional conversation and they will appreciate you for it. 6. See it through their eyes. Share your customer's perspectives and try to see what they're struggling with and why. What is their end goal and what can you do to help them achieve it? 7. Understand their priorities. Every customer particularly in an emergency situation will have a list of priorities. Make them your priorities too and address them in the right order (mirroring them). This will reassure the customer that you know what they want and are taking care of them. 8. Show that you care. You can build rapport by showing a personal interest in the customer. For example if a customer says they have been sick show that you care by asking them about their recovery. 9. Begin with a positive statement. If the customer has spent some time explaining a frustrating problem then beginning your response with a short direct statement of intent can gain their confidence. Something like “Okay we can fix this…” or “Right let’s get this problem sorted for you…” will reassure the customer that you are taking ownership of the problem. 10. Avoid assumptions. Another way to show empathy should that client call you make sure you have a custom On-Hold message to reiterate your company’s marketing branding and philosophy. Nothing shows a complete lack of empathy when putting someone On-Hold and all they hear is a radio some music a series of beeps or the worst yet total silence. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/19/2023 Moving Toward Success
Success is not an overnight phenomenon; it takes time patience and perseverance. To achieve success one must understand that it is a journey full of ups and downs twists and turns and that every obstacle faced is simply a stepping stone towards achieving the desired outcome. Success is often portrayed as something that happens quickly or easily. However the truth is success takes time. It takes effort dedication and resilience. There will be setbacks along the way and each of these failures may seem like a major disappointment but the truth is that each setback brings us one step closer to success. In fact viewing failures as stepping stones is a key perspective shift towards success. Failures can act as teachers guiding us towards the right path and equipping us with the knowledge and skills required to overcome any obstacles that lie ahead. Instead of seeing failure as a discouragement we should see it as an opportunity to learn and improve. Every unsuccessful attempt brings us one step closer to our goal and every mistake we make can help us gain new insights into how we can do things better in the future. Moreover success is not just about the destination; it's also about the journey. The process of pursuing one's goals is an opportunity to grow and develop as a person. It is a chance to learn and refine our skills to become more resilient and to cultivate grit and determination. Success is not just a state of being it's a mindset that is cultivated by the hard work and dedication that goes into achieving it. When we experience failure we tend to view it as the end of the road but in reality it's just a small bump on the journey towards success. Each failure serves as a learning opportunity that helps us identify areas for improvement and refine our approach. We learn from our mistakes and try again armed with new knowledge and experience. The road to success is rarely a smooth one. Failure setbacks and challenges are inevitable along the way. But those who succeed do not allow these obstacles to crush their spirit. They view them as opportunities to learn and grow. They embrace failure and they use it as motivation to work harder and smarter. Success is not immediate nor is it easy. It takes time hard work and a willingness to learn from failures. When we fail it can be tempting to give up but we should never lose sight of our goals. We must keep pushing forward persisting through adversity and confident that every setback is one step closer to achieving our dreams. It's crucial to stay focused and keep moving forward with determination and resilience. In conclusion success takes time and effort. We must be willing to embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. Every setback is one step closer to success and those who persevere are the ones who ultimately achieve greatness. It's important to stay determined focused and to never lose sight of our goals. One overlooked area that may hinder your success goal is customer service. Customer service starts when the phone rings and is answered by your receptionist; how is that call handled? Does the call get to the right person? When the caller are put on hold what do they hear? Hopefully information about your company; your marketing branding philosophy and any other information you want a caller to hear. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/16/2023 Getting New Business
If opportunity doesn’t knock build a door. How is your year going? Great I hope. Today’s blog is about getting NEW BUSINESS for YOUR BUSINESS. As I see it there are just a few ways of getting NEW business. First on the list is paid advertising. You can advertise in print radio television the internet flyers promotional products etc. All of them work and all cost money. Or you can work on recommendations from your present clients and add to this NETWORKING. On one end of the scale you can pay for NEW business (paid advertising) or on the other end you can use your time to NETWORK. If you think about it getting satisfied clients to recommend you or a fellow member of your NETWORKING group is pretty much the same thing; one person telling a friend about you and your product or service. I realize Time is Money however would you rather present your product or service to a person with an introduction from a friend or take a cold response from your paid advertising? My choice is the recommendation but that’s me. Another way of getting NEW business and keeping current business from leaving you is through great customer service. One way to achieve that is with a great On-Hold Message from HoldMasters. The idea being callers get frustrated angry bored feel you don't care & hang up but with HoldMasters they hear the information of interest that engages so they stay involved during On-Hold time and learn information of value--the experience is satisfying. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/08/2023 Why are Leaders Better than Bosses
Leaders are better than bosses because they possess certain qualities that make them stand out from the latter. These qualities include vision motivation empathy and effective communication. The following are a few reasons why leaders are better than bosses: 1. Vision: Leaders have a clear vision for the future of their organization and work towards achieving it. They inspire their employees to work towards this vision and provide a sense of direction to the organization. On the other hand a boss merely gives orders and expects his/her employees to follow them without understanding why. 2. Motivation: Leaders motivate their employees by setting achievable goals providing feedback and recognizing their achievements. They create a positive work environment that fosters creativity and innovation. In contrast bosses use fear and intimidation to get work done leading to stress and burnout. 3. Empathy: Leaders are empathetic towards their employees and understand their needs and concerns. They listen to their feedback and involve them in decision-making processes. Bosses however are often indifferent to their employees' feelings and use a one-size-fits-all approach without considering individual differences. 4. Effective communication: Leaders communicate effectively and clearly to their employees ensuring that everyone is on the same page and understands their role in achieving the organization's goals. They encourage open communication and foster collaboration among team members. Bosses however often ignore the importance of communication and fail to provide crucial information to their employees. 5. Development: Leaders believe in developing their employees by providing them with training and development opportunities. They invest in their employees' growth leading to increased job satisfaction and retention. In contrast bosses fail to recognize the importance of employee development leading to high turnover rates. In conclusion leaders are better than bosses because they possess certain qualities that make them effective in managing and motivating their employees. They have a clear vision are empathetic communicate effectively and are committed to their employees' development. These qualities create a positive work environment that leads to increased job satisfaction productivity and retention. Leaders also lead the user of their product or service by being aware that without them there is no business. They strive to make all contacts with them to be worthwhile by being both educational and entertaining. One way is by having a custom On-Hold message that is both educational and entertaining while sharing the marketing branding and the philosophy of the company all the while keeping the emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based business maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell existing clients and inform prospects of your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/28/2023 Failure the Step Before Success
Success is not an overnight phenomenon; it takes time, patience, and perseverance. To achieve success, one must understand that it is a journey full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and that every obstacle faced is simply a stepping stone towards achieving the desired outcome. Success is often portrayed as something that happens quickly or easily. However, the truth is, success takes time. It takes effort, dedication, and resilience. There will be setbacks along the way, and each of these failures may seem like a major disappointment, but the truth is that each setback brings us one step closer to success. In fact, viewing failures as stepping stones is a key perspective shift towards success. Failures can act as teachers, guiding us towards the right path, and equipping us with the knowledge and skills required to overcome any obstacles that lie ahead. Instead of seeing failure as a discouragement, we should see it as an opportunity to learn and improve. Every unsuccessful attempt brings us one step closer to our goal, and every mistake we make can help us gain new insights into how we can do things better in the future. Moreover, success is not just about the destination; it's also about the journey. The process of pursuing one's goals is an opportunity to grow and develop as a person. It is a chance to learn and refine our skills, to become more resilient, and to cultivate grit and determination. Success is not just a state of being it's a mindset that is cultivated by the hard work and dedication that goes into achieving it. In conclusion, success takes time, effort, and often many failures along the way. But if we learn to view failures as stepping stones, and if we stay committed to the journey, then success is not just possible; it's inevitable. Remember, success is not just about the end result; it's about the process of growth and development that we undergo as we work towards our goals. Success is often portrayed as an overnight phenomenon, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Success takes time, effort, and perseverance. In fact, every "failure" is one step closer to success. Successful people aren't born overnight, they work hard and consistently to reach their goals. It's important to remember that setbacks and challenges are not failures, they're opportunities to learn and grow. When we experience failure, we tend to view it as the end of the road, but in reality, it's just a small bump on the journey towards success. Each failure serves as a learning opportunity that helps us identify areas for improvement and refine our approach. We learn from our mistakes and try again, armed with new knowledge and experience. The road to success is rarely a smooth one. Failure, setbacks, and challenges are inevitable along the way. But those who succeed do not allow these obstacles to crush their spirit. They view them as opportunities to learn and grow. They embrace failure, and they use it as motivation to work harder and smarter. Success is not immediate, nor is it easy. It takes time, hard work, and a willingness to learn from failures. When we fail, it can be tempting to give up, but we should never lose sight of our goals. We must keep pushing forward, persisting through adversity, confident that every setback is one step closer to achieving our dreams. It's crucial to stay focused and keep moving forward with determination and resilience. In conclusion, success takes time and effort. We must be willing to embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. Every setback is one step closer to success, and those who persevere are the ones who ultimately achieve greatness. It's important to stay determined, focused and to never lose sight of our goals. One overlooked area that may hinder your success goal is customer service. Customer service starts when the phone rings and is answered by your receptionist; how is that call handled? Does the call get to the right person? When the caller is put on hold what do they hear? Hopefully information about your company; your market, branding, philosophy, and any other information you want a caller to hear. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/24/2023 Mistakes the Seeds of Learning
Everyone makes mistakes after all we are human. Mistakes are teachers if we are open to learning. Mistakes are made in both our personal life and our professional life. There even are times when our personal mistakes affect our professional mistakes. How you handle and resolve them is the key. Having someone to speak with like a business coach or therapist can be very helpful. Both study cognitive emotional and social processes and behavior by observing interpreting and recording how people relate to one another and to their environments. They use their findings to help improve processes and behaviors. Having additional eyes and ears peering into both personal and professional propensities can help make a mistake (the seed) and create a better road toward your goals. There are obvious mistakes that many business owners make. Hiring for expense instead of expertise or refusing to pivot are two examples that might be known to all parties but what about those that are not known as to what salespeople are saying or how people are treated when they call in? How many calls are abandoned? What is the cost of these abandoned calls? How many new prospects have you lost for potential income? How much have you lost because you weren’t able to up-sell or cross-sell your present clients? The solution to this is a simple inexpensive On-Hold message. AT&T research tells us that on average 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% will hang up abandon the call within thirty seconds if there's silence and maybe hang in another ten seconds if there's just Music-On-Hold. AT&T reports that 12% of the callers will take action on something they heard while On-Hold and that there is a 2 1/2 to 5% increase in sales when an On-Hold message is present. HoldMasters provides On-Hold Marketing and Advertising right on your business phone system. Our Altamonte Springs Florida headquarters serves businesses nationwide. We understand the cost of generating business activity and making the phones ring. It is estimated that 96% of a company’s marketing budget is spent on getting the phone and only 4% when it does; does that make good business sense?

4/19/2023 What is Motivation and how does it Drive you to be Successful?
Motivation refers to the driving force within an individual that compels them to take action towards achieving their goals or fulfilling their desires. It is the energy and enthusiasm that an individual has toward the pursuits that keep them moving forward and striving for success. There are various types of motivation, but the most effective one for driving success is intrinsic or internal motivation. This is when an individual is driven by their own sense of purpose, satisfaction, and accomplishment. Intrinsic motivation is driven by personal values, beliefs, and aspirations, and it is what keeps individuals persistently working toward their goals, even when faced with setbacks. Motivation is essential for success because it provides individuals with the energy and determination to overcome obstacles and challenges that they may encounter along the way to achieving their goals. Those who lack motivation are more likely to give up when faced with difficulties, while individuals with strong motivation are more likely to push through the challenges and find ways to overcome them. In addition, motivation provides individuals with a sense of purpose and direction, helping them set meaningful goals and strive towards achieving them. Without motivation, individuals may feel lost or aimless, unsure of what they want to achieve or how to go about it. Overall, motivation is a crucial element for driving success as it provides individuals with the drive, determination, and purpose needed to achieve their goals. By tapping into their internal motivation, individuals can stay focused, persistent, and motivated toward their objectives, ultimately leading them toward success. Every business needs basic tools, a product or service that fulfills the basic needs of the consumer and a marketing plan to let people know you exist. In concert with a marketing plan, the business needs to be establishing a brand awareness. Once these are in place every touch to the audience must continue implementing those plans. However you look for new business, everyone involved needs to keep those plans front and center from your receptionist to bookkeeping along with anyone who is able to connect with the user. One area that can do this automatically is the hold button on your phone. Rather than letting callers sit in silence or listening to some nondescript music you can have an On-Hold message playing that communicates both your marketing (what you do) and your branding (who you are). Your message will help you both up-sell and cross-sell your current clients while reminding them of who you are and what you do it will share your philosophy helping to maintain an emotional connection with the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

4/03/2023 Why and How Using a Telephone can Build your Business...
Telephones have been around for over a century originally used for personal communication but now widely used by businesses for communication with stakeholders. The use of telephones to build businesses has many advantages including the convenience of real-time communication and the creation of personal relationships with customers. Here are some reasons and ways telephones can build your business: 1. Improved Customer Service: Telephone communication is a key element of building strong and rewarding relationships with customers. Effective communication can help customers feel valued which can lead to positive feedback and referrals for new business. 2. Instant Communication: Using a telephone makes it easier to communicate with customers and suppliers quickly and efficiently. This is especially useful when dealing with urgent issues emergencies or time-sensitive matters that require quick resolution. 3. Cost-Effective: The cost of using a telephone is relatively inexpensive especially when compared to other forms of communication such as mail fax or personal visits. A single call can convey information without spending much money. 4. Human Touch: A telephone call creates a personal touch that can go a long way in helping a business stand out in a crowded industry. A voice note in your voice helps in humanizing the experience and making the customers feel cared for. 5. Sales calls: Sales calls allow businesses to focus on generating leads introducing products to customers and closing sales. Whether through cold calling or market campaigns sales calls usually have a high response rate and can yield better results than an email or text message campaign. In summary building your business through phone communication is as simple as picking up the phone making a call and effectively conveying your message. This is a cost-effective and efficient way to communicate with clients and customers. As a valuable communication tool telephones are here to stay and shouldn't be overlooked in your business strategy. Part of your strategy should also be to have a custom On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding message along with sharing your business's philosophy. AT&T reports that 12% of the callers take action on what they heard and there is a 2 Â1/2-5% increase to your bottom line. For more information check our website www.holdmasters1.com or call our office at (407) 834-5445.

3/24/2023 Tips that can help you leverage your phone to achieve marketing success:
1. Use Social Media: Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are a great way to market your brand. Use your phone to post images, share stories and engage with your followers. Make sure your content is high-quality, relevant, and adds value to your audience. 2. Create Videos: Video content is becoming increasingly popular on social media. Use your phone to create videos that showcase your products or services, provide helpful tips, or give a behind-the-scenes look at your business. Make sure your videos are engaging, informative and shareable. 3. Respond to Customers: Use your phone to respond quickly to customer inquiries and feedback. This shows that you care about your customers and are committed to providing excellent service. Responding promptly can also help you to resolve issues before they become bigger problems. 4. Use Messaging Apps: Messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat are becoming more popular for business communication. Use your phone to connect with customers and leads through these apps. You can provide customer support, send promotions and updates, or even conduct sales. 5. Get a professionally constructed On-Hold message that educates, entertains, markets, brands, and shares your company’s philosophy, as well as keeping that emotional connection alive, and remember, On-Hold messages greatly reduce, call abandonment. 6. Collaborate with Influencers: Influencer marketing can be a powerful way to reach new audiences. Use your phone to connect with influencers in your industry and collaborate on social media campaigns. This can help to boost your brand awareness and gain new customers. 7. Advertise: Finally, use your phone to create and manage digital advertising campaigns. Most social media platforms offer advertising options that allow you to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. This can be a cost-effective way to reach your target customers and increase your brand awareness. In conclusion, your phone can be a valuable tool for expanding your marketing and branding efforts. By leveraging social media, video content, messaging apps, influencer marketing, digital advertising, and On-Hold messages you can reach new audiences, engage with existing customers and grow your business. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been serving the nation by creating custom messages On-Hold for all kinds of businesses. Let us help you when your business is on the line. On-Hold messages make a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly.

2/10/2023 Motivate Yourself
I came across the following article and thought I'd share this with you. It is titled: "Eight steps to push through any obstacle and motivate yourself at will" How would you like to learn the secret to overcoming any struggle, no matter how tough? It’s mile 23, you have 3 more left and your leg starts cramping or you just quit your job, started your own business and suddenly you can’t find any clients. What do you do? Any worthy endeavor requires struggle and hardship. Whether you strive for athletic mastery or professional success or you are just looking for that perfect partner, there will be moments in your journey when you want to quit. Those are the moments that shape character and separate successful people from failures. Zig Ziglar once said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.” Motivation is the fuel that keeps our inner fire shining bright. It keeps us pushing through those moments when all seems lost. Follow these eight steps and you will never again be beaten by circumstance. These eight steps will allow you to generate motivation at will and define the path to your destiny. 1. Exercise Daily When Sir Richard Branson was asked about his secret to productivity, his response was working out. And he runs a multi-billion dollar empire, so he probably knows what he is talking about. Researchers have also found that when people start exercising, even if it’s just once a week, they start improving habits in other areas of their lives as well. They start eating better, they get more done at work and they show more patience in their relationships. James Prochaska, a researcher at the University of Rhode Island says “ exercise spills over. There’s something about it that makes other good habits easier.” Regular exercise is the quickest way to build confidence and increase motivation. To get started on an exercise routine, find a local race, sign up for it, and start training. It could be a 5k, a triathlon, a half marathon or a bike race. It does not matter what the race is, but by signing up for an event, you have a clear target to aim toward, you commit to it by paying the event fees and it is a great way to meet other driven, motivated people like yourself, which will help you with step 8 as well. 2. Practice stillness In his research, Dr. Andrew Newberg found that those that engage in some form of meditation have greater activity in the parts of the brain associated with focus and attention than those that do not. Meditation acts like a gym for the brain. It works out the conscious, thinking parts of the brain and reduces activity in the emotional parts of our brain out of our control. Bestselling author Jack Canfield attributes meditation to be the most important factor in his success. Ever since I began a daily meditation practice, I have been able to stay focused on creating the life I want no matter how many times the struggles of entrepreneurship present themselves. Meditation allows me to stay centered and silence the chaos that runs through my mind about all the things I want to do in my business and my life. At first, the practice might be difficult, especially since we are so conditioned to constant distractions. To get started, for at least 10 minutes a day, close your eyes, breathe in for four seconds, and breathe out for four seconds. With no external distractions, just focus your mind on your breathing. If your mind wanders, that is okay. It is to be expected at first. If that happens, notice where your mind goes and bring it back to your breathing. Your breath serves as an anchor for you to direct your mind. After a few days of meditation, you may not notice any changes in your life. But rest assured, in time, this exercise will produce noticeable benefits in your focus, drive, and motivation. 3. Appreciate everything, everywhere I do not like going into New York City. Nothing against the city, I just don’t like densely packed crowded areas. Probably a side effect of my experience in Iraq with the US Marines. Nonetheless, I have now found a way to enjoy the city by appreciating every little thing about it. I tell myself things like “I appreciate the effort and the risk the people who built this building must have taken,” or “I appreciate the planning and hard work that went into organizing the streets in this massive city.” By appreciating everything around me, I generate value from an experience that otherwise provided none. This keeps me inspired and motivated throughout my day in the city. To build your appreciation muscles, at the end of every day, write down 3 things you are grateful for, 3 things you accomplished and why they are of value to you. Dr. Martin Seligman found that after six months this simple exercise led to reduced depression, increased happiness, and an overall improvement in the quality of life for those that did this every day. 4. Change your physiology Studies have shown that the simple act of smiling when practiced over time actually reduces depression. Smiling then is not just a reflection of joy, it is an act that creates joy as well. In her research, social psychologist Amy Cuddy discovered that practicing a “power pose,” which is nothing more than standing tall with chin held high and arms and elbows out, for just 120 seconds is enough to create a 20 percent increase in testosterone and a 25 percent decrease in the stress hormone cortisol. The next time you feel your motivation waning, stand tall and proud. Despite what might be going through your mind, shape your body in a manner that reflects someone who is unstoppable. Act like you are all-powerful and your mind will believe it to be so. 5. Choose an empowering meaning to your experience Any experience of life has no inherent meaning. We assign meanings to our experiences and those meanings shape our quality of life. In the bestselling book, Man’s Search for Meaning, psychiatrist Victor Frankl documents his experiences in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Within the depths of hell, Victor Frankl chose to find meaning to his suffering. He wrote of his experience, “If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.” As a result of the meaning he gave to his experience, he not only survived the horrors of a concentration camp, he lived a full life after he got out as well. The next time you go through any kind of struggle and feel defeated by it, assign a label to your emotional state, then ask yourself what is the meaning you are assigning to the experience that has led to that state. Once you are clear on the meaning you are choosing, refocus your mind on the future you want to create, the future that lies on the other side of the struggle. Feel the emotion that this future produces in you. From that place, ask yourself what else can I make this means. Motivation is nothing more than a state of mind. By shifting the meaning you assign to experiences, you will be able to generate the state of mind of your choice no matter what circumstances present themselves around you. 6. Get immense clarity on what you want to create Without clarity, our conscious brain gets confused by the paradox of choice. When it doesn’t know what to do, it will do nothing. Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, Daniel Kahneman states “that if there are several ways of achieving the same goal, people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding course of action. Laziness is built deep into our nature.” Having immense clarity of purpose, mission, vision, and goals gives you a clear target to strive toward. To develop that clarity, know exactly what you want and by when you want it. Don’t set a goal like I want more money. How much more do you want and by what day do you want it? Get clear on all the visions for your life so you have a reason to stay motivated when you experience struggle. 7. Create systems using preemptive strikes Systems prevent the lazy part of our brain from sabotaging us. They turn motivation and success itself into an automatic act that you no longer need to consciously generate. In a hospital in Scotland, a British psychologist gave a group of elderly patients recovering from hip or knee surgery a notepad detailing their rehabilitation schedule. In the last section of the notepad, there were thirteen pages that instructed the patients to write down their goals for the week with exact details of what they were going to do and when. In three months, the researcher discovered that the patients who planned out their week with specific details were walking twice as fast as the ones that did not. They were moving in and out of their chairs without assistance three times faster than those that did not. When the psychologist examined the notebooks, he found that the patients that healed the fastest had written down how they would handle obstacles they knew would come up. One patient knew that getting up from the couch would be a painful experience, so he wrote out in detail a plan to manage that pain ahead of time, such as taking the first step right away to resist the desire to sit down. Whatever goals you have in your life, write out a detailed plan for how you intend to go about accomplishing them. If you know you get lazy after work and don’t feel like going to the gym, put your gym clothes right in front of the door so that you almost trip over them when you walk into the home. Have your wife or husband unplug the TV. Write down exactly what exercise you will do and what time you will do it. The key is to make it as easy as possible to act in the face of resistance without letting your brain come in the way. By doing this, motivation will no longer be an act of the will, it will be nothing more than a natural part of your day. 8. Surround yourself with other driven people Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Your environment plays a significant role in shaping your destiny. Imagine if you wanted to run a marathon and everyone around you, your neighbor, your spouse, your family, and your friends were training for a marathon as well, how much easier would it be for you to train for one? As I mentioned in step 1, find ways to network and be around people with similar passions, dreams and desires. Success is a team sport, no one does it alone. Build your team and work together to keep each other motivated during those moments of struggle. That’s it. Eight steps are practiced repeatedly and success will turn from un-uncertainty to an inevitability. If you got any value from this post, share in the comments below one thing you are struggling with in terms of generating motivation and one tip you have for others to stay motivated when times are tough.

1/01/1970 Creating Value
Why is creating value for your prospects and clients important? The answer is really simple, customers don't buy facts and features, in fact, they aren't even product oriented in their thinking; they're focused on solutions to their challenges and solving those challenges is what generates value for them. Jim Rohn said, “You don't get paid for your time. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” So, when the salesperson beats his or her chest and rattles off the great magic that goes into its products, salespeople fail to place the product as the answer to the customer's pain, frustration, or objective. Instead, they're actually arranging it as a product, allowing the customer to source more of their acquiring decision on price and thereby pressure profit margins. When the value is created in the eyes of the customer, the purchaser gains the opportunity to see it as unlike any other in the market â€" almost as if you've created a new market segment of one. This also has the effect of repositioning your competition, so that price becomes a less dominating factor in the buying decision, however, if the client perceives exceptional value, the price will never be the issue. In order to create this value for the customer, you must know and understand that customer. So, do your homework. Go online and learn as much about him or her as the internet allows since there is no cookie-cutter conversation with prospects and clients; it should go without saying that each customer values different things. This means with each prospect or client, you, the salesperson, must build a special relationship. By solidifying that relationship, you'll be able to get a much better sense of their current business condition and where they want to be, the knowledge you can use to place your value proposition to address their challenges and requirements. Remember to ask the probing questions that will draw out this information and be sure to actively listen to their answers. Remember to paraphrase their response back to them so you can confirm if you're understanding them effectively. Not only does this verify the information and allow them to clarify, if necessary, but it also demonstrates your thoroughness and desire to understand their situation and needs, and how your value proposition may be able to help. Critically it builds their confidence in you, and your confidence in yourself and your solution. Tony Robins says, “The secret to success is... is no secret. It's called work your Ass off and find a way to add more value to people’s lives than anyone else does!” Something else you can do is have a custom On-Hold message created that answers FAQ’s all the while engaging the caller and continuing both your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It allows you to up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/16/2022 Success=Disciplines + Daily Practice
Jim Rohn said “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day” and he is spot on with that. You start your engine toward success by getting motivated then you develop the habits that lead to that success. The question is what habits do you want to develop? I believe your personal habits overspill to your corporate habits. To put it another way your personal habits reciprocate with your business habits. How you market yourself and your business and how you build your personal brand and your company’s brand should be a reflection of each other. Every aspect of you and your business must continue the branding and marketing plan from how your product or service is introduced to its’ delivery to customer service and how your incoming phone calls are handled. With incoming calls you have complete control. You can have your callers in silence and know that they will abandon that call within thirty seconds or you could have a radio playing some kind of music that not all your callers like while listening to minutes of commercials maybe your competitions or you can have HoldMasters create for you a custom On-Hold message that spotlights your business keeping both the marketing and branding messages flowing. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

12/15/2022 Don’t Ruin Your Reputation Your Brand
What kind of a reputation do you and your business have? Remember your reputation is your brand; it’s who you are as a person and as a company. You can devote fortunes of both time and money to building your brand and in just minutes extinguish it. For that very reason it is judicious to have a well-trained support staff backing up every phase of your company. Your front-line people your sales staff must reflect your vision and your brand as they market your product or service. Your receptionist customer service people and telephone operator must do the same. And should a caller be placed On-Hold and according to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold what experience your caller receives while On-Hold either enhances or may diminish your reputation? You can prevent the tarnishing with a custom-made On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Your message will both reflect your brand and support your marketing efforts and as a bonus statistics from AT&T tell use there is a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

12/14/2022 What Are Your Intentions
William A. Forster once said “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention sincere effort intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” I would suspect that most businesspeople would like to think of their product or service as quality. The quality of your product or service depends on your intentions of what you have chosen to bring to the marketplace. How you want the public to perceive your brand image is a direct result of every interaction with the public. Your intention creates our reality. I’ve always admired the training that goes on within large chains and wonder why that level of competence doesn’t always show up in Mom-and-Pop situations. Most everything from those big guy organizations is always protecting the brand image and most of them have On-Hold messaging to complete the branding process. The little guys can do the same things. They can train at all levels what the brand stands for and they can also have On-Hold Advertising so that they can sound just like the giants. On-Hold messages help keep the playing field level for both sides. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

12/13/2022 Model Yourself Into Success
This is not new however when I was at the gym there was a man that looked to be in great shape and we started talking about working out. He told me that when he started on his workout quest years ago he modeled those that looked to be in the best shape; it’s hard to fake an abdominal six-pack. This got me thinking about modeling any area of success. I thought no matter how I modeled Tiger Woods I could never be that great of a golfer or if I modeled Michael Jordan I couldn’t be that great of a basketball player yet if I did what they did I could certainly improve my handicap in golf or my shooting in basketball. Watch then repeat. Listen then repeat. That was all it took to pretend well. What was a person’s self but carefully articulated mimicry? Modeling any successful person will step up your game. I realize that there has to be some natural talent to start and some people are blessed with natural gifts. Once you model success you must practice it on a daily basis. If you want to be exceptional at anything once you know the basics practice. If you run a business why not model it after some of the great business successes? What do most successful businesses do? They set goals; they have a mission and vision statement they study their business and read about how to improve it. In the professions they take continuing education successful salespeople take courses go to seminars and read books and musicians practice hours daily and have coaches to help them. Every business needs to market itself so look to see how the successful ones do it and model it. I have also noticed with interest that many larger successful companies take advantage of all areas of marketing including a very effective and efficient tool called On-Hold Advertising. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

12/09/2022 Communication Is The Response You Get
It’s been said that “Communication is the response you get” and it couldn’t be truer today. Everyone reading this must understand how to communicate with every generation from the young ‘Millennial’ all the way to those senior ‘Traditionalists’. If you want to communicate with someone it’s imperative that you learn the mores and style of the group. Think of it this way; if you were giving away twenty-dollar bills to people who brought you one dollar but you spoke Chinese and they understood English you would still have your twenties. Knowing what motivates turns off likes and dislikes of each generation is powerful ammunition for communication and knowing the style of how people process information can make you a master communicator. Regardless of how you generate income ‘Communication’ is key. There are countless books that have been written about communication and the science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) has been developed to enable people to understand how this communication thing works. In a nutshell everyone takes information in and processes it through one of the five senses. NLP teaches you how to understand and how to communicate in the preferred sense (style) of the person with whom you are communicating. You can keep that high level of communication on your phone just by listening to how the other person speaks. This type of communication gets you into a strong position of ‘Rapport’. You should keep that rapport alive when your caller is placed On-Hold with a custom On-Hold Message. Since 1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-an-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the country maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

12/08/2022 The Doctor Is In
Medical professionals (this includes all professions; Lawyers CPA Dentists Veterinarians etc.) should be using On-Hold messages to both maintain and build their practices. Since most medical professionals put callers On-Hold this is a perfect time to tell the caller that they have made the right choice. The On-Hold message can talk about the doctor’s qualifications and courteous staff if more than one location talk about convenient locations extended hours insurance information state-of-the-art equipment and techniques. Since these On-Hold messages are custom to the practice there should be an increase in consults and information requests. As with any business the On-Hold caller is captive to be educated and with a medical professional they may be educated about the doctor’s practice and reinforce the doctor’s credentials and enhance his/her image. With an On-Hold message in a medical office the message can share information about the doctor’s commitment to promoting excellent health by encouraging preventative practices such as: regular checkups practices in nutrition and exercise as well as vigilance in testing and monitoring. At HoldMasters we will work with the doctor to create an On-Hold message that focuses on the core philosophy of his/her practice. Since the Internet is often the first place people look when deciding on a health care provider. The doctor must make sure that his/her information and "reputation" are easily accessible. And with an On-Hold message promoting a blog Facebook page and web site the practice will see more traffic. Since 1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the country maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/07/2022 Competition Is Pushing You
Competition is the best form of motivation and there here are two kinds of people those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. In the business world regardless of your business competition is always pushing you. You the businessperson have invested your time and money in getting into your occupation. Once established you still spend time and money marketing and branding your business. You are asking people to trust you by doing commerce with you. You are asking them to call your business or come in through the doors. I know you would never ignore someone that enters your business then why ignore someone that calls your business? Having to silence On-Hold not only is ignoring the caller it’s also ignoring your own business. Chances are within thirty seconds that caller is gone and may never call back. If that caller On-Hold is listening to a radio station if they don’t like the music it’s torture or worst yet they might be listening to a string of commercials maybe even your competitions. A custom produces On-Hold Message from HoldMasters not only keeps the caller holding on it also informs as well as entertains them. AT&T research tells us that a business with an On-Hold message averages a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/06/2022 Resources or Resourcefulness
Resources or resourcefulness is the question. I would guess almost everyone has the resources to learn and grow. If you don’t own a computer tablet or smartphone you can get access to one at a public library. So resources aren’t the challenge it’s resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is defined as the ability and creativity to cope with difficulties. If you are stranded in a house without power and you are able to find a way to get a fire going and cook yourself some lunch this is an example of resourcefulness. Tony Robbins says “It's not the lack of resources that cause failure it's the lack of resourcefulness that causes failure.” The resources are there they are always there it’s “We The People” that don’t take advantage. Being resourceful means knowing how to get the information and results you want. Being organized and having trusted systems are big pieces of productivity. There is no more useful or important trait to possess than resourcefulness in the pursuit of success. With a resourcefulness mindset you are driven to find a way. An attitude of resourcefulness inspires out-of-the-box thinking the generation of new ideas and the ability to visualize all the possible ways to achieve what you desire. One road to resourcefulness is being open-minded. You must be passionate about breaking boundaries and redefining what is and is not possible. You must possess the unique talents necessary to leverage and fulfill the immediate goals set out in front of you and remain open when considering new ideas and differing thoughts from your own. Open-mindedness is critical when taking the actions that will lead you toward success. A simple cost-efficient and cost-effective idea like On-Hold messages can give you a larger ROI. Since 1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the country maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/05/2022 Effective Decision Making
Do you have any difficulty making decisions? If your answer is yes and no, read on. Unfortunately, we all have to make decisions all the time, ranging from trivial issues like what to have for lunch, right up to life-changing decisions like where and what to study, and who to marry. Some people put off making decisions by endlessly searching for more information or getting other people to offer their recommendations. Others resort to decision-making by taking a vote, sticking a pin in a list or tossing a coin. So, what is decision-making? In its simplest sense, decision-making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action. In the wider process of problem-solving, decision-making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem. Decisions can be made through either an intuitive or reasoned process, or a combination of the two. Intuition is using your ‘gut feeling’ about possible courses of action. Although people talk about it as if it was a magical ‘sense’, intuition is actually a combination of past experience and your personal values and it is worth taking your intuition into account because it reflects your learning about life. It is, however, not always based on reality, only your perceptions, many of which may have started in childhood and may not be very mature as a result. Intuition is a perfectly acceptable means of making a decision, although it is generally more appropriate when the decision is of a simple nature or needs to be made quickly. Reasoning on the other hand is using the facts and figures in front of you to make decisions. Reasoning has its roots in the here-and-now, and in facts. It can, however, ignore emotional aspects of the decision, and in particular, issues from the past that may affect the way that the decision is implemented. More complicated decisions tend to require a more formal, structured approach, usually involving both intuition and reasoning. It is important to be wary of impulsive reactions to a situation. One way to do this is to apply the two aspects in turn. It’s useful to start with reason and gather facts and figures. Once you have reached an obvious decision, now, turn on your intuition. How do you feel about the answer, does it feel right? If not, have another look, and see if you work out why not. If you don’t have an emotional connection to the decision you’ve made, you won’t do it well or successfully. The question is why is effective decision-making important? There are a number of problems that can prevent effective decision-making. These include: 1. Not Enough Information you. 2. Too Much Information 3. Too Many People 4. Vested Interests 5. Emotional Attachments 6. No Emotional Attachment Effective decision-making is fundamental to leadership. In essence, decision-making is the primary function of a good leader. Decisions allow leaders to respond to changing market conditions, threats, and opportunities, to secure the future success of their organization. Decision-making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions there are seven steps: 1: Identify the decision 2: Gather relevant information 3: Identify the alternatives 4: Weigh the evidence 5: Choose among alternatives 6: Take action 7: Review your decision & its consequences One effective decision you can make is to have a professional On-Hold message informing all your callers about your marketing (what you do and your mission statement) and your branding (who you are, your value statement). Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

12/02/2022 Piquing the Curiosity
I hope this blog 'Piques YOUR Curiosity'. Have you piqued the curiosity of your potential client or customer enough to get them to want more information? That’s what your “Elevator Speech” should be designed to do. As a matter of fact that’s what all your marketing and advertising should do create additional curiosity. Add to that your ‘Branding’ of you and your business that should be as big as your marketing effort; your marketing tells your audience what you do and your branding tells them who you are. If that potential client or customer doesn’t like you it’s usually goodbye to the sale. When you are with that prospect you can answer those questions that aroused their interest in the first place but what happens if you are not there when they call you? Does the On-Hold function of your phone continue your marketing and branding efforts or do those efforts stop cold? Thanks to a technology called “On-Hold- Marketing” you can now carry both your marketing and branding information to every incoming caller at a very reasonable cost. Since 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold (AT&T Statistic) it seems like a no-brainer to utilize your On-Hold to maintain your marketing and branding endeavors. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/01/2022 Relationships
Dale Carnegie says “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Every interaction starts with a relationship. The first relationship is your relationship with yourself from there it branches out to family friends and business. A relationship requires a lot of work and commitment. What creates a relationship may be different for different people but in my mind it starts with trust. If you don’t trust yourself you may find it difficult to trust others and others may find it difficult to trust you. A healthy relationship is built on unwavering trust. Trust starts with your word and you keep it. You tell your son or daughter that you are going to take them to the park and then don’t or you tell an employee or employer you are going to you something and then renege you are breaking your trust bond. Then there’s the time you promised yourself you were going to something and you don’t there goes your trust in yourself. Remember all decisions are made emotionally and are then justified with facts therefore once you make an emotional connection try never to break it. In business whatever you offer to your customers always under-promise and over-deliver. Trust bonds are hard to break by others and by yourself easily. In the business world never break that emotional connection that trust bond. One area that is usually overlooked is your phone system and the On-Hold message or lack of one. Since AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-hold you now have the perfect opportunity to keep your marketing and branding message your company’s philosophy and your trust bond front and center. When a caller hears some electronic music a radio beeps or worst yet dead silence you can easily break that bond. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/30/2022 Listening Skills
Stephen Covey said “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Whatever business you are in you must communicate. One of the most important assets a person can have is the ability to listen Too often when someone is speaking you are formulating your answer. That action prevents you from hearing the full story. Some other bad habits we exhibit when listening are letting our minds wander tuning out the speaker due to the fact that you have a different point of view interrupting the speaker finishing their sentences for them jumping to conclusions or hearing only what you want to hear or expect to hear. The truth is whether you are selling a product service or idea people want to feel heard before they can hear. Before we give out information we must gather it by asking questions and listening to answers. When speaking to others make sure that they felt heard and that you understand their point of view and will honor it not ignore it. Helping in that endeavor is matching and mirroring their body language as well as their vocal tonality and words. • Some suggestions to show that you are mentally involved: • Clear your mind • Take notes • Summarize what the person you are communicating said by paraphrasing • Clarify by asking questions • Ask more questions; probe it further Suspend judgment • Listen for the meaning behind the words Summarize Should you place that caller On-Hold have a custom On-Hold message that carries forward both your marketing and branding message while engaging that caller. You want to keep the emotional tie in place. It also is a powerful tool to both upsell and cross-sell present clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/29/2022 Body Language
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” ‘Body Language’ reveals people’s true thoughts so, it makes sense to understand it. Most of us understand body language intuitively and quickly, and the conclusions we reach go into our subconscious mind. Just remember in communication body language is 55% of the communication, voice is 38%, and the words we use only 7%. There are both positive and negative signals that are handy to know and understand to help you know whether your communication was successful. For example, when you are speaking if the other person is nodding his or her head, you can feel comfortable that they are listening and agreeing with you. However, if that person has crossed arms and legs there is a good chance that person is tuning you out or filtering what you are saying or, they might think that what you are saying is threatening to them, so they close off to hearing it. As you can see there are no fixed rules, only general principles. The important idea here is to observe a person’s body language in context and establish a baseline. Crossed arms often indicate defensiveness or disagreement yet some people have been taught in school to fold their arms when they have finished their work and others might fold their arms from the force of habit. Most body language signals appear in clusters, or groups. Clusters of posture, movements, expressions, or gestures tell us more than an isolated individual signal. When using the phone, you can’t see the body language. This is when your senses must be tuned to voice tone, volume, pace, and words used. Remember the voice is 38% of communication and words only 7%. So, pay attention to these clues when speaking. Match and mirror the caller’s tone, volume, pace, and words to create rapport. Should you place that caller On-Hold, have a custom On-Hold message that carries forward both your marketing and branding message while engaging that caller. You want to keep the emotional tie in place. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/28/2022 Creating A Sales Strategy
Everybody sells something. Teachers sell knowledge, professional people sell their services, manufacturers sell their products and in each case, it is most important to have a sales strategy. A sales strategy is defined as a documented plan for positioning and selling your product or service to qualified buyers in a way that differentiates your solution from your competitors. Sales strategies are meant to provide clear objectives and guidance to your sales organization. They typically include key information like growth goals, KPIs (key performance indicators), buyer personas, sales processes, team structure, competitive analysis, product positioning, and specific selling methodologies. To develop a successful sales strategy, you must start with a powerful value proposition in your messaging, create the urgency to change, tell a compelling and memorable story, speak to the customer deciding journey, not your sales process, don’t rely on buyer personas in your sales strategy avoid the “commodity trap” in your sales strategy (introduce unconsidered needs), lead with insights, not discovery questions, align sales and marketing, tailor your sales strategy for customer expansion, and enable ongoing situational training. Mary K. Ash said, “Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, but you will also succeed in life.” â€" Selling is not about conversions; it’s about relationships. Most people think “selling” is the same as “talking”. But the most effective salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job. Albert Einstein said, “Try not to become a person of success but try to become a person of value.” Your product or service may not be for everyone, and getting a no save you time, and letting that buyer know builds trust. Part of your sales strategy should also be an On-Hold message. Since 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold (AT&T statistic), having a message shows the caller you care about their time and putting them On-Hold should be both educational and entertaining. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/25/2022 Black Friday
Since most businesses have a special sale on Black Friday we do too. Anyone who orders a new On-Hold message today through November 30th will receive a 20% discount. Remember an On-Hold message works 24/7/365 and based on AT&T statistics shows that 12% of all callers will take action on what they heard plus the is a 21/2 to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/24/2022 Happy Thanksgiving
Today’s blog is giving everyone a chance to think of what we are thankful for. I suggest you make a list and check it twice to see if we have thought about everything. Enjoy your turkey or whatever your meal consists of and hopefully you can remember all the days after the holiday that you are thankful for not just today.

11/23/2022 60 Hours a Year On-Hold
A few years back I was making a presentation for HoldMasters to a businessman who told me that he never puts people On-Hold. The phone rings and the operator answers putting the caller On-Hold while buzzing my prospect. He takes the call and tells the caller he will look it up. He then puts that caller On-Hold while he goes to his files. About two- or three minutes pass and he comes back picks up the phone and takes care of the caller’s needs. He then turns to me and repeats that they never put anyone On-Hold. According to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and an estimated 60% of business phone callers put on hold will hang up without messages & music On- Hold. The bad news is an estimated 30% of these phone callers don't call back. CNN did a survey that said that the average person spends 60 hours per year On-Hold and the average executive spends 17 minutes per day on hold. I wonder how much business is lost by that 30% who don’t call back and how much business might be gained during those 60 hours per year On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/22/2022 Why People Buy
Why people buy is an age-old question. The important thing to remember is that people ‘BUY’ and don’t like to be ‘SOLD’. When speaking to a prospective client (customer or patient) they buy for their reasons not yours. Years ago in sales a song and dance plus selling ‘features and benefits were the keys to success. Years ago we didn’t have smartphones tablets or computers either. Today buyers know your product or service as well as you do and in some cases better. So what should you do to make a sale? Two things; first ask questions and second listen to the answers. The benefit for you the salesperson is the client will tell you what challenge(s) they are facing and what they need to solve it. Once you are clued into the prospect’s need you can decide if you can alleviate the pain. Should that prospect call you make sure you keep the branding and marketing message alive with a custom On-Hold message. Remember On-Hold advertising also helps you up-sell and cross-sell current clients as well. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/21/2022 Competition Is Pushing You
In the business world regardless of your business competition is always pushing you. You the businessperson have invested your time and money getting into your occupation. Once established you still spend time and money marketing and branding your business. You are asking people to trust you by doing commerce with you. You are asking them to call your business or come in through the doors. I know you would never ignore someone that enters your business then why ignore someone that calls your business? Having silence On-Hold not only is ignoring the caller but it’s also ignoring your own business. Chances are within thirty seconds that caller is gone and may never call back. If that caller On-Hold is listening to a radio station if they don’t like the music it’s torture or worst yet they might be listening to a string of commercials maybe even your competitions. A custom-produced On-Hold Message from HoldMasters not only keeps the caller holding on it also informs as well as entertains them. AT&T research tells us that a business with an On-Hold message averages a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/18/2022 Busy Time of The Year
How would you like to wish everyone who calls you a Happy Holiday Season and a Great New Year? You can do that with a Custom On-Hold Message from HoldMasters. Since according to AT&T statistics 70% of all your incoming calls are placed On-Hold take the time to make those callers feel good by offering them your good wishes for a Happy Holiday season. At the same time you will be informing them about your business while marketing your product or service as well as your branding message. AT&T also tells us that a business with an On-Hold message averages a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Is your business ready for the Holiday Season? I’d be surprised if you haven’t pushed your marketing budget up and maybe even hired more people. This is a very busy time of the year. Your phones might be ringing more often with more people being placed On-Hold. If you are one of those businesses that see an increase in phone traffic you might consider a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Remember that if you offer silence On-Hold you just might find those calls abandoning your line and moving to your competition. With silence you may keep them On-Hold for thirty seconds same with a radio station however with advertising On-Hold they will hang in there for four minutes or more that’s according to AT&T research. AT&T also tells us that a business with an On-Hold message averages a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/17/2022 Resources or Resourcefulness
Resources or resourcefulness is the question. I would guess that almost everyone has the resources to learn and grow. If you don’t own a computer tablet or smartphone you can get access to one at a public library. So resources aren’t the challenge it’s resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is defined as the ability and creativity to cope with difficulties. If you are stranded in a house without power and you are able to find a way to get a fire going and cook yourself some lunch this is an example of resourcefulness. Tony Robbins says “It's not the lack of resources that causes failure it's the lack of resourcefulness that causes failure. Resourcefulness is seeing where you want to go and taking the first step. The resources are there they are always there it’s “We The People” that don’t take advantage. Being resourceful means knowing how to get the information and results you want. Being organized and having trusted systems are big pieces of productivity. There is no more useful or important trait to possess than resourcefulness in the pursuit of success. With a resourcefulness mindset you are driven to find a way. An attitude of resourcefulness inspires out-of-the-box thinking the generation of new ideas and the ability to visualize all the possible ways to achieve what you desire. One road to resourcefulness is being open-minded. You must be passionate about breaking boundaries and redefining what is and is not possible. You must possess the unique talents necessary to leverage and fulfill the immediate goals set out in front of you and remain open when considering new ideas and differing thoughts from your own. This is a hard truth for some to accept: that a lack of resources may not be their true constraint just a lack of resourcefulness. Open-mindedness is critical when taking the actions that will lead you toward success. A simple cost-efficient and effective idea like On-Hold messages can give you a larger ROI. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/16/2022 Triggers That Influence Sales
A professor of psychology and marketing lays out ways you can get people to say yes to what you're asking. Anyone who sells things for a living should know, love, and live these principles. Reciprocity is one of these principles. The principle of reciprocity means that when someone gives us something, we feel compelled to give something back in return. How about offering something extra that has little or no cost to you but could mean a lot to the client or prospect. The principle of commitment and consistency says that people will go to great lengths to appear consistent in their words and actions - even to the extent of doing things that are basically irrational. That’s why if you’re trying to make a change in your life - losing weight, for example - it can be very helpful to state your goal publicly. Once you’ve committed out loud you will have much more incentive to keep up your end of the bargain. As a business, if you can get customers or prospects to make a small commitment to your brand (like signing up for your email newsletter), they are more likely to eventually purchase from you. And if you can actually get products in their hand, even if there is no official commitment to buy them, your chances increase even more. The principle of liking says that we are more likely to say yes to a request if we feel a connection to the person making it. It’s also why brands hire celebrities to endorse their products - so that people will transfer their love of Tom Selleck to whatever he’s endorsing. Your story and your brand are paramount. Every element of your business- colors, fonts, photo styles, copy - contributes to your brand personality, and your goal is to create a personality that is cohesive and that your target customer will like. This might be brisk and efficient if you are selling in a business market, warm and playful if you’re selling children’s products, and 'earth-mothery' if you’re selling natural products. One way to keep your brand and your brand promise is to have a custom On-Hold message. Not only does it keep your brand promise alive it continues your marketing story all the while engaging the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/15/2022 Intangible Benefits Are the Keys To Persuasion
To win the marketplace you must first win the workplace. Paychecks can’t buy passion. Employees who believe that the management is concerned about them as a whole person, not just employees, are more productive, more satisfied, and more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability. Are you aware that people make decisions emotionally? They decide based on a feeling, need, or emotion, not through a logical thought process. That’s why intangible benefits are the keys to persuasion. So, when writing an email, speaking on the phone, or face-to-face with a current client or future prospects ask yourself; “what is the emotional hot button here?” People will justify with facts once the emotional connection is made. People are at their core egocentric. The word “egocentric” means centered around the ego or self. We all see the world in terms of how it relates to us personally. So, when you ask someone to do something, it must also answer the unspoken question; “What’s in it for me?” On a deeper level, the question might be “How does this give me feelings of personal worth?” People look for value and value is not a fixed number it’s relative to what product, service, or idea you are selling, what others charge, what the prospect is used to paying, how badly the prospect wants it, and how the prospect perceives the difference between your offer and others. Once you demonstrate a value that seems to be equal to or greater than the asking price. The greater the value relative to the price, the more likely people are to buy. You can’t force people to do anything; the job of selling is to influence that other person. This means your job is to show how what you’re offering meets your prospect’s needs. It has been said that people don’t like to be sold, not true. What people don’t like is to be cheated or tricked. Therefore, it can be helpful to change your analogy of the marketing process. Instead of “selling” to people, try to “help” them, and influence them. Sell good products or services and make appealing offers, and most importantly, treat people fairly. That’s a surefire formula for success. Since people are always looking for something, love, wealth, glory, comfort, or safety. People are naturally dissatisfied and spend their lives searching for intangibles. At its simplest, it is a matter of showing people how a particular product, service, or cause fulfills one or more of those needs. One area that everyone should consider is how incoming phone calls are handled. Remember, for every call you receive somehow you paid for it; don’t lose it because while holding, and according to AT&T, 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold, you could have a custom On-Hold message that trumpets both your marketing and branding message all the while engaging the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/14/2022 Relationships
Dale Carnegie says “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” • Every interaction starts with a relationship. The first relationship is your relationship with yourself from there it branches out to family friends and business. Furthermore the growth of your business also depends on the kind of business relationship you create. In business terms a good business relationship is called social capital What creates a relationship may be different for different people but in my mind it starts with trust. If you don’t trust yourself you may find it difficult to trust others and others may find it difficult to trust you. Trust starts with your word and you keep it. You tell your son or daughter that you are going to take them to the park and then don’t or you tell an employee or employer you are going to you something and then renege you are breaking your trust bond. Then there’s the time you promised yourself you were going to something and you don’t there goes your trust in yourself. Remember all decisions are made emotionally and are then justified with facts therefore once you make an emotional connection try never to break it. In business whatever you offer to your customers always under-promise and over-deliver. Trust bonds are hard to break by others and by yourself easily. In the business world never break that emotional connection that trust bond. One area that is usually overlooked is your phone system and the On-Hold message or lack of one. Since AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-hold you now have the perfect opportunity to keep your marketing and branding message your company’s philosophy and your trust bond front and center. When a caller hears some electronic music a radio beeps or worst yet dead silence you can easily break that bond. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/10/2022 Networking Your Way To Success
Networking is the No. 1 unwritten rule of success in business. I have never met a person that doesn’t network in some way or another. You go to a new restaurant and you tell your friends or see a great film and share your thoughts with friends and family; that’s networking. All the time and effort put into networking can be all for naught if there is no follow-through. The same goes for sales. And leadership. And well everything. Having someone recommend you as a trusted person to do business with is a powerful introduction and will get you an audience. When someone responds to advertising they don’t know what they are getting; is the advertiser trustworthy how are his or her products or service? However that recommendation from a trusted friend is gold. I suggest that one dynamic way to grow your business is through networking. Find networking groups in your area and attend every meeting. Be a giver of referrals and watch what you get in return. The most important is to do a great job for the person you are referred to since it reflects on the person who suggested you. Always remember to ask your clients for referrals since they like you and are pleased with the job you’ve done for them; that’s networking. Should one of your networking colleagues give someone your phone number to make sure you have a great On-Hold message? Since first impressions are so important having silence a radio station or a series of beeps On-Hold just doesn’t cut it. On-Hold Advertising is a very powerful marketing tool that is low in cost and extremely effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/09/2022 How To Keep Your Marketing and Branding Going
Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart. I am amazed at the number of businesses out there that market and advertise asking the audience to call them for their product or service. What also amazes me is the number of businesses out there where once their phone rings customer-building relationships stop. Why is this? They have spent their hard-earned dollars and time to get the phone to ring. According to research about 80% of a marketing budget is spent on getting the phone to ring and only 6% to 8% is spent after the phone rings. Jeff Bezos says “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do the hard things well.” The personality of your business your brand is on stage at both ends at the invitation to call and once the call is made. Using an Auto-Attendant’ does save money as well as adds to the frustration of the caller. I always recommend a live person answering the phone. That person should be considered a key part of your team. He or she should be well versed in your products and or service to be able to answer simple questions as well as to know to whom that call should go. When placing a caller On-Hold if all you offer is either silence or some radio station playing music beeps or some cheesy electric music is not helpful for your image it’s like you don’t care. How about a very cost-efficient and effective custom On-Hold Message that continues your marketing and branding message? Your caller is now captive while On-Hold and you are informing and re-enforcing both your marketing and branding communication. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/08/2022 Building Your Business for Profit
To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. I don’t think I’d get any pushback from anyone in business if I said that building your business and making a profit is your top priority. There are many ways to build a business. One way is to advertise. Creativity without strategy is called 'art.' Creativity with strategy is called 'advertising. Advertising can cost dollars and, in some cases, big dollars. And advertising works; just watch television, listen to the radio, read a newspaper, or go online; ads are everywhere. Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does. When you advertise there are things you not only need to know but must also know. The most important is who is your primary client or customer. Where do they spend their time? For example, back in the 1980s, I was the general manager of a Contemporary Hit Radio Station in what is called, a major market. Our target listeners were adults 18-34, and teens. During the 1980’s Saturday Night Live was one of the hottest TV shows that hit that demographic so, I bought one spot per week in the show. My station’s ratings soared and within weeks we were top-rated. Too many advertisers don’t know where their target market lives and wastes many dollars in the pursuit. Of course, what you say. or the creativity of that advertisement is important that is why I always recommend a professional advertising agency to help or at least a creative director. Advertising is when you are looking for new clients and customers. However, there are people looking for you and your business and how you market to them can mean the difference is a new client or not growing your business. When someone is looking for ‘what you do or sell’ and calls your business there are many ways to win. One very inexpensive and efficient way is with the ‘Hold Button’ on your phone; a simple message On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/04/2022 Sales The Life Blood Of Business
No business exists without sales. Sales are the lifeblood of every business and a sale is always made either by the salesperson or the buyer. Remember everyone is a salesperson; doctors lawyers and accountants are included. You need to become the person who would attract the results you seek. Everyone sometime in their life either sells products services or ideas. When selling anything you must find the need and that need must alleviate a challenge. The best way I’ve discovered to discover the need is by asking questions and listening to the answers. No salesperson can offer a solution to a challenge until he or she knows what the challenge is. I suggest you act like a doctor and don’t prescribe until you fully diagnose the pain. In order to fully understand keep the questions coming. Here are some questions you might ask after getting the surface pain: How long has this been a problem? Could you be more specific? What have you tried before? How did that work? What has the problem cost you? Questions like these not only help you the salesperson but also understand it connects you with the buyer on an emotional level. That buyer feels you understand his or her challenge and is more willing to work with you. It is particularly important to keep that emotional connection alive at all times. One area that is usually ignored is the telephone. Clients or prospects call your business and when placed On-Hold the emotional connection is broken if they are treated to the radio some electronic music beeps or pure silence. Why not give them information about your business and about yourself? With an On-Hold message from HoldMasters you will keep that emotional connection alive and in many cases up-sell and cross-sell products or services to your present clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It informs prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

11/03/2022 Beliefs Guide Actions and Communications
Our beliefs guide both our actions and communications; after all why would we do something that goes against our beliefs? The beliefs we hold about ourselves are the core of how we communicate. Our beliefs about ourselves are the foundation of our self-worth and become part of our self-image. People with high self-esteem feel at ease and self-reliant about themselves and their ability to communicate effectively. The messages we received from the day we were born until today shape both our character and behavior. The messages you give yourself with your self-talk are a reflection of the messages you received growing up from the people that had influence over you to the messages received from those who impact you daily. Changing beliefs can change your destiny. How you believe so you are. The messages you send to others start with your own beliefs. In business you send out messages all the time from your advertising marketing and branding. In business every member of your team is part of the message. One place you can be sure your message is clear and consistent is with your On-Hold message. By having a custom On-Hold message every caller can hear both your marketing and branding message while you keep them engaged Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/02/2022 Beliefs Guide Actions and Communications
Our beliefs guide both our actions and communications; after all why would we do something that goes against our beliefs? The beliefs we hold about ourselves are the core of how we communicate. Our beliefs about ourselves are the foundation of our self-worth and become part of our self-image. People with high self-esteem feel at ease and self-reliant about themselves and their ability to communicate effectively. The messages we received from the day we were born until today shape both our character and behavior. The messages you give yourself with your self-talk are a reflection of the messages you received growing up from the people that had influence over you to the messages received from those who impact you daily. Changing beliefs can change your destiny. How you believe so you are. The messages you send to others start with your own beliefs. In business you send out messages all the time from your advertising marketing and branding. In business every member of your team is part of the message. One place you can be sure your message is clear and consistent is with your On-Hold message. By having a custom On-Hold message every caller can hear both your marketing and branding message while you keep them engaged Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/02/2022 Steps to Success
The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. Every encounter starts with the first step, the meeting. The second is an ongoing step it’s called bonding and rapport which must continue throughout the relationship. Step one, the meeting, always starts with your birth with your parents, then your preschool teacher or college professor, your fellow classmates, your medical advisors, your prospective employer, or employees. This point of the first meeting starts with bonding and rapport. As a baby, it’s your needs and cuteness. As you become a toddler it’s the millions of questions you ask however when it comes to a career, it’s also the questions you ask. By asking questions and actively listening to the answers whomever you are speaking with starts to bond and get into rapport due to the fact that you are interested in them. That interest is a must for ongoing relationships. When asking questions, in the business world, you not only show interest you also learn how you can help other people get their needs met. In the second step, unlike a classical musician playing what’s written, you might see yourself as a jazz musician, improvising. That improvisation comes from listening and staying within the structure of the moment. This step is the most important in influencing the outcome. These outcomes could be the job interview where the HR person is asking you questions as well as you are asking them questions. During the Q & A time decisions are made as to whether you are a fit for the job, or the job is a fit for you. If you are in management and need to get an idea to improve the business if you ask the employee questions, he or she feels like they are important and that you value their opinion, and if the employee buys into the idea, they will focus on making it happen. The other side of that coin is as an employee, management shares a new idea, and you ask the right questions; management may see the fallacy of the idea and appreciate you more as an employee. In both cases, more rapport is built. The same dynamics are in play when offering a product or service to a prospect. Ask questions. The prospect will see that you are interested in them and through their answers, you will quickly learn whether your product or service would be valuable to them. Now, these questions should come from your research of the industry and of that specific company. Most important, once again, is to actively listen to the answers. This continues that priceless camaraderie. Remember that every touch with that prospect or client must continue and build on that bonding even when they call and may be placed On-Hold. You can keep that rapport alive with custom On-Hold messages from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/28/2022 Size Doesn’t Count
I’ve been asked the question is On-Hold marketing just for large companies? The answer in a word is no. Any business regardless of size can install an On-Hold information system at their business. Remember A bigger tongue does not make tasty food tastier. Today there is equipment available for even the very small and home-based businesses to use On-Hold messages to grow their business. Whether you have a simple 2-line phone purchased at a local electronics store and receive only a few callers a day or have a sophisticated business key system and receive hundreds of calls a day and On-Hold system will enrich your image and stimulate your services more effectively than any other medium. Surveys by CNN suggest that without messages nearly 60% of business callers placed on-hold will hang up. North American Telemarketers Association tells us that almost 30% of these callers won't call back. A survey by AT&T reveals that callers will hold up to four minutes longer when hearing music with information and there is a 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/28/2022 Size Doesn’t Count
I’ve been asked the question is On-Hold marketing just for large companies? The answer in a word is no. Any business regardless of size can install an On-Hold information system at their business. Remember A bigger tongue does not make tasty food tastier. Today there is equipment available for even very small and home-based businesses to use On-Hold messages to grow their business. Whether you have a simple 2-line phone purchased at a local electronics store and receive only a few callers a day or have a sophisticated business key system and receive hundreds of calls a day an On-Hold system will enrich your image and stimulate your services more effectively than any other medium. Surveys by CNN suggest that without messages nearly 60% of business callers placed on hold will hang up. North American Telemarketers Association tells us that almost 30% of these callers won't call back. A survey by AT&T reveals that callers will hold up to four minutes longer when hearing music with information and there is a 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/26/2022 Do You Want More Business?
If you are in any kind of commerce whether it’s a profession retail manufacturing or service one has to: 1. Know the business and industry inside and out. 2. Have great products and give great service. 3. Market and brand yourself and your business. There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas what’s missing is the will to execute them. My business is to help others market and brand themselves and their business while increasing sales. Using research and statistics from AT&T North American Telecommunications Association US West Nationwide Insurance and Maximarketing Studies we learn that an estimated 70% of business callers are put on hold of which 60% to 90% hang up with silence and 30% do not call back. 60% to 90% of callers with silence on hold hang up within 40 seconds; ask yourself “How much is this costing me?”. Having music on hold adds another 30 seconds to the hold time. Here’s the bottom line 15 to 35% of callers purchased additional items or services because of something they heard while On-Hold. I found this statistic very interesting that 84% of callers prefer a message On-Hold to other options. One reason is that callers that hear information On-Hold will stay on the phone for four or more minutes. A well-written and produced On-Hold message contains the elements of marketing on hold advertising on hold and information on hold all written for the ear to process into the theater of the mind. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/25/2022 Time VS Productive Time
It’s been said that “Focus on being productive instead of busy.” Did you know that 16% of callers make purchases from information while On-Hold? Maybe that is why AT&T research tells us that there is a 2Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales when there is an On-Hold message. Plus your On-Hold message can help callers make better buying decisions. Seven out of ten first-time callers will hang up if they hear only music or “silence.” 1/3 of these callers won’t bother calling back. Why? Because they feel like they’re being ignored! They feel that it’s easier to call your competitors than to be ignored when they call you. Okay you realize that silence On-Hold is not helpful since people feel as if they’ve been disconnected so you have a radio playing. Great you like to waste time and you don’t mind if your caller hears a commercial or two or three maybe even your competitions. And just maybe your caller doesn’t like the music. May I suggest you turn that wasted time into productive time by having HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold message for you that not only informs and entertains your caller but also carries your marketing and branding message forward? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/21/2022
Saving One Hang-Up A Day How often do you lose a caller to hang-ups? Most business owners don’t have a clue. It’s called “Call Abandonment” and it’s costing you money. Would you like to stop it? Research has shown that hang-ups will decline from 50% to as much as 75% with a message On-Hold. Many of our current clients have reported similar results. If you are saving only 1 hang-up per day (now fill in the blank) and it became a sale how much would that mean in a week a month a year in dollars? And at the same time you are improving customer satisfaction; wouldn’t you want to do that? On-Hold messaging can be viewed as one element of marketing. It lets a business speak directly to its customers and prospects while they're waiting On-Hold. As a marketing tool On-Hold messaging can't be beaten. The customer on hold is a captive audience. And unlike with advertisements and commercials your company has paid nothing to get the customer's attention. With a Message On-Hold you can showcase your products or services all the while reinforcing the customers' belief that they're doing business with a company that offers top-quality products and services. With an On-Hold message new listeners become advocates who appreciate the company more as they learn more about it. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It allows you to up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/19/2022 Questions The Gold Standard For Success
Zig Ziglar said, “Asking the right question and listening to the answer is a great relationship builder, which is important to the persuasion process.” Never let fear stop you from asking about something you don't understand or know. To pretend or to act as if you know is not a wise thing to do. The human brain is often compared to a giant organic computer. And like a computer you ask it a question it searches its files for an answer. Have you noticed that when you are searching for something on your computer the better you ask the question the better the result? The old expression, “Ask you will receive” comes full circle with both your man-made computer and the one you are born with. When you ask a general question, you get a general answer; ask a better question and you’ll get a better answer. So, questions are the key to thinking. When you are presented with a challenge aren’t you asking yourself questions on how to solve the encounter? Asking, 'Why?' is the key to everything. The question always answers the why. Questions precipitate results in every situation. If you are the CEO of a big company you will find by asking questions to your subordinates on how something can be done better, they will search their mental files and find an answer. Or should you frame your desire as a question, (Do you think if we did whatever?), once again their internal computer will search its’ file for an answer. If you sell for a living questions are the gold standard for success. Every question you ask creates the environment for the prospect to sell him or herself on your product or service. The key in sales is after you ask the question actively to listen for the answer and stop thinking of your next question. When you ask great questions, people think you are both smart and professional plus your chances of success multiply. Prospects always have questions about your product or service, and should they call you, make sure you have a great On-Hold message that answers FAQs’s all the while enhancing both your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It allows you to up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/18/2022 Great Communication
Communication works for those who work at it. Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools do because they have to say something. The source of sales success is the knack to amass and impart data in a way that makes your prospect want to do business with you. Your value proposition, your pricing, even your products or service’s features -- none of that matters unless you’re able to get your potential client to talk to you and also listen to what you have to say. That means you have to be extraordinarily attuned to your buyer and understand what they mean when they tell you, or don't tell you, something. The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. It also means that you can't just spin off a list of benefits or explanations to work together. You've got to understand how your prospects learn, what they care about, and what communication style they prefer, and adjust your approach suitably. The following are some communication skills that will help salespeople achieve success. Showing up to a call isn’t just about physically being on the other end of the line. You have to commit 100% of your attention to each call, otherwise, you’ll miss elements and make your prospect reiterate things they’ve already told you. It’ll be evident when you’re not paying attention, and that’s no way to behave toward buyers. You have to listen and you have to listen actively. Feedback on the content and feeling of the prospect’s words, using your words, not his or hers. This assures the prospect that you heard him or her correctly. Then ask a relevant follow-up question to further clarify your understanding of their situation. Although we can say pretty much anything we want, our body language often reveals our true intentions or meaning. Impressive communicators know how to read others’ body language so they can predict the direction of a conversation’s heading, and also make sure their own body language isn’t broadcasting out signals they don’t mean to broadcast. Just like body language, voice tone, your voice pitch, volume, speed, and even your word choice, influences how the words you’re actually saying are understood. Add empathy, that is seeing the picture from the prospect's point of view, not only your own, plus understand what’s not being said, and remember, to always speak in specifics; doing these all-important activities will help make you a great communicator. Should the prospect call you, make sure you have a great On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It allows you to up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/17/2022 Creating Urgency
Jim Rohn says, “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” Everyone should have a sense of urgency -- it is getting a lot done in a short period of time in a calm, confident manner. I have discovered, even though your product or service diminishes the prospect's pain and is a perfect fit unless you show them some urgency, they still might not move forward. Have you noticed that companies always seem to have more needs than resources; so, unless they must buy your solution in the short term, the deal will probably stall. The secret of success. Stop wishing, start doing The question is then; should you create urgency? And the answer is no. You must, through probing questions get your prospect to realize they’re unhappy or dissatisfied. And if your questions don’t lead them to those conclusions, accept they’re still in education mode and let your marketing department nurture them until the time is right. The most successful entrepreneurs not only have courage and imagination, but they also have a sense of urgency. They’re not willing to wait. They have a burning desire to get something done. Some questions you might ask are: Are you in a growth mode and are you growing faster than the industry average? This reminds the buyer of their overarching business goals. This is a good tie-in to how your product would play into their strategy. What is the problem you’re looking to solve? The buyer might be focused on a different pain point than you. Use this question to figure out if they’re on the right track. Sometimes, prospects try to address the symptoms rather than the cause by mistake. Is the problem clearly defined? Learn how much time they’ve spent investigating the issue. The more clearly they’ve isolated it, the more invested they probably are in fixing it. Figure out just how persistent this pain point has been and is it hard or easy to address. Remember, if it were easy to solve, it would have been addressed long before you were there. Also, how does this challenge affect revenue, profitability, culture cycle of business, and, does it affect a lot of people? This gets your prospect thinking about how widespread the effects are. Is your prospect’s job to address this challenge or is this a special add-on to his regular job description? And, what happens if you address this problem and what happens if you don’t? If it’s part of his job then make sure you tie their overall performance to fixing this issue; and if it’s a special assignment, then you know it’s urgent. What is the one thing that, if we could help solve it quickly, would have the most meaningful impact on the company and how would solving this problem affect you personally? Knowing the prospects motivators can help cement the deal. Keep probing and asking questions and vigorously listen to the answers. Make sure you have a great On-Hold message, should that prospect call you, that continues your marketing and branding message all the while engaging the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been creating custom On Hold Advertising for all kinds of business from professional offices to manufacturing, to any service industry you can think of. Having an On-Hold Message affords you the luxury of having a full-time salesperson speaking to every caller, sharing what you want them to know about your business. It gives you the opportunity to up sell and cross sell your present clients and engage new prospects. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/14/2022 Waste Not Want Not
Years ago I heard a saying “Waste not want not” and one of the things many people in business do is waste time. Salespeople are really good at that. Over the years I have wasted many hours of my time when if I just thought a little ahead I could have been more productive. Time is one commodity that is not replaceable. When I think of what I have missed because I’ve wasted time I can shudder. One of my personal goals is not to waste time anymore. One place I notice many businesses waste time is on the phone. A client or potential client calls in and while On-Hold waiting for service they are treated to the radio playing today's pop music or a series of commercials maybe their competitors or a series of beeps or total silence; not knowing if they have been disconnected. When all it takes is a custom On-Hold message that perpetuates your marketing and branding information. Here are some facts from AT&T research to support the need for On-Hold messages. 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. 60% will hang up within thirty seconds if there’s silence and with a radio playing for maybe forty-five seconds. However with custom On-Hold Advertising they will stay on for four minutes or more. Best of all AT&T’s research found that there is a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales with On-Hold Advertising Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/13/2022 Finding New Clients
Sell the problem you solve, not the product or service you offer. Whatever business you are in, whether you sell a product or a service, unless it can alter a negative situation and increase a bottom line, you don’t have a real qualified prospect. If you don’t have a fleet of trucks, selling truck maintenance, even the best in the world, wouldn’t get you a sale. So, the first step in finding the right prospective client who can benefit from your product or service. Once you have your list of prospects, research their industry in general, their company specifically, and, if you can, the person with whom you want to speak. Through your strategic alliances, see if anyone you know knows them well enough for a warm introduction. This can save you precious time. Regardless of how you get to that person, you must have an opening statement that can capture their interest. I would strongly suggest you develop several different ones and practice them so as not to sound like a recording. Knowing the business in general from your research, you should know several problems the industry faces, and some of those problems should be featured in your opening statement, followed by a question; does any of those affect your business or bottom line? This is not the time to sell unless your product or service can be sold via the phone. This is the time to ask that person to invite you over to see how your product or service can help solve the problem(s). In my business, On-Hold Advertising, we solve several problems; first, call abandonment, keeping callers from hanging up due to the fact that while holding they heard nothing, silence, or radio playing today's pop music or a series of commercials maybe their competitors, or a series of beeps; second, we help the company keep both their marketing and branding message alive; third we answer most FAQ while the person is holding; fourth, we act as a passive sales representative up-selling and cross-selling current clients while they are holding; fifth it just good common courtesy not leave your callers in On-Hold Limbo and thank them in advance for calling and assure them someone will be with them shortly. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/12/2022 Checking Your Beliefs
I believe in the sun even when it's not shining. I believe in love even when I cannot feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent. What are your beliefs? Are your beliefs true or false? Do your beliefs get you where you want to go and be? If they don t support you, then you need to get rid of them and try something new. I believe everything happens for a reason and a purpose. Have you ever noticed that all successful people have the incredible ability to focus on what is possible in a given situation, and what positive results could come from that? Most successful people seem to believe that every adversity contains a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. Remember, no matter how you feel (emotion) or what you do (action) you are letting off steam (which may have some benefits), however, does it get you closer to your desired outcome? You must discipline yourself and be able to retrace you're your steps, learn painful lessons, mend fences and look at new possibilities. In other words, W.E.T. (whatever it takes) is the only way to get a positive outcome from what seemed to be negative results. Ask yourself these questions: 1. Do you expect things to work out well or poorly? 2. Do you expect your best efforts to be successful, or do you expect them to be stymied? 3. Do you see the potential in the situation, or do you see the roadblocks? Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine. Your success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief. Many people focus more on the negative than the positive. Even in goal setting, many people express what they don’t want rather than what they do want. Belief in limitations creates limited people. The key is to let go of those limitations and operate from a higher set of resources. Remember, everything was impossible until it wasn’t. Remember there is no such thing as failure. There are only results. Belief in failure is poison to the mind. From my world of On-Hold Messages, many business owners believe that no incoming calls are placed On-Hold in spite of AT&T’s research that suggests that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold, and that 60% will abandon the call and never call back. Add to that that there is a 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales with an On-Hold Message and yet their belief tells them different, hence, reducing potential profits. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company, has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/11/2022 Buying or Investing
Warren Buffett says, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” He also says, “Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.” What’s the difference between ‘buying’ and ‘investing’? The way I see it, none. People buy for three reasons, just like a stock or real estate, we buy for appreciation, dividends, or both. When we purchase a home we anticipate, over time, appreciation, and our dividends are years of comfort and pleasure. When buying a car, we seldom if ever think of the word ‘appreciation’ however, our dividend is convenience. When buying a stock, any one or all three reasons can be present. When we seek medical attention, we are buying the knowledge of the doctor, and our dividend is eliminating the pain and the only appreciation is the feeling of whatever the problem was, it’s either better or at least under control. In business, we either offer a product or a service to our prospective clients or customers. The question is then, is what we sell as an investment? As I see it, everything we sell is an investment. It affords the buyer either appreciation, dividends, or both. Whether you are selling a product, service, or idea I believe, that you need to approach it as an investment. Selling children, the idea of cleaning their room, or upper management selling an idea to the team need to share the appreciation and dividends they will receive. In my message On-Hold business, I must sell my prospects on the dividends it pays rather than the appreciation because there is none. One of the dividends is keeping the emotional connection alive between the prospect and their company along with their company’s philosophy in marketing and branding. Another dividend is the ability to up-sell and cross-sell their products or service. Eliminating call abandonment is a big dividend and statistics show an average of 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales. If they feel that the investment in an On-Hold message will afford them a good return on their investment I have a new client, if, no sale. Whatever you are selling whether a product, service, or idea my suggestion is to treat it as an investment. Focus on the return the prospect will receive in appreciation, dividends, or both. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It allows you to up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/10/2022 We’re Always Selling
I understand that “We’re Always Selling” may not fit your self-image however, it’s true and in today’s blog I will attempt to prove it to you. From birth to your last breath, you are selling. The baby crying is their sales presentation selling you on their need for food or other necessities. The parent telling their toddler what to do is selling. They are showing and sharing practical truths and ideas, this is selling. Getting your teen to clean their room is selling. With these examples, you are sharing the benefits of the task at hand. You don’t stop selling when you are a teen. With friends and family, you are selling where to go, what movie to see, where to dine, or what type of entertainment to attend. Interviewing for a job there are two sales happening simultaneously between the interviewee and the interviewer. One is selling why they are a fit for the job and the other is telling why this is a great job. As a CEO you are selling your ideas to your team and as a team member, you are buying into the ideas and selling those ideas to the public, even if you are not designated as a salesperson. And if you are in sales, selling these products, services, or ideas is job number one. How to develop great salesmanship is really an easy process, and it is process. The following are some basics: All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust, this is called rapport. Then, it is imperative, that you ask questions to determine if you are a fit for the prospect. If you see you don’t fit, tell the prospect he or she will appreciate your honesty and remember you for future needs or refer you to others. These questions can be as benign as, ‘How did you get into this business to the tough ones that get into deep pain. Always be curious and most important, actively listen for the answers for within those answers the prospect will tell you what you need to do to win the business. And remember, ninety percent of selling is conviction and 10 percent is persuasion. To build a long-term, successful enterprise, when you don't close a sale, open a relationship In all of the examples above, there are benefits to the prospect from the crying baby to the challenges facing the CEO. Remember your goal is to become a trusted advisor and new clients join your list. You must keep that trusted advisor image even when the client or prospect calls you and may be placed On-Hold. A custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters can keep that trust bond alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It allows you to up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/07/2022 Reframe Your Purpose
Whether you are a business owner or any level of employee you have a purpose within that business. If you are the owner it’s to offer a product or a service to the market and reap a profit. To the employees, it’s being part of the team that makes that happen. My question is, your only purpose to reap the profit? It was Zig Zigler who said, 'If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.' I take this to mean that it is a lot harder to fulfill your purpose, your ultimate goal if your purpose is to only reap profits. For example, your car breaks down and you go to a mechanic who sees you only as a dollar sign, not someone who needs service or, a mechanic who understands the problem, explains it to you, and fixes it to perfection. Which mechanic would you recommend? Whatever spot you hold in the flow chart of a business behooves you to treat your status as if it’s your business and your success depends on how well your part works with the rest of this business team. In any organization, it is usually a team effort, just like sports. The quarterback in football is only as good as the rest of his teammates and his coaches. To understand ‘Reframing’ first you need to understand what ‘Framing’ is. Framing is a mental structure that is built upon the beliefs you have about yourself, your roles, your circumstances, and about other people. It is a structure you use to ascribe meaning to given circumstances. In other words, the meaning you ascribe to any event is dependent upon how you frame it in your mind. As such, your frames shape how you see the world, how you see yourself, how you view others, and how you interpret your life. Frames can be of a positive or a negative nature; they can also be within your control or out of your control. As such, they are either helpful within the context you are using them, or they are unsupportive. They either grow your opportunities and the possibilities of the situation, or they restrict your options moving forward. They are therefore appropriate or inappropriate, good or bad depending on the objectives you have in mind. Reframing is a linguistic tool used to consciously change your limiting frames to help support your desired goals, beliefs, and behaviors. Reframing does this by interrupting your old unhelpful thought patterns with new interpretations and perspectives of reality that are more helpful and supportive of your desired objectives. In other words, reframing helps you put events and circumstances into a different context that is more favorable. It’s as if you’re changing the meaning of an event or experience in order to put yourself into a more positive and resourceful state of mind. Reframing is very much like changing a picture within a picture frame. The frame hasn’t changed, however, the picture within the frame is now different. In other words, the situation hasn’t changed, however, your view of the situation is now different than what it was before. You are therefore not changing the situation, but rather changing your view of the situation in a more helpful and optimal way. Even though many reframes often put a positive spin on things, it’s important to note that reframing isn’t about, pretending that everything is wonderful, perfect, and positive. It’s rather about providing you with more varied ways of interpreting your problems to help you expand the possibilities to find better solutions and paths moving forward. One area that a business might reframe is how the telephone is used within that business from the auto-attendant to your On-Hold function. Since I understand the On-Hold business and know that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-hold and 60% will abandon the call within thirty seconds and not call back if there is silence, music, or a series of beeps (this equals a loss of revenue) and 12% will take action on something they heard plus that there is a 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales (AT&T statistics). Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/06/2022 Attracting Success
Attracting success depends on three things: your strategies your story and your state of mind. A strategy is a simple way of specifically organizing your resources in order to consistently get a specific result. So first see what your resources are; resources like time your mental attitude your focus and the way you work. So to create a strategy you first start with your mental physical and emotional outlook. Then there is your story what you thought your outcome would be and the path to achieving it. Your state of mind must be laser-focused on the outcome. So in place of pursuing success you attract it. One cost-effective and efficient way is a passive sales tool every business has the hold button on their telephone. Having an On-Hold message passively up-sells and cross-sells current clients and informs prospects of all your products and or services. It sustains both your marketing and branding message to a captive audience. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/05/2022 Value Proposition
When you bring a “Value Proposition” to a prospect or a client it is a promise of value to be delivered communicated and acknowledged. It is also a belief from the client or prospect about the value (benefit) that will be delivered experienced and acquired. When developing this value proposition remember to base it on a review and analysis of the benefits; costs and value your organization can deliver to its current clients as well as prospective clients and other essential groups both within and independent of your organization. It’s also a placing of value where value equals benefit less cost which includes economic risk. A value proposition is a testimonial that identifies clear quantifiable and verifiable benefits consumers get when buying a particular product or service. It should convince consumers that this product or service is better than others on the market. This proposition can lead to a competitive advantage when consumers pick that particular product or service over other competitors because they receive greater value. All of this is included in both your marketing and branding message what you do and who you are. This message must be repeated with each touch to that client or prospect. One easy way to keep that message flowing to the client or prospect should he or she call you is with a custom On-Hold message that is both cost-efficient and effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/04/2022 Getting an Edge
When you’re working hard and doing all you can to achieve your goals, anything that can give you an edge is powerful and will streamline your path to success. Using the brain’s natural quirks to your advantage can have a positive impact on everyone you encounter. Did you know that when someone does you a favor it actually makes them like you more? When you convince someone to do you a favor, they unconsciously justify why they are willing to do so. Typical justifications include things such as “he’s my friend,” “I like him,” and “he seems like the kind of person who would return the favor.” Salespeople think they must speak; wrong. In selling, silence can be golden. When you ask someone a question and they’re slow to respond, don’t feel pressure to move the conversation forward. Remaining silent plays to your advantage. Moments of silence make people feel as though they should speak, especially when the ball is in their court. This is a great tool to use in negotiations, sales, and other difficult conversations. Just make certain you resist the urge to move the conversation forward until you get your answer. Did you know that nodding your head during a conversation or when asking a question makes the other person more likely to agree with what you’re saying? The next time you need to win someone over to your way of thinking, try nodding your head as you speak. People unconsciously mirror the body language of those around them in order to better understand what other people are feeling. When you nod your head as you speak, you convey that what you’re saying is true and desirable, and people are more inclined to agree with you. This also holds true if you show excitement when you see someone, they naturally mirror it back to you. These are some skills when practiced will help grow your business. With minimal effort on your part, their unconscious influence on behavior can make a huge difference in your day-to-day life. Having an On-Hold message, according to AT&T research, also may grow your business 2Â1/2 to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/03/2022 The 80% vs. 6% Conundrum
Why is it that most businesses will spend 80% of their marketing budget to get the phone to ring and only around 6% when it does? Do they feel that once that incoming call rings there are zero reasons to spend any budget? They’re wrong. You’ve spent money on creating a desire for your product or service. That was part of your marketing dollars. If you are a savvy marketer you also spent some of that budget on creating your brand. Now the phone rings and how you treat your callers your potential customers or clients can make all the difference in the world. With the knowledge that 70% of all incoming callers are placed On-Hold (AT&T statistic) it is essential that they are treated with respect and equally critical that you carry both your marketing and branding message forward. When placed On-Hold you can create an On-Hold message that both carries your advertising and your branding message at a very nominal cost. These On-Hold messages work 24/7 never taking a vacation or sick days. It has all the information you would want everyone who calls your enterprise to know while keeping your brand alive. It prevents that emotional disconnect that silence or a radio station offers. The proof of that is companies with On-Hold messages usually see a 2.5 to 5% increase in sales (AT&T statistic). Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/23/2022 Your Hierarchy In Determining Value
Warren Buffett says “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. Value is an interesting word. What is your hierarchy in determining value? When you purchase anything how do you determine your final buying decision? What is most important to you? For example when buying an automobile what are the values that help you make your decision? Here are some values you might consider; comfort safety re-sale looks speed and upkeep and those values may change from when you bought your first car to one that you buy when you have a family. When offering any product or service it is paramount to establish your prospect's value system. You do that by asking questions and actively listening to the answers. Once you understand that prospect’s values you show how your product or service meets those values. A value is valuable when the value of value is valuable to oneself. When customers connect emotively because they share the same values and beliefs of a brand it leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. It also leads to loyalty advocacy and can even protect your price in times when competitors rely on promotional discounts to drive sales. It can also give you the ideal platform from which to extend your offering or range. When creating an On-Hold message each message might touch on various values that help establish the emotional bond to the product or service you offer. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/22/2022 Change Your Story Change Your Life
Do you hold limiting beliefs? They can kill you with both your professional and personal life. The old saying “Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right” rings true. Those limiting beliefs all started when you were born and were reinforced throughout your life right up to this very minute. Many of them are strengthened by the very stories you tell yourself every day. I know that when you change your story your life will change. What we tell ourselves is what we believe. So the question is what story will you tell yourself? Successful people seem to always have positive stories while unsuccessful people seem to always have negative ones. Why is it that some people do well most of the time and other never seems to have a win? I believe it’s the stories they tell themselves. The unsuccessful people blame the weather and the government; they didn’t have enough time or some variation of those stories. If you think about it the weather is the same we have basically the same government and we all have the same 24 hours a day. One story I hear over and over again is “We never put anyone On-Hold”. According to AT&T about 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% will abandon the call within 30 seconds. That could mean a loss of revenue for your business when just having a custom On-Hold message might have saved that call. More statistics from AT&T that 12% of those callers take action on what they heard while holding and having an On-Hold message creates a 2 Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and expose prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/21/2022 Planning Is A Must
Yogi Berra once said “If you don’t know where you are going you’ll end up someplace else.” Having a plan makes improvisation effortless. There are times we are not ready for what is about to happen yet but if we have a basic plan we will weather the storm. Jazz musicians who are known for the ability to improvise still work off a basic plan of chord progressions. Life works on the principle of making plans and then working for them. When we have a direction we can work towards it in a really good way. Everything can turn out to be the best when having a direction and proper plan. It’s been said that a goal without a plan is just a wish. When natural disasters occur like wildfires or hurricanes the government has a plan for the safety of the citizens. How much more could we accomplish if we all had plans not only for our business life but for our personal lives as well? In business every business needs a marketing plan as well as a branding plan. In other words how will your product or service make my life better that’s the marketing plan plus what does your company stand for your brand promise. Both of these are front and center with every contact your company makes. How sales are handled to customer service every touch possible to a client projects both your marketing and branding message. Even your reputation of how you treat your own employees suggests your brand; remember your brand is who you are and marketing is what you do. Nowhere does both your marketing and branding become more front and center than with your phone. How you treat incoming calls can be a catalyst for increased business from current clients and new business from prospects. That thought was the genesis to creating HoldMasters. How incoming calls were treated gives you the opportunity to express both your marketing skills and brand promise all the while engaging the caller with pertinent information about your product or service. Let HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold message for you.

9/20/2022 Small Business
What every small business owner should know (salespeople are also a small business too they are the CEO of Me Inc.)? Remember business apps can be your best friends know that it's a numbers game hiring the right people to make all the difference have a plan for contingencies learn to delegate your way to growth and make customer service a way of life. So what is a small business? A small business is defined as a privately-owned corporation partnership or sole proprietorship that has fewer employees and less annual revenue than a corporation or regular-sized business. The SBA depending on your industry says that a small business could be defined as a business with a maximum of 250 employees or a maximum of 1500 employees. It is essential to know that you the business owner should always look for the professional help from your logo and website design to your branding and marketing activities. If you have salespeople make sure they are trained by qualified sales trainers. Every customer from the largest to the smallest should be treated as The Most Valuable Customer so great customer service should always be a priority. Remember times change a small client can become large and how you treated them will come into consideration. Whenever you receive an incoming phone call how your phone is answered to what happens next to the caller can be the difference between an up-sell or cross-sell to a present client or a prospect becoming a new client. One way to keep the connection alive between the caller and you are with a cost effect and efficient On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/19/2022 Integrity
The strength of a person or a business is derived from the integrity of that person or business. If you have integrity nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity nothing else matters. To define integrity it’s the quality of being honest and having strong moral ethical principles and moral uprightness. Integrity has no need for rules. Warren Buffet says “Integrity is having a strong set of ethical principles being able to tell the truth no matter the consequences admitting to a wrong even if you could get away without doing it. ”And Napoleon Hill says “When you are able to maintain your own highest standards of integrity â€" regardless of what others may do â€" you are destined for greatness.” Honesty and trust are central to integrity as is consistency. Look for examples of integrity in action so you can recognize this important character trait in employees’ coworkers and employers. You import honesty and integrity into your business when you keep your word keep your commitments pay attention to your environment stay focused surround yourself with honest people take responsibility and if you are management respect your employees. People with integrity value other principles including honesty respect personal responsibility compassion and dependability. Corporate integrity comes from the top leadership it will permeate through the ranks of the organization because employees look to their top leaders for the behaviors they are expected to model. Ethical business practices are not necessarily the most profitable methods in the short term but they are essential for long-term organizational survival. To keep your integrity in the client’s or prospects' minds acquire a custom On-Hold message for when they call and are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposes prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/16/2022 Keeping Your Brand Alive While On-Hold
Have you ever called a business been put On-Hold and listened to horrible sounds? Too often a business will hook up a radio in their phone room not realizing that all of the electrical energy in that phone room will affect their radio. The only people that are affected are those people that call into your business your clients or your potential clients. Why don’t you give them a well-thought-out presentation of your company while keeping your brand alive? When someone is On-Hold they are captive to your message and this is the perfect time to inform and even up-sell or cross-sell your products or service. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold so the odds are in your favor of making that caller have a pleasant experience calling your business and using AT&T’s research again your should experience a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/15/2022 Getting Put On-Hold
No one likes to be put On-Hold when calling into a business. And I’m sure no business likes or wants to put an incoming phone call On-Hold. I’m a little different I love to be put On-Hold. When I’m calling different businesses for many different reasons and I’m put On-Hold I get an idea about that business. For example when I hear silence I get the feeling that the business I’m calling really doesn’t care about me and whatever period of time I’m On-Hold is wasted since the business doesn’t utilize that On-Hold time to inform me about their business. If I hear a radio station I believe that the organization I’m calling knows that silence isn’t golden and at least music lets me know I wasn’t disconnected. Then there are the companies that have an On-Hold message that just says things like “Sorry you’re On-Hold someone will be with you shortly.” Here’s a question: wouldn’t you like On-Hold time to inform as well as entertain your incoming calls? That’s what we at HoldMasters do. We research your business and develop a series of messages that rotate that inform your callers about your business. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/14/2022 Networking Can Build Your Business
Do you network? If not you are missing one of the most successful ways of building your business. Networking is getting your business friends and associates to recommend you to their business friends and associates and after all aren’t warm introductions better than cold calling? You bet it is. People network all the time. They tell their friends about a great movie they saw or a fine dining experience they had and that’s networking. It is great word-of-mouth advertising and a lot less costly than buying it. Yet many business owners and decision-makers ignore customer service. I don’t know if it’s a lack of knowledge of how a customer is handled once they call in or come through the door but poor customer service is flourishing in the business world. Since I deal with telephones allows me to share what I mean and offer a solution. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% of those callers will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is just silence on the phone it makes sense to offer an alternative. Now some companies offer music via a radio station. That is a method of keeping your customers and clients entertained some of the time. What if the station you choose plays music that the caller doesn’t like it’s torture. Add to that playing music alone might keep the caller online for maybe ninety seconds according to AT&T. However if you have a message On-Hold that is both entertaining and informative that caller will stay On-Hold for four minutes or more. As a bonus again according to AT&T with an On-Hold message there is a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/13/2022 The Times They Are A Changing
There are things that are changing in business and some things are staying the same. The changes of course deal with computers smartphones tablets and the i-Watch. What has changed in business are the methods to attract new customers and clients. What hasn’t changed is how you keep them as customers and clients. Your customer base is the bread and butter of your business and they should never be ignored. Yet how often does a longtime customer or client call get placed On-Hold and hear nothing but silence; or maybe you have a radio playing or music On-Hold? Here is a question; what is that caller learning about your business? if you have a new product or service what is he or she hears is nothing. And the new prospective client when placed On-Hold what would you like him or her to know about your business? Putting an On-Hold message on your phone line is a perfect time to tell your caller large amounts of information that helps put them in a buying mood. It shows you care and it tells your story carrying both your marketing and branding message forward. According to AT&T research a business with an On-Hold message shows a two-and-a-half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/12/2022 Getting New Business
How is your year going? Great I hope. Today’s blog is about getting NEW BUSINESS for YOUR BUSINESS. As I see it there are just a few ways of getting NEW business. First on the list is paid advertising. You can advertise in print radio television the internet flyers promotional products etc. All of them work and all cost money. Or you can work on recommendations from your present clients and add to this NETWORKING. On one end of the scale you can pay for NEW business (paid advertising) or on the other end you can use your time to NETWORK. If you think about it getting satisfied clients to recommend you or a fellow member of your NETWORKING group is pretty much the same thing; one person telling a friend about you and your product or service. I realize Time is Money however would you rather present your product or service to a person with an introduction from a friend or take a cold response from your paid advertising? My choice is the recommendation but that’s me. Another way of getting NEW business and keeping current business from leaving you is through great customer service. One way to achieve that is with a great On-Hold Message from HoldMasters.The idea is that callers get frustrated angry bored feel you don't care & hang up but with HoldMasters they hear the information of interest that engages so they stay involved during On-Hold time and learn information of value--the experience is satisfying. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/09/2022 Spending Money In Business
It always amazes me how businessmen and women will spend a great deal of money going into a business. They spend money on all sorts of accouterments as well as the basics. Where they don’t spend their dollars is on getting customers or clients; they skimp on advertising and marketing. Most businesses will spend about 80% of their marketing budget which is usually too low on getting people through the door or getting the phone to ring and they’ll spend 6% of their marketing dollars once the person is in the door or on the phone. When people call in they are already interested in what you do. Here is a chance to keep them informed about your business and how you do business a chance to carry your brand and marketing messages forward. One of the best ways to do this is to have a Message-On-Hold for when a caller is placed On-Hold and according to AT&T that happens about 70% of the time. By having an On-Hold message you keep your marketing and branding messages in the forefront of that caller’s mind; a very good place to be. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/08/2022 How to Avoid Caller Abandonment
When one is abandoned one is left alone. This can happen through physical absence as well as a physical presence. In fact to be abandoned by someone who is physically present is much more crazymaking. I was listening to the radio while driving the other day and the advertisement asked for the listener to take action and call them. Then they repeated the phone number several times. Did they have a Messageâ€"On-Hold to inform the callers that were placed On-Hold or were they just playing some music or worse yet was there only silence when the callers were placed On-Hold? With silence about sixty percent of the callers would drop off within thirty seconds that’s called ‘Caller Abandonment’. With music only you may hold the attention of the caller for ninety seconds. With an On-Hold message they would stay On-Hold for four minutes or more. These statistics all come from AT&T research. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/07/2022 Minimum Cost and Bottom-Line Growth
When you call a company and are placed On-Hold do really feel like you are being held? Choosing to have a message On-Hold should be a no-brainer knowing that according to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. Also knowing again according to AT&T research companies that have On-Hold messages show a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. The cost for Adverting On-Hold your business is minimal and shows excellent results for your bottom line. Whether you are a large company with mega extensions or a home-based business with one line a message On-Hold can help you grow your business. And if you are that small home-based business having an On-Hold message gives the caller the illusion that you are big. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/06/2022 Your Own Private Radio Station
Today’s blog is a true story that happened not too long ago to me. I was calling a restaurant to get some information about catering. After connecting with the restaurant they put me on hold and because I’m in the Message On-Hold business I was happy to be placed On-Hold. About every ten or fifteen seconds there was a “BEEP” which let me know I wasn’t disconnected. I was On-Hold for two minutes and twenty-eight seconds before someone picked up the phone to help me. During that time period I learned nothing about the restaurant. I didn’t know their hours of operation nor anything germane about them. They were missing a very valuable marketing and branding opportunity since I was captive to any message they chose to broadcast and all I got was a “BEEP” about every ten or fifteen seconds. Don’t you feel an On-Hold message would be helpful? I see their phone as their own private radio station and I would imagine that if they did own a radio station they would advertise on it yet all I got was a “BEEP” for two minutes and twenty-eight seconds. I call this a lost opportunity. Legendary American broadcaster Bob Edwards says "With radio the listener absorbs everything" and he has a point. Scientifically he's not wrong: even if a person has the radio on but isn't paying attention radio waves are able to penetrate through biological tissue. So yes listeners literally absorb everything. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/05/2022 Facts Tell Emotions Sell
If you want to make money you have to help someone else make money. In sales a good rule to remember is “Facts tell Emotions sell”. Most people buy on emotion. The product or service you offer connects with that prospect on an emotional level. Sure they want the facts too but they’ll buy on the emotional connection they develop with your product or service. Once they’ve called your business you need to know they are interested in your product or service. Should you put them On-Hold you never want to break that emotional bond. A sure way to keep the caller enthusiastically attached to your product or service is with an On-Hold message. The low cost of Advertising-On-Hold your product/service will pay off in dividends. According to AT&T research companies that have On-Hold messages acquire between two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom-and-pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/02/2022 Successful B2B Selling
Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Teaching is the new pitching. You should teach your customers solutions that work for them, even if that means pointing them to solutions you don’t offer. A lot of pundits give advice on how to succeed in life in general, but they apply to B2B sales as well because it’s a field centered on people. Sales are not about selling anymore, but about building trust and educating. With so much noise out there relative to what’s important in B2B sales, here are some skills every sales professional should have in no particular order. Attitude will determine your altitude. As cheesy as it sounds, the positive sales rep controls his own destiny. The negative ones seem to never escape the muck of their own self-disinterest, doubt, or displeasure. Staying positive allows all of the other skills to do their magic. Sales reps can develop relationships and present the greatest pitch to a brick wall â€" none of that would matter because the brick wall isn’t buying. It is therefore it’s imperative to qualify and determine who will buy your product or service. Research may be your best tool going into a sales call. Knowing the obvious: the person’s company, position, URL, and product is only the beginning. Reading their last tweet, blog post, and knowing what software their company uses as well as understanding the challenges of their industry may be the difference from a “yes” or “no.” Taking the time to perform quality research demonstrates respect & sets a great tone for meeting. All great sales reps listen well. In order to address the prospect’s needs, it’s important to understand the prospect’s pain points, shortfalls, and needs; the only way to do this well is by listening to them and asking open-ended questions that requires the prospect to talk. Often times, reps are not listening and instead, crafting their response. Remember we have two ears and one mouth therefore; we should listen twice as much as we speak. Prospects want to know why your product or service are better and they’re going to ask you tough questions. Communicating deep product and industry knowledge helps navigate prospect objections best. Natural, confident and direct answers to their challenges are absolutely necessary You don’t need a crystal ball. “Mind-reading” in sales is about interpreting pitch, tone, pacing, and many other ways people communicate so you can gauge and feel your customer’s response before they provide it. This helps your decision by highlighting and what is unnecessary. Developing trust and building valuable relationships is a significant component of selling and building your network. Start small by sharing your knowledge of the industry, providing what’s best for the customer, and staying in touch with them. At the beginning of the relationship, the best way to earn trust is to make commitments and always deliver. Learn to tell stories. Sharing information about your product can be done in thousands of ways. Find the most compelling way to share your product: 9 times out of 10 it will be through a story. Good stories involve a hero, make the hero your prospect, not you. Many times, sales reps do 99% of the work and reap none of the benefits because they don’t close. Make the process of closing a series of small wins leading up to a done deal. When you get to the end, the paperwork should be a mere formality. Should they call you and be placed On-Hold (according to AT&T 70% of all in- coming calls are placed On-Hold) it behooves you to have a cost-effective and cost-efficient custom On-Hold message knowing that (again according to AT&T) 12% of those callers will take action on something they heard. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping Fortune 500 companies, mom-and-pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/01/2022 Sales Techniques
Sales techniques will help you make more sales therefore more money. One technique is to start with a bang. One study tried to figure out how to increase room service tips for waiters in hotels. They found there was a super easy thing waiters could do to increase their tips. All they had to do was start with a positive comment. When hotel guests opened their door, waiters said, “good morning” and gave a positive weather forecast for the day. Just that one positive comment increased their tips by 27%. How does this help you? Never start a sales meeting or conversation by talking about bad weather, traffic or being busy. Always begin with a positive comment or anecdote. Great weather, fun weekend plans or a favorite sports team winning a game. That gets you off onto the right foot. Never self-sabotage yourself. The biggest self-sabotage mistake is to speak ill of a competitor. Research has found something called STT (Spontaneous Trait Transference). They found that whenever you say bad things about someone else, people tend put those same traits on you. The brain can’t help but associate your gossip with you, even if logically we know you are talking about another person. If you say your competitor is low-quality and unreliable, your potential client can’t help but associate those traits with you. No matter what, when it comes to gossip, always say “no comment”. Why we should always use positive labels with our customers. When you assign someone a positive label, like having high intelligence or being a good person, that actually cues them up to live up to that label. In one study about fundraising, the researchers told average donors that they were in fact among the highest donors. Can you guess what happened? Those donors then did in fact donate above average. We live up to our positive labels. When you are with a client or potential customer give them genuinely good labelsâ€"never be fake or manipulative. So be sure to stick to positive truths. You can say, “You are one of our best customers” or “You’re such a pleasure to do business with”. In that way, they will actually want to be one of your best customers and try even harder to be a pleasure to do business with. Body language in selling is king. Study after study shows that you have to use nonverbal communication to be an effective salesperson. In one study, Salespeople who used power body language increased their sales numbers by 56% after only one training. Always end sales call on a high note. In other words, even if it takes a bit longer, ending your meeting on a high note makes someone recall the entire experience better. Before someone leaves your presentation end on a high note. Gift a final perk, offer them a mint, pay them a compliment. It will make the entire time with you even better. Should they call you and be placed On-Hold (according to AT&T 70% of all in- coming calls are placed On-Hold) it behooves you to have a cost-effective and cost-efficient custom On-Hold message knowing that (again according to AT&T) 12% of those callers will take action on something they heard. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company, has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

8/31/2022 Three Words For Success
There are three words that are the engine to success in business and especially in sales. Those words are TRUST, INTEGRITY and REPUTATION. By definition trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Whether you are the top dog in a business or a worker-bee people around you must trust you. If you are in sales, building sales trust helps you to build business through word of mouth. Customer referral and recommendation is some of the best marketing you can receive, and it is entirely built on trust in you and your company. When a potential customer sees a satisfied customer, they are far more likely to do business with you. Trust, particularly sales trust, speaks to your integrity as a person and integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness. Your own self-worth is built upon being a person who is trustworthy, believable and honorable. As a salesperson, you will look for these traits in your own company and the company will look for you to be dependable and truthful. Groups that have trust in each other tend to work better together and are more likely to offer assistance and direction to help each other succeed. Your reputation is your gold credit card. Reputation is defined as the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. The late, great Sam Walton, the founder and CEO of Walmart, had a simple rule about responsiveness: the “Sundown rule.” The Sundown Rule is responding to all requests, whether by customers, co-workers, or suppliers, on the same-day they're received. In today’s world of ubiquitous communication, it has never been easier to answer, reply, or simply acknowledge a request. When you follow the Sundown Rule, you signal to your customers that you value their concerns through your responsiveness. Great customer service is great way to build your reputation. Hopefully everyone in your company is on this same page. Building trust starts with receptionist and goes up and down the line. The simple thing of having an On-Hold message can enable you to maintain that trust bond. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company, has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/30/2022 Word of Mouth Marketing
What is better than “Word of Mouth Marketing”? Nothing. Word of mouth is one person telling another about the awesomeness of doing business with someone they have had a very positive experience with. What it all boils down to are relationships. Relationships are what successful businesses are built on and the best way to market yourself and your business. So the question is what is relationship marketing? It concentrates on custom-made interaction with your customer. It aims to foster cultivate and continue the rapport between your customer and the company â€" increase which benefits each party. It helps you build long term relationships with your customers and research tells us the longer a customer stays with a brand the more valuable they become. It is said that an annual increase of just 1% in customer retention can equate to a 20% increase in revenue annually. As you are building those relationships you are also building loyalty to your product or service which in turn opens the door to referrals or as I started this blog “Word Of Mouth Marketing.” Another way to continue that relationship building is by having a custom On-Hold message to inform and entertain your incoming callers. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/29/2022 Sell the Problem You Solve Not The Product
Sell the problem you solve not the product. Think about that your product or service must solve a problem(s) otherwise why would someone buy it? Doctors solve problems of disease lawyers help you navigate with the law accountants solve your tax problems; what problem(s) does your product or service solve? Every business has problems or challenges and those of us that find it and solve it reap the reward of a completed sale. The best way to discover the challenges facing any business is to research the industry BEFORE you make your initial call. Also research the specific company as well. Knowledge is power and the more knowledge you have about a business and the challenges that business has will get you on the highway to a successful conclusion. You find more specific challenges when asking questions and actively listening for answers. In my business On-Hold Advertising I know through research that call abandonment is a major challenge causing businesses to lose potential sales. I also know that most clients of a business never know ALLl the products and or services a business has to offer. Therefore by creating custom On-Hold messages knowing that 60% of first-time callers will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is silence another ten seconds if there is music; however they will stay On-Hold for 4 or more minutes with an On-Hold message informing as well as entertaining them. And 12% to 16% of the callers will take action on something they heard while On-Hold which adds to the bottom line. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/26/2022 Stop Wasting Time
Most people don’t realize how often people are placed On-Hold when they call. I remember when I was presenting my service to a business owner who received a phone call while I was making my presentation. His receptionist answered the call and asked the caller if she could place him On-Hold. Meanwhile my prospect was telling me that they never put anyone On-Hold. The receptionist buzzed my prospect who then excused himself to answer the phone. After listening for about one minute he told the caller he’d get the information placed him On-Hold for about two minutes returned to the phone and took care of the business thanked the caller for his business and hung up. My prospect then turned to me and said and I quote “ We never place anyone On-Hold”. When I pointed out the scenario I had just witnessed he realized that he was not cognizant of the times people are placed On-Hold at his business. Being On-Hold with silence and greeting the caller isn’t a good idea for you are wasting valuable marketing and branding time as well as your caller’s time. If it’s a radio or some form of music that the caller doesn’t enjoy goodbye. Advertising your company just makes good common sense. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/25/2022 Don’t Ruin Your Reputation Your Brand
What kind of a reputation do you and your business have? Remember your reputation is your brand; it’s who you are as a person and as a company. You can devote fortunes of both time and money to building your brand and in just minutes extinguish it. For that very reason it is judicious to have a well-trained support staff backing up every phase of your company. Your front-line people and your sales staff must reflect your vision and your brand as they market your product or service. Your receptionist customer service people and your telephone operator must do the same. And should a caller be placed On-Hold (according to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold) what experience your caller receives while On-Hold either enhances or may diminish your reputation? You can prevent the tarnishing with a custom-made On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Your message will both reflect your brand and support your marketing efforts and as a bonus statistics from AT&T tell use there is a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/24/2022 Your Hierarchy In Determining Value
Value is an interesting word. What is your hierarchy in determining value? When you purchase anything how do you determine your final buying decision? What is most important to you? For example when buying an automobile what are the values that help you make your decision? Here are some values you might consider; comfort safety re-sale looks speed and up-keep and those values may change from when you bought your first car to one that you buy when you have a family. When offering any product or service it is paramount to establish your prospect's value system. You do that by asking questions and actively listening to the answers. Once you understand that prospect’s values you show how your product or service meets those values. When customers connect emotively â€" because they share the same values and beliefs of a brand â€" it leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. It also leads to loyalty advocacy and can even protect your price in times when competitors rely on promotional discounts to drive sales. It can also give you the ideal platform from which to extend your offering or range. In placing a message On-Hold each message might touch on various values that helps establish the emotional bond to the product or service you offer. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/23/2022 Word Of Mouth Marketing
What is better than “Word of Mouth Marketing”? Nothing. Word of mouth is one person telling another about the awesomeness of doing business with someone they have had a very positive experience with. What it all boils down to is our relationships. Relationships are what successful businesses are built on and the best way to market yourself and your business. So the question is what is relationship marketing? It concentrates on custom-made interaction with your customer. It aims to foster cultivate and continue the rapport between your customer and the company â€" increase which benefits each party. It helps you build long-term relationships with your customers and research tells us the longer a customer stays with a brand the more valuable they become. It is said that an annual increase of just 1% in customer retention can equate to a 20% increase in revenue annually. As you are building those relationships you are also building loyalty to your product or service which in turn opens the door to referrals or as I started this blog “Word Of Mouth Marketing.” Another way to continue that relationship building is by having a custom On-Hold message to inform and entertain your incoming callers. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/22/2022 Needed Skills For Selling
Whether you are prospecting or sitting toe to toe with a real buyer there are certain skills that must come into play. Most important make sure that your conversation (note I didn’t say sales presentation) is about them not about you or your company or your product or service. How you can help with their current challenges is what’s important. So first you must know the challenge(s) they are confronting therefore it is incumbent on you to do your homework and research not only the industry but that specific business as well. Buyers today are smart. They know about your product or service and they know about your competition’s products or services as well. Now that you’ve done your homework and are sitting face to face in a meeting don’t blow it; get into rapport. One of the questions in that buyer’s mind is "Do I want to do business with this person?" To create that all-important instant relationship you've got to be inquisitive affable and really care about the people you're trying to help. Asking questions the right questions is vital in order to find that basic need(s) to solve; that buyer’s challenge(s). Even more important than the right questions is your ability to actively listen to the answers keeping your mouth closed and your mind opened. More than not this type of conversation will lead to a commitment but first you must ask the question “What do you think is our next step”? This gets you a commitment and you’ve started building a relationship and that’s what selling is all about relationship building. Keeping that relationship alive is just as important on the phone should that buyer call you. One cost-efficient and effective way are with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/18/2022 Silence Is Not Golden On Your Phone
You spend your dollars to get your phone to ring and you have a high rate of call abandonment what gives? Silence causes people to think they've been disconnected or have lost their cell phone signal. Radio can deliver noise unpleasant talk and worst of allâ€"advertising (even for your competitors). In today’s marketplace with all the choices callers quickly go elsewhere when they don't get what they're looking for right away. That’s where HoldMasters can help by creating a custom On-Hold message for your business. Once a caller is placed On-Hold he/she is captive to what you tell them. Research from AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% will drop off in less than a minute when there’s only silence. Music might keep them for an additional minute; however an On-Hold message will keep them interested for five or more minutes. With On-Hold advertising your business will see an increase in sales according to AT&T statistics 21/2 to 5% as well as maintaining your brand image to the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/17/2022 How Do You Shape Your Image?
Image is everything. How is your business perceived and what do you do to shape those perceptions? How much of your marketing budget is spent getting either people through the door or getting your phone to ring? If you are a typical business you spend about 90% to get people through the door or get your phone to ring and about 4 to 6% once that first goal is reached. I’m sure you spend a great deal on building your brand. Do you know that a small investment in a HoldMasters On-Hold system will go a long way to maintaining and building that brand image? With 70% of all in-coming calls placed On-Hold you have the perfect opportunity to enhance your image while building your brand and as a bonus according to AT&T statistics increase your sales by 2 1/2 to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/16/2022 Every Marketing Opportunity Is A Must For Business
Now that we are in the information age the definition of marketing has grown to where every opportunity is a must for your business growth. Every call you receive is from someone within your target market group that is already interested in either your product or service. When that call is received there is a seven in ten chance that it will place On-Hold according to AT&T research. Add to that statistic that there is a 60% chance they will hang up in less than a minute if there is silence and they may hang in for a little over a minute if there’s music. More AT&T research tells us that with a message On-Hold there’s a good chance they will stay On-Hold for five minutes or more when being fed information about your company and its products or services. While On-Hold they are captive to hearing your information. Statistics also tell us that with an On-Hold message there is a 2 1/2 to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/15/2022 How Are Your Incoming Phone Calls Handled?
Here’s a little experiment you can try if you are a decision maker in the business world. Call your own company as though you were a potential or current client and see how you are handled. Are you happy or do you feel change is needed? Were you put On-Hold? What did you hear a fuzzy radio or worst yet silence? The research has been done. It is estimated that about 94% of your marketing budget is spent getting people through the door or getting your phone to ring and about 4 to 6% of your marketing budget is spent on once they come through the door or the phone rings not a good balance. At HoldMasters we help with the task of what happens after the phone rings. I would always suggest a live person answers the phone and use the auto-attendant as a backup not the primary contact. Nothing is more frustrating than a list of press 1 for this and 2 for that. Secondly when I realized that when someone is placed On-Hold they are a captive listener to whatever you want them to hear. So my question to you is do you want them to hear a radio playing music and playing commercials maybe even your competitions or would you want them to hear information about your business? The answer is simple; you’d want them to hear information about your business right? Add the following statistics to the equation 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% of them will hang â€"up in less than a minute with silence and about 90 seconds with a radio. A custom On-Hold message by HoldMasters will help you inform educate entertain up-sell and assist in getting you a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/12/2022 The Ninety-Six to Four Percent Marketing Gaff
Did you ever wonder why most businesses spend ninety-six percent of their marketing dollars on getting people to call them and only four percent is spent when they call? I agree that more needs to be spent getting the calls but four percent once the call comes in is really ridiculous. Back in the 1980s I was privileged to be a general manager of one of the top radio stations in our market. I realized then that when the phone rang at the station the person who answered it was the first contact to our listeners who called in our advertisers who called or any other call that would come to the station. Also that person who answered the phone was also the first person who would greet visitors to the station; again listeners advertisers or anyone else stopping by. By most standards of the time that was a minimum wage job around five dollars an hour. A person with all that responsibility getting a minimum wage was not a great idea. I wanted someone who could handle this awesome responsibility of first contact. I found a college graduate with both personality and the smarts needed and that I could trust to deal with those incoming calls and visits. I started her at seven-fifty an hour and within thirty days she was up to ten dollars an hour. I tell you this story to get you to think about how your incoming calls are being handled and what happens after the call is answered. Are your callers placed in ‘Auto-Attendant’ hell without being able to speak to a human? When placed On-Hold do they hear silence or some radio station or are they able to get great information about your company and how you do business? Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/11/2022 Opportunity Is Knocking
When opportunity knocks do you take advantage of it? How much time effort and money do you spend to get your phone to ring? According to research about 80% of a company’s marketing budget is spent on getting the phone to ring. About 6% of the marketing dollars are spent after it’s rung. Does that make sense to you? When someone calls your place of business they are either an existing customer/client or a potential customer or client. If they are an existing client you have an opportunity to inform them of many other services and products you have that can help their business grow. If it’s a new caller you certainly want to inform them of how you do business and keep your branding message going. With an On-Hold Message from HoldMasters you can do just that. An On-Hold message is a very cost-effective and efficient way to keep that new caller ON-Hold so that they don’t seek out your competitors Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/10/2022 Seize The Opportunity When do you want to seize the opportunity to increase your business or practice? Sure you promot
When do you want to seize the opportunity to increase your business or practice? Sure you promote your business through advertising and/or networking. You join the right clubs like Rotary or the country club. Like a politician you shake hands with as many people as you can to promote your business and that’s all good. Did you ever think of using your telephone as a tool to educate and up-sell your client base? HoldMasters can help you create a Message-On-Hold that will help enhance your company’s image. Your professionally produced On-Hold message will carry your brand message to everyone that calls in and is put On-Hold. By the way according to AT&T research 70% of all calls are placed On-Hold and with silence they hang up in less than a minute and with a radio playing you might keep them On-Hold for maybe 90 seconds but with an On-Hold message they will stay On-Hold for at least five minutes. HoldMasters has been helping business increase their business since 1987. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/05/2022 What a Buyer Want To Know
More than a decade ago Delta Airlines did some research that showed among many things what people in business who served them really want to know; four items consistently topped the list. First ‘Do you like me?’ Customers/clients want to know if they are sincerely liked by the people who serve them. People are able to sense the ‘likeability’ factor from how a representative relates to them; do they use their name do they really listen and do their voices demonstrate sincere empathy? Second ‘Do you care about me?’ And consumers also try to figure out if those serving them really care about them the client. Customers can sense this from the questions asked the tone of voice amount of eye contact how helpful staffers are and whether they say or do things that show caring. Third ‘Can I trust you?’ Buyers want to know if they can trust that person that’s serving them. One way is if the representative delivers what was promised. A business can lose the buyer’s trust with delays in responding to emails text messages or phone calls. Always try to respond within a day. Fourth ‘Do you know what you’re talking about?’ Buyers want to know if the salesperson is both competent and knowledgeable. Signs can be found in how conversant the representative is with a particular condition the client is experiencing or with the product or service they are purchasing. Have you the representative solved challenges like this in the past? Should that client or prospect call you make sure you carry these ‘Buyer Wants’ forward with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business

8/04/2022 Growing Your Business Is Not About Selling
Generating or growing business relationships is not about selling â€" it’s about forming trust rapport and value foundations without selling. Buyers want to communicate with people who want to fulfill the buyer’s needs or solve his or her challenges. The job of today’s sales representative is to engage communicate add value to the business solve the challenges create opportunities educate and inform but don’t try and sell; it doesn’t work. People don’t like to be sold they liked to be helped and there is a difference. If you as a salesperson still operate with the same principles and techniques you were using in the 60′s 70’s and 80’s you are obsolete. The technology supporting the sales process has clearly evolved the traditional sales strategies tendered by sales gurus 20 or 30 years ago have not kept pace with today’s market needs. They are not nearly as effective as they once were and as I’ve mentioned in most cases they are obsolete. If you are missing closing sales stop blaming the economy. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are offering added value. Are you talking or are you listening? It’s not about you your company your product or your service. It’s about meeting your customer’s needs and adding value. When you start paying more attention to your customer’s needs rather than your revenue needs you’ll find you no longer have a revenue problem to complain about. Keep these thoughts in mind when it comes to them calling you. Make sure your phone system has an On-Hold message that continues to educate as well as carries both your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/03/2022 Finding The Person Who Can Say Yes
How many times have you or a salesperson you know chased down a lead to find out it’s not the right person? We’ve all done that and it’s no fun. During your first conversation with a prospective customer your job is to discover if they've got the money to buy your offering and if you're talking to the person who has the authority to buy. This information is paramount for your success after all you can’t get an order from the wrong person. There are questions you can ask that will lead you in the right direction. Do you want to know how the company purchases products or services of this type? How is the decision made? Who is involved with the decision and who makes the final decision? What challenges are you still faced with that your current solution still does not solve or address as effectively as you would like? What will it cost you and your company if you keep things the way they are today? Questions like these usually spark the conversation and give you the information you need to know whether you have a good prospect who has a real need for what you are selling and if they have the dollars to perform. Often time prospects like this call you for more information. How they are treated on the phone could be a large part of their buying decision. Make sure every step of the way incoming call is handled makes that buyer trust you and your company. One cost-effective and efficient option is a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/02/2022 Ceate Value Not Just Communicate
Anyone selling anything product or service must create value not just communicate it. In a recent survey it was discovered that prospects rated only 1 in 8 of the sales conversations they had with salespeople as being useful in any way. In other words the potential customer aor client said that time spent with 7 out of 8 salespeople was a complete and utter waste of their time. It’s no wonder that so many sales “opportunities” end up with the customer deciding to do something else or increasingly to decide to do nothing - driven no doubt in part by the depression brought on by so many incompetent value-less sales conversations. Today buyers are more sophisticated and they expect you to create value. Having generic value isn’t enough; you need specific value that reflects the challenges germane to that prospect. This shift from communicating value to creating it is one of the most profound differences between transactional and consultative selling. Value creation depends on the ability to truly understand the prospect’s situation and what they are trying to achieve. It involves creating a gap between their goals and their current reality. You the salesperson must answer the age-old buyer question “What’s in it for me or my company?” Keeping the value premise alive should be part of your On-Hold function of your telephone system via an On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/01/2022 Building Sales Opportunities
I am totally convinced that networking is one of the best ways and cost-efficient ways of building a business. Networking works as an effective low-cost marketing method enabling you the networker build sales opportunities and contacts based on referrals and introductions. Sadly many people miss the boat due to the fact they talk to a ton of people but seldom listen. To be effective at networking it is strongly suggested to dig deeper into the relationship and find out if there is synergy between you and the person you’re speaking with in order to build that relationship. Resist the desire to talk about your business no matter how much you love it or how sure you are that the person you're speaking with needs you. You want them to do the talking. Keep asking them open ended questions and you can delve deeper into their mind set by asking them to tell you more about the business clients how they got into the business. Make yourself so interesting that when you ask that person out for coffee they are looking forward to the meeting. When going to a networking opportunity if possible know who is going to be there know who you’d like to meet. Google them and learn something about them and have some questions in your mind to ask. Know something about their industry and their business. As you can see networking isn’t just showing up with a smile it’s preparation as well. Remember networking is all about relationship building so ditch your sales pitch. Should that person call you make sure your phone system has an On-Hold message both to entertain and educate all callers. Having an On-Hold message carries both your marketing and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/01/1970 Attitude Determines Your Altitude
“Your attitude determines your altitude” I’m sure you’ve heard that before. All salespeople are made of the same stuff as every other human being. If you didn’t get discouraged and depressed sometimes you’d be a robot. It’s part of the life you’ve chosen. But the most successful people are those who can maintain a positive outlook despite rejections and fulfill their jobs with passion. It’s been said that passion is the frosting on the attitude cake. An optimistic attitude lets you deal with whatever happens to you in life and passion lets you do it with elation and energy. Passion is almost like an electrical current that creates appeal. People like to be around real passion. Your passion invites people to join you in your belief about your product or service. It shows in your entire being in your voice body language and willingness to do whatever you can to provide your buyers with the best possible benefits. Over time this little gem becomes reality; “The harder you work the luckier you get.” There’s no getting around it it takes effort to get lucky. Tiny pieces of luck trickle into every small step you take toward your goal. Put all those steps together and you’ve got your lucky break. Luck is created by increasing the frequency of those activities that are most likely to lead to success. For instance a salesperson that calls on 10 people is going to be luckier in terms of finding a possible prospect than a salesperson who calls on just two people. A very subtle way to increase your “luck” is by having an On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding messages to every caller placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/29/2022 The 94% vs. 6% Conundrum
Why is it that most businesses will spend 94% of their marketing budget to get the phone to ring and only around 6% when it does? Do they feel that once that incoming call rings there is zero reasons to spend any budget? They’re wrong. You’ve spent money on creating a desire for your product or service. That was part of your marketing dollars. If you are a savvy marketer you also spent some of that budget on creating your brand. Now the phone rings and how you treat your callers your potential customers or current clients can make all the difference in the world. With the knowledge according to AT&T that 70% of all callers are placed On-Hold it is essential that they are treated with respect and equally essential that you carry both your marketing and branding message forward. When placed On-Hold you can create an On-Hold message that both carries your advertising and your branding message at a very nominal cost. These On-Hold messages work 24/7 never taking a vacation or sick days. It has all the information that you would want everyone who calls your company to know while keeping your brand alive. It prevents that emotional disconnect that silence or a radio station offers. The proof of that is companies with On-Hold messages usually see a 2 1/2% to 5% increase in sales (AT&T research). Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/28/2022 Facts Tell Emotions Sell
Remember that “Facts tell and Emotions Sell” is more true today that at any time in the past. In the past your better widget would sell based on facts. What has happened is that the competition now has copied and even improved your widget. However if you get that prospect emotionally involved your widget will be the one chosen. In all my years in business I have always trusted my emotions. I have always believed that by touching emotion you get the best people to work with you the best clients to inspire you the best partners and the most devoted customers. As an example I haven’t seen lines waiting to buy the new Samsung but what about the iPhone? Over the years Apple has created an emotional attachment to their phones and tablets and people just want them however that isn’t true for their computers. The question is then how can you keep that emotional attachment going for your product or service? One way is via the telephone. When someone calls in there is a 70% chance they will be placed On-Hold (according to AT&T research) and through your On-Hold message you can keep that emotional connection alive. If you have nothing but silence there’s a 60% chance they will abandon the call within thirty seconds (again AT&T research) with a radio playing music for maybe forty-five seconds. But with an On-Hold message they will stay on the line for four or more minutes. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/27/2022 Decision Time
Everyone makes decisions. Some are major others are minor but we all make them every day. When making a pronouncement the questions we must ask ourselves; What does this decision mean? What outcome(s) am I looking for? What are the steps required to accomplish this result? What resources do I need? Once you’ve answered those questions you are set to make and take an action plan that you will follow. I would strongly suggest that all goals and plans be in writing and that those involved review those plans daily. When people see progress even small achievements it adds more energy to the plan. One decision every business should make is to have a custom cost-effective and efficient On-Hold message for their phone system. The reasons are 1. It keeps the emotional connection alive with your clients and prospects as well as your marketing and branding message. 2. It up-sells and cross-sells current clients. 3. According to AT&T research a business with an On-Hold message shows a 2 Â1/2 to 5 % increase in business on average. 4. It prevents call abandonment. 5. It’s just good common courtesy to thank your callers and keep them informed of your business as opposed to some form of music beeps or silence. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/26/2022 Higher Standards
Being a salesperson in my opinion is like playing golf; you compete against a standard. In golf the standards are set by others and is called par; in sales the standards are set by the salesperson or sales manager and are called budgets. When you are in sales you can regulate your income by raising your goals and you do that by raising your standards. Observing many people over the years it seems people meet their standards so the question is what are yours? If you want to grow your business set goals that reflect higher standards. Whether you own a business or are part of the sales team you must get emotional over your paradigms. Emotions are the fuel that drives the mission. It is said that emotion starts with motion. Mike Norton (White Mountain) said “The true measure of a man is not what he dreams but what he aspires to be; a dream is nothing without action. Whether one fails or succeeds is irrelevant; all that matters is that there was motion in his life. That alone affects the world.” If you raise your standards and neglect to take action those new standards will never be seen. One simple and both cost-effect and efficient action is having a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters on your phone. It keeps the emotional connection alive with all callers while keeping them engaged with you. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/25/2022 Selling That 800-Pound Gorilla
When selling a product or service there is always that 80- pound gorilla that you’d like to land and, for some reason, you don’t even try. Why not? All they can say is,” No”. Almost every industry has an 800-lb. gorilla--an intimidating corporation with a large international customer base, leverage over suppliers, powerful staff strength, and a deafening roar. It can seem impossible to compete, and suicide for a small business to try it. If you think about it, there is really very little to lose when you set your sights on your industry gorilla. You want to be the best in your industry, right? What is it going to take? Build your company and your reputation into one that can credibly compete against the largest incumbent. Going up against the gorilla is just a natural step in your growth and remember losing is not the end of the world. You will probably earn admiration in your industry just for trying, and other customers and prospects will take notice. When you win, even once in a while, your employees and co-workers will be energized, your competitors will respect you, and your company will never be the same." Go for the whole enchilada and move in ways a gorilla can’t. A small thing you can do, for example, is to show you are very responsive and give clients and prospects your mobile phone number. It will also show how aligned you are with their mission, and that you would address issues immediately. It also shows that you and your company can move faster than the gorilla in many ways, with less bureaucracy and better customer service. Use that to your advantage. Often the gorilla has some negative emotions toward the present vendor, some real pain. Even if they are the largest player in your industry, they are going to suffer from complacency and inefficiency. Those are the easiest to go up against because you can show how you can do better. Your confidence matters a great deal to your employees and co-workers. If you give every indication that you personally believe that you expect to beat the 800-pound gorilla, then everyone will feed off that energy and do the impossible with you. Show them that you are putting into place the people, processes, and products required to compete with the best in your industry. Reinforce that you have the better value proposition. And just aim at one spot. You may not be able to compete for all of the fruit in the tree, but you can take enough to feed yourself. This doesn’t mean you stop going after the low-hanging fruit, the smaller customer is still your bread and butter. Look and sound like you deserve the gorilla’s business. Create professional-looking and sounding audio and visual tools. A visual tool might be your website; don’t cheap out on it. A cost-efficient and effective audio tool are an On- Hold message for your phone system. They engage your callers with both your marketing and branding message plus they have the ability to up-sell and cross-sell present clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/22/2022 Writing ror The Ear To See
If you are reading this you are experiencing writing for the eye to see. If you are writing a radio commercial or an On-Hold message for your telephone system you must write for the ear to help you see into the theater of the mind. Most people write for the eye. At HoldMasters we have learned to write for the ear which is a knack. Those of you reading this and who understand what a powerful marketing tool On-Hold messages really realize that while one of your incoming callers is holding you can reach that part of his or her mind that can see feel and almost touch your product or service. Writing for the ear is a skill that enables the listener to keep that emotional bond that is the key to making the sale. Don’t think putting someone On-Hold is a bad thing for with the right message On-Hold according to AT&T research you may experience from a 21/2 to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/21/2022 What An On-Hold Message Is
AT&T research tells us 70% of all phone callers are placed On-Hold. And it’s approximated that the average On-Hold time is about 43 seconds almost the length of a sixty-second radio commercial where you have an ample opportunity to tell your callers exactly what you want them to hear about you. After all they’re captive and we know from research that most callers want to hear something other than silence a radio station or sleepy background music while On-Hold. If you aren’t sure what an On-Hold message is it’s an infomercial about your company telling callers about products and services offered by your business both the new and the old. It shows courtesy so that the caller doesn’t feel they have been forgotten. It answers frequently asked questions. It is custom written for you by our professional copywriters who have learned the knack of writing for the ear. It carries forward your branding message that you spend many dollars to create. And its cost is small when you compare it to the cost of advertising to getting your phone to ring. It is said that of your marketing budget about 80% is spent to get the phone to ring and about 6% when it does. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/20/2022 Reasons for On-Hold Messages
If you are ready to say goodbye to static-filled radio reception obnoxious DJ's and playing ads for other companies to your callers who are you going to call? Call HoldMasters. The following are some reasons to have a great custom-made On-Hold: Image Enhancement it makes you look good Promoting Products or Services both old ones as well as new Reassuring Callers that they have not been forgotten Reducing Hang-Ups since 80% of new callers hang up within seconds with silence or a radio On-Hold Providing Company Information since most people don’t know a great deal about your business and how you do it it’s Entertaining to Callers and it carries your branding message forward on your phone. As you can see that On-Hold time can be a goldmine in making connections with customers and prospective customers. With well-crafted On-Hold messages by HoldMasters written for the ear with your callers in mind you have the ability to promote your brand up-sell other products and services and answer frequently asked questions. It’s effortless affordable and easy to put in place. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/19/2022 What Would a 2½ to 5% Increase In Sales Mean?
If you don’t have an On-Hold message on your phone one question why not? Are you not aware that some 16% of callers make buying decisions from something they heard on the phone and that On-Hold messages show a two and a half to five percent increase in sales for that company? Do you have a radio playing? I’m sure that the latest pop tune classical piece or jazz classic will add to your bottom line. Or hearing a commercial for another business or maybe your competition’s ad will help you. I’m sure you don’t tell your sales staff to ignore customers so why not have an effective brand-enhancing On-Hold message on your phone. According to research by AT&T 70% of all callers are placed On-Hold and 80% of first-time callers will hang up if all they hear is music or worse yet silence. As your business changes (and they all do) with an On-Hold message by HoldMasters you will keep your callers both new and old up-to-date about your business and it’s practices. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/18/2022 Size Doesn’t Matter
If you’ve been reading my Blogs I write about the power of having an On-Hold message on your telephone and how an On-Hold message keeps those hang-ups from happening. How messages On-Hold informs and entertains your callers. How advertising your company during the time people spend On-Hold is not wasted time but productive time. How putting information On-Hold carries your brand message and helps build confidence in you and your business. The question that was asked me by a reader was what kind of a business should have an On-Hold message and does it have to be a large company? Great question and to answer the first part every business can use an On-Hold message for the reasons stated above. As far as the size of the business please remember that size doesn’t matter. There is equipment out there that lets a Home Based Business with a two-line phone or just a business that uses cell phones only create an On-Hold message which gives the illusion that you are more than a home-based or small business. And for these mega-large companies a good On-Hold message by HoldMasters makes you sound more down-to-earth and friendly in a very professional way. Plus there is equipment out there that if you had many locations your message could be changed with a stroke of the keyboard thanks to the Internet. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/15/2022 The Phone Call the Fastest Way To Reach Someone
With all of the new ways we can communicate voice mail or texting the phone call is still the fastest way to reach someone. If they want to get in touch with you right away they're going to dial your number. And until we can communicate telepathically this isn't likely to change. By extension of this the need to put callers On-Hold will remain a constant. You might be missing the opportunity to influence callers to your business since AT&T research tells us that 70% of all callers are placed On-Hold be sure to make the wait work for you. What are you doing right now with that On-Hold time? Are you playing the radio? What if the music you’ve chosen isn’t to their liking and they hang up. AT&T tells us that 34% will hang up and not call back. On the plus side at least with some kind of music the caller will hold on for about forty-five to sixty seconds; with silence you’re lucky to keep that caller for thirty seconds. Remember 34% will hang up and not call back; maybe call your competition next. Since someone has taken the time to call your business they must have an interest in doing business with you and since there is that 70% chance they will be put On-Hold how about informing them about your company your products or services and other germane things that are important. When you compare the cost of marketing to attract business to the cost of getting the business most companies are way out of balance. Most companies spend almost 80% of their marketing dollars to get people in the door going to the website or getting the phone to ring. They also spend a lot of dollars on the look of the business once the person is in the door or on the website but they spend only about 6% of their marketing dollars on the phone when people call. Let HoldMasters create a customized On-Hold message for you. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/14/2022 On-Hold Messages Work to Grow Sales
Here’s a question for you to think about; have you ever called a business been put On-Hold and heard nothing? Did you think you dropped the call or were hung up on? Another question have you ever been put On-Hold and been forced to listen to a radio station that might be somewhat off-frequency playing music you’d rather not hear or maybe even commercials for businesses? It’s happened to me and to be truthful those are great referrals for my business but not fun for most people. When someone calls you they are interested in what you do or what you offer. Since AT&T research tells us that seventy percent of all callers are placed On-Hold for some period of time wouldn’t it be prudent to use that time wisely and inform those callers of who you are what you do how you do it and why it would be a wise decision to do business with you? Your small investment of a customized On-Hold message by HoldMasters will carry your branding message forward as well as inform educate and entertain those callers for the length of time they are On-Hold. Best of all statistics tell us that there is a two and a half to five percent increase in sales when a business has an On-Hold message working for them. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/13/2022 Re-Enforce Your Brand Message
A custom message On-Hold system from HoldMasters helps you educate and inform your existing clients and new prospects about the products and services you offer. It’s a great way to help tell callers what makes your business distinctive and makes you different than your competitor across town. Use your telephone On-Hold time to market and promote your business since that caller (a) called you and (b) that caller is captive to your customized On-Hold Message. It also gives you the opportunity to re-enforce your branding message. Remember a brand is a promise. It tells people who you are and what they can expect from you. It provides a brand experience you can count on and it is consistent. I like to think of it as an emotional promise in a way that binds the caller (the consumer) to your brand experience. I see a brand as a promise that makes the audience feel something. I see it as something that triggers emotions that bring your customers coming back to you. You’ve heard the saying “Silence is Golden” but when it comes to putting callers On-Hold silence is anything but golden. Another statistic to think about eight-eight percent of callers prefer an On-Hold message to silence or just music and sixteen point two percent make a purchase based on the information they hear while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/12/2022 Having A Captive Audience
No one likes to be put On-Hold nor does any business want to put someone On-Hold yet it’s a fact of life according to AT&T research that seventy percent of all calls are placed On-Hold. When someone calls your place of business you have a captive audience and you have a chance to make the most of that situation by cross-selling products or services or just reinforcing your brand and your credibility with a HoldMasters On-Hold message created just for your business. With silence On-Hold there is almost a seventy-nine percent hang-up pattern and thirty-four percent will not call back. AT&T research also shows that people will stay on the phone for up to five minutes with Information-On-Hold. When you compare the cost of getting the phone to ring to keeping that caller on the line you must realize that keeping that caller will add to your bottom line. Another bit of AT&T research tells us that with an On-Hold message businesses will see anywhere from two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/11/2022 Positive Impressions
I would guess that everyone in business regardless of the type of business plans to give value for their goods or services. Most businesses bring the profit opportunity to their business either through the door to that business via the Internet or by getting the phone to ring. This is shown to be a fact of business since some eighty percent of the marketing budgets go toward getting people through the door getting people to go online to the website or getting the phone to ring. I find it extremely interesting that these businesses will spend a great deal of money on how they look when the client or prospect walks through the door or goes to the website but how little they spend when the phone rings. When people walk through the door or go to your website you are making an impression either good or bad. Therefore you strongly believe that the money spent on how you look makes a good impression. Are you making that same impression on your phone? Is the person answering the phone friendly and knowledgeable? Should that caller be placed On-Hold is he or she entertained and informed about your business? As I have stated some eighty percent of most marketing budgets are spent on getting the phone to ring and about six percent is spent on answering and anything else attached. A Message On-Hold is a very cost-efficient and effective way to inform and entertain your callers so that they will learn more about your business and not be left in either silence or some radio station or canned music hell. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/08/2022 Selling The Sizzle
Too often many salespeople try to sell the steak that’s a Bozo no no; sell the sizzle. I mean by that when you are presenting do it with panache. You want your presentation to be vibrant persuasive and memorable although you don’t have to be a professional entertainer. When presenting the words you use need to create mental pictures in the prospect's mind. Think of old-time radio before television when there were productions and we the audience had to see in our mind's eye the pictures. When you read a novel don’t you picture the action? What I’m speaking about are the words you use in your presentation make them vivid so that the buyer can see him or herself using the product or service. And you want to communicate that you’re saving them time and effort increasing their profitsâ€"whatever the appropriate benefit as you eradicate the challenge(s) they are facing. The key to developing a solid presentation style is to recognize your strengths and build on them. If you’re a born storyteller incorporate more stories into your presentation. If you’re not use fewer stories. Compelling delivery comes with practice and experience. Be yourself be passionate and most importantly be real. That’s all your customers want and expect. Never forget when that customer calls you have a custom On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding story. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/07/2022 Are You Planning To Fail?
Are you planning to fail? Then you better have a plan. If you research high successes in any field you’ll find that they have clearly defined goals that they are persistently motivated to reach. What’s more they don’t sit back and rest once a goal has been met; instead it motivates them to go on and make the next goal that much more exciting. You should not only set goals but write them down. Goals that are not written down aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. Write them down so you can take the daily actions necessary to reach them. You need both short-term goals like making a particular number of calls each day and long-term goals like reaching a particular dollar amount of sales or breaking into a specific number of large accounts within a year. There are reasons for setting clear goals: first of all a goal helps us focus they drive us forward and reach a goal and second of all they increase our confidence for reaching the next goal. Third every step you take toward achieving your goal teaches you a valuable lesson you can apply toward your next goal. A cost-efficient and effective way of reaching your goals is to have On-Hold advertising on your phone’s “Hold” button. This is advertising to someone who has called you and continues both your marketing and branding story to a captive listener. Research tells us that On-Hold advertising gets a 12% response from the callers and additional research says that a business with On-Hold messages shows a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/05/2022 Serving Not Selling
The secret to failure is trying to please everyone. You don’t have to be the perfect salesperson. Prospects aren’t looking for perfection; they’re looking for human connections. They’re looking to form relationships with real people who are serious about business but who don’t take themselves too seriously. Prospects are buying you just as much as they are your product or service, so your best bet is to connect with them on a personal level by relaxing and just being yourself. Relationships are everything. Remember, as someone selling something your job is to serve, not to sell. Whenever you go in to see a clientâ€"and especially a prospect, for the first timeâ€"you have to go in wearing your problem-solving hat. Your objective is to help this prospect find solutions to his or her challenges; to increase his or her business and profits. Only by increasing your customer’s business can you increase your own. Are you prepared for your next sales call? What do you know about that prospect? What do you know about his or her business? What do you know about the challenges and problems they face? Do you have a list of powerful questions you want to ask? I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen. The questions you ask have the ability to uncover problems, challenges, and opportunities as well as define you as a professional in whatever you do. Your prospect/clients truly benefit from your questions because it helps them understand where their gaps are and how they might be improved. It also opens the door to what will it take to make any improvements. There is no doubt that asking these questions is to your benefit, helping you position yourself and your product or service as the right solution. Asking tough questions defines you not as a salesperson, but as a trusted advisor, as a consultative seller Never go on a sales call with the purpose of pushing your product or service, you’re going to have to work very, very hard to make that sale. It has been proven over time, that sales become a natural progression when you go in with a focus on how you can meet your needs and desires and bring value to this buyer and his company. Remember, the most important adage and the only adage is, that the customer comes first, whatever the business, the customer always comes first. Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement. That may mean using some creative thinking along with your knowledge and experience to come up with ways to improve your customer’s bottom line. This is the time to ask yourself, “What can I do differently? What would be the ideal solution to this problem, and how close can I make that happen?” Another tool in your tool chest is the ‘Hold Button’ on your telephone. When that buyer calls you, and is placed On-Hold, have a custom Message On-Hold that carries both your marketing and branding messages to every caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/01/2022 What Buyers Want
Let’s think about what buyers want. Some buyers want security; some kind of monetary gain and freedom from financial worry. Other buyers are looking for selfâ€"preservation; safety and health for themselves and their families. Still others are looking for convenience then add avoidance of worry recognition from others and self-improvement and now you have your challenge as a salesperson how do you give all those wants to your prospect. Chances are your product or service can’t however if you can provide one or more of these chances are a sale will be made. All of the above with the exception of self-preservation is not a genuine need but something to make a buyer feel more comfortable and that’s the job of a professional salesperson to make that buyer comfortable. Should that buyer call you it is essential that those same feelings are communicated via the On-Hold feature of your phone through a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/30/2022 : Selling Intangibles
Whether you sell a tangible or an intangible product or service presents different challenges to the salesperson. With the tangible that prospects can see touch smell taste or even hear the product. With an intangible the salesperson must create the senses in the mind of the prospect. It’s been said “selling an intangible is like selling tofu- the nutrition is there but you have to supply the flavor”. Horror movies can be very interesting because they can deal with intangible subjects that are full of emotion and remember facts tell but emotions sell. With intangible telling stories become a powerful ally. The words used in the story work on the senses. If your prospect is a visual person then visual words are needed with auditory prospects it’s auditory words and the same with kinesthetic buyers it’s the words you use. How to find out the modality of your prospect is really easy listen to the words he or she uses and you then use similar words. Also the speech patterns of those people differ; visual people speak fast auditory people speak slower and the kinesthetic person really speaks slowly. So now you are matching words and speech patterns and using your imagination to create stories that your prospect can feel in the theater of his or her mind and in many cases these imagined stories are more indelible than seeing hearing touching smelling or tasting a tangible product. The illusion the salesperson creates should be continued on the telephone’s On-Hold feature with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/29/2022 Preparation Makes Successful Sales Calls
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. Preparation makes successful sales calls. So prior to the call did you research the account? Do you know anything about the person you are going to speak to? Have you researched the industry and understand the current challenge(s) it faces? What are you going to speak about? What is your agenda? Do you have the materials you need (brochures contracts etc.)? Do you know the goal of this call? What information do you need to move forward? What might be your next step? These and more should be a checklist of what you need to make a successful sales call. Your office phone’s On-Hold button is a mighty sales tool as well. Once you’ve presented your product or service should that prospect call you and is placed On-Hold here you have the perfect vehicle to enhance your position with a custom On-Hold message that supports both your branding and marketing message. With On-Hold messages you can educate and entertain that caller eradicating call abandonment. Statistics (Telconnect Magazine) tell us that 16-20% of callers made a purchasing decision based on information they heard while On-Hold. According to AT&T research there is a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales when a custom On-Hold message is part of your marketing plan. Sales & Marketing magazine tells us that 93% of the average marketing/advertising budget is spent to entice potential customers to call a business and only 4% of the average marketing budget is spent on caller/customer retention. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/28/2022 Goals and Agendas
Your first call with a new prospect usually sets the tone of the relationship. You as the salesperson must have a goal for that first meeting as well as every interaction with that prospect. If you don’t have a goal how will you know you’ve succeeded? Just as the call has a goal the call also needs an agenda. Having an agenda gives you the salesperson the steering wheel for the meeting. Qualifying the prospect to see if there’s compatibility with your product or service is a must and that is done with questions and active listening to answers. Your questions should uncover the buyer’s goals plans challenges and timeline. Ask critical questions and put yourself in that prospect’s shoes to see if there is a fit for your product or service. Always be motivated before you walk into a prospect/client’s business. Do whatever it takes to get that motivation going for through that motivation your confidence shows and you must be confident. Remember not every sale ends with a close. At times even the best salesperson gets rejected. Don’t let rejection get you down look for the benefits like what part of your presentation didn’t work and learn from it. Make sure your business has a custom On-Hold message to carry your marketing and branding message to every caller. According to AT&T research there is a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales when a custom On-Hold message is part of your marketing plan. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/27/2022 Mistakes Salespeople Make
Henry Ford said “Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement.” Mistakes many salespeople make maybe the difference is saying “hello” to a sale as opposed to “goodbye”. First and foremost successful salespeople get up close and personal with client knowledge. Not knowing the client’s industry is a huge mistake and can be rectified just by going online. As it’s been said “Knowledge is power” and knowing the challenges of the industry you are calling on and how your product or service can diminish or eradicate that challenge(s). Too often salespeople are not intimate with their product or service. Get to know intimately everything you can about your product or service. Knowing your prospect's business and your product or service should give you great confidence and you should project that at all times. Your home office must back you up by giving great customer service. One way they can do that is with an On-Hold message that extends your prospect's marketing and branding message to a captive listener who is holding on waiting for you to answer the phone. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/24/2022 How To Be A Great Salesperson
It is said “Great salespeople are literally the engine of every economy in the world.” And remember everyone is a salesperson regardless of what you do. So the question is how does one become a great salesperson? First great salespeople don’t think in the terms of sales but in terms of building a business. Business is built one customer at a time and influencing that last customer into referring you to new prospects. Great salespeople listen more then they speak in order to understand the prospects challenges and finding a solution. Great salespeople under promise and over deliver. They invest their time in people places and things that have a positive effect on their income. They are always into learning how to do what they do better by reading books listening to CD’s getting coaching and taking seminars. They are continually networking and enlarging their circle of influence. Great salespeople never depend on the marketplace or the economy; they depend on their own ability to create commerce. And if you notice they seem to have a circle of friends as driven as they are. To these people good enough is never good enough. They never give up. They are time misers. They are self-starters and are always building their pipeline. They also realize that when prospect or clients call they want to continue with that personalized connection by having an on hold message that trumpets their business by informing and entertaining the callers with both their branding and marketing messages while engaging the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/22/2022 Creating Value
In these blogs I often speak about doing your homework about both the industry and the company you are calling upon. If you understand the challenges the industry in general is having there is a good chance the prospect you are calling on has some of the same challenges. By focusing on those needs the pain those challenges cause and how your product or service can help rid the pain your opportunity for a sale grows by leaps and bounds. The reason is simple you have created value and when you the salesperson create value not only have you transformed your sales effectiveness; but you also provided the insulation from price pressure. There are many sales strategies tactics and techniques for creating value for prospects but what is often neglected is the legwork required to effectively implement any of these. As professionals we need to get inside the head of the prospect and develop a good understanding of what they value. Remember not all people value the same thing therefore the need to understand what is paramount for each prospect. The salesperson’s first job is to create a great relationship with the prospect. Get to know the buyer and the owner if different the gatekeeper and as many people as possible so that you become a trusted member of their team. Should any of them call you on the phone and are placed on hold make sure you have a custom on-hold message that continues your branding and marketing story. The effectiveness of on-hold marketing has been proven repeatedly to be extremely significant and successful. AT&T research says there is between a 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales and that about 12% of the callers will take action on what they heard while on-hold Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/21/2022 Marketing Plans
What is your marketing plan? Do you have one? If you are a large company chances are it has hundreds of pages if you are a small mom and pop maybe six pages in a three ring binder. Either way you should have a plan and you should look at it at least monthly to track your progress. A good plan should cover one year. Writing the plan is usually much harder than executing it. It’s a good idea to have everyone involved with your business giving input because every part of your business is involved in the implementation. A marketing plan gives everyone involved in your business a common purpose a rallying point. It’s your map to success sort of a step-by-step guide on the road to success. Like a football coach with a game plan this is your game plan for your business. Part of that plan should involve your phone system since many prospects and current clients call you. When that phone rings how are they handled? If placed on hold how are they treated? If you haven’t thought of an on hold message think again. Here you have someone that called you and is interested in what you offer as a product or service and now they are on hold captive to what they hear. Do you want them to hear a radio station a series of beeps some music or silence? How about an Infomercial about your business with both your marketing and branding information being disseminated to that caller? Keeping the caller engaged and emotionally connected is job number one for this infomercial Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/20/2022 Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing
Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing is today’s blog. With Outbound marketing you are reaching out to the community of your potential prospects to get them to notice you to call you. Outbound marketing is seen as more traditional â€" it includes fliers email lists direct mail telemarketing radio and television and social media. Although these techniques are familiar they do have their drawbacks. Some consumers are put-off seeing them as invasive even pushy. Add the fact they can be expensive and there isn’t any surety that your endeavors will even be seen or heard by those you’ve targeted. Reports tell us that 44 percent of direct mail is thrown directly into the garbage without ever being looked at. About 91% of email users surveyed have unsubscribed from company mailing lists â€" lists they had previously opted into. And 84 percent of 25-34 year-olds have moved away from websites due to advertising they see as extraneous or intrusive. If that is discouraging cheer up because Inbound marketing works and cost less on average $62 per lead less then Outbound marketing. Your ‘Hold Button’ on your phone is a great source for Inbound marketing. Some 20% of consumers made a purchase based on effective on hold messages. Remember 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and that caller is captive to your On-Hold message which is always on waiting to be heard. There’s no question that inbound marketing in the form of on hold messages works. So take a quick peek at your advertising budget to see what you could cut back on or eliminate inorder to take advantage of proven results. When you realize the power of on hold advertising against whatever you’re eliminating you’ll quickly notice that an inbound marketing message is well worth the marketing spot you’re sacrificing as a matter of fact chance are on hold advertising for a year is less costly than one week’s worth of radio. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/17/2022 Advertising Tips
How do you advertise your product or service? Do you use print radio television The Internet or a media mix? The secret is to make sure your advertising is effective. The word ‘effective’ means that you must have a very defined message. To create that message ask yourself what is it that you want to accomplish with the advertising. If you choose to follow what is most profitable and you follow the money you are on the right path. Since most advertising is expensive you must have well-defined goals so you aren’t wasting your money. One rule to remember is effective advertising is short and to the point. If you focus on one idea at a time you will have more effective advertising. Try to never use meaningless clichés edit until you have little to zero fluff. If you must advertise multiple products or services or the product has several key selling features dedicate one sentence (or group of sentences) to each idea. Then clearly move on to the next feature. Introduce each idea deliver the main message and show the benefit. Someone once said “I would have written a shorter letter but I didn’t have the time” which trumpets the need to edit it down. You will find being brief takes a lot of work. Once your advertising takes hold and your phone starts to ring make sure you have a custom On-Hold message that entertains and informs your callers. Since 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold you have the perfect storm to enhance your marketing branding and advertising story. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/16/2022 Getting Positive Results
Getting positive results should be a top priority for everyone. One thing that stifles positive results is ‘FEAR’. I have heard it said that FEAR is an acronym for ‘False Emotions Appearing Real.' If you think about FEAR it creates indecisiveness that can result in stagnation. Too often people think only of the negative that is brought on by this fear. If you insist on the thoughts of what could go wrong give equal time to what could go right. Once you start having positive thoughts a funny thing usually happens you get positive results. In order to get positive results you must act; any action toward the result you want. Every action you take gives you a result sometimes not the one you wanted but you’ve got a result. The secret is don’t quit. If one action doesn’t work try a different one. By taking action you build momentum and momentum is the bridge between your vision and your results. Those actions you take today will determine the results you want tomorrow. One action step that most always shows positive results is On-Hold messages on your phone. An On-Hold message is an inexpensive yet efficient and effective way to keep that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/15/2022 Opportunity Wants To Happen To You
There is no security on this earth only opportunity. Opportunity is all around you if you are willing to open your eyes and look. Opportunity wants to happen to you; are you ready? To be ready just be open to it. Jim Rohm says “Often the most extraordinary opportunities are hidden among the seemingly insignificant events of life. If we do not pay attention to these events we can easily miss the opportunities.” Remember there are 86400 seconds in a day no more no less so don’t waste one of them. Although people say “Opportunity Knocks” I believe you have to seek it. Even when opportunity knocks a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door. Finding an opportunity is a job. The opportunities you seek may determine your future. The best way to predict your future is to create it. There is no one to blame for your lack of opportunity only yourself. You must discipline yourself and create rituals that help you look for those opportunities. Once those rituals become habits note how many opportunities become visible. One opportunity that you can create for your business is On-Hold marketing. Here you have a great opportunity to up-selling your current clients your product and or service to a captive listener or continue your marketing and branding messages to the prospective client. An On-Hold message is an inexpensive yet efficient and effective way to keep that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/14/2022 Sell Value Not Price
Selling value not price usually gets the deal. As long as the buyer sees and understands the value of your product or service the price really is not the consideration. Add to the value statement that once the buyer understands that your product or service will eliminate a challenge(s) you are creating an ongoing relationship. Professional salespeople also know that emotions are tied directly to sales. People buy based on the emotional connection not the dog and pony features and benefits shown. Put all this together in order: 1. Find out the challenge(s) and the pain by asking questions (and actively listening for the answers. 2. While getting into rapport establish that emotional bond. 3. Spotlight and accentuate value while you are sharing ideas with the buyer. Making presentations sound so formal but sharing some ideas creates a more relaxed atmosphere. Another inexpensive yet efficient and effective way to keep that emotional connection alive as well as increase sales through upselling is having an On-Hold message. An On-Hold message continues your marketing and branding communication to a captive audience. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/13/2022 Attracting Success
One doesn’t seek success one attracts it. Jim Rohn said it best when he said “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day” remember discipline is the road you take as you accomplish each of your daily goals which are the paths to your ultimate goal. Keep in mind you are in charge of how you navigate your day. You are the captain of your ship of choice and the choices you make determine your outcomes. So how does one “Attract Success”? First of all ask yourself; what will success look like when I get there? In other words what is your definition of success? I’d bet everyone reading this might have a different definition that is why a goal must be established so that you know where you are going. It’s been said that “Success leaves clues”. One way to attract success is to see yourself as if you are already successful. People like to be around successful people. Model successful people: find out what they did to become successful and what they do to stay there. Read books on how successful people reached their goals; that will save you time and maybe eliminate mistakes. Remember time is something you can’t get more of so it is incumbent on you to use time wisely. Note what successful businesses do. The kind of training every employee gets from team building to sales customer service to the receptionist. Notice that most large successful companies have On-Hold messages working for them carrying their marketing and branding message to every inbound caller placed On-Hold. So if you are a home-based business or a small company you can sound like a Fortune 500 company. On-Hold messages make small companies sound big and big companies sound friendly all the while increasing business. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/10/2022 The Emotional Connection
People use your goods or service because of an emotional connection, and they justify it with the features and benefits. Part of being human is seeking, experiencing, and communicating emotions. Take any product and you can boil down the reason someone made a purchase to moving toward (or preventing from losing) one of those three cornerstone motivational emotions. That’s why feature selling is ineffective. As a business owner or sales rep, if you don’t know how to evoke powerful emotions in the selling process, you’ll struggle to get even mediocre results. What you are really selling is affluence or status, reassurance, time or convenience, pleasure or personal empowerment. With affluence, remember, people, want other people to know that they have money and are of high status, thereby making them feel good about themselves through validation and that plays directly into the motivation. Using affluence as a motivator focus on personal benefits, specific ROI, and case studies that demonstrate the exact benefit your prospect is looking for, plus remember to use words like a reward, valuable, exclusive, distinguishing, profitable, and gain, which can help you paint the picture. Peace of mind is priceless in playing to the power of motivation. People want to have control over their lives. You can’t put a price on feeling safe and protected. Reassurance is the business that all insurance salespeople and financial planners are in. Here are some ideas on how you can use reassurance to sell products or services. Get your prospect or customer in the mindset of not worrying about this one thing and focusing on running their business. In other words, describe what your product will allow them to do. Have you received any awards or recognition in your industry? Do you have any additional training or certifications that will make your prospect more at ease? By sharing this you build trust to your advantage. If you’ve done your homework on both the industry and business, share that knowledge; this usually brings a feeling of trust, the prospect believes that this person really knows my business. Share your testimonials that show others have already put their trust in you. And remember to use emotional words like guarantee, results, improve, satisfaction, the leader in, secure, safe, trusted, and reliable can help you win trust. If your customer is a working professional, busy parent, or anyone else with extremely limited time or energy, then selling convenience is a piece of cake, and this is especially popular in the technology industry right now. You may suggest the value for them in the terms of time either lost or gained and remind them how much energy their current solution is costing them. What else they could/should be doing. What would they rather be doing? What are the more important things they could be doing with their time? How much more effective would they be at their job if they could get this one area under control? And use words like productivity, effectiveness, simple, quick, “plug and play”, and “done for you” will help them realize how much time they could be saving. We all move toward pleasure and away from pain. We humans will pay almost any amount to enjoy a little more pleasure in our lives. Though B2B selling isn’t usually about selling pleasure, many companies buy products for the office that give them pleasure. You need to translate the value of pleasure for your prospect and make using your product enjoyable. Have them visualize a brighter future and remember to use words like fun, please, imagine, enjoy, satisfy, you, delight, and opportunity to play to the pleasant emotions. Personal empowerment is a key to a successful meeting. If you can help them become a better person and reach their dreams, you’ve hit the jackpot. This includes everything from fitness to finance to emotional health, and so much more. Have any of your customers made headlines after utilizing your product? Do you have pictures of your customer receiving their accolades? Offer to highlight your prospect if they go with you. Does your prospect need the publicity that you can offer? Would they make a good case study? And here use words like image, respect, power, reputation, prominence, influence, and prestige. This word will evoke emotions. You must always keep that emotional connection alive, even when they call you and are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/09/2022 Waste Not Want Not
Have you heard the expression “Waste not want not’? Are you wasting valuable time with your incoming callers when you place them On-Hold? Every business places callers On-Hold at one time or another and it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the time On-Hold were ‘Productive Time On-Hold’ as opposed to ‘Wasted Time’. HoldMasters writes records mixes and delivers your On-Hold message production fully customized to your business' marketing needs. You can entertain educate and even up-sell and cross-sell customers who end up On-Hold when they call your firm. Research tells us that companies with On-Hold Messages see a two and a half to five percent upsurge in sales. HoldMasters has been helping businesses all over the country enhance their image as well as being a cost-effective and cost-efficient marketing tool so when your caller is placed On-Hold you can take advantage by informing educating and entertaining them. With Silence-On-Hold or a radio station you could find it hard to keep that caller on the phone and if you have a Radio-On-Hold that caller might hear a commercial for your competitor. When a caller does not feel compelled to stay on the phone chances are they will hang up. When they disconnect typically the next step could be to pick up the phone and call a similar company to yours. If your organization allows this to happen you have probably lost that customer or new sales opportunity. Effective On-Hold messages cannot only encourage callers to stay on the line it can also expose new sales opportunities by marketing certain products and services. Our job is to turn your wait times from an encounter into a marketing opportunity. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/08/2022 Waste Not Want Not
Don’t waste a day, not an hour, not a moment. The biggest regret you'll have at the end of your life is wasted time. If you waste time it's lost forever. If you do not waste, you do not want. Have you heard the expression, “Waste not, want not’? Are you wasting valuable time with your incoming callers when you place them On-Hold? Every business places callers On-Hold at one time or another and it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the time On-Hold were ‘Productive Time On-Hold’ as opposed to ‘Wasted Time’. HoldMasters writes, records, mixes, and delivers your On-Hold message production fully customized to your business' marketing needs. You can entertain, educate, and even up-sell and cross-sell customers who end up On-Hold when they call your firm. AT&T research tells us that companies with On-Hold Messages see a two and a half to five percent upsurge in sales and 12% of the callers will take action on something they heard while On-Hold and remember according to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. HoldMasters has been helping businesses all over the country enhance their image as well as being a cost-effective and cost-efficient marketing tool so when your caller is placed On-Hold you can take advantage by informing, educating, and entertaining them. With Silence-On-Hold or a radio station, you could find it hard to keep that caller on the phone, and if you have a Radio-On-Hold that caller might hear a commercial for your competitor. When a caller does not feel compelled to stay on the phone, chances are they will hang up. When they disconnect, typically the next step could be to pick up the phone and call a similar company to yours. If your organization allows this to happen, you have probably lost that customer or new sales opportunity. Effective On-Hold messages cannot only encourage callers to stay on the line, but it can also expose new sales opportunities by marketing certain products and services. Our job is to turn your wait times from an encounter into a marketing opportunity. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/03/2022 Enhancing Your Brand Image
How you can enhance your brand image with a very unique marketing tool On-Hold-Messages from HoldMasters. If you think of that old saying “What’s in it for me?” here are some very specific answers. By avoiding silence on hold which is a strong negative you are preventing callers from hanging up on you. You are building your image of professionalism and enhancing your brand image. You are promoting additional sales and products. You are entertaining the caller while On-Hold and you are also giving him or her valuable information that they might not have known. The research tells us that with a well-crafted On-Hold Message by HoldMasters most companies generated between two and a half percent to five percent increase in sales. With an On-Hold message by HoldMasters you will use the time callers are placed on hold to your advantage. Isn’t that something you’d like to do? Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/02/2022 Turning A Negative Into A Positive
Turning a negative into a positive is not magic it’s good business. The negative is putting your callers On-Hold when they call your business; the positive is having an On-Hold-Message that’s both informing and entertaining. No caller likes being placed On-Hold however that is almost an impossibility. Every business at times will place a caller On-Hold so the challenge is; what do you want that caller to hear? I really don’t think you want to be rude and leave that caller in ‘phone call limbo’ hearing nothing but silence. A national study published by THE NORTH AMERICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION reports that phone callers with SILENCE-ON-HOLD will abandon their phone calls in less than one minute; 90% hang up within 40 seconds. Phone callers with just Music-On-Hold will stay on the line 30 seconds longer than with only silence. However if you have a Commercial-On-Hold for your business not a radio station that may be playing a commercial for your competitor’s business a commercial that both entertains and informs your odds increase of keeping that caller Holding-On and buying more. These callers will stay On-Hold up to five minutes. Research tells us that having a Message-On-Hold will up your sales volume by two and a half to five percent. According to ‘Telemarketing Magazine’ surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard On-Hold." Now is that a positive or a negative? Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/01/2022 On-Hold Messages Are Essential Not Extravagant
If you think an On-Hold message is an extravagance think again. Since research tells us that on average seven out of ten callers are placed ON-Hold and that a Commercial On-Hold can reduce hang-ups by almost seventy-nine percent having an On-Hold Message drops it out of the “extravagance” category and into the “essential” region. For your information the average On-Hold time is about thirty seconds and there’s a good chance that you will spend around sixty hours a year On-Hold. That means that people calling you might be spending a good deal of time On-Hold too waiting to speak with someone from your company. How will you treat them? Hopefully not with silence or some radio station. How about information about your business? You can keep your company’s brand alive with your message. You can also up-sell that caller with information that they might not have known. It’s like owning your own private radio station with that one listener (the caller) captive to your advertisement. If you own your own radio station wouldn’t you advertise on it? Again research tells us that people will stay On-Hold twenty-five percent longer when listening to Advertising-On-Hold. Here’s a statistic that may shock you; most companies will spend about ninety-four percent of their marketing budget inviting people to call but only about six percent once they call. Another statistic tells us that there is a two and a half to five percent increase in sales when there’s a Message-On-Hold (AT&T statistics). So here’s the question: What would that increase mean to you? Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/31/2022 Losing Business?
Raise your hand if you want to lose business. My guess is that nobody raised his or her hand. However how many businesses do things unintentionally that lose business for them every day? Let’s just take one thing as an example the telephone. This one instrument that everyone in business uses and is so misused that it helps lose business therefore profits are lost on a daily basis. For example when your phone rings how is it answered? Are you using the auto attend feature? Does it send you into a maze of press this press that? Are the directions clear? Can the caller ever get to a live person? May I suggest that whoever is the BIG CHEESE call your own company and see how you like what you hear if not better change it for that could be a cause for slow or no growth in sales? When answered does your phone reflect what you believe is your company’s image your brand? If not change it for that could be another reason for slow or no sales growth. Customer service in today’s economy is paramount. Good customer service gets people talking about you in a very positive way and poor service gets just the opposite reaction. One other thing to consider is having a great On-Hold message for when people are placed On-Hold (this is a plug for what I do). It’s been researched that when placed On-Hold if people hear silence they hang up within 15 to 30 seconds with music from a radio station or CD you might keep them for about another 15 seconds however with a HoldMasters On-Hold Message sharing information about your business in an entertaining fashion will keep the caller’s attention close to five minutes and it’s really considered great customer service. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/30/2022 Memorial Day2022
Remember the fallen & their families this Memorial Day. Honor those who have honored us.

5/27/2022 Time Is Money
What is your time worth? Have you ever put a value on your time? Once you see how much your time is worth I wonder if you’ll waste it as a daily exercise. For example take your gross income and divided it the total working hours to get your hourly rate (as an example: Annual income $40000 you work forty hours a week for fifty weeks allowing two weeks’ vacation time your hourly income is then twenty dollars an hour. Therefore if you spend one hour a day doing unproductive activities you blow about five thousand dollars a year on nothing and that’s what you have to show for your goofing off nothing. It’s the same thing on how you handle your incoming phone calls. It is a fact that 70% of incoming callers are places On-Hold for some period of time (AT&T statistic). What that caller hears On-Hold can either make you money or not. Suppose you have an On-Hold Message that advertises your products or services. Now at least you stand a chance of getting a sale as opposed to having a radio or silence for the caller to hear. Time is money don’t waste it. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/26/2022 The Telephone Presentation
Do you ever make your presentations on the phone? If so you have some challenges since you are unable to read the prospect’s body language. How can you know if that prospect is being attentive? One way is by listening to their voice nuances. Listen to the pauses between their comments or the number of ‘un-huhs’ you hear or other sounds like ‘hummm’. Listen for background noise like paper rustling or text message alerts. What is suggested to help break that cycle is ask a question that relates to their business and is apropos to what you were talking about. You might ask about something you heard while you were On-Hold listening to the message On-Hold. Remember your product or service must take center stage in this presentation. If possible have that prospect on your web site so that he or she can see and hear what you want them to see and hear as you direct them to where you want them to go. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/25/2022 You Only Have A Few Minutes
In today’s world of ten to thirty second television or radio commercials most people now have short-term attention spans (STAS); that means when making a presentation to a prospective client you must be able to compress your presentation into a very few minutes. After that it’s your job to involve that prospect directly into the presentation through the art of asking questions visual aids or a hands-on demonstration. You may use the information you have garnered from their web site from their advertising or from what you heard while On-Hold listening to their On-Hold message. Your job then is to actively listen to what they say how they answer the questions will give you all the information you need to help them meet the challenges that face them and close your sale. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/24/2022 The Key To Growth
Finding new prospects is the key to growth; that’s no secret. How and where to find them is your challenge. First of all if you speak to successful sales organizations you will hear that prospecting is a major part of their everyday sales strategy. Any business worth their salt must create prospecting strategies and work them every day. If you are new to your business conduct online searches for business of the type that would use your product or service. Look at their websites call them and listen to how they give customer service. Listen to the Message-On-Hold and learn what they think is important for every caller to know. Referrals are a major source of new business but only if you ask for them. Networking is a great method of obtaining referrals. I read that from qualified referrals there is about a sixty percent closing rate as compared to a ten percent closing rate with nonqualified referrals. Here is some great advice never take a referral for granted. You must show that prospect the same positive attitude the same high energy level the same respectful manner as well as the same quality of presentation that you would show a cold call. When these referrals call your office make sure your On-Hold-Message carries that same passion and information you displayed in your meeting. When you are successful at convincing them referrals will continue to you in an endless stream of happy clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/23/2022 Research One Key To Success
How do you know what your client’s want and need? That is why research is so important. And today thanks to the Internet it’s really easy. If you don’t understand your prospect’s business and the challenges of that business or industry you are limiting yourself in being able to close your sale. As well as knowing about the industry going on the Internet enables you to research the web site of your prospective client and know more about his or her business. Remember the more you know will rightfully show the prospect your capability of assisting them in solving the challenge or challenges facing them. Another way you are able to research that prospect is to listen to their On-Hold message. Advertisingâ€"On-Hold gives the caller the ability to learn how to best utilize the products or service of the company being called. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

5/20/2022 Cold Call Selling in The 21st Century
I read that “Cold Calling” is second only to warm referrals as the number one lead-generating method of building a business. Cold calling does work when it’s done properly. The problem is that most people do it poorly; hence it doesn’t work for them. In order to be successful at cold calling it must be both targeted and appropriate. Cold calling use to be a numbers game getting many “no’s “ and hang-ups until you get a “yes”. Depending on what your product or service is not anyone can be your suspect then your prospect and finally your customer or client. To turn the suspect into a prospect in the 21st Century you need a targeted list. Who is your ideal prospect? By this I mean all the people in your universe who would be the ideal person to buy your product or service. Break the criteria down; What industry? Where are they located? Who is the decision-maker? What are the challenges of that industry that your product or service can solve? In B 2 B selling you must know who makes the decision; that’s whom you’d want to speak to. Be relevant to the person you’ve called and be prepared to answer his or her questions. Cold calling isn’t in most cases closing the sale that comes later. Every sale goes through a cycle from the introduction to information gathering to offering a solution to closing. The goal of the cold call is to get a face-to-face and that’s where closing the sale becomes the reality. Should that suspect or prospect call you you should have an On-Hold message to continue your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/19/2022 A New Invention The Telephone
Suppose email and texting were around for many years and just now the telephone was invented; what would happen? People would be trumpeting the virtues of this “new” invention the telephone. You could actually have an instant conversation ask and answer questions and exchange ideas. And if you are in sales you must have excellent telephone skills. The secret to using the phone to make “cold calling” a warm experience is like the Boy Scout motto “be prepared”. If you arm yourself with industry knowledge and knowledge of your buyer you wouldn’t have to hide behind your keyboard. The big plus is that armed with the knowledge will make you a far more confident caller and confidence is everything. If you sound nervous the person you’re calling can sense it. You might practice talking into a recording device and listen to how you sound. See if you can sound more like a trusted advisor as opposed to a salesperson. Keep your energy up and don’t give up if there’s an objection and most of all stay positive. Should that caller have to call you back make sure you have an On-Hold message that will continue your brand and marketing message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/19/2022 When Your Product or Service Sells Itself
When your product or service is understood by your prospects or customers so well that almost sells itself you have mastered the art of marketing. Not only do you market to prospective clients but it’s strongly suggested that you market to your entire team. Marketing is the hub of every business. Marketing is everything you do to promote your business from the moment you envision it to the point at which shoppers buy your product or service and begin to utilize your business on a systematic basis. The keywords to remember are everything and a systematic basis. Some of the reasons those prospects choose to become customers: they like you and how you make them feel; they trust you and appreciate your reputation; they see the value in doing business with you and the value of your product or service; they appreciate that you understand their needs and desires and they know your product or service will alleviate their pain and bring them pleasure. If you are unitizing social media remember it’s about “quality” not “quantity”. Always have a cost-effective and efficient friendly informative and entertaining On-Hold Message to carry your marketing and branding forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/18/2022 When Your Product or Service Sells Itself
When your product or service is understood by your prospects or customers so well that almost sells itself you have mastered the art of marketing. Not only do you market to prospective clients but it’s strongly suggested that you market to your entire team. Marketing is the hub of every business. Marketing is everything you do to promote your business from the moment you envision it to the point at which shoppers buy your product or service and begin to utilize your business on a systematic basis. The keywords to remember are everything and a systematic basis. Some of the reasons those prospects choose to become customers: they like you and how you make them feel; they trust you and appreciate your reputation; they see the value in doing business with you and the value of your product or service; they appreciate that you understand their needs and desires and they know your product or service will alleviate their pain and bring them pleasure. If you are unitizing social media remember it’s about “quality” not “quantity”. Always have a cost-effective and efficient friendly informative and entertaining On-Hold Message to carry your marketing and branding forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/17/2022 Selling Is A Process
Selling anything is a process. Short cuts in selling usually don’t work therefore never take them. Step one is qualifying and that is done via the open-ended questions that start with “who’ “what” “when” “where” “how” and “why”; these types of questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” they require a narrative. Your job is to actively listen and wait until they are through prior to your next question. I have found people will tell you exactly what you need to know to sell them if you just ask the right questions in the right tone and manner. I have found prospects don’t mind questions as long as they understand you are there to help them get what they want. By really being interested in the prospect/client by thinking of how you can provide service moves you closer to the goal of making the sale. You can support your attitude of helping by having an On-Hold message on your incoming phone lines. Here you have the perfect opportunity of keeping the emotional connection alive while informing and entertaining the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/16/2022 Why People Buy
People buy for one of two reasons or sometimes both; they either want to avoid pain or gain pleasure. If you think about it these are the two inspiring influences for anyone doing anything in their life. It’s the old carrot and stick example; the carrot is something to eat as a reward and the stick is the punishing object to fear. For those of us that sell goods or services (and everyone sells something) our job is to find the answer to the pleasure they want or the pain they wish to avoid and show them how our product or service will help them realize their end game. In previous blogs I have suggested that products and services are bought via emotions and then justified logically with facts. Therefore it’s the job of the presenter to uncover what that prospect or client wants as a result of the product or service and make the emotional connection. Once made you and your product or service have captured the power to have a happy customer. If you do not make that emotional connection you are wasting both your time and the prospects and chance of making the sale is slim to none. Keeping that emotional connection is imperative should that client call your business and is placed On-Hold. A very cost-effective and efficient On-Hold Message can keep that connection whereas a radio silence or a series of beeps can disconnect that emotional connection. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/13/2022 “I Never Put Anyone On-Hold”
All too often I hear prospects tell me that they “Never Put Anyone On Hold”. But if you really think about it that is just not true. No one I know likes to either place people On-Hold or do callers like being put On-Hold. Those are facts unless you like to sit with your ear on the phone waiting for someone to pick up. Some phone systems have a computer-generated ‘BEEP’ every few seconds to let the caller know they haven’t been disconnected while others use radio to entertain their callers. Before there were Messages-On-Hold that might have sufficed but now with a HoldMasters Messages-On-Hold you as the business owner have options. With a radio playing because of the nature of FM radio you have the problem of ‘drift’. That’s where the tuning of the station drifts a tad off frequency and you have a horrible signal. If the music that the caller is hearing is not to his or her liking this can be On-Hold hell. With a well-crafted Message-On-Hold you can entertain your callers you can also inform them up-sell them and keep them from hanging up. And AT&T statistics tell us that there is a 2 Â1/2 to 5% increase in sales and that 12% of the people On-Hold take action on what they heard. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/12/2022 On-Hold Time Becomes Productive Time
Putting someone who calls your business On-Hold is really a bad thing to do if all they hear is silence or a radio station. But with the technology that we have today you can use that On-Hold time and turn it into productive time simply by having a Message-On-Hold on your phone. This is the time you can share with your potential new customer (or present client) on a very personal one-on-one basis information that you have crafted to engage your caller in finding out salient information about what your business is what it does and how it can serve the caller’s business in a very positive manner. You as the owner must give that caller an exciting reason to stay on the phone if not they hang up and it’s off to your competition and a lost opportunity for your bottom line. At HoldMasters it is our mission to provide that engaging message that creates reasons for keeping the caller On-Hold and inserting some ideas for new opportunities for the caller to continue to use you as a source. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/11/2022 How Would You Like a Two and a Half to Five Percent Increase in Sales?
What can a Message-On-Hold do for you? One of the most important is that an On-Hold-Message diminishes hang-ups. That alone should be reason enough to get your On-Hold Advertising up and running but there are more reasons. Having an On-Hold-Message enhances your image while promoting your products and or services along with reassuring callers they haven’t been forgotten and it keeps their attention by entertaining them. On-Hold-Messages carries your ‘Brand’ image from your advertising personality to your company’s personality. Maintaining your Brand Image is paramount not only in acquiring new customers but keeping them so that they become long-lasting customers. Just think in place of a radio playing some musical genre that may upset your caller and hearing advertising even from your competitor you can now have a custom-made Message-On-Hold giving the caller information about products and services maintaining your brand identity reducing hang-ups and keeping them entertained and according to research having an On-Hold-Message shows a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/10/2022 Why Messages-On-Hold
Why should a business have Massages-On-Hold? Great question and the answers (note there is more than one) are many. There is research that tells us that about sixteen percent of all buying decisions are made predicated on something the caller heard while On-Hold. And to add to that having an On-Hold Message can help the caller make a better buying decision. If you are in retail would you have your sales staff ignore people in the store? Then why do you ignore potential customers who have taken the time to call you? While someone is On-Hold you have their undivided attention to tell them exactly what you want them to hear about your business. Here’s another interesting fact a majority of businesses report that about seventy percent of their callers are placed On-Hold for some part of the call. Further research suggests that if a person is placed On-Hold and there is silence they might stay for about thirty seconds with some kind of music they might stay a minute. However with Advertisingâ€"On-Hold it’s not unusual for the caller to stay for four to five minutes. Whatever your business is product or service things change and your Messageâ€"On-Hold can help keep that information up-to-date. And people do spend money over the phone. It was reported back in 2012 that over $25 billion in purchases were made from phones and tablets up eighty-one percent from the year before according to e-Marketer which compiles data from 120 sources that track commerce. And the prediction it will get into the $81 billion range by 2016 and will keep growing. Remember your customers only know a portion of what you can do for them your On-Hold Message can keep them well informed. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/10/2022 Why Messages-On-Hold
Why should a business have Massages-On-Hold? Great question and the answers (note there is more than one) are many. There is research that tells us that about sixteen percent of all buying decisions are made predicated on something the caller heard while On-Hold. And to add to that having an On-Hold Message can help the caller make a better buying decision. If you are in retail would you have your sales staff ignore people in the store? Then why do you ignore potential customers who have taken the time to call you? While someone is On-Hold you have their undivided attention to tell them exactly what you want them to hear about your business. Here’s another interesting fact a majority of businesses report that about seventy percent of their callers are placed On-Hold for some part of the call. Further research suggests that if a person is placed On-Hold and there is silence they might stay for about thirty seconds with some kind of music they might stay a minute. However with Advertisingâ€"On-Hold it’s not unusual for the caller to stay for four to five minutes. Whatever your business is product or service things change and your Messageâ€"On-Hold can help keep that information up-to-date. And people do spend money over the phone. It was reported back in 2012 that over $25 billion in purchases were made from phones and tablets up eighty-one percent from the year before according to e-Marketer which compiles data from 120 sources that track commerce. And the prediction it will get into the $81 billion range by 2016 and will keep growing. Remember your customers only know a portion of what you can do for them your On-Hold Message can keep them well informed. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/09/2022 Marketing Opportunities
Marketing opportunities open up when you place a caller On-Hold. Think about this someone calls your business and is placed On-Hold. That caller is captive to your marketing message and appreciates that in place of boredom hearing some computer-generated music they are hearing information about your company. Studies show that the average person is placed On-Hold for about 45 seconds. You have a fifteen-second bonus of time to tell that caller more reasons to be your customer than the typical thirty-second television commercial. With professional copywriting and voice talent your On-Hold message works on the ‘theater of the mind’ creating a mental picture of how your product or service can help better serve the caller’s needs. And remember with an On-Hold Message you can tell your callers exactly what you want them to know and hear about you. Remember all On-Hold messages are custom-written for your business. Some companies use On-Hold Messages to sell specific products some use a Message â€"On-Hold to carry their brand some companies use a soft sell and other a no sell approach however all of them blend courtesy for having people On-Hold as well as basic information about you like your hours or web-site address. And because you include that in your On-Hold Message the caller gets what they want or need and your operator has one less blinking light to worry about. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/06/2022 What Does Today’s Business Environment Demand?
Why do you need a great web page? Why do you need a great Message-On-Hold? In today’s business environment that is what is expected. Potential customers most always go to web page to understand the company and the product line. Having that web page clear and understandable makes for easier commerce to take place. Also a web page should be able to track the business it gets from people visiting the page. I would suggest that a contact telephone number be easily found for those people who need to call. Once a call is made to the company how is it handled? Does the caller get a maze of press this and press that or can the company have a live operator maybe being backed up with an auto-attendant? Add to that a great On-Hold Message that carries your brand message on the phone and further informs the caller of your products or services in a professional entertaining manor. With the knowledge that Advertisingâ€"On-Hold shows anywhere from a two and a half percent increase to five percent increase in sales makes having that message a valuable asset to your sales team. You’ve already spent money on your business don’t short-change yourself by not having a great web page and a professional On-Hold Message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/05/2022 Creating a Web Page Or An On-Hold Message
Creating a great web page or Message-On-Hold starts with some introspection. Think about what it is you want people to know about your business. Start with some bullet points with the most important on top and the least important toward the bottom. Then in creating the content make it friendly user friendly for your web page and listener friendly for you Message-On-Hold. For a web page any graphics used should be easy to understand and the verbiage basic enough for the layman yet interesting enough for the knowledgeable. When you create your Advertising On-Hold message remember courtesy and thank the people for calling and that they are moments away from speaking to whom they called. Keep each Message-On-Hold to one or two basic thoughts and the message should only be about 20 to 35 seconds in length. Pick non-descript music as an underscore so that the music doesn’t take away from the On-Hold-Message. Always use a professional voice talent that is more of an actor than an announcer. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/04/2022 Maximizing Time While Networking
Here’s a question to ask yourself; How can I maximize my time while networking? First understand that networking is a must in today’s business climate and networking is a skill that if you don’t have naturally you can develop. Who is it you want to meet at the networking event? Is it someone who could share great referrals with you and someone you can help too? Everyone at this networking event is there for a specific reason to grow their business and to make contacts that can help in that endeavor. You are there not just for one time you are there to form a bond with some people people with whom you can interact and reciprocate referrals. Be pro-active in following up with your new connection don’t just be a once-a-week goer to events. Call your contacts meet them for coffee lunch or a happy hour drink. Become a trusted friend and a source for them. If you call them tell them how you were handled on the phone and make some suggestion if they are needed. Suggest that they advertise their business while people are holding. Adverting On-Hold keeps the brand message alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/03/2022 Some Networking Tips
There are many paths to growing a business. Advertising on television is one way, radio another way, print or on the Internet still another way and networking, and in my opinion, the networking is the most cost-effective way. TV, radio, print or the Internet can be costly and for certain types of business very cost effective. That said, a TV commercial for a car will sell the brand, but the individual salesperson stills sells the car to a prospect. There are some successful things you can do to make networking more successful for you. For example, try not to be fashionably late. Getting to your networking event early is a better line of attack for that people haven’t settled into groups as yet and things are usually calmer, less chaotic. Be pro-active and seek out people to speak to, don’t wait for them to come to you. Ask them easy questions like, “What do you do?” and then actively listen for the answer. Listening is a excellent way to get to know somebody. It’s important to remember that networking is the art of building relationships so really don’t go into your sale mode. People usually like to do business with people they like and whose company they enjoy. Be passionate about your business so share your passion. Share the geneses of the why you are in the business you are in. Always smile. By smiling you will put your nervous self at ease, and you will come across as warm and friendly. Your job is to make other people like you enough to recommend you to their clients and friends so make the person you’re speaking with make them feel special. Be conversational not a talker. Networking is where a conversation begins, not where it ends so don’t forget to always follow up. Find out how they like to keep the conversation going; e-mail, Linkedin, phone, or in person. Then follow up within forty-eight hours. Should they call you remember to smile when you’re talking on the phone for people can feel that smile in your voice and should the caller be placed On-Hold, have a great Message-On-Hold for them to listen to that carries your brand message On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/02/2022 Networking One Way To Grow Your Business
Networking is not a haphazard way of building your business. If done correctly it’s a planned strategy to grow your business. Going to networking meetings and collecting tons of business cards is not the way to go. Getting to know who is part of the networking event that YOU can assist in ‘building THEIR business’ are the people you need to know, and get to know well. These are the very people who will reciprocate by helping you build your business. First things first are you must show up on a consistent basis. I treat my networking meeting as a business appointment with a prospect. I have missed maybe three meetings in the past year and one was due to the fact I was in the hospital. Suppose you have two prospects that want to see you at the same time on the same day, what do you do? I would think you’d tell one of them that you already have an appointment at that time and I think you might suggest another time. That is how I view my networking time as an appointment with a prospect. I really don’t understand people who come to one or two networking events and haven’t received a referral and write the group off. People need to get to know you prior to recommending you. I also know that some networking groups aren’t ‘One Size Fits All’ and it’s not for you. Some people are easy to find referrals, and some are tough. In my networking group there is a business broker, someone who buys and sells businesses, and a telephone person, someone who looks to find a business that is expanding or moving; they are harder to refer say then our printer or my messageâ€"on-hold business. Our real estate person can get referrals when you see signs ‘For Sale By Owner’ they can call and possibly create a listing. Bottom line, you must show up to benefit from networking and I’d suggest you show up with a referral or two for your fellow members. Should one of your networking buddies call you, make sure you have a professional On-Hold message to both inform and entertain them while they wait On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/29/2022 Selling Over The Phone
There are many ways to sell products and services to consumers today, and, thanks to the development of the internet and the scope of digital technology, many companies turn to the web to reach potential customers. However, in reality, there’s a tried and true â€" and powerful â€" sales channel that many people are overlooking: the phone. While phone sales might seem like a thing of the past, they’re actually a very effective way for your team to reach the people they want to sell to, and to improve sales techniques as your company grows. Here are some of the benefits of selling over the phone and why your company should consider doing it as an effective sales strategy. Selling over the phone is that it’s extremely efficient. Salespeople who sell over the phone can reach more people and have more in an hour than those who sell in person or those who send emails and wait for a response. When you use phone calls as a sales technique, you can easily track your performance data, then tweak your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not. By analyzing things like call length, call time, conversion rates, and more, you can alter your phone sales strategy to make sure it works. Refining your strategy for sales calls is easier than perfecting, say, an ad campaign, which can be affected by a huge slew of factors that are difficult to pinpoint. Selling over the phone allows salespeople to inject a personal touch into their sales process. Having a conversation with their voice allows salespeople to inject their personality into selling via topic choice, tone, and more â€" this helps create a more human, likable feel for prospects, which forges a stronger bond with the sales rep and makes people more likely to buy. When you use the phone for sales, you can be in control of when prospects get information about what you’re selling â€" and ensure they’re not distracted. When you send an email to an inbox, your prospect might read that email at work or when doing something else. You can time sales calls in the afternoons and evenings when people are not at work, so there’s less of a chance that they’re absorbed in something else. And should they call you make sure you have a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

4/29/2022 Selling Over The Phone
There are many ways to sell products and services to consumers today, and, thanks to the development of the internet and the scope of digital technology, many companies turn to the web to reach potential customers. However, in reality, there’s a tried and true â€" and powerful â€" sales channel that many people are overlooking: the phone. While phone sales might seem like a thing of the past, they’re actually a very effective way for your team to reach the people they want to sell to, and to improve sales techniques as your company grows. Here are some of the benefits of selling over the phone and why your company should consider doing it as an effective sales strategy. Selling over the phone is that it’s extremely efficient. Salespeople who sell over the phone can reach more people and have more in an hour than those who sell in person or those who send emails and wait for a response. When you use phone calls as a sales technique, you can easily track your performance data, then tweak your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not. By analyzing things like call length, call time, conversion rates, and more, you can alter your phone sales strategy to make sure it works. Refining your strategy for sales calls is easier than perfecting, say, an ad campaign, which can be affected by a huge slew of factors that are difficult to pinpoint. Selling over the phone allows salespeople to inject a personal touch into their sales process. Having a conversation with their voice allows salespeople to inject their personality into selling via topic choice, tone and more â€" this helps create a more human, likable feel for prospects, which forges a stronger bond with the sales rep and makes people more likely to buy. When you use the phone for sales, you can be in control of when prospects get information about what you’re selling â€" and ensure they’re not distracted. When you send an email to an inbox, your prospect might read that email at work or when doing something else. You can time sales calls in the afternoons and evenings when people are not at work, so there’s less of a chance that they’re absorbed in something else. And should they call you make sure you have a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

4/28/2022 Ideas To Help You Close More Sales
How many of you have no problem getting into an account, but get stuck after submitting a proposal? How many of you have sent your prospect all your marketing materials and even sent them a demo? They seem interested at the time, then, after they get your proposal, nothing. If that’s what happens to you, you are not alone. Despite what you think, it's not the real problem. Your inability to close is a symptom. What it really means is that your prospect does not think it's worth making a change right now. In short, it's nice to know about your offering, but not necessary. Here are a few ideas to help you do a better job at closing sales. Know your impact. Make sure you're clearly able to articulate the business value of your offering. You should ensure that you're talking about key business drivers such as reduced operating costs, increase sales conversation rates, or improved efficiency. Adding metrics makes your message even more impactful. Be a storyteller. Share examples of how you've helped other customers improve. Be able to explain how they were doing things before, the challenges they faced, and the results they've achieved since working with you. Slow down. You may be moving things along much too fast. You're showing your stuff, sending collateral, and giving pricing. It's highly likely that they don't feel like you're focused on their success. Take time to build the relationship so that they truly feel that you're a credible resource, not a self-serving sales guy. Connect the dots. It's imperative to engage your prospect in a discussion. This helps you/them determine if your offering makes sense for them. Here are some good ones to start with:  How are you currently handling your needs in this area?  What are your objectives relevant to the business drivers this product/service addresses?  What initiatives do you already have in place to get there?  If you achieved results like our other customers, what would this mean for your organization? If your prospects aren't making the connections between what you sell and the value they could get from it, it's because you're leaving it to happenstance. Plan your questions ahead of time. They are your greatest tools in getting to a yes. Stop trying to close. Instead, focus on helping your prospect determine if it makes good business sense to change. If it does, they'll say yes. If not, they'll stay with what they've got. Today's prospects are too savvy to fall prey to any closing techniques. The more you try to do it, the less they want to do business with you. Instead, put your emphasis on the front end of the sales cycle. Before you know it, your prospects will be saying, "How soon can we get going on this?" Carry the idea about educating them about your product or service with a custom On- Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company, has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

4/27/2022 Techniques That Create Value
Studies show that at least 60 percent of deals in the pipeline are lost to “no decision” rather than to competitors. That’s because of something called Status Quo Bias â€"your prospect’s natural aversion to doing something different than what they’re doing today. It’s only by interrupting their format (pattern) their status quo that you can persuade your prospects that their current situation is unsafe and unworkable Keep in mind, however, that this part of today’s blog is about why your buyer needs to change. It’s not about introducing your solutions’ features and benefits. At this point, focus on creating the urgency to change by establishing that your prospect’s status quo situation, and pain, is preventing them from reaching their most important business goals. 1. Introduce Uncalculated Needs Too often, salespeople base their messaging on the needs, prospects tell you they have. When you do that, you’re then inclined to connect those identified needs to the specific capabilities that respond to those needsâ€"in the standard “solution selling” fashion. The problem is, that you end up delivering commodity messages that won’t differentiate you from your competitorsâ€"because they’re likely constructing a similar value message in response to the same set of inputs. And because every option sounds the same, your prospects become indecisive. To create the urgency to change and overcome Status Quo Bias, you need to introduce prospects to Unconsidered Needsâ€"unmet, underappreciated, or yet unknown problems or missed opportunities that are holding back their business. In fact, research conducted by Corporate Visions found that a provocative messaging approach that begins by introducing an Unconsidered Need enhances your persuasive impact by 10 percent. 2. Find Your Value Wedge When you present your value proposition to prospects, how much overlap is there between what you can provide and what your competition can provide? Most B2B salespeople admit that overlap is 70 percent or higher. So rather than competing within that “value parity area,” focus on what you can do for the customer that’s different from what the competition can do. This is called your Value Wedge. Your Value Wedge must meet three important criteria: A. It’s unique to you. This is a message that’s completely different than your competitors. B. It’s important to the customer. Provide value by highlighting gaps in the way your prospect is doing things today, and how your approach will resolve those issues. C. It’s defensible. Document proof points of times when other companies overcame similar challenges by adopting your proposed solution. And when you create something that meets those three criteria, you have a value proposition that sets your solution apart from the competition and communicates real value to your prospect. When you connect your prospect’s Unconsidered Needs to your differentiated strengths, you break free from value parity and commodity messaging to create the urgency and differentiation needed to overcome your prospect’s Status Quo Bias. 3. Tell Compelling Visual Stories “Death by PowerPoint” is a common way to describe the mind-numbing experience of sitting through a long slide presentation filled with bullet points and clip art. Yet, most sales reps continue to fall back on this tired and unoriginal method of pitching. But research proves that effective sales presentations need to go beyond just a list of bullets. A research study on using visuals in B2B sales revealed that simple, concrete, hand-drawn visuals on a whiteboard outperformed two types of PowerPoint presentations in the areas of recall, engagement, presentation quality, credibility, and persuasion. Sales presentations should be a compelling visual narrative designed to showcase your products and services and how they deliver unique value. And regardless of whether you use a whiteboard, a flip chart, the back of an envelope, or a tablet, using visual stories is a powerful differentiator in competitive and complex selling environments. Should that client or prospect call you make sure you have a custom On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

4/25/2022 Trust
There is one word that is central to every relationship trust. Trust is placing confidence or reliance on someone or something dependability. Sincerity means genuineness and honesty. In the family model each spouse must trust each other the children must trust their parents and the parents must trust the children. We all have relatives; however do you trust all of them? In the workplace environment labor has to trust management and management must trust labor. If there are people you don’t trust are they your friends? Best friends trust each other. Would you go to a doctor lawyer or CPA you didn’t trust? Trust like respect has to be earned it isn’t given freely to anyone who requests it. It takes time to earn trust but can be lost in seconds. Stephen Covey says “Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Since this blog relates mostly to business in order to move your product or service your prospect must trust you. When a member of your sales team first meets a prospect or is servicing an existing client complete trust must always be present. The quickest way to build trust: keep the promises you make don't over-promise.; over-deliver don't under-deliver. If you say you'll do something make sure you do but if things then run late or go wrong tell your client at the earliest opportunity Trust is built with consistency. Fundamental honesty is the keystone of a successful business. One area that helps keep that feeling of trust is when someone calls your business and is placed On-Hold (AT&T says on average 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold). What are they hearing? If it is not information that brands your business you are missing the boat. You have a captive listener to both your mission and vision statements that set the tone and are foundational to your trust bond. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/22/2022 Cost Per Sale
No matter you earn your living there is a cost. Whether you are a doctor lawyer or merchant chief getting that new patient client or customer costs dollars hence the term cost per sale. I would also suggest that there is a cost associated with keeping them as part of income stream as well. How you obtain and keep those “New and Old” may vary yet the cost is there. Every contact you make no matter how insignificant has a cost whether it’s a cup of coffee a round of golf or a large party we all keep or should keep the receipts for tax purposes as well as establishing the cost per sale. One of the many goals these activities aim for is getting your phone to ring. If you think about it every phone call you get represents potential income so it becomes paramount that each incoming call be treated as potential cash flow after all they called you and are interested in what you do and how you can help them reach their goal(s). You now have the perfect opportunity to market your product or service as well as perpetuating your brand promise; don’t waste that time. According to AT&T research there is a 70% chance that the caller will be placed On-Hold and what you offer them while they wait can be the difference between cash flow for you or a lost opportunity. Your ultimate goal is to make each incoming call worth dollars toward your bottom line. One way that has proven to be successful is having On-Hold messages working for you. Advertising your business On-Hold works according to AT&T by showing a 2Â1/2% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/21/2022 Vision Statements and Mission Statements
Your business or personal identity needs both a ‘Vision Statement’ as well as a ‘Mission Statement’; and there is a difference. A ‘Mission Statement’ is usually a more straightforward and a simple explanation of what your organization (or sales organization) does right now how it does it and who its primary consumers are. The objective of this statement offers a simpler shorter-term definition of your company fixed on existing and pragmatic terms. The vision statement is more complex and spotlights the long-term and would-be principles of your company; what do you want to accomplish in the next decade? The ‘Vision Statement’ should also create the goals for your employees to work toward so everyone is pulling the rope in the same direction. These goals should offer inspiration that is the central ideas that form the underpinning of the business. To get your team passionate about what they do may I suggest that all of the employees create their own ‘Mission Statement’ of how they will add to the ‘Vision’ of your company. Make sure you broadcast this to your clients customers or patients every chance you get. This will enable them to better understand the who what where and why you are in business. One great place to bring this to the top of the mind is with a Message On-Hold. This very cost-effective and efficient service will inform and entertain all of your incoming callers and remember AT&T tells us that 70% of all coming calls are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/20/2022 Size Doesn’t Really Matter
Being a small firm can sometimes be an advantage allowing you to play on the quality and exclusivity of your service. However your size can also put off impending buyers. It is up to you to sway them that you are at least as professional as your larger competitors. Working from home can create an image problem although many a successful business is run from home. It is imperative that what you look like doesn’t scream SMALL. Your website must be pristine not poorly put together. Remember your potential client can look you up so make sure your credentials look the part of success. Your phone system can play an important part of your image. Larger companies seem to have not only automated attendants answering the phone but On-Hold Messages delivering both branding and marketing information. On-Hold messages are both cost-efficient and effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/19/2022 Under Promise And Over Deliver
Whatever business you are in greater success comes from building long-term relationships with your customers clients or patients. Never over promise and under deliver always try to do the opposite under promise and over deliver. Always be consistent for those help maintain the trust bond and the emotional tie which drives every business. Every message you share with your client base should focus on being coherent yet sound different. Carve out your own identity your own brand so your prospect and base can see the difference between you and others in your field. Maintain that identity when your phone rings and that caller is placed On-Hold (Remember according to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold). The very cost-effective and efficient Message On-Hold is a great way of keeping that emotional tie alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/18/2022 Branding For A Small Business
Branding is just as important for small businesses as it is for big names. Indeed many corporate brands try to look more like small firms in order to appeal to consumers that prefer to support independent brands. Even those of you who do MLM should consider branding yourself so you will stand out from the crowd. Branding is not just a logo or how the world sees your business. Branding actually defines your business to yourself. It also gives your team and those you want to sell your identity. One could call ‘Branding’ your business identity. Your brand must define the heart of your business; your business values not just its looks and a jingle. A Brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular Brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization. Most potential customers can see through spin and fluff. The benefits that a strategically defined brand can bring are the same as when people fall in love with each other that emotional connection. Since most sales are made on an emotional basis great branding leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. Make sure you brand differentiates you in the market place. Think of your brand as a person with values beliefs and purpose. Carry that brand message on everything you do from your printed literature to your advertising and your PR to your phone. One place where you can enforce your brand message effectively is when your phone rings and the caller is placed On-Hold. Advertising On-Hold works because you have a captive audience to your message and it’s non-threatening. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/15/2022 Empathy Is The Key
In one word, what would you think is of prime importance in sales? If you said “Empathy,” in my opinion, you are on the right track. Empathy is the intimate understanding of the feelings, thoughts, and motives of others. Being “Empathic” allows you to put yourself in the shoes of others. It allows you to feel as if you were that prospect or client. Stephen Covey says, "When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That's when you can get more creative in solving problems." Once that client or prospect senses you understand his or her feelings, they will open up more and share their desires and once you know their requirements, you can share a way to serve those requests. In my opinion, unless you develop empathy for your customers and you develop the skill of calling for and getting a favorable agreement that salespeople call consummation, you probably won't make it in selling. That prospect and or client should sense that you recognize and care about helping them solve their challenges, not that you are just looking for a sale. Remember, you must truly have confidence in the fact that you can satisfy the client’s or prospect's needs. You must understand the benefits, features, as well as the disadvantages of your product or service from your prospect's point of view; you must evaluate things on the client’s or prospect's measure of standards, not your own; you must realize what is important to the client or prospect. Your client or prospect must always be the featured performer of the show. And, that same “Empathy” holds true when they call your company and is placed On-Hold. Here you have the perfect opportunity to continue your marketing and branding message to a captive listener. You never want to break that emotional bond that you’ve created by having that caller listen to a radio, a series of beeps, or worst of all, silence. Statistics from AT&T have shown that by advertising On-Hold most businesses, either home-based or Fortune 500 Companies, show a 2 1/2% to 5% increase in sales and that 12% of the caller will take action on something they heard while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/14/2022 Consistency Of Your Brand Is Paramount To Success
Does everything you do say and have about your business connect or family to one another? Are all of your collateral materials (web stationery logo tagline mission statement cards postcards brochures elevator pitch newsletters letters project sheets resumes bios firm description etc.) coinciding with your brand and marketing messages? If they don’t you are giving your current clients and prospects mixed messages. Consistency of your brand and your brand promise is paramount to success. Create a mission statement that shows your reason for being and the value you provide to your customers as well as a memorable tagline that expresses who you are and what you do. Along with these also let HoldMasters create an On-Hold message that carries your marketing and branding message forward. Statistics from AT&T have shown that by advertising On-Hold most businesses either home-based or Fortune 500 Companies show a 2 2 1/2% to 5% increase in sales and that 12% of the caller will take action on something they heard while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philos5phy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/12/2022 Beliefs Of Excellence
If you think about it everything happens for a reason and a purpose; and it serves us. Have you ever noticed that all successful people have the incredible ability to focus on what’s possible in each situation? They think what positive results can come from this. Successful people seem to believe that every adversity contains the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. Think about it in your own life how many different ways could you react in any given situation? Remember that no matter how you feel (emotion) or what you do (action) you are only letting off steam (which has some benefits); however does it get you any closer to your desired goal or outcome? Probably not. What you must do is discipline yourself to be able to retrace your steps learn painful lessons mend fences and look to new possibilities. In other words do whatever it takes to get a positive outcome from what seemed negative results. Questions to ask yourself: do I generally expect things to work out well or poorly? Do I expect my best efforts to work out well or do I expect them to be stymied? Do I see the potential in a situation or do I see the roadblocks? Too many people focus on the negative rather than the positive even in goal setting they focus on what they don’t want as opposed to what they do want. Belief in limitations creates limited people. The key is to let go of those limitations and operate from a higher set of resources. See the impossible as possible. For example you can turn your phone into a cash register by just adding On-Hold Messages to your marketing and branding activity. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/11/2022 Paths To Success
To be successful in any part of life one needs to know what paths to take. First you need to know the outcome(s) you want. If you don’t know what you want how will you know you’ve gotten it? Second you must take action. Know what you have to do today tomorrow next week next month next year. Third keep tabs on your results. Have mini-goals along the way so that you’ll know you’re on the right path. Fourth be flexible. If you keep doing the same thing and not getting the outcome(s) you want change. These same concepts are true of beliefs. Are your beliefs supporting your outcomes? Are they getting you to where you want to go? If your beliefs don’t support your desired outcome(s) get rid of them and try something new. In my world of business many of my prospects didn’t see the value of On-Hold Messages plus they didn’t believe they put callers On-Hold. They discovered that AT&T statistics were correct and on average 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. If those numbers are correct then AT&T’s other statistics are accurate too; 60% of the callers will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is silence and another ten seconds if there is music (with On-Hold Messages they stay on the phone for four or more minutes) 12% will take action on something they heard while On-Hold (called up-selling) and best of all there is a 2 1/2% to 5% increase in sales with an On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/08/2022 Sales Is An Art Not A Science
Sales are not about what you sell it’s about making friends. If you make enough friends the sales will follow. Sales are the most important function of any business for without a sale zero business is done; this includes the professions as well. Remember you can only sell well if you are convinced that your product or service is valuable. When conversing about your product or service keep it simple and be clear and direct. Pressure is an art and may work if you are able to create fear uncertainty and doubt. One caveat; don’t rub it in to where you anger the prospect. No one is ever angered into a sale. As I’ve stated in previous blogs know your clients do your homework on the industry the company and the person. Make sure your presentation flows however know it well enough to shift gears if the energy changes. You the salesperson must show passion and excitement for these two qualities are contagious. When asked questions don’t guess be honest. Humor is a great gift and is a wonderful lubricator. Sales is an art not a science meaning you can always improve. You can improve on the way incoming calls are handled by having a custom On-Hold message by HoldMasters The On Hold Message System. Don’t put you business On-Hold with a radio station a series of beeps or silence when someone calls you and is placed On-Hold. Inform and entertain them with a cost efficient and effective On-Hold Message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/07/2022 Prospecting With Email
The old expression “Finding a needle in a haystack” is a lot like prospecting for sales yet prospecting is the lifeblood of all sales. In direct marketing they speak of a formula ‘AIDA’ (Attention Interest Desire and Action) so think of prospecting as the process of creating attention and interestâ€"enough interest to win a conversation to explore the subject area more deeply. I believe the goal of prospecting is to create interest and convert that interest into a conversation. When prospecting if you are only looking for prospects that are in the ‘Desire Phase’ (someone interested in solving a particular problem or purchasing a known type of product or service) or the ‘Action Phase’ (someone already in the process of searching for a solution to the problem) but if your approach is only to look for these people then you’re in for a number of rude awakenings. The prospect that is in the desire phase in all probability has someone in mind and the chance it’s you are remote. To prospect successfully you need to target the decision makers. Make yourself valuable to the prospect by stating how your product or service can improve their lives. Always work with the highest of integrity there is no need to use tricks or bend the truth. Remember it takes many contacts before you reach the right person therefore never stop. Many sales are made after the twelfth call and many a salesperson doesn’t follow up after two calls. Cold calling works well with both snail mail and email so use them. Remember should that prospect call you and is placed On-Hold it’s imperative to be professional there as well. Don’t subject the caller to a radio a series of beeps or silence when for s few dollars you may have HoldMasters The On-Hold Message system deliver informative and entertaining custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/06/2022 Keys to Successful Selling
What are the keys to being successful in sales? In simple terms selling is simply decision making and decisions are usually made via the emotions. As a salesperson your job is to be the travel agent taking your client or prospect on an emotional trip. To get someone to hand over his or her cash to you requires the emotional connect. If that client or prospect doesn’t have that emotional buy-in for your product or service chance are they will never sign on the dotted line. Remember people buy on feelings not facts; facts justify the feelings however the feelings drive the boat. Another key to successful selling is ‘Trust’. Your job as a salesperson is to get that client or prospect trusting you and you do this by building rapport. Rapport is getting other to like you. I remember reading that “people like people who are like them” and that is rapport. There are also a set of logical requirements that go into every deal although the final outcome will rest on how they feel. I believe that every buyer has a checklist of things they want and if your product and/or service can deliver on these wants both you and the buyer are happy campers. This rapport must continue in all phases of the relationship. You never want to break that emotional connection and too often it is broken when the client or prospect calls you and is placed On-Hold. If he or she is greeted with a radio a series of beeps or silence that emotional connection may be broken. You don’t need to let that happen. Let HoldMasters The On Hold Message System create a custom On-Hold message that keeps that emotional bond alive by continuing both your marketing and branding efforts. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/05/2022 Fear of Rejection Be Gone
Many salespeople dread using the phone to call clients and prospects for fear of rejection. I once read a book “Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway” for when you overcome that fear the rewards will put a smile on your face and jingle in your pockets. Your attitude will determine your future. I think of rejection as a failure and I don’t believe in failure. I substitute the word ‘Failure’ with the word ‘Learning” therefore I never fail I learn. Anytime you get rejected take a minute and replay what happened. Use that rejection as a learning tool. Once you fine-tune your phone approach you will see far better reception to your calls that in turn will add to your success. When making business calls consider making a professional greeting never jump into your sales story. You might consider being more formal by saying something like “Good morning (afternoon) Mr. Ms.” as opposed to a common “Hello”. Introduce yourself and your company without getting too specific. Know what the goal of your call is are you looking to sell your product or service or are you selling the idea of an appointment? Always thank the person for the time for taking your call and state the purpose of your call. I always like to have a face-to-face meeting even if it’s a teleconference so see if you can schedule one. Always give the a choice of time rather then ask ”When Can we meet?” By giving them a choice you are taking control. Constantly thank them for their time and for your upcoming appointment. And follow up with a ‘Thank You’ note and a conformation of the time. Should they need to call you keep that professionalism alive with an On-Hold message from HoldMasters The On Hold Message System. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/04/2022 Selling Tangible VS. An Intangible
What’s the difference between selling a tangible vs. and intangible? Both require effective communication and the ability to match that customer’s need. That said selling a product is different than selling a service and understanding the techniques that you need to use to be able to show the benefit(s) to the customer. In selling a tangible product you must ask questions that enable you to understand that customer/prospects need(s) and then you match your product to fill that need(s). With tangibles you promote the key features and attributes that point to the benefits. Often times with a tangible you have the opportunity to do a demonstration that in most cases is the best tool in your sales kit. With a intangible you have a little tougher sell for here you need to build a strong trust bond since that customer has nothing to see hear smell or taste. You need to convince him or her that the service's quality and your experience and personal dependability are worth paying for. One thing that can help ramp up the sales are testimonials since you haven’t a product to show. Testimonials are also very helpful in tangible sales as well however in service sales they are paramount. In either case follow up is always a must and so is an On-Hold message. The On-Hold message shows the client or prospect that you care enough to keep that trust bond alive and that marketing and branding message moving forward when they call in and are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/01/2022 Building A Trust Bond
A recent CBS News/New York Times poll asked “What percent of people in general are trustworthy?” The answer was stunning only 30%. That’s pretty dismal. When the same poll asked the question but change the question to “How many people do you know are trustworthy?” The answer changed dramatically to 70%. This shows me that when people get to know you and like you they then begin to trust you. Trust is a keyword when selling anything and that trust takes you away from being just another ‘Sales Rep’ to being a trusted ‘Advisor’. To build trust when you don’t have the solution for that client’s best interest tell them don’t sell them something that you know will not deliver the outcome that the prospect or client wants. Always give the unvarnished truth and let the prospect or client choose. Never misrepresent the FAB (features/advantages/benefits) of your product or service. Don’t over promise and under deliver. This prospect or client can refer you to others and I always feel that getting a referral is far better than ‘Cold Calling’. You can keep that ‘Trust Bond’ going even when you are not face to face with that prospect or client by having a custom On-Hold message on your phone system that carries both your marketing message (what you do) and your branding message (who you are). Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/01/1970 What is Your Brand Message
Many small business owners understand that branding is essential to their business but a surprisingly high number of them don't really know why. I believe the reason is that they don’t understand what “Branding” means. Some small business owners think a brand is their logo or their name; they are wrong. Branding is your promise. It is a way of defining your business to yourself your team and your clients or prospects. It’s your business identity but only on the understanding that it represents the core of what the business is and its values not just what it looks and sounds like. Consumers of all genera of businesses are so conversant that they can see through most attempts by companies to gloss spin or charm their way to sales. Remember marketing is “what you do” branding is “who you are”. Your brand should promote your business connect with your consumer base on an emotional level and distinguish you in the market. Branding doesn’t stop with the sales call. It continues with every contact. One place that very often is ignored is when a client or prospect calls your company and is placed On-Hold. The emotional connection to your brand can be broken if that caller is treated to silence a radio station music or a series of beeps. Not only are you wasting the caller’s time you are in effect wasting valuable marketing and branding time and could lose that caller and possible business forever. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/31/2022
March 31 2022: The Art Of Active Listening There is an art to active listening. Active listening is all about building rapport understanding and trust. Restating what you heard not by using that person’s words but through rewording in your own words what you heard starts that process of trust. If possible when you are paraphrasing see if you can create an emotional connection since most sales are made via emotions with facts justifying the emotional connection. Share your personal initial thoughts and appropriate information perceptions and understanding; then once again listen actively for the response. Putting feelings into words will often help a person to see things more objectively. When you validate a person’s challenges issues and feelings you are building that ‘trust bond’ that takes you a step away from a salesperson to a trusted advisor. Always ask probing questions that will draw out your prospect or client even more and show him or her that you really understand their business. When that prospect or client calls you make sure that you continue your marketing and branding with a custom On-Hold Message by HoldMasters the On Hold Message Company. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/29/2022 Building and Bonding
In previous blogs I have suggested you do your homework on both the industry you are calling on as well as learn as much as possible about the specific company and if possible the person you’ll be meeting with; all of this information could be available on the Internet. Now having this information you can create a list of questions to ask. You are now able to steer the conversation knowing the industry the specific business and the prospect. Your job is to actively listen not just speak endlessly about your product or service. If you are listening remember now your job is to build that relationship that bonds the client or prospect to you. The sales process doesn’t end with the sale; it’s just the beginning. You need to ask yourself some questions: How did it go? What worked? What didn’t work? Add to that your opportunity to continue the bonding when that person calls in and is placed On-Hold. Are they treated to additional branding information about your company as well as marketing information or are they greeted by silence a radio station cheesy music or a series of beeps? All the preceding “greetings” can cause a disruption in the bond of the emotional connection you worked so hard to build. Having a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters the On-Hold Message System can help eliminate call abandonment. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/28/2022 Sales Strategy
Purchasing decisions are constantly changing so it's important to continually reevaluate your sales strategy. Whatever you’re selling whether it’s a product or a service you have to find that perfect balance between being persuasive but not arrogant or annoying. This takes work and planning however once that sales strategy is in place you’ll find more deals are closing and isn’t that the goal? Item number one on your strategy is that your prospect or client must come first. Crucial to any sale is knowing who the decision-maker is for only that person can make the final decision to buy. Once with the prospect or client always be genuine. Show that person you’re with that you understand and care about their business not just closing the sale. Remember like a Boy Scout be prepared for any and all questions just simply don't act like you don't care about the customer's best interests. I love objections because they tell me that there is interest and if you answer the objection(s) to the prospect’s or client’s satisfaction usually you have a sale. Preparation is the key. Learn about the overall industry you’re speaking to as well as that particular company. Keep that sales strategy alive with a custom On-Hold message for when they call your company. Don’t allow that On-Hold time to be wasted with a series of beeps a radio cheesy music or worst yet silence. While the caller is captive you have the opportunity to solidify your sales strategy with information and courtesy. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/25/2022 People Love to Buy
Why people buy has nothing to do with your magical power to sway. No matter how you push coax or urge people buy because they want to buy. You have built an emotional connection and they need your product or service. People really love to buy and they love to be sold. I have found most people love to discover wonderful new products or services as well as new understandings. Once you get that emotional connection going to be successful you must keep it going with every interaction. One place where you may save that connection is when placing an incoming phone call On-Hold. If your On-Hold offers nothing but silence a radio or a series of beeps 60% (according to AT&T) of those callers will abandon the call within thirty seconds. This abandonment represents lost opportunities and lost revenue. You can solve that problem with a cost-effect and efficient On-Hold message from HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/24/2022 Keys to Persuasion
Intangible benefits are the keys to persuasion. How often are you moved to action by facts alone? Most people justify buying with facts however the decision is made emotionally. Decisions are usually made on a feeling of need or emotion not through a rational deliberation process. Most people we meet are egocentric and internally ask the question; “what’s in it for me”? Therefore it’s the salesperson’s task to be able to attach that emotional tie to that client or prospect. On a subconscious level you are asking the question; how does this reach my client or prospect on that deeper level? Since both clients and prospects are searching for value and value isn’t a fixed number but relative to what you are offering you must demonstrate the value that seems to be equal to or greater than the asking price. That emotional tie should never be broken. When that client or prospect calls your office from the way the phone is answered to what happens when placed On-Hold can mean the difference between a sale or call abandonment and no sale. Whether you are home-based or a Fortune 500 company On-Hold messages are both cost-efficient and effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/23/2022 It Isn’t The First Impression It’s Every Impression
It isn't just the first impression that counts. It's every impression that you make. Be consistent always. I always think about my impressions of the people I interact with within the business world. What makes me work with one vendor and not another? One attribute is their personality. Are they personable and do I want to speak with them? If I don’t how likely are they going to get a sale from me? Therefore it’s a top priority to establish a relationship with each client and new prospect. My suggestion is to know that person’s industry via the Internet and their business by going to their website. This affords you a knowledge base that enables you to speak as a trusted advisor not a salesperson. This shows that you understand the need(s) and you have a solution. You must nurture those relationships or just like dating if you take that date for granted they will eventually find a new date. If you learn something new about their industry connect with them. Another way to keep that ongoing great impression is via the phone. If they call you and are placed On-Hold make sure you have an On-Hold Message Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/22/2022 Changing Beliefs
From the moment we are born our sub-conscious mind is storing and stacking beliefs fed to us by outside sources from our parents to our friends. Add to this list teacher religious leaders government and society in general. These beliefs run our lives both personal and professional. The stronger the belief the harder it is to change. Some of these beliefs serve us and some don’t some are helpful and some are hurtful to ourselves and to others; yet to grow we must eliminate those that don’t serve us. One way is through learning. Knowledge is a powerful weapon in our growth as human beings. Once we have acquired the knowledge we must plan to eradicate that limiting belief. The decision must be strong like the old saying “if you want to take the island burn the boats.” This resolution is a must to grow. As we learn we must become open to change in thinking as well as the new technologies that are presented. From a business perspective regardless of the type of business you are in change is happening all around. If you are in business I’m sure you are not operating the same way you did last year or five years ago. What beliefs changed in your mind? There is however one constant in any business and that constant is getting your product or service to market. The ‘how’ might have changed but the ‘results’ haven’t if people don’t buy into your product or service and it isn’t desired by prospects you aren’t in business too long. Today marketing and branding are keywords to success. One cost-effective and efficient way is with an On-Hold message that people hear when they call you. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/21/2022 Using Technology
Whatever business you are in I’ll bet you use a computer and I would think a SmartPhone as well as other technological devices that make your business run more efficiently. I also believe almost every business has a website to attract new clients as well as communicate with established ones. It only makes sense to have professionals interact with you in all these areas. Too often I see a business that in some areas of their operation is still using last century’s technology. “WHY” I ask myself have they forgotten how to grow? Why are they complacent? If they have a website are they using the best SEO (search engine optimization)? If they offer a product or service are they selling or as I like to call it influencing or inspiring others? Growing in all areas of your life creates happiness. Too often smart businessmen and women see spending money on marketing equipment sales training as only an expense not as another step to achieve the growth to reach the aspired goals. Although getting today’s technology requires the writing of a check it usually ends up depositing more in the ROI account. Sales training costs money however lack of sales usually costs more. One area that is very cost-effective and efficient is getting an On-Hold message for your business. People placed On-Hold (according to AT&T on average 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold) are captive to what they hear. Too often those callers abandon the call and the business has a loss of a new client. On-Hold advertising not only keeps the emotional connection alive but it can also up-sell and cross-sell present clients while it keeps your marketing and branding message fresh in the caller’s mind. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/18/2022 Selling Is a Process
Too many salespeople are myopic and look only at the commission they make not at the prospects' needs. If you want to build trust and referrals as well as long-term relationships always offer that prospect what is needed not what makes you the bigger commission. In my opinion nobody cares about your product service or solution; all they care about is the difference you can make for their company to increase profit. Selling is a process not a race so take your time. Setting yourself up as a trusted advisor is far better than looking like a peddler. The price of admission to become an advisor is called ‘Pre-Call Research’. Research helps you capture the attention of the person whom you are calling by knowing something about their industry and their business. It is said that to break through to reach decision-makers might take up to ten contacts so don’t quit. Use various forms of contact voice mail email snail mail etc. Once you’ve gotten the attention and that prospect calls you make sure you continue being a trusted advisor by having an informative and entertaining On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/17/2022 Questions to Ask Yourself
What is the purpose of your next sales call? First of all do you know the prospect? Is he or she familiar with you your product or service or your company? Will this call be an education for them â€" or you? These are questions you need to ask yourself before you make that call so that you will be like a boy scout prepared. As you know there are many sales methods however preparation should be number one in each of them. My suggestions always start with education learning about the industry I’m calling on as well as knowing as much as possible about the organization and if possible the person I’m calling on. I believe this gives me a leg up on the salesperson that just shows up with his sales pitch. Preparation starts the emotional bonding and trust-building I want in order to build a business for that long haul. This preparation can change your image from a peddler of products or services to a trusted advisor a tag you’d love to own. I would suggest that as a business you should never vary from the educator. When someone calls into your business and is placed On-Hold (AT&T statistics say 70% of all incoming calls are placed ON-Hold) use that On-Hold time wisely with a custom On-Hold infomercial of your company and its products or services. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/16/2022 Be Seen As A Resource
How are you perceived? Remember perception is worth a thousand words. I like to be seen as a resource for my clients prospects friends and family. On a business level I always try and learn something new both personal and professional about my client. Many are the times it’s not a sales call just a keep connected call checking on how their business is going. The more you learn about that client the better your chance of maintaining that client over the long term and getting referrals. What you really are doing is building an emotional bond as well as a trust bond. These bonds are hard to get and easy to erase. As an example poor customer service can cause a client to change to another vendor. Placing a client that calls in On-Hold and having him or her be subjected to a radio music silence or a series of beeps can sever that connection. A very cost-effective and efficient On-Hold message can assuage that call and that client as well as possibly up-sell some additional product or service. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/14/2022 Keys to Persuasion
Intangible benefits are the keys to persuasion. How often are you moved to action by facts alone? Most people justify buying with facts however the decision is made emotionally. Decisions are usually made on a feeling of need or emotion not through a rational deliberation process. Most people we meet are egocentric and internally ask the question; “what’s in it for me”? Therefore it’s the salesperson's task to be able to attach that emotional tie to that client and/or prospect. On a subconscious level you are asking the question; how does this reach my client or prospect on that deeper level? Since both clients and prospects are searching for value and value isn’t a fixed number but relative to what you are offering you must demonstrate the value that seems to be equal to or greater than the asking price. That emotional tie should never be broken. When that client or prospect calls your office from the way the phone is answered to what happens when placed On-Hold can mean the difference between a sale or call abandonment and no sale. Whether you are home-based or a Fortune 500 company On-Hold messages are both cost-efficient and effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/11/2022 You Are Your Brand
What makes you different from your competition? Your “Brand” is the difference. There are lots of people doing the very same thing you do so why should a prospect choose you? If you are the least expensive then you’ve established your brand as cheap and who wants to do business with cheap? When one thinks of ‘cheap’ in my mind it means less quality. Less quality means poor everything from materials to customer service. That leads to possible problems with the product or service that means downtime for my business. Your ‘Brand’ defines who you are and what you stand for. Lots of advertising helps establish brand awareness but advertising costs money and there are zero guarantees it will work. What does work are personal contacts and referrals? Through personal contacts you can establish the emotional connection that solidifies a relationship ergo the sale. The most important is to keep that brand awareness in everything you do. That emotional level of trust must continue at every level in your business from the person answering the phone to billing to customer service. When a caller calls your number how he or she is treated can either enhance or diminish your brand image. One way to keep that image alive and thriving are with a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/10/2022 Listen Diagnose Prescribe
To be successful in sales there needs to be a relationship between the salesperson and the client or prospect on the level of the relationship between a doctor and patient. When you go in to see your doctor and he or she asks you about your symptoms you tell the truth. You trust that there will be an analysis of your problem and you will be prescribed the right medication. When the doctor says "This is what you have. Take these pills" you don’t say “Let me think about it” or “Can I get 20 percent off?” You take the medication. Being in sales should work the same way; listen diagnose and then prescribe. This is one way of building strong trust bonds with the client or prospect. That emotional connection should never be dropped. Too often when that client or prospect calls you are in danger of losing that connection. One way to keep that connection omnipresent is with an On-Hold Message from HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company On-Hold Messages is a very cost-efficient and cost-effective way of keeping that emotional tie alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/09/2022 86400 Seconds
Since a day has only 86400 seconds and you can’t store those seconds on a shelf it is imperative that you treasure every one of them. Some of those seconds are used for sleeping which is a very important activity some for family another significant action. Many of those precious seconds are used to earn you a living or a livelihood. Since they cannot be replaced you must use them wisely. In this blog I will focus on your income-producing seconds. One of those most important acts you can do each day prioritizes your daily activities. What is most important to do each day should be number one then go down and list numbers two three etc. If you just took five or ten minutes each day to plan you save time by not moving capriciously through your day. Another waste of time takes place when you receive an incoming call and that person is placed On-Hold. Having a radio playing a series of beeps music or silence wastes both your caller’s time as well as yours. You have the perfect environment to inform entertain and keep your marketing and branding message ongoing with a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/07/2022 Don’t Be Rude
I’m going to guess that no one reading this wants to be rude to most people especially if you are in a business that deals with the public at large. I would further guess that if you are in sales (and we all are in sales selling ourselves) your goal is to build good relationships with those you meet. Being somewhat presumptuous those of you who are decision-makers in any business want your representatives to reflect a very positive image of your business at all times. In my years of being a buyer as well as a seller I have never known anyone whose goal was to go out and misrepresent a product or a service; their goals have always been to establish a positive trusting relationship to connect with those they meet on an emotional level. Yet too often when people call into your business and are placed On-Hold (and according to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold) they are greeted with a radio silence music or a series of beeps. None of these keeps that emotional connection alive; in fact it breaks it and 60% of the time (again AT&T research) they abandon the call within thirty seconds. One cost-effective and efficient way to avoid ‘Call Abandonment’ is with an On-Hold Message from HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message System. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

3/05/2022 People Love to Buy
Why people buy has nothing to do with your magical power to sway. No matter how you push coax or urge people buy because they want to buy. You have built an emotional connection and they need your product or service. People really love to buy and they love to be sold. I have found most people love to discover wonderful new products or services as well as new understandings. Once you get that emotional connection going to be successful you must keep it going with every interaction. One place where you may sever that connection is when placing an incoming phone call On-Hold. If your On-Hold offers nothing but silence a radio music or a series of beeps 60% (according to AT&T) of those callers will abandon the call within thirty seconds. This abandonment represents lost opportunities and lost revenue. You can solve that problem with a cost effect and efficient On-Hold message from HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/01/1970 Effective Listening
In sales we speak about ‘Active Listening’ as a skill that helps to close sales. Listening is hard work! Effective listening is more than just a skill; it's also a matter of attitude. To be an effective listener you must accept people for who and what they are not what you want them to be. When you judge people you usually distort your ability to hear what they are saying and in a sales situation this can be the difference between getting a new client or keeping an established client. Active listening requires you to really listen not to be thinking of a retort or interrupting that person or finishing their sentence. To be a good active listener pay attention listen for ‘hot buttons’ recognize emotional messages stop other tasks and don’t allow interruptions. Since you are asking questions and actively listening for answers it’s a good idea to paraphrase so that your prospect or client knows that you understand and are listening. All of this adds to your marketing and branding efforts. It lets that prospect or client know you are there for them emotionally bonding with them. Another area of your business that continues your marketing and branding efforts is on your phones. When a prospect or client calls and is placed On-Hold do you continue with your marketing and branding? HoldMasters the On-Hold Message System creates custom On-Hold advertising that carries your marketing and branding messages to all callers so that when placed On-Hold there is more than a series of beeps a radio cheesy music or silence greeting the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/28/2022 Phone Information
Some information that people, in business need to know about is using their phones for the business. Your phone is a great tool for creating and holding business but there are things you need to know. When you are making outgoing calls, first you must practice speaking on the phone with a smile on your face. For years radio air personalities had a little mirror on the mike to remind them to smile. When you smile you sound more friendly, and after all isn’t that what you want to sound like? Second, be pleasant and speak up. Third, know what you want to say, not a script because people can sense you’re reading, but know the thoughts you want to convey. With incoming calls, although smiling and being pleasant still is very important, how you answer is equally important. The other day I called a new nightclub, and the phone was answered by someone who sounded like The Sopranos, “How ya doin’”. I’d say, funny and unusual, but not professional. Always answer your phone and sound very professional, you never know who is calling. Most people feel and think putting someone on-hold is not a good thing to do and I would agree if they had nothing on-hold or a radio. However, having a message on-hold messages that delivers information about your business is not only smart but also financially prudent. AT&T research tells us that there is a two-and-a-half percent to five percent increase in sales with an on-hold message. When there is nothing on-hold people feel like they have been disconnected and usually hang up in thirty seconds or less. With music or a radio station, they might stay on-hold for another 15 seconds. With an On-Hold message, they will stay on for four to five minutes. By the way, if you do play a radio station know that you must have a license from both ASCAP and BMI, the companies that collect royalties for artists and composers. If you don’t have that license you are in violation of federal copyright law. Also, your caller may hear a string of commercials maybe your competitions. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/25/2022 Keeping in Touch On The Emotional Level
Have you noticed that today’s businesses have lots of electronic gadgets? Computers smartphones tablets seem to have taken over every business. Texting has taken over calling; email is now king leaving ‘Snail Mail’ in its wake. Let us stop for a minute and think about what all these electronics do they help us communicate with each other faster and some might say better. To me I still like the phone. With the phone I can hear the voice tone and I can have an instant exchange of Q and A as well as ideas. With a text message I don’t know the tone of the person texting me. Are they smiling or frowning important to know as to the tone of my response? Also with the phone new avenues of ideas can spring up making available new opportunities for additional sales. The same is true when a business gets an incoming call. How is that caller treated? Since AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold it becomes very important what that caller hears while On-Hold. If all he or she is offered is silence a radio station or a series of beeps chances are again according to AT&T research they will abandon the call within thirty to forty-five seconds creating a lost opportunity for a new client/customer or to up-sell or cross-sell that client. One way to avoid this pitfall is to have a HoldMasters On-Hold message customized for your business. For very few dollars any business home-based or Fortune 500 can have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters that keeps that emotional bond intact. Based on AT&T research On-Hold messages have been shown to increase sales between 2Â1/2% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/23/2022 Attitude Determines Success
While great products can attract business your attitude determines whether customers buy from you or not. In sales you must make a commitment to first making sure you and your employees have a positive attitude before you focus on process or product. Your attitude will determine your altitude. Remember people buy for emotional reasons not facts; facts justify the emotion. The ability to be positive at all times is the one thing that will ensure you're a winner in the end. When you are positive people will find you irresistible. Here are some helpful suggestions that I've used in my life when I wanted to make sure I had a beaming positive attitude: First you must see the customer taking ownership before they do. The sale starts with you not with them. To do this is to talk in terms of when not if. Second find out what the buyer has done in the past this will result in understanding how your prospect makes decisions. Third think of every customer a million-dollar sale if you treat people like millionaires and they will act like millionaires. Nothing in your life will pay you more rewards than your ability to have and maintain a great attitude. People will remember you not for how much money you made or for your success but for how you handled life and made others feel. Your attitude and your ability to have a positive influence on the attitudes of others will affect not only your sales but every area of your life: your marriage kids health wealth and luck. You name it and a great attitude will affect it. To keep that attitude alive when they call you is to have a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/22/2022 On Being Successful in Sales
A surprising amount of people reading this blog are not going to be successful in sales because they’re not willing to work hard enough. They love automation. They love all these tools and bots and auto-replies and apps and services and startups and CRM’s that they think are going to solve the problem. The truth is sales are about people. You must build relationships first. Think of yourself as the customer and how would you react in other words be in the customer’s shoes. No app is going to teach you that. So how do you do it? I find ‘Networking’ a powerful activity. Different networking groups attract different members. Regardless of the group to be successful be active within the group and make sure you set up one on one meetings with your members and always come with at least one referral for a colleague. Don’t be shy. Ask existing clients for referrals. If you think about it you’ve built a relationship and have given great service shouldn’t that customer be willing to recommend you? Set aside some specific number of hours per week to make cold calls. Most salespeople hate this activity yet it is very important to build your pipeline of prospects. My suggestion is to make it a game to see how you can reach those decision-makers with a cold call. Once you have them have a great short (30 to 45 second) elevator speech ready to recite. If you are on an appointment get there a few minutes early and call on the business around the area not to make a sale to find who is the person you need to speak with and make an appointment. Sales is not an easy job but it is rewarding and fun. One way to make sales easier should a client or prospect call you is to have a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/21/2022 Do a Dive in Before You Take a Deep Dive In
The most important element in any aspect of life is preparation. Alexander Graham Bell said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success,” and that is true in every aspect of your life. In the business world as an entrepreneur, preparation is king. The decisions of what business to go into, who will be the target audience how will that business position itself in the industry and how do you plan to brand, market, and move the product or service to the target audience. Using a sports analogy planning for a contest you must know who your opponent is, what have they done in the past, and, if it's a team, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each of the players. The more you know, the better prepared. We need to remember the Boy Scout Motto, “Be Prepared”. If you are part of a sales team or a one-man show here are some suggestions. One way to boost your sales success: prepare, prepare, prepare. Follow a strict methodology when prepping for every engagement. Have a pre-call plan. Come to every meeting ready to provide new, relevant insight and impact decisions. Pre-call planning can look something like this: • Begin with the end in mind, what is the objective of this meeting; is it to discovery, a referral, or a signed contract? Those are different meetings. • Conduct thorough online research including a review of all meeting participant profiles. This can be done through Google or LinkedIn. Avoid allocating valuable meeting time to obvious insights you should acquire during a basic preparation cycle. • Because you did your research, now build effective, open-ended questions from a position of intelligence. And, if you have something to show always helps but keep it simple. • Be aware of the competitive landscape. If your ideas are good enough, differentiated enough, compelling enough that is where you spend the time. This is where you demonstrate an authentic, differentiated, and compelling position of value. •Your position of value is strengthened when it’s attached to money. Promising accelerated growth? Savings? How much? When? Can you prove your ability to deliver? Add some testimonials. Who else is achieving these results? • Get a commitment. A quality call ends with a shared commitment to advance. What are the next logical steps forward in the decision cycle? This approach can be applied to meetings that aren’t sales oriented. We waste too much valuable time in bad meetings that don’t make a difference. Every meeting deserves an agenda and outcome objective that should result in positive change and business improvement. Should you receive a call from the client or prospect always have a custom On-Hold message that keeps alive the emotional connection you have established. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/18/2022 The Need Is The Reason
When you are out in the field trying to generate business you must provide a need. The need is the reason to buy. Finding that reason to buy filling that specific need(s) is the quintessential purpose of sales itself. Without uncovering the need for your product/service you rarely have a sale. Finding that need is job number one of the salespersons and the way to find that need is by asking probing questions. This is the point in the sales process where effective listening skills take over. This is when you can show how your product and/or service can solve that specific need or needs. You then have the opportunity to show off the benefits of your product/service. When you show that you understand the need(s) that shows the customer that you have their best interest in mind. Now what happens after you leave that customer and he or she calls your office? Since AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold there is a good chance this customer/prospect will be placed On-Hold. Remember you have shown them that you understand their need(s) so they now feel an emotional connection to you and your company and they are placed On-Hold are you going to continue to keep that emotional connection or are you going to break the linking? Offering silence On-Hold a radio station music or a series of beeps is a sure way of severing that connection. A very cost-effective and efficient way is with a custom Message-On-Hold System from HoldMasters The On-Hold-Message Company. For very few dollars any business home-based or Fortune 500 can have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters that keeps that emotional bond intact and based on AT&T research can increase sales between 2Â1/2% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/17/2022 Keeping That Elusive Trust Bond
Presenting a professional image both in person and on the telephone is very important in any profession. Taking care of your clients or prospects over the telephone and making them feel well informed and appreciated is essential. Many a business will spend both time and money to get the phone to ring. As a representative of a business it’s your job to create that elusive trust bond; getting that emotional connection between you and your prospect or client is vital. Once you’ve gained that trust don’t lose it by breaking that emotional tie when they call in. If they are placed on a brief hold you need to enforce the emotional tie by continuing to inform and educate them about your company and your products. A very cost-effective and efficient way is with a custom Message-On-Hold System from HoldMasters The On-Hold-Message Company. For very few dollars any business home-based or Fortune 500 can have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters that keeps that emotional bond intact and based on AT&T research can increase sales between 2Â1/2% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/16/2022 Listen With The Intent To Understand
Stephen R. Covey said "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." Listening is a skill. It is said that God gave us two ears and one mouth meaning we should listen twice as much as we speak. If you are in sales (and everyone is in sales always needing to sell themselves) listening is the best skill you can develop and the most important. When you are in the speaking mode you are not in learning. When you are in the listening mode with the intent to understand you are then in learning. If you ask questions you must listen for the answer. In most cases the person with whom you are conversing will tell what you need to know to answer his or her need. Once you know the need(s) of that person and answer that need you are not selling you are assisting them in reaching their goals and solving their needs. Should that person call you must continue to answer those needs. One way is when that client or prospect is placed On-Hold (and 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold according to AT&T) if you have a HoldMasters custom On-Hold-Message that will not only educate but also inform that caller. By being a great listener you’ve created an emotional bond with them; don’t break that bond by offering silence a radio station music or a series of beeps when they call you. For very few dollars any business home-based or Fortune 500 can have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters that keeps that emotional bond intact and based on AT&T research can increase sales between 2Â1/2% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/15/2022 Keeping In Touch On The Emotional Level
Have you noticed that today’s businesses have lots of electronic gadgets? Computers smartphones tablets seem to have taken over every business. Texting has taken over calling; email is now king leaving ‘Snail Mail’ in its dust. Let us stop for a minute and think about what all these electronics do they help us communicate with each other faster and some might say better. I still like the phone. With the phone I can hear voice tone and I can have an instant exchange of Q and A as well as ideas. With a text message I don’t know the tone of the person texting me. Are they smiling or frowning important to know as to the tone of my response? Also with the phone new avenues of ideas can spring up making available new opportunities for additional sales. The same is true when a business gets an incoming call. How is that caller treated? Since AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold it becomes very important what that caller hears while On-Hold. If all he or she is offered in silence a radio station music or a series of beeps chance are again according to AT&T research they will abandon the call within thirty to forty-five seconds and a lost opportunity for a new client or to upsell and or cross-sell a current one. One way to avoid this pitfall is to have a HoldMasters On-Hold message customized for your business. For very few dollars any business home-based or Fortune 500 can have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters that keeps that emotional bond intact and based on AT&T research can increase sales between 2½% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/14/2022 Keeping Clients and Gaining New Ones
Back in time in the 1980s I thought I was hot-stuff I had a beeper. Remember those? Mine allowed the caller to leave about twenty seconds of a voice message just enough time to say their name and phone number. That beeper gave me the ability to give my clients great service. Then sometime during the 1990s I got my first cell phone the brick. It was huge and heavy and it allowed me to give my clients great service for they were always able to reach me for any reason at all. Over the years of selling either a product or a service I always felt that giving my customers or clients great service was paramount and it was and still is. What I also realized was that due to this great customer service I was establishing emotional bonds with those clients and giving them the ability to reach me anytime kept that bond strong. I learned that my competition couldn’t take my customer as long as I kept that emotional bond intact and that prospects were also attracted to my business and me through this emotional connection. In today’s sales world (and we all are selling something even if selling ourselves) we should never cut that bond. One way many a business cuts that bond is when they receive incoming calls and place that caller On-Hold where that caller is greeted with either silence a radio station music or a string of beeps. For very few dollars any business home-based or Fortune 500 can have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters that keeps that emotional bond intact and based on AT&T research can increase sales between 2½% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/10/2022 Success and You
Winston Churchill once said “Success is not final failure is not fatal: it’s the courage to continue that counts.” And Coach Don Shula said “Success is not forever and failure is not fatal”. So what does success mean to you? To me success is a conglomerate of having money finding love having great friends and family having fun and finding spiritual enlightenment along with finding that thing called internal contentment and learning to live in the moment. Having those things creates an aura around you that attracts people into your life like a magnet. Although this seems like a personal definition of success it really can carry into your business success attracting prospects to do business with you. Because of all the attributes listed above the successful business has created a brand image that gets that phone to ring. As a business you want to keep that brand image alive and one sure way it can be done is with an On-Hold Message system from HoldMasters The On-Hold Message company. For when your business is On-The-Line you don’t want to break that emotional tie by offering your caller’s silence irritating beep-beep-beep music or a radio station. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/09/2022 Keeping Your Emotional Connection Thriving
Those of us that sell products or services create a bond with our customers patients or client. We build trust bonds and in many cases become trusted advisors to that client or customer. That buyer and you the salesperson should have created an emotional connection. The way you build that trust is by listening and offering your product and service that helps that client build value in his or her business. Your goal should be to act as if their business were yours thinking about their success not your commission. As long as you keep that emotional connection alive that buyer will stay with you even if your cost might be a little higher than your competition. You never want to lose that emotional connection however when that client calls you and is placed On-Hold that emotional connection may be lost if he or she is placed On-Hold and is greeted with silence music beeps or a radio. For very few dollars you can create a custom On-Hold message that helps keep that connection flourishing and knowing that 12% of the people who are placed On-Hold take action with something they heard (AT&T statistic). Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/08/2022 The Success Procession
The procession of success is created via a series of little things. Those little things start with your daily rituals what you habitually do on a daily basis. The success I’m referring to is anything from your physical success health success and personal relationship success to your business success. If you think about it every area of success revolves around rituals. If you are not at peak condition in any area of your life look to your rituals. If you’re not getting what you want change them. Obviously if you’re not in peak physical condition look at your exercise regimen. If your health isn’t at its’ pinnacle look at your diet your personal relationships with friends and family check your communication skills and for business success it’s entwined with your basic rituals as well. What new ritual could you institute that will move you forward to all of your goals and dreams? In business I know some business owners are frustrated because although they are marketing and prospecting they are still not getting results. Some others are confused because although they have a great marketing plan still don’t think their customers and clients understand all that they do. Still others feel that there’s got to be a way to generate prospects without working so hard. If any of those sounds like you I help companies generate more top-line income without selling anything to anybody. It’s done with On-Hold Advertising using your HOLD BUTTON to generate income. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/07/2022 Prospecting With Email
If you are in sales and find prospecting to be the most difficult part of your job you are not alone. Over 40% of salespeople say this is the most taxing part of the sales process. 36% of those in sales say closing is the next most difficult with and qualifying at 22%. To be successful in sales prospecting is a must and you must practice it every day. If you use email to prospect know this only 24% of emails are open and the average person deletes 48% of the emails they receive each day. An interesting piece of information is that most prospects read their emails between 5 and 6 am so get them out early. What helps to get them open is the subject line. Effective words like “Demo Opportunity Apply” can get those prospects to open your email. BTW an all-caps subject line hurts responses by about 30% and messages are written at a third-grade reading level are 36% more likely to get a reply than those written at a college-level reading. Keep your message brief between 50 to 125 words. Statistics show that the more you write the less likely you’ll get a response. Always ask one to three questions because you are 50% more liable to get a response than if you just shared information. If you get that prospect to call you it is important for that phone call to be handled in a winning way from the person who answers the phone to the On-Hold feature. Every step of the way must engage the caller and continue both your marketing and branding message. That is where a custom message On-Hold comes in. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/04/2022 Selling Is Both An Art And A Science
Selling is both an art and science in my opinion. Selling today any product or service requires you the salesperson not only to know on an intimate level your own product or service but a full understanding of the industry you represent plus knowledge of the prospect’s or client’s business. There are zero tricks to win an account other than knowledge and knowledge is not a trick. Many salespeople call on a varied number of industries to which they offer their products or service. If a sale is to be made the smart salesperson spends a few minutes researching that prospect’s industry as well as that prospect’s business; thank you Internet. You the salesperson represent your company’s brand image as you make your calls. Your job number one is to get that prospect or client to like both you and the brand you represent. If you are successful you have a happy client and you’ve made your commission. But now what happens when that client calls your office and is placed On-Hold? What do they hear; silence or a radio? Why waste their time and your opportunity to up-sell them? A custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters can inform as well as entertain your client. According to AT&T research 12% of callers purchase something they heard about while On-Hold and there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with On-Hold Advertising. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/03/2022 The First Thing You May Hear
An On-Hold message may be the first thing a potential or current client may hear when calling your company therefore it is incumbent on you to have a message that continues both your marketing and branding information. Nothing can be more off-putting than hearing nothing but silence or some radio station playing music that the caller doesn’t like or a series of commercials maybe even the competitions while On-Hold. You and your team work very hard in getting that phone to ring don’t blow it by breaking the emotional bond you’ve built by the rudeness of silence or a radio. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and that 60% will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is silence and maybe hang in there for another fifteen seconds if there’s music however they will stay on for four or more minutes if there is information. How many clients may you have lost because they abandoned the call? How many dollars could that be? AT&T statistics says that 12% of buyers On-Hold buy something they just heard about and with On-Hold messages there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/03/2022 The First Thing You May Hear
An On-Hold message may be the first thing a potential or current client may hear when calling your company therefore it is incumbent on you to have a message that continues both your marketing and branding information. Nothing can be more off-putting than hearing nothing but silence or some radio station playing music that the caller doesn’t like or a series of commercials maybe even the competitions while On-Hold. You and your team work very hard in getting that phone to ring don’t blow it by breaking the emotional bond you’ve built by the rudeness of silence or a radio. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and that 60% will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is silence and maybe hang in there for another fifteen seconds if there’s music however they will stay on for four or more minutes if there is information. How many clients may you have lost because they abandoned the call? How many dollars could that be? AT&T statistics says that 12% of buyers On-Hold buy something they just heard about and with On-Hold messages there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/02/2022 It’s Not Magic
Why do people buy? It’s not magic. You don’t cast a spell over them. Sure you can push entice urge but you really can’t force a sale. People buy what they want or need therefore your job in sales is to show that buyer how your product or service answers that need or needs. I believe people like to be sold products or services that help them reach their goals. They don’t like to be tricked or cheated. In place of being a “Salesperson” become a “Help-Person” helping that buyer reach his or her goals by offering great products or services. When a buyer calls your business and is placed On-Hold make sure you continue being helpful by reassuring the caller about your products or services. Mention different products or services that you offer (AT&T statistics says that 12% of buyers On-Hold buy something they just heard about) and with On-Hold advertising there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

2/01/2022 Buying Decisions Are Made Emotionally
People make buying decisions emotionally. Most buying decisions are based on a feeling need or emotion seldom if ever through a logical thought process. For the reasons just stated intangibles are the key to persuasion. You might justify your decision with facts but it was your emotional connection that made the sale. Remember every buyer thinks “What’s in it for me” therefore every person selling a product or service must communicate the thought of how your product or service makes the buyer feel his or her personal worth. Remember value is not a fixed number it’s relative to what you are selling what the competition charges what the buyer usually pays what the buyer sees as the difference between your product or service. It is up to the salesperson to demonstrate the value to justify the price. Since decisions are made emotionally to be successful you should never break that emotional bond. One way is when that buyer calls your business have a custom On-Hold–Message that maintains the emotional connection. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/31/2022 Meeting The Needs Of Clients/Prospects
Today gaining new customers and retaining them requires a diverse marketing approach. Whether you are using television radio print Facebook e-mails Twitter your company’s website or a combination of methods it all boils down to getting the phone to ring. When it does what happens when a new prospect or repeat client is put On-Hold can make all the difference. Why? Because the rapport that has been established between the customer your company’s brand message and your representative is broken when they are put On-Hold and hear nothing but silence or radio playing some kind of music. Suddenly their needs are not being met. What you do can mean the difference between a client/prospect eager to speak with you or one who hangs up and has become negative. Prospects equate leaving them in silence with not caring about them. Music can be a frivolous annoyance and waste of time however having a HoldMasters On-Hold-Message program provides callers with relevant information regarding your business and the nature of their call. It should be a vital part of your existing advertising and marketing strategies that turns the disadvantages of being placed On-Hold into branding and marketing advantages. New and existing customers who hear targeted and compelling messages about you are more apt to like you as a company and want to do business with you than customers left in On-Hold limbo. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/28/2022 Sales Tools
Sales tools are very important if you want to make sales. The follow-up to the sales process is just as important. One of the most important tools is “Patience” which lets customers decide at their own speed. Realize that nobody ever got a plant to grow faster by pulling at the leaves of a seedling. Remember if you get frustrated because it’s taking too long the prospect will or may sense your frustration and hesitate to buy. The second tool in your toolkit needs to be “Commitment” to both your success as well as your prospects. If you give up you might have quit just when the prospect was ready. A third tool is “Learning”. On a daily basis make sure you learn something new about your product or service and the industry you serve. The fourth tool is “Enthusiasm” for it’s contagious. If you are enthusiastic about your product or service your prospect will pick up on it. Five; operate out of “Integrity”. Customers and clients sense honesty. Since the world is always in a constant state of change you must be “Malleable”. You can observe what's working and what's not and change your approach to match changing circumstances. If you lack flexibility you'll pursue brittle strategies and tactics long after they've ceased to work. Six under promise and overdeliver. And. as I mentioned follow-up when someone calls your business an On-Hold message from HoldMasters keeps the marketing and branding message current. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/27/2022 Building Your Pipeline
Building a pipeline of prospects should be the goal of every business, especially the sales force. How you do it can take many forms. For most businesses, the best lead generation strategy is to focus on getting repeat business and referrals from the customers you've already won. Besides, offering great service, provide loyal clients an added incentive to come back, such as 10 or 20 percent off their next purchase. Similarly, get them to refer their friends, family, and colleagues by including friends and family coupons with their order. And don’t hesitate to ask clients to refer you to their friends, family, and colleagues. If you don’t ask, you don’t get it. Getting these warm referrals opens many new doors plus, those referrals may also give you a referral. This is a great way to build that pipeline of prospects. Creating useful information through e-books or blogs makes potential clients trust your brand. The use of a webinar or live chat also builds an audience for your product or service. Here you might target similar businesses that may be facing similar challenges. Another way to attract potential customers or clients is to conduct a Twitter Chat or create a Google Hangout on a topic that connects with the needs of your target audience. Show that audience you understand their needs, how you approach a solution, and the benefits of that solution. Remember when conducting a live Twitter Chat or Google Hangout, it’s also important to respond to questions promptly and provide participants with contact information, where they can get in touch with you or learn more after the Chat or Hangout is over. LinkedIn can be a great way to find potential customers, if you know what, as well as who, to look for. LinkedIn groups are another source of leads. Join groups most relevant to your business, or where you are most likely to find people interested in your product, service, or expertise. Then participate in group discussions by being a resource, sharing best practices and knowledge gained from experience. Always follow up with people who’ve made interesting comments on your posts or related posts with personalized emails and schedule a call or coffee to connect and build the relationship. Rather than throwing money at advertising, SEO, and other services, invest invaluable, engaging content and distribute it via social media sites, such as Facebook. Having a company Facebook page and providing fun, helpful or informative content of interest to potential and existing customers is a great way for business owners to build credibility, nurture customer relationships and increase marketing ROI.” Video content can be a shot in the arm for email and demand generation strategies, and some studies have shown that simply including the word ‘video’ in an email subject line can increase click-through rates by more than 7 percent. If you are a new business looking for certain types of customers or an existing business launching a new product or service and looking to find potential buyers, buying third-party validated data, also known as lists, can be a good option. Once they call you, how that call is handled can be the measure of success. Does the person answer the phone have knowledge of your product or service? Do they know where to direct the call? Should that caller be placed On-Hold, do you have a custom message that not only engages the caller but continues both your marketing and branding plan. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/26/2022 The Silent Language
It’s been called the invisible or silent language because it operates mostly outside the focus of our conscious mind it’s called “Body Language”. According to research we establish develop and maintain relationships through this silent language. Body language is vital to crystal clear communication; the way we deliver a message accounts for 93% of its meaning. In the ladder of meaning body language is the top rung hence a reason to master this skill. It’s been said that “The eyes are more exact witnesses than the ears.” Research has found that 65 to 90 percent of a conversation is interpreted through body language. Since people react more to what they think we meant rather than to our exact words it only makes sense that we augment our communication with others by becoming conscious of our body language and the way we say things. We must make sure that the silent signals we are transmitting are communicating the message we want. Since in communication words are only 7 percent and body language is 55 percent the other 38 percent is your voice. How you use your voice in person or on the phone is a key factor to the success of any interaction. Some voices sing glow and dance while others may be rich and resonant and still others are vigorous vibrant animated and dynamic how you say the words often matter more than the words themselves. Your tonality is more important than the words themselves. Communication when you are not there in person relies on your voice as well as the message. Keeping callers engaged is key to successful phone sales and should you place that caller On-Hold a custom On-Hold message will engross that caller as well as keep both your marketing and branding message alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/25/2022 How You Think Determines Your Outcomes
Getting into shape to be your best is the mantra of athletes that are contestants in sporting events. Shouldn’t that be the same mindset in business as well? Whether you are a manufacturer of products writing new code for the digital world advocates and advisors for health or law or the sales professional bringing goods and services to the marketplace you must be at peak performance status. In order to do that one must be not only physically fit but mentally emotionally and spiritually fit as well. In order to accomplish this one must create the self-talk that brings you to this peak state. Remember the old saying “If you think you can or think you can’t you’re right” plays into your mindset. How you think determines your outcomes. Several things a person can do are exercise the body daily by taking at least a walk for twenty to thirty minutes. Exercise the mind by reading a book watching a video or going to a seminar. Professionals in all fields all take continuing education courses; why don’t salespeople? There is so much more to selling than product knowledge and a song and dance around it. Getting into rapport is more than finding areas of commonality. Salespeople in order to be successful must understand the psychology of selling in order to get the outcomes they want. One time-tested way to keep the rapport going and deal with the psychology of the client is with On-Hold Advertising. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/24/2022 What Is Your USP?
What is a unique selling proposition (USP) and why it’s so valuable, and do you have one? A USP is a summary of what makes your business unique and valuable to your target market. The question it answers is how your business services benefit your clients better than anyone else is able to do. A USP can give a great deal of clarity to your business model, what your company does and why you do it. It can define your business and most important business goals in just a sentence. USPs can be used as a company slogan and should be incorporated into all of your marketing activities. USPs can be used as a company slogan and should be incorporated into all of your marketing activities. To create a USP you need to know who you are targeting, and you want to be as specific as possible. Then, what is the individual need or challenge they face that your business can solve for them? After this, list several of the biggest benefits a client gets from choosing to work with you that they could not get from someone else (i.e., what sets you apart from your competition). Remember to always define your promise or pledge to your clients. While this can be implied instead of spelled out in your USP, write down this promise you make to your clients in this step. Finally, take all of the information you listed and combine it into one paragraph. There should be some recurring ideas and thoughts, so you’ll want to start merging statements and rewriting in a way that flows and makes sense and condense it even more into just a sentence. You want your final USP to be as specific and simple as possible. A strong USP provides a solid foundation for differentiating your product and giving you a leg up on the competition. The following are some famous USPs that have worked well to promote products and services successfully. "It's the real thing", "Coca-Cola... real", "America's real choice", "Make it real". By using the word real as its USP Coca-Cola is communicating it was the first, the original cola-drink and all others are copies and therefore not as good. The USP of Starbucks is a relatively simple one: “premium coffee” never saying it’s the cheapest coffee in town, but by offering their own style of an enriched upscale coffee experience. Avis said, “We're number two. We try harder”. M&M’s said, “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” And who says, “15 minutes could save you 15% on car insurance?” Creating a USP can be achieved by asking two important questions: What do your customers want? What does your company do that no other companies appear to do? You can continue your USP even when your company puts a caller On-Hold with a custom On-Hold message by HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/21/2022 The Psychology of Selling
If you want to get results when selling your product or service, there are some don’ts you need to be aware of. First, drop the enthusiasm. Your prospects hate enthusiasm because it doesn’t seem real. What if I came up to you at a networking event and introduced myself with a huge grin on my face, cheerfully yelling, “Hey there! Alan Rock! How are you doing today?!” You would immediately want to run the other way. You don’t need to be an expert in the psychology of selling to understand why. There is actually a psychological reason that you would want to run the other way. A psychological phenomenon says that anytime we clearly try to forcefully push someone in one direction, they will naturally resist and try to go in the other direction. They’ll push back or pull back—or just drop everything and run. So, stop the enthusiasm, and just be real and genuine instead. Stop pitching. Recent sales data shows that one of the biggest reasons that prospects and buyers don’t ultimately choose to do business with a salesperson is that they felt the salesperson didn’t really understand their needs. This is purely the psychology of selling: prospects are feeling like you don’t understand them due to the way you are speaking and behaving around them. And you don’t even realize it!

This isn’t surprising, since most salespeople jump right into a pitch when they first meet a prospect. They haven’t even done the proper discovery to understand what’s really going on in the prospect’s world. At the end of the day, what your prospects really want is to be engaged in a conversation about what’s important to them. What do their challenges look like? What disruptive changes are they facing in their industry? Once you talk to prospects about the issues they’re currently facing, then you can decide if they’re a fit for what you sell—but not before that.

Once you decide the prospect is a fit, it’s presentation time—not time to pitch your solution. Instead, think of it as a doctor-patient conversation. Diagnose what’s wrong with the prospect and then, once you have a full understanding of their challenges and needs, present only the solution that will solve their problems. Never, ever apply pressure to your prospects in a selling situation. This is Psychology of Selling 101. It’s a huge Bozo no-no and here’s why: Not only is it supremely unhelpful in gaining a prospect’s trust, but it’s also likely to kill the sale completely. We want to remove all pressure from the selling situation. Instead of trying to persuade the prospect to tell us yes, we want to take a step back. When we push someone to do something, they’ll immediately pull back. So don’t push. Remember, it’s all about them, not about you. Prospects listen to one radio station, and that one radio station is WIIFM.” Now, do you know what WIIFM stands for? What’s in it for me. Prospects ask themselves the same two questions in every situation with a salesperson: 1. Is this conversation going to be worth my time? 2. Is this salesperson’s solution going to actually help me solve a problem that I care about? If they can’t answer affirmatively to either or both of those questions, then you’re in trouble. You must make the conversation about them, understand their concerns, ask questions about their challenges, and address the things they care about. Should that prospect call have a custom On-Hold message that continues your sales process. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/20/2022 Technology And You
Technology is working for you every day. I assume almost every business has a computer. Many Americans shop online and use the Internet to gather information. Digital marketing overtook television advertising for the first time in 2016 — and brands will continue to invest money in digital formats. By the year 2021 TV ad spending made up less than a third of all marketing budgets. Digital on the other hand will account for over half of ad budgets. As TV viewership plummets — millennials in particular went from watching around 2 hours and 10 minutes of TV per day during the second quarter of 2016 to around 1 hour and 49 minutes during the second quarter of 2017 — companies are finally changing the channel. The vast majority of Americans – 96% – now own a cellphone of some kind. The share of Americans that own smartphones are now 91% up from just 35% in Pew Research Center's first survey of smartphone ownership conducted in 2011. A new study released by the 'Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project finds that for the first time a majority of Americans nearly 91% of adults own smartphones (that’s up from 35% in spring of 2011) and for many these devices are a key entry point to the online world. A very small percent have mobile phones that aren't smartphones with 4% owning no cell phone at all. With all of this technology yet many businesses are still putting people On-Hold with nothing but silence or radio to greet them not realizing that 60% of those callers will hang up within thirty to forty-five seconds (AT&T statistic) to be lost maybe forever. There is an answer HoldMasters. HoldMasters creates custom On-Hold Advertising that informs and entertains your callers while On-Hold. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/19/2022 On-Hold Marketing Works and Here’s Why
Did you know that 94% of all marketing budgets (up from 80%) are spent to induce a customer to call and only 6% is spent when that call is received (Source: The Inbound Telephone Call Center)? And MaxiMarketing shares with us that one in five callers will make a purchase based on an offer they heard while On-Hold and nine out of ten callers prefer On-Hold messages to other options silence music or radio. According to USA Today executives wait 68 hours a year On-Hold. Better Business Marketing research shows that On-Hold advertising reduces caller abandonment by almost 90%. With this kind of information why wouldn’t any business want to have an On-Hold message? Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/18/2022 Physiology A Huge Key To Success
Your physiology is the key to your success. The way all parts of your body function determine your physiology. Remember in communication only 7% are words 38% voice (tonality) and 55% is body language (breathing facial expressions gestures posture) your physiology. When you combine your physiology with focus and self-talk you establish emotions and behaviors that lead to positive results. Your self-talk can create new strategies that enable you to create new rituals and habits. Physiology is nonverbal communication that will guide you to influence others. People’s physiology is usually very subtle and outside of conscious awareness. When we remember that people tend to like people who are like themselves we learn that matching and mirroring the most unconscious elements of their behavior leads to better communication and rapport. By matching and mirroring their words tonality and physiology are the keys to making us more like them. All of us might consider creating an acute awareness about ourselves and our own physiology and the sensitivity to tune into other people. If you are astute enough to realize the value of On-Hold Messages how do they enable you to keep the basics marketing and branding of your product or service to a captive audience? Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/17/2022 Winning Strategy
Do you have a winning strategy? Your strategy should help you seize the brass ring in whatever you do. A strategy is a special way of organizing your resources in order to get consistently the results you want. Your personal strategy should always be getting you into the best state of mind before you do whatever you do. First try to understand your beliefs. Are they getting you closer to your goals or further away? If they are directing you away change your story. You believe what you think so change your thinking. The stories you tell yourself can change with a simple change of habits and rituals. Think for a moment of the rituals and habits you have. I’m sure many benefits you. Now think of those that don’t. What stops you from stopping negative rituals and habits that don’t advance you? To my way of thinking it’s FEAR. Fear to me is; False Emotions Appearing Real. Most of the time those fears are unfounded fake bogus; and with a slight shift in your thinking you can start to change your story or your beliefs that then becomes your strategy. One belief that many people tell me is that they never put anyone On-Hold yet research from many sources like AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. If that’s their belief they don’t realize that they are losing business every day week month and year. AT&T research tells us that there is a 2 1/2% to 5% increase in sales with On-Hold Messages in place. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/14/2022 How You Think Determines Your Outcomes
Getting into shape to be your best is the mantra of athletes that are contestants in sporting events. Shouldn’t that be the same mindset in business as well? Whether you are a manufacture of products writing new code for the digital world advocates and advisors for health or law or the sales professional bringing goods and services to the marketplace you must be at peak performance status. In order to do that one must be not only physically fit but mentally emotionally and spiritually fit as well. In order to accomplish this one must create the self-talk that brings you to this peak state. Remember the old saying “If you think you can or think you can’t you’re right” plays into your mindset. How you think determines your outcomes. Several things a person can do are exercise the body daily by taking at least a walk for twenty to thirty minutes. Exercise the mind by reading a book watching a video or going to a seminar. Professionals in all fields all take continuing education courses; why don’t salespeople? There is so much more to selling than product knowledge and a song and dance around it. Getting into rapport is more than finding areas of commonality. Salespeople in order to be successful must understand the psychology of selling in order to get the outcomes they want. One-time tested way to keep the rapport going and deal with the psychology of the client is with On-Hold Advertising. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/13/2022 Emotional Goal Setting
What makes any business move forward? The simple answer is more sales more patients or more clients. The question really is how do you acquire them? One sure way is to make sure you set goals with incremental steps to achieving them. One thing that I truly believe about goals is that they must be emotional. Just saying “I will make “X” number of calls each day is a start but what emotion is attached to it. We all purchase things via the emotional trail and we should be selling along that same path. You sell your product or service with emotion (or at least you should be) so why not sell yourself emotionally on the goals you set for yourself? How about a goal of “I will make “X’ number of calls every day in order to move closer to the goal of my trip to Paris”. If you are emotionally connected to that trip that emotion will drive you toward that goal. When setting your goals always put an emotional charge on it it’s the fuel to move you. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/12/2022 Little Things Mean A Lot
If you are old enough to remember a vocalist named Kitty Kallan who had a big pop hit on the radio back in 1953 with the song “Little Things Mean A Lot” how wise were those lyrics and how they mesh with doing business today. If you are in business today in many cases buyers know more or at least as much about your products and services as your representatives. Therefore it is incumbent upon you to do the “Little Things” that make that buyer want to work with you. One of those little things is to understand that person’s business. Know what challenges the industry in general faces and with the help of the Internet that specific company as well. If possible research the person with whom you are meeting; the more you know the easier and better the rapport. A little thing like a hand-written note not email or text thanking the buyer for his or her time his or her trust or his or her business goes a long way toward building relationships and sales of any consequence are built on relationships. Another “Little Thing” is being on time. Never be late. As the great football coach Vince Lombardy use to stress when you’re fifteen minutes early you are right on time. Another “Little Thing” is the ‘Hold’ button on your phone. When people call you and are placed On-Hold treat them with respect courtesy and information not silence or a radio station playing the latest pop tune. A CNN survey's findings show that 70 percent of callers who are on hold in silence hang up within 30 seconds; of them 35 percent won't call back. Some callers hearing nothing think they were hung up on while others become more frustrated by the wait. A North American Telecommunications Association study found that callers who had information to listen to remain on hold for up to four minutes or longer. On-Hold messages allow a company to market to the caller while keeping him or her on the line. Since 1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/12/2022 Make Others Feel Good
Did you know that when you focus on others rather than on yourself, you make a positive difference in two lives—yours and the person with whom you interact? Everyone seems to have habits that bug others (yours and mine) and they can have a damaging effect on our reputations. When you do things that make others feel good the results are quite the opposite. In the home, it will bind your family members closer together, turning your house into a happy home. In the workplace, making your co-workers feel good will enhance the work environment, making it more enjoyable; it will also increase your influence with them. In your business, making your clients and customers feel good will draw them closer to you; it will also increase your sales and usually creates long-term relationships. When you make others feel good you improve their self-image giving them optimism, drive, and belief. In business and in sales you must listen thoughtfully. Focus on listening, not just hearing. When you are a focused listener, people recognize your care and concern and are reassured that their feelings and experiences are confirmed. Always show genuine interest. Ask about something important to them and concentrate on what they have to say. Remembering and commenting on their hobbies, sports, vacations, family, or business opportunities later will prove that you have a sincere interest in their lives. A simple smile never goes out of style, so, smile often. Smiles mean different things to different people; for some, it can brighten their day and they will welcome the fact that you made the effort to recognize them. The above involves when you see others in person.; what about when they call you? According to statistics from AT&T, there is a 70 percent chance the caller will be placed on hold; what can you do to make that caller feel good? You can have a cost-effective and efficient custom message on hold that not only engages the caller, it also carries both your marketing and branding message forward. It both entertains and informs as it reassures the caller that they have made the right choice to do business with you. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/11/2022 Let’s Get Emotional
All human beings are connected by emotions. Emotions drive us. No matter what background, creed, or race we are from, the emotional response under certain situations from a human being will be the same. This lays the underpinning of something very important for a business that markets its product or service. If you, as the marketer, can choreograph your efforts in a way to yield an emotional response from the user, you can easily influence their buying behavior. There are four basic types of emotions to explore. Here is how can they impact the user’s behavior. The first emotion is HAPPINESS and proves to be the biggest driver of likes, shares, and revenues in business. If we look at the YouTube data from Google, we get to know that for every ‘dislike’, you get 10 ‘likes’ on YouTube. This clearly indicates that if something makes people happy, they tend to share the source of happiness with others. Businesses that have used it get positive results and more sales. The second emotion is SADNESS and is the strongest of all human emotions. Science says that the feeling of sadness stimulates the brain to produce oxytocin, which is also called the stress hormone. Now the good thing about the release of oxytocin is that it induces feelings of responsiveness and connectivity. Therefore, if your marketing campaign is targeted towards stimulating the feeling of sadness, then it can easily work as the first step to get people to connect with your brands. The third emotion is ANGER/INSULT. How can a feeling of anger be used to market your brand? It is not the feeling of anger that makes a campaign successful. It is the response to the feeling of anger that does the job. Most normal people who feel anxious at social biases easily relate themselves with brands that feature those issues in their marketing campaigns. This burst of anger can work positively towards the success of not just your marketing campaign, but for your business provided you can justify how your brand supports the case beyond just an advertisement. FEAR is the fourth of the basic emotions that not only affects all human beings but all living beings. Bringing about the feeling of fear in the consumers first, and then letting them know how your product or service can prevent those serious things from happening to them is a tried and tested emotional marketing attention grabber that has worked for many small as well as large brands. Encouraging the feeling of ‘freedom from fear’ can motivate the client or prospect to not just identify your brand and connect with it, but to take action and become a consistent consumer of your brand as well. You can keep this emotional connection alive should your customer call you with the use of On-Hold advertising. A cost-efficient and effective On-Hold message keeps both your branding and marketing message alive all the while engaging the caller and preventing call abandonment. Since 1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects while engaging and informing the caller. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/07/2022 What’s In It For Me
“What’s in it for me” is the normal mantra most prospects have when greeted by someone in sales and everyone is selling something. “What will your product or service do for me how will it help relieve my challenges my pain” is the question that most prospects or clients have on their minds before they buy. The job of the seller is to show a benefit. Show that prospect or client how the product or service will benefit them. The doctor shows how their service will improve health; the lawyer shares how he or she will protect your rights; the CPA keeps you knowledgeable on how your business is doing and your tax liability. Those of us non-professional salespeople show the prospect or client how our product or service will help them make or save money. For example in my business On-Hold-Messages we make you money by preventing call abandonment (those are people that hang up on you once placed On-Hold) since there is either silence or a radio playing. These are potential customers who in many cases move on to a competitor because they feel ignored. We also make you money with the message because we not only upsell products or services we also maintain your marketing and branding image while that person is Holding-On informing as well as entertaining them. AT&T’s research supports this by telling us there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with a Message-On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/06/2022 Reaching 100% of Your Incoming Calls
Do you know that Advertising-On-Hold is a phenomenal way to reach 100% of your incoming callers? Someone calls to ask a simple question could hear about all the products and services you offer while they are On-Hold and make the decision to do business with your company. That is why AT&T tells us that 12% of the people that call in will buy something they heard while On-Hold and that over all there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when Advertising–On-Hold is employed. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/05/2022 Piquing The Curiosity
Have you piqued the curiosity of your potential client or customer enough to get them to want more information? That’s what your “Elevator Speech” should be designed to do. As a matter of fact that’s what all your marketing and advertising should do create additional curiosity. Add to that your ‘Branding’ of you and your business; that should be as big as your marketing effort; remember your marketing tells your audience what you do and your branding tells them who you are. If that potential client or customer doesn’t like you it’s usually goodbye to the sale. When you are with that prospect you can answer those questions that aroused their interest in the first place but what happens if you are not there when they call you? Does the On-Hold function of your phone continue your marketing and branding efforts or do those efforts stop cold? Thanks to a technology called “On-Hold- Marketing” you can now carry both your marketing and branding information to every incoming caller at a very reasonable cost. Since 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold (AT&T Statistic) it seems like a no-brainer to utilize your On-Hold to maintain your marketing and branding endeavors. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/04/2022 AnAny Plans For The New Year?
What are your plans for this New Year? What are you hoping that 2022 holds for you? Are there any milestones for your business? Are there new technologies that will assist your client base to benefit them to either save money make more money or both? If you are in one of the professions are you adding new members to your team? Remember this when people call your place of business they are interested in you and your products or services and want to know about any changes that will affect their bottom line. Patients of any of the medical professions what to know how their health can be altered. Clients of lawyers and CPAs want to know about changes in laws that will have a direct consequence on them and their business. And any other business category wants to know how doing business with you and your company helps them. One easy way to reach all your incoming callers is with an On-Hold-Message that is played when they are placed On-Hold. This is an excellent opportunity to extend both your marketing and branding efforts. Using AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold; 60% will abandon (hang up) within 30 seconds if there is nothing but silence or radio however they will stay for four minutes or more if there is information. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/31/2021 Happy New Year
We all have a blank page starting the New Year. My hope for one and all is that it gets filled with positive actions enabling one and all to see prosperity in every aspect of your lives; may love health and success find you wherever you are. Happy New Year.

12/30/2021 Jump On 2022
Starting a New Year can seem awkward but it doesn’t have to be. It could be a day of planning for the coming week. I would think that most business people want to get a jump on 2022 hitting the ground running however if you don’t have a plan where are you running toward? There are ‘Networking’ events all over many virtual and I would suggest you check them out and find one you feel comfortable belonging to and then show up. I would take this time to create a thirty-second ‘Elevator Speech’ so that you can create interest with someone new to make them want to connect with you and find out more about what you do. I would take time to think of how I can both market and brand myself better. Here’s a plug for my business getting an On-Hold-Message for 2022 would be a great way to increase your business and here’s why. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and that 60% will abandon the call within thirty seconds if greeted by silence and forty-five seconds with a radio or an obnoxious beep. However with On-Hold-Messages the caller will stay On-Hold for four or more minutes. Those On-Hold-Advertisements help keep both your marketing and branding alive and best news of all according to AT&T there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when an On-Hold-Message is working for you. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/29/2021 Waving Goodbye
On these last days of the year as you wave goodbye to 2021 what are your thoughts? Have you kept any of the resolutions you made at the beginning? Have you reached any of your personal goals? Have you accomplished your business goals? If you haven’t why not what stopped you? What are you going to do differently in 2022? And if you have realized your goals in 2021 what are your plans for 2022? I would hope that one of your goals for the coming year is to increase your sales. How would you like to increase sales between 2½% to 5%? One easy and inexpensive way is with a custom Advertising-On-Hold message from HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/28/2021 The Selling Never Stops
The selling never stops. This is a tough statement to believe because some people never think of themselves as salespeople yet if you really think about it, everyone is a salesperson. We sell ourselves from the time we are born until our last breath. Some of us sell products and some sell services to earn our bread and butter however before we make the sale, we sell ourselves. Selling yourself is key o selling anything. People have a need to first like you, then trust you if you plan on selling them anything or getting them to recommend you to their clients, friends, or family. In my opinion liking, you supersede trusting you. My belief is that through networking you are able to build that ‘like’ quality along with the ‘trust’ aspect; this is job number one. Next, you need a product or service that is needed. Creating that need is job number two, therefore, you, the salesperson, must choose your prospects based on who your product or service can help them achieve their goals (not your goals). As you can see, selling is a process; creating likability, trust, and need. Your story to that prospect is how your product or service solves the need. The short version is called marketing and branding; Marketing is what you do, the branding is who you are. This marketing and branding will continue whether you like it or not with every contact made with that client or prospect. It’s imperative that you keep that ‘like, ‘ and ‘trust’ going with every contact. One real easy place to keep it going is on your phone. How you handle each call represents who you are, your likeability comes through as well as your trust. However, sometimes you are not available and someone else fields the call; what happens then? If that caller is placed On-Hold what are they hearing? A radio…..silence…..and annoying beep beep beep? Or are they hearing a custom-crafted On-Hold message? On-Hold-Messages keep the likeability flowing as well as the trust. Having a Message-On-Hold also expands the caller’s knowledge of your business and according to AT&T research, a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Since1987 HoldMasters, Your On-Hold Message Company, has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/27/2021 Best Marketing Tool
I truly believe that live in-person connections is the best marketing tool. And that networking and those personal referrals top the list. For that reason you will find me at many networking groups as well as connecting on both Facebook and LinkedIn. I believe there is nothing stronger in marketing than building a ‘Trust Bond’ with your clients and potential clients. Although we live in a technology-based society and emails and texting are available I’m still am old-fashioned enough to feel a sincere warm voice trumps a cold text. Sure a short text from the love of my life is nice but hearing her voice is so extra special. The reason I went into the business I’m in was because of years of being a radio personality knowing how important it is to have a human voice communicate a message creating images to the ‘Theater of The Mind”. The humane voice the most powerful marketing tool ever. And that is the secret behind an On-Hold-Message the human voice telling each captive caller information about your product or service. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/24/2021 Marketing A Full-Time Job
Here are some thoughts to think about. Marketing your business is a full-time job and is a line item on your budget. You must promote your business regardless of what you do. Whether you sell widgets or are a professional there are ongoing costs to marketing. If you use television radio print direct mail social media or a combination of them all there are costs involved and those costs are necessary if you want to grow your business. An interesting fact most businesses will spend 96% of their marketing budget to get their phone to ring or get people through the door and only 4% to 6% when they call or walk into their establishment. All of those marketing costs are designed to get your phone to ring and when it rings how you handle your calls can be the difference in profit or loss. Let me explain. Your marketing worked and that has caused the phone to ring. There is a 70% chance that the caller will be placed On-Hold (AT&T statistic). Now here is your challenge; do you want to continue your marketing and branding information and keep that emotional bond with the caller and your business or do you want to break it off? If the former may I suggest an On-Hold message as your ticket to success? Surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold (another AT&T statistic). Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line. Have a very happy and healthy Christmas. May love and good health be your best gift.

12/23/2021 Job Number One
Keeping your client base informed and educated and at the same time assisting new callers to your business entertained and informed as well as keeping your marketing and branding alive is job number one of a Message-On-Hold. According to Telemarketing Magazine surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold; maybe that is why AT&T tells us that there is a 2 1/2% to 5% increase in sales when there’s Advertising-On-Hold rather than silence a radio station electronic music or beeps. Advertising your business on your phone when callers are placed On-Hold is cost-effective and efficient plus prudent. U.S. West Communications found that messages On-Hold results in a 40% increase in retention of phone callers On-Hold a 15% increase in inquiries 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned On-Hold. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/22/2021 SELLING = INFLUENCING
What do the words “Sales Person” mean to you? If you think about it everyone is a salesperson. If you are a parent you are a salesperson if you own your own business you are a salesperson everyone sells something. Parents sell their children all the time business owners sell their employees on ideas friends sell their friends on dining choices or entertainment options. So when we think of sales we are really thinking about influencing another person. How about in place of “Sales Person” how about calling them “Influencers”. Those of us that earn our bread and butter through influencing others must understand that there is a system that doesn’t require a song and dance; it requires knowledge. Step one is knowing that people are influenced by emotion and emotion starts with motion. When offering a product service or new idea always get the person or persons talking (motion) by the questions you ask. Always ask opened-ended questions that can’t be answered by a simple yes or no. This usually starts to get the person(s) emotionally involved. By active listening also tells you what that person needs or wants. There are times when what you offer doesn’t click; your job is to tell that person(s) that you can’t help them. Your job number one as an influencer is to help and serve therefore if your product service or idea doesn’t fit tell them. They will appreciate it and chances are they will recommend you to others. You can keep that influence alive should they call you and are placed On-Hold with a cost-effective and efficient custom On-Hold message. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/21/2021 Gifting Yourself
Buying gifts for friends and loved ones is a tradition during this holiday season. If you are in business may I suggest you think of a gift for your business? Whether you are an owner or employee there are gifts you can give your business. Employees can find things that not only make their job easier but items that can make them more valuable to the company. By being more valuable you attract more responsibility and generally that means a greater income. One of the best presents an employee can give himself or herself is more education about the business. Business owners should look for professional help in all areas. Since most of today’s business use computers how about additional training for the employees? With today’s options for marketing and branding find a professional that understands all aspects of marketing. Most businesses sell either a product or a service; sales training should be a must. Everything I’ve just mentioned has a price tag and yet they are all investments that bring a return. Should anyone reading this need some suggestions please contact me at my website www.holdmasters1.com. I am very big on networking and know many people that can find those presents to gift yourself. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/21/2021 Gifting Yourself
Buying gifts for friends and loved ones is a tradition during this holiday season. If you are in business may I suggest you think of a gift for your business? Whether you are an owner or employee there are gifts you can give your business. Employees can find things that not only make their job easier but items that can make them more valuable to the company. By being more valuable you attract more responsibility and generally that means a greater income. One of the best presents an employee can give himself or herself is more education about the business. Business owners should look for professional help in all areas. Since most of today’s business use computers how about additional training for the employees? With today’s options for marketing and branding find a professional that understands all aspects of marketing. Most businesses sell either a product or a service; sales training should be a must. Everything I’ve just mentioned has a price tag and yet they are all investments that bring a return. Should anyone reading this need some suggestions please contact me at my website www.holdmasters1.com. I am very big on networking and know many people that can find those presents to gift yourself. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/20/2021 Happy Holidays
Tis the season to be jolly between Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa and Covid everyone is busy. It is also a time to reflect on 2021; how did you do in reaching your goals? Were you progressing or holding your own? And through this hustle and bustle time are you planning for 2022? With the way technology changes planning more than twelve months ahead seems futile. The newest technology and laws affect everyone I know. My suggestion is to create a one-year goal broken to monthly and still broken down further to weekly and daily objectives. Create for yourself or your business a daily work plan and on a daily basis evaluate how you did. Remember that not only do we have to work in our business; we must work on it as well. The little thing of checking your progress or lack of it on a daily basis can keep you on track. I will caution you not to stress yourself if you haven’t achieved your plan; use it as a learning tool. Don’t see setbacks worse than they are just see them as they are and make corrections. Over this past year I’ve written many blogs to help a business grow go back and read them I’m sure anyone can benefit. They can be found at www.holdmasters1.com and click on blog. Since1987 HoldMasters Your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/17/2021 You Can’t Sell Anybody Anything
You can’t sell anybody anything; they must discover they want it and need it. For example if you are selling cars and I just bought one last week what chance do you have to sell me one today? The answer slim to none; I don’t have a need. However if my car keeps breaking down and I need jumper cables every day I have 200000 miles on it you stand a far better chance. Since everyone is a salesperson regardless of how you earn your daily bread your job is to find the need the pain. The great football coach Lou Holtz said “I never learn anything talking. I only learn when I ask questions.” By asking great questions you build confidence when you build confidence you build trust and when you build trust you build relationships. So remember the quality of your life or the success of your sales endeavors is directly connected to the quality of your relationships. It is imperative that you keep those relationships alive in every aspect of your interactions. It’s oblivious that when you see that person you keep the relationship going but not so oblivious should that person call you and be placed On-Hold. Too often the emotional bond created is broken should that caller be treated to total silence a radio station or a series of beeps. It’s cost-effective and efficient to have HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold-Message that carries your marketing advertising and branding message forward. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/16/2021 Selling In December
Selling any product or service in the month of December competes with holiday shopping; so how can you compete? One thing I recommend is showing how buying before the end of the year can have a tax advantage but always suggest they speak to their tax advisor or CPA. You might offer a year-end special saving your prospect dollars for a product or service that will help increase their bottom line. Retailers are at their busiest this time of the year however the decision-makers are not as busy as their stores therefore they may make some time to see you. Also in December most business phones are ringing and since 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold this is a perfect time to have a special Holiday On-Hold message that most of those callers will hear. What an opportune way to wish present clients and future clients a joyous holiday season Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/15/2021 The Times They Are A-Changing
One of those things that seem to always be happening is change. Just think about the changes in technology over the last couple of decades. Now think about the changes that affected your business over the past few years. Some I’d agree are minimal and some are monumental. Too often we as businessmen and women become complacent and think our clientele are knowledgeable about these changes; chances are they are not. So the question is how can you keep everyone that calls you up-to-date on any and all of your changes? One cost-effective and efficient way is with a Message-On-Hold. Chances are your present customers know just a tad of how your business can help their business. By having an On-Hold message you can keep your current client base informed all the while letting new callers get the information about your products and service that will assist them in reaching their goals and dreams. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/14/2021 Everyone Sells Something
Since every business has something to sell whether a product or a service then learning to sell should be a priority. Sometimes the product is an idea that needs to be imparted within the business. This might look like top management influencing the rank and file of a new idea to add to the corporate culture or a new product or service being offered to clients and prospective clients. Whatever it is selling comes into the mix. In order to influence someone you need to know what it is that motivates them and asking open-ended questions does that. These questions will expose challenges that must be assuaged by your product service or idea. Once the target of your questions understands what you are offering will help eliminate the challenge they will buy-in. It is especially important that everyone within your business culture understands and carries the corporate message with every contact. Even when your business receives incoming calls have a custom On-Hold message that carries your philosophy. These messages help maintain the emotional connection with the client or prospective client. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/13/2021 Decisions Determine Destiny
The decisions we make determine our destiny. We have been making decisions from the day we’re born right up to today. Many of those decisions have served us well and some may be obsolete yet we still adhere to them. Since we are all endowed with the ability of choice wouldn’t it be prudent of us to re-evaluate our past decisions from time to time especially business decisions? Most decisions on the surface seem to be made from facts presented; yet I believe the geneses of decisions are emotionally justified with facts. Whether you are a CEO or anyone down the chain of command your decision process is the same emotions supported by facts. In sales the salesperson or as I like to call them the influencer must get the buyer emotionally connected to the product or service in order to get a decision. Once that buyer has that emotional connection it should never be broken. For example a buyer calls your business and is placed On-Hold what does he or she hear? If they hear a radio they may not like the format; a series of beeps become irritating the silence they may think they have been disconnected or you can have a custom On-Hold message that maintains the emotional connection. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/10/2021 Keeping Your Brand Message Alive
Whatever business you are in there are others that compete with you. They do the exact same thing you do; so why should I do business with you? What distinguishes you from your competition? It’s your brand. It’s who you are. It’s your personality and style and it’s the trust you build up every day with those with whom you connect. Branding yourself is a fulltime job from the first “hello” to saying thank you for the order or for the confidence in doing business with you. That brand must follow you and your business in every aspect of your company’s existence. All too often that branding stops when the phone rings and the caller is put into a maze of “press one/press two’ and if placed On-Hold and greeted with silence or a radio playing some pop tune or a gaggle of commercials maybe even the competition’s advertisement. To keep your brand message flowing a Message-On-Hold from HoldMasters is your ticket to success. After conferring with you and researching your business and your industry we write a script that contains five different messages that rotate while a caller is On-Hold. Each message both markets your products or service as well as keeping your brand message alive. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/09/2021 Marketing With Limited Dollars
I wrote a blog the other day that dealt with marketing this one deals with a limited amount of dollars to market your business. The first thing I would do is create a website. Do not do it on the cheap, have a professional create it and hire a professional copywriter to do the writing. Your site reflects who you are and what you stand for. It is a big part of your branding. Remember marketing is what you do branding is who you are. Know what your goals are so that your site reflects those goals. Although your site is a sales tool, don’t let it look like a sales pitch. It should create an emotional connection with the viewer and create rapport with your business. Since this might take a good portion of your monthly dollars to complete, my second activity, which doesn’t cost too much, would be to find a networking group. There are many to choose from so I would attend several until you find the one that fits your personality and your business. I would make sure that if your business is B to B (business to business) then that’s the kind of group you want; if it’s B to C (business to consumer), then look for that type of group. Once you join, show up for every meeting and get active. Make sure you have one on one meetings with your fellow members so you understand what they do and how you can help them and vice versa. In Networking, the adage “Givers Gain” is paramount. Give referrals without expectations and see your results. It’s like casting bread on the waters. Also. through networking, you can create strategic alliances, other business professionals that can complement yours as well as yours complements theirs. A very cost-effective and efficient marketing tool is On-Hold Advertising. Remember, every time your phone rings it is because of your marketing therefore every incoming call costs you money. Since those that call are captive to what they hear and since AT&T tells us 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold, doesn’t it just make sense to keep that marketing and branding message alive as well as the emotional connection? Since1987 HoldMasters, your On-Hold Message Company, has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/08/2021 Leadership
What makes a good leader? President Dwight Eisenhower said “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want to be done because he wants to do it.” Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work. Not only does a good leader lead and inspire others he or she must lead and inspire him or herself. Ultimately leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It's about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others' success and then standing back and letting them shine. Leaders are influencers some people still refer to them as salespeople and salespeople influence others to take some type of action. Leaders think both in and out of the box as they influence themselves first and then influence others. Regardless of your position in a business whether the top of the pole or somewhere down you must lead yourself first. You must ask yourself the questions that move you forward that invoke emotions. Once you’ve accomplished that create the questions to ask others that pull emotion from them and move them into action. One way you can carry that leadership forward in your business even when you aren’t around is with On-Hold Advertising. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/07/2021 What Makes A Sale Happen
I believe there are three thoughts to make a sale happen. First is your attitude; your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor and your picture begins to lighten up. Your attitude will drive your performance. Your attitude will determine your altitude. A quality performance always starts with a positive attitude. The second thought to make a sale happen is your behavior. Plato said “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire emotion and knowledge”. We know that all sales are caused by an emotional connection. Therefore when a top sales representative connects the client with their emotions a sale usually happens. The third leg of this sales stool is technique. Technique makes the sales representative more effective in front of a client or prospect. Passion is the key to the technique. Once you have mastered a technique you hardly need to look at a recipe again and can take off on your own. The technique can be taught but I think the only way to learn to write is to read and I see writing and reading as completely related. One almost couldn't exist without the other. There are tools available to every business that helps create sales. One tool is the Hold Button on your phone. When you place a caller On-Hold they are captive to whatever you present for them to hear. On-Hold Advertising is a very cost-effective and efficient way to passively create sales. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/07/2021 What Makes A Sale Happen
I believe there are three thoughts to make a sale happen. First is your attitude; your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor and your picture begins to lighten up. Your attitude will drive your performance. Your attitude will determine your altitude. A quality performance always starts with a positive attitude. The second thought to make a sale happen is your behavior. Plato said “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire emotion and knowledge”. We know that all sales are caused by an emotional connection. Therefore when a top sales representative connects the client with their emotions a sale usually happens. The third leg of this sales stool is technique. Technique makes the sales representative more effective in front of a client or prospect. Passion is the key to the technique. Once you have mastered a technique you hardly need to look at a recipe again and can take off on your own. The technique can be taught but I think the only way to learn to write is to read and I see writing and reading as completely related. One almost couldn't exist without the other. There are tools available to every business that helps create sales. One tool is the Hold Button on your phone. When you place a caller On-Hold they are captive to whatever you present for them to hear. On-Hold Advertising is a very cost-effective and efficient way to passively create sales. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/06/2021 Understanding Yourself and Others
Understanding Yourself and Others is the key to life. It has its roots in every interaction you have on a daily basis. Once you understand yourself and what makes you tick it will assist you in understanding others all around you. For the sake of this blog let’s focus on business interaction. Whatever business you are in whether a professional manufacture or service provider in order to be successful and reach your goals you must understand how people think and react. People are emotional beings and respond emotionally to ideas and challenges. Once you tap into that emotion you are on the road to a successful interaction. In order to reach the emotional part of the “Other” you must ask great open-ended questions questions that get the person or persons with whom you are interacting emotionally involved. If you need help in developing those questions do some research about the industry in general the business and the person specifically so that you can prepare questions in advance. Key to keeping that emotional connection alive is active listening to the answers not thinking about your next question. Once you have that emotional connection in person you can keep it alive even on the phone. Should they call you have a custom On-Hold message waiting for every caller to share your marketing and branding message. On-Hold advertising has proven over the years to be both efficient and effective. Since1987 HoldMasters your On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/03/2021 Your Hierarchy In Determining Value
Value is an interesting word. What is your hierarchy in determining value? When you purchase anything how do you determine your final buying decision? What is most important to you? For example when buying an automobile what are the values that help you make your decision. Here are some values you might consider; comfort safety re-sale looks speed up-keep and those values may change from when you bought your first car to one that you buy when you have a family. When offering any product or service it is paramount to establish your prospect's value system. You do that by asking questions and actively listening to the answers (see Nov. 29th blog). Once you understand that prospect’s values you show how your product or service meets those values. When customers connect emotively — because they share the same values and beliefs of a brand — it leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. It also leads to loyalty advocacy and can even protect your price in times when competitors rely on promotional discounts to drive sales. It can also give you the ideal platform from which to extend your offering or range. In placing a message On-Hold each message might touch on various values that help establish and keep the emotional bond to the product or service you offer. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/02/2021 You Are Your Brand
What makes you different from your competition? Your “Brand” is the difference. There are lots of people doing the very same thing you do so why should a prospect choose you? If you are the least expensive then you’ve established your brand as cheap and who wants to do business with cheap? When one thinks of ‘cheap’ in my mind it means less quality. Less quality means poor everything from materials to customer service. That leads to possible problems with the product or service that means downtime for my business. Your ‘Brand’ defines who you are and what you stand for. Lots of advertising helps establish brand awareness but advertising costs money and there are zero guarantees it will work. What does work are personal contacts and referrals. Through personal contacts you can establish the emotional connection that solidifies a relationship ergo the sale. Most important is to keep that brand awareness in everything you do. That emotional level of trust must continue on every level in your business from the person answering the phone to billing to customer service. When a caller calls your number how he or she is treated can either enhance or diminish your brand image. One way to keep that image alive and thriving are with a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

12/01/2021 Decisions Control Destiny
It’s not the conditions of your life that control your destiny it’s the decisions you’ve made your choices. Once you understand this your life can change. It’s the same in your business. Every choice you make regarding your business determines the course of your business. In choosing a product or a service to offer the public is it something of value? How will it serve those who choose to use it? How are you going to market it? What is your brand image? What are your goals? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself BEFORE you chose a direction and questions that can be asked after. Once you choose your vocation how will you serve your customers clients or patients? The keyword is to SERVE. Will you build relationships that are lasting or have a transient following? Most businesses work on relationship building having the same people working with you over time giving you the stability of a strong base. Once you have that base you market yourself to add additional relationships. Knowing your existing bases goals and dreams and understanding what prospective clients need by knowing their challenges does this. It is incumbent on you to learn about what challenge or pain your potential clients have so you can become their trusted advisor to alleviate the challenge or pain. You build an emotional connection and remember people choose emotionally not factually. You can keep the emotional connection alive when you receive incoming calls with a cost-efficient and effective custom On-Hold-Message from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/30/2021 You Can’t Sell Anybody Anything
You can’t sell anybody anything; they must discover they want it and need it. For example if you are selling cars and I just bought one last week what chance do you have to sell me one today? The answer slim to none; I don’t have a need. However if my car keeps breaking down and I need jumper cables every day I have 200000 miles on it you stand a far better chance. Since everyone is a salesperson regardless of how you earn your daily bread your job is to find the need the pain. The great football coach Lou Holtz said “I never learn anything talking. I only learn when I ask questions.” By asking great questions you build confidence when you build the confidence you build trust and when you build trust you build relationships. So remember the quality of your life or the success of your sales endeavors is directly connected to the quality of your relationships. It is imperative that you keep those relationships alive in every aspect of your interactions. It’s oblivious that when you see that person you keep the relationship going but not so oblivious should that person call you and be placed On-Hold. Too often the trust bond created is broken should that caller be treated to total silence a radio station or a series of beeps. It’s cost-effective and efficient to have HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold-Message that carries your marketing advertising and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/29/2021 Keys to Active Listening
The precursor of any relationship is trust. One of the building blocks of trust is empathy which is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes, to feel what the other person is feeling while they’re talking to you. If you can imagine yourself in their situation. How would you feel? How would you react? This is the practice of empathy. The way to feel empathy is to actively listen to the other person during the communication. Why is active listening important? It may sound like a chore compared to passive listening but like problem solving and creativity, active listening is a soft skill that can improve multiple areas of your life. There are three components to active listening: 1. Comprehend. The listener pays attention to the speaker’s verbal and non-verbal language to fully understand what they’re trying to communicate. 2. Retain. The listener tries to remember the key points of the speaker’s message using their memory or via notetaking. 3. Respond. You respond to the speaker to confirm your understanding of their message and to further your discussion on the subject. This only happens after analyzing and remembering what they said (components one and two). To improve your listening skills, face the speaker. Face, your conversation partner. Don’t look at your phone, watch, or other people. Look at whoever is talking, even if they’re not looking at you. As you hear the information visualize, so mental models are able to naturally form in the theatre of your mind as you hear information. This is normal and is a sign that all your senses are engaged in analyzing what the other person is saying. Remembering keywords, dates, phrases, and other details help you form a clearer picture of the other person’s story. Often, people listen only to help them formulate a response. That’s not active listening. Your full attention must be present and that means remaining neutral, and not forming any opinions on what the speaker is telling you until they finish talking, in other words, don’t be judgmental and don’t interrupt. Interrupting the person talking to you not only makes you rude, but it also limits your absorption of the information relayed to you. Never finish the other person’s sentences, even if you think you know what they’re about to say. By reflecting and clarifying you are able to ensure that you and the speaker are on the same page. Both of those techniques work hand in hand to make the speaker feel heard and ensuring that nothing got lost in translation. At this point in the conversation summarize what you think you heard. Summarizing is similar to reflecting, except that when you summarize, you’re making it clear that you’re about to move on from your current topic. Now it is time to share and respond. You might think this is just another variation of previous steps. It’s not. Yes, you’re the one talking in the two previous steps, but you only talked to confirm your understanding of the other person’s message then. Now that you’ve gained a better understanding of their message, it’s your turn to introduce your ideas and emotions into the conversation. You've got to go through all the previous steps first before you earn the privilege to share your thoughts. This way, the speaker won’t feel like you’re just pushing your own agenda because you took the time to validate their feelings and ideas first. To be an effective listener when sharing your thoughts always be honest but assert your opinions with respect. If you’re afraid that your suggestions will be seen as an attempt to control the other person’s actions, preface your suggestions with, “If that happens to me, I would…” This simple action of active listening is the foundation of creating that all to elusive trust bond. Once you have that bond, never break it. One way it is broken is when they call you and are placed On-Hold only to hear the radio, electronic music, beeps, or worst yet silence. This is where a custom cost-effective and efficient On-Hold message can be the difference between keeping old customers or creating new ones. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/26/2021 Busy Time of The Year
How would you like to wish everyone who calls you a Happy Holiday Season and a Great New Year? You can do that is with a Custom On-Hold Message from HoldMasters. Since according to AT&T statistics 70% of all your incoming calls are placed On-Hold take the time to make those callers feel good by offering them your good wishes for a Happy Holiday season. At the same time you will be informing them about your business while marketing your product or service as well as your branding message. AT&T also tells us that a business with an On-Hold message averages a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Is your business ready for the Holiday Season? I’d be surprised if you haven’t pushed your marketing budget up and maybe even hired more people. This is a very busy time of the year. Your phones might be ringing more often with more people being placed On-Hold. If you are one of those businesses that see an increase in phone traffic you might consider a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Remember that if you offer silence On-Hold you just might find those calls abandoning your line and moving to your competition. With silence you may keep them On-Hold for thirty seconds same with a radio station however with advertising On-Hold they will hang in there for four minutes or more that’s according to AT&T research. AT&T also tells us that a business with an On-Hold message averages a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/25/2021 Happy Thanksgiving
Be grateful for what you have. Make Thanksgiving perpetual. Thanksgiving is a time when the world gets to see just how blessed we are. The emphasis is not on giving or buying but on being thankful and expressing that appreciation to one another.

11/24/2021 Relationships
Every interaction starts with a relationship. The first relationship is your relationship with yourself from there it branches out to family friends and business. A relationship requires a lot of work and commitment. What creates a relationship may be different for different people but in my mind it starts with trust. If you don’t trust yourself you may find it difficult to trust others and others may find it difficult to trust you. A healthy relationship is built on unwavering trust. Trust starts with your word and you keep it. You tell your son or daughter that you are going to take them to the park and then don’t or you tell an employee or employer you are going to you something and then renege you are breaking your trust bond. Then there’s the time you promised yourself you were going to something and you don’t there goes your trust in yourself. Remember all decisions are made emotionally and are then justified with facts therefore once you make an emotional connection try never to break it. In business whatever you offer to your customers is always under-promise and over-deliver. Trust bonds are hard to break by others and by yourself easy. In the business world never break that emotional connection that trust bond. One area that is usually overlooked is your phone system and the On-Hold message or lack of one. Since AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold you now have the perfect opportunity to keep your marketing and branding message your company’s philosophy your trust bond front and center. When a caller hears some electronic music a radio beeps or worst yet dead silence you can easily break that bond. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/23/2021 Listening Skills
Stephen Covey said “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Whatever business you are in you must communicate. One of the most important assets a person can have is the ability to listen Too often when someone is speaking you are formulating your answer. That action prevents you from hearing the full story. Some other bad habits we exhibit when listening are letting our minds wander tuning out the speaker due to the fact that you have a different point of view interrupting the speaker finishing their sentences for them jumping to conclusions or hearing only what you want to hear or expect to hear. The truth is whether you are selling a product service or idea people want to feel heard before they can hear. Before we give out information we must gather it by asking questions and listening to answers. When speaking to others make sure that they felt heard and that you understand their point of view and will honor it not ignore it. Helping in that endeavor is matching and mirroring their body language as well as their vocal tonality and words. • Some suggestions to show that you are mentally involved: • Clear your mind •Take notes • Summarize what the person you are communicating said by paraphrasing • Clarify by asking questions • Ask more questions; probe it further Suspend judgment • Listen for the meaning behind the words Summarize Should you place that caller On-Hold have a custom On-Hold message that carries forward both your marketing and branding message while engaging that caller. You want to keep the emotional tie in place. It also is a powerful tool to both upsell and cross-sell present clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/22/2021 Body Language
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” ‘Body Language’ reveals people’s true thoughts so, it makes sense to understand it. Most of us understand body language intuitively and quickly, and the conclusions we reach go into our subconscious mind. Just remember in communication body language is 55% of the communication, voice is 38% and the words we use only 7%. There are both positive and negative signals that are handy to know and understand to help you know whether your communication was successful. For example, when you are speaking if the other person is nodding his or her head, you can feel comfortable that they are listening and agreeing with you. However, if that person has crossed arms and legs there is a good chance that person is tuning you out or filtering what you are saying or, they might be thinking that what you are saying is threatening to them, so they close off to hearing it. As you can see there are no fixed rules, only general principles. The important idea here is to observe a person’s body language in context and establish a baseline. Crossed arms often indicate defensiveness or disagreement yet some people have been taught in school to fold their arms when they have finished their work and others might fold their arms from the force of habit. Most body language signals appear in clusters, or groups. Clusters of posture, movements, expressions, or gestures tell us more than an isolated individual signal. When using the phone, you can’t see the body language. This is when your senses must be tuned to voice tone, volume, pace, and words used. Remember the voice is 38% of communication and words only 7%. So, pay attention to these clues when speaking. Match and mirror the caller’s tone, volume, pace, and words to create rapport. Should you place that caller On-Hold, have a custom On-Hold message that carries forward both your marketing and branding message while engaging that caller. You want to keep the emotional tie in place. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/22/2021 Body Language
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” ‘Body Language’ reveals people’s true thoughts so, it makes sense to understand it. Most of us understand body language intuitively and quickly, and the conclusions we reach go into our subconscious mind. Just remember in communication body language is 55% of the communication, voice is 38% and the words we use only 7%. There are both positive and negative signals that are handy to know and understand to help you know whether your communication was successful. For example, when you are speaking if the other person is nodding his or her head, you can feel comfortable that they are listening and agreeing with you. However, if that person has crossed arms and legs there is a good chance that person is tuning you out or filtering what you are saying or, they might be thinking that what you are saying is threatening to them, so they close off to hearing it. As you can see there are no fixed rules, only general principles. The important idea here is to observe a person’s body language in context and establish a baseline. Crossed arms often indicate defensiveness or disagreement yet some people have been taught in school to fold their arms when they have finished their work and others might fold their arms from the force of habit. Most body language signals appear in clusters, or groups. Clusters of posture, movements, expressions, or gestures tell us more than an isolated individual signal. When using the phone, you can’t see the body language. This is when your senses must be tuned to voice tone, volume, pace, and words used. Remember the voice is 38% of communication and words only 7%. So, pay attention to these clues when speaking. Match and mirror the caller’s tone, volume, pace, and words to create rapport. Should you place that caller On-Hold, have a custom On-Hold message that carries forward both your marketing and branding message while engaging that caller. You want to keep the emotional tie in place. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/19/2021 Setting Goals
When setting your goals do you make both short- and long-term goals? I would suggest that this be part of your business plan. The old saying “If you don’t know where you’re going how will you know when you get there?” rings true. I would also suggest a daily goal which can be different than a daily plan although they may seem similar. The goal is the motivation to execute the plan. When setting goals I believe one should first look at the big picture then break it down into smaller parts until you get a daily goal. Your plan should then reflect the ‘how to reach that daily goal. As an example in choosing my Messages On-Hold business I first looked for a need the need to market and brand any business. Then I looked at the how the how to do it. Then I did my homework and found who is doing that now. There are countless numbers of people in advertising PR marketing and branding using every available tool television radio print social media direct mail etc. however very few in On-Hold Advertising and that became my niche. I looked at the statistics from AT&T that told me 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and I thought what a huge potential prospect list. Callers placed On-Hold are captive to a marketing and branding message what a potential goal mine of increased business for the business being called. Again according to AT&T On-Hold Messages help increase sales from 2½% to 5% well worth the investment. My goal was to seek out decision-makers through personal introductions referrals from networking with other businessmen and women. Another goal was to create strategic alliances with people that offer phone service both cloud-based and hard-wired. I have added the use of blogging to my daily goal. The purpose of the blog is to inform and educate every type of business as to the benefits of On-Hold marketing and branding. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/18/2021 Marketing A Full-Time Job
Keeping your client base informed and educated and at the same time assisting new callers to your business entertained and informed as well as keeping your marketing and branding alive is job number one of a Message-On-Hold. According to Telemarketing Magazine surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold; maybe that is why AT&T tells us that there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when there’s Advertising-On-Hold rather than silence or a radio station. Advertising your business on your phone when callers are placed On-Hold is cost-effective and efficient plus prudent. U.S. West Communications found that messages On-Hold results in a 40% increase in retention of phone callers On-Hold a 15% increase in inquiries 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/18/2021 Marketing A Full-Time Job
Keeping your client base informed and educated and at the same time assisting new callers to your business entertained and informed as well as keeping your marketing and branding alive is job number one of a Message-On-Hold. According to Telemarketing Magazine surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold; maybe that is why AT&T tells us that there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when there’s Advertising-On-Hold rather than silence or a radio station. Advertising your business on your phone when callers are placed On-Hold is cost-effective and efficient plus prudent. U.S. West Communications found that messages On-Hold results in a 40% increase in retention of phone callers On-Hold a 15% increase in inquiries 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/17/2021 Job Number One
Keeping your client base informed and educated and at the same time assisting new callers to your business entertained and informed as well as keeping your marketing and branding alive is job number one of a Message-On-Hold. According to Telemarketing Magazine surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold; maybe that is why AT&T tells us that there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when there’s Advertising-On-Hold rather than silence or a radio station. Advertising your business on your phone when callers are placed On-Hold is cost-effective and efficient plus prudent. U.S. West Communications found that messages On-Hold results in a 40% increase in retention of phone callers On-Hold a 15% increase in inquiries 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/16/2021 60 Hours a Year On-Hold
A few years back I was making a presentation for HoldMasters to a businessman who told me that he never puts people On-Hold. The phone rings and the operator answers putting the caller On-Hold while buzzing my prospect. He takes the call and tells the caller he will look it up. He then puts that caller On-Hold while he goes to his files. About two- or three minutes pass he comes back picks up the phone and takes care of the caller’s needs. He then turns to me and repeats that they never put anyone On-Hold. According to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and an estimated 60% of business phone callers put on hold will hang up without messages & music On-Hold. The bad news is an estimated 30% of these phone callers don't call back. CNN did a survey that said that the average person spends 60 hours per year On-Hold and the average executive spends 17 minutes per day on hold. I wonder how much business is lost by that 30% who don’t call back and how much business might be gained during those 60 hours per year On-Hold? Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/16/2021 60 Hours a Year On-Hold
A few years back I was making a presentation for HoldMasters to a businessman who told me that he never puts people On-Hold. The phone rings and the operator answers putting the caller On-Hold while buzzing my prospect. He takes the call and tells the caller he will look it up. He then puts that caller On-Hold while he goes to his files. About two- or three minutes pass he comes back picks up the phone and takes care of the caller’s needs. He then turns to me and repeats that they never put anyone On-Hold. According to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and an estimated 60% of business phone callers put on hold will hang up without messages & music On-Hold. The bad news is an estimated 30% of these phone callers don't call back. CNN did a survey that said that the average person spends 60 hours per year On-Hold and the average executive spends 17 minutes per day on hold. I wonder how much business is lost by that 30% who don’t call back and how much business might be gained during those 60 hours per year On-Hold? Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/15/2021 Why People Buy
Why people buy is an age-old question. The important thing to remember is that people ‘BUY’ and don’t like to be ‘SOLD’. When speaking to a prospective client (customer or patient) they buy for their reasons not yours. Years ago in sales a song and dance plus selling ‘features and benefits were the keys to success. Years ago we didn’t have smartphones tablets or computers either. Today buyers know your product or service as well as you do and in some cases better. So what should you do to make a sale? Two things; first ask questions and second listen to the answers. The benefit for you the salesperson is the client will tell you what challenge(s) they are facing and what they need to solve it. Once you are clued in to the prospect’s need you can decide if you can alleviate the pain. Should that prospect call you make sure you keep the branding and marketing message alive with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/15/2021 Why People Buy
Why people buy is an age-old question. The important thing to remember is that people ‘BUY’ and don’t like to be ‘SOLD’. When speaking to a prospective client (customer or patient) they buy for their reasons not yours. Years ago in sales a song and dance plus selling ‘features and benefits were the keys to success. Years ago we didn’t have smartphones tablets or computers either. Today buyers know your product or service as well as you do and in some cases better. So what should you do to make a sale? Two things; first ask questions and second listen to the answers. The benefit for you the salesperson is the client will tell you what challenge(s) they are facing and what they need to solve it. Once you are clued in to the prospect’s need you can decide if you can alleviate the pain. Should that prospect call you make sure you keep the branding and marketing message alive with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/11/2021 Playing The Percentages To Win
I learned a long time ago if you play the percentages you usually win. Those of us that are in business know that the bigger the risk the greater the chance of not winning. Sure if you win you may win big; but what if you don’t win? Those of you who sell for a living know you must make sales calls if you want sales. In every business there is a number that is usually correct X number of sales calls before you make a sale. There are statistics that should make you take heed when it comes to incoming phone calls to your business. Here they are: 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold; 60% will hang up within thirty seconds if they are greeted with silence and not call back; having a radio or some form of music may keep them On-Hold up to ninety seconds; having a message On-Hold people will stay On-Hold for four minutes or more; best statistic of all there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with a Message On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/10/2021 Networking Your Way To Success
I have never met a person that doesn’t network in some way or another. You go to a new restaurant and you tell your friends or see a great film and share your thoughts with friends and family; that’s networking. Having someone recommend you as a trusted person to do business with is a powerful introduction and will get you an audience. When someone responds to advertising they don’t know what they are getting; is the advertiser trustworthy how are his or her products or service? However that recommendation from a trusted friend is gold. I suggest that one dynamic way to grow your business is through networking. Find networking groups in your area and attend every meeting. Be a giver of referrals and watch what you get in return. Most important is do a great job for the person you are referred to since it reflects on the person who suggested you. Always remember to ask your clients for referrals since they like you and are pleased with the job you’ve done for them; that’s networking. Should one of your networking colleagues give someone your phone number make sure you have a great On-Hold message? Since first impressions are so important having silence a radio station or a series of beeps On-Hold just doesn’t cut it. On-Hold Advertising is a very powerful marketing tool that is low in cost and extremely effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/09/2021 How To Keep Your Marketing and Branding Going
I am amazed at the number of businesses out there that market and advertise asking the audience to call them for their product or service. What also amazes me is the number of businesses out there that once their phone rings customer-building relationships stop. Why is this? They have spent their hard-earned dollars and time to get the phone to ring. According to research about 80% of a marketing budget is spent on getting the phone to ring and only 6% to 8% is spent after the phone rings. The personality of your business your brand is on stage at both ends at the invitation to call and once the call is made. Using an Auto-Attendant’ does save money as well as adds to the frustration of the caller. I always recommend a live person answering the phone. That person should be considered a key part of your team. He or she should be well versed in your products and or service to be able to answer simple questions as well as to know to whom that call should go. When placing a caller On-Hold if all you offer is either silence or some radio station playing music beeps or some cheesy electric music is not helpful for your image it’s like you don’t care. How about a very cost-efficient and effective custom On-Hold Message that continues your marketing and branding message? Your caller is now captive while On-Hold and you are informing and re-enforcing both your marketing and branding communication. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/08/2021 Building Your Business for Profit
I don’t think I’d get any pushback from anyone in business if I said that building your business and making a profit is your top priority. There are many ways to build a business. One way is to advertise. Advertising can cost dollars and in some cases big dollars. And advertising works; just watch television listen to the radio read a newspaper or go on-line; ads everywhere. When you advertise there are things you not only need to know but you must also know. Most important is who is your primary client or customer? Where do they spend their time? For example back in the 1980’s I was the general manager of a Contemporary Hit Radio Station in what is called a major market. Our target listeners were adults 18-34 and teens. During the 1980’s Saturday Night Live was one of the hottest TV shows that hit that demographic so I bought one spot per week in the show. My station’s ratings soared and within weeks we were top rated. Too many advertisers don’t know where their target market lives and wastes many dollars in the pursuit. Of course what you say. or the creativity of that advertisement is important that is why I always recommend a professional advertising agency to help or at least a creative director. Advertising is when you are looking for new clients and customers. However there are people looking for you and your business and how you market to them can mean the difference is a new client or not growing your business. When someone is looking for ‘what you do or sell’ and calls your business there are many ways to win. One very inexpensive and efficient way is with the ‘Hold Button’ on your phone; a simple message On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/05/2021 Protecting Your Assets
In business, what is your most precious asset? By definition, an asset is a useful or valuable thing, person, or quality. Asset management is a systematic process of deploying, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets cost-effectively. The term is most commonly used in the financial world to describe people and companies that manage investments on behalf of others. To me, your business, whatever business you are in, whether it’s one of the professions, manufacturing, services, or any other type of business the most valuable assets are your customers, those people that utilize your product or service. Without them you only have a building, offering products and or services and no commerce. Therefore, it is paramount you treat those assets like the precious commodity, person, or quality they are. How many businesses have you seen offering great products and or services that are no longer around? My guess is that they didn’t treat their assets, their customers, with the respect they deserve. Many businesses, I’ve observed, spend dollars on how they look, the products they offer, advertising for new customers, and very little on the client. patient or customer they already have. Remember, without customers or clients you have nothing but a building or office with a stockpile of products or services that sit on a shelf. To attract clients or customers to your business you must market and advertise your business all the while building your brand image. Once you’ve accomplished getting them in your door job number one is to keep them. You keep customers or clients by building your brand and offering outstanding service. Once they are emotionally connected to you never break that connection. One way to keep that connection alive is with a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Should they call you, your On-Hold message maintains not only the emotional connection; it also continues both your marketing and branding message all the while engaging the caller. Protect your assets with a cost-effective and efficient On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It informs prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/04/2021 Sales The Life Blood Of Business
No business exists without sales. Sales are the lifeblood of every business and a sale is always made either by the salesperson or the buyer. Remember everyone is a salesperson; doctors lawyers accountants are included. Everyone sometime in their life either sells products services or ideas. When selling anything you must find the need and that need must alleviate a challenge. The best way I’ve discovered to discover the need is by asking questions and listening to the answers. No salesperson can offer a solution to a challenge until he or she knows what the challenge is. I suggest you act like a doctor and don’t prescribe until you fully diagnose the pain. In order to fully understand keep the questions coming. Here are some questions you might ask after getting the surface pain: How long has this been a problem? Could you be more specific? What have you tried before? How did that work? What has the problem cost you? Questions like these not only help you the salesperson but also understand it connects you with the buyer on an emotional level. That buyer feels you understand his or her challenge and is more willing to work with you. It is particularly important to keep that emotional connection alive at all times. One area that is usually ignored is the telephone. Clients or prospects call your business and when placed On-Hold the emotional connection is broken if they are treated to the radio some electronic music beeps or pure silence. Why not give them information about your business and about yourself? With an On-Hold message from HoldMasters you will keep that emotional connection alive and in many cases up-sell and cross-sell products or services to your present clients. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It informs prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line

11/03/2021 Customer Service the Prime Directive
If “Customer Service” isn’t the prime directive of your business in my opinion your business is headed in the wrong direction. Whatever you call your customer whether they are called patient client or customer without them your business goes down the hill. Now some of you have a business where your customer is almost captive; cell phone companies (few choices) cable companies or satellite providers; specialty medical providers to name a few. In many instances I have found the customer is least considered and in my opinion should be first. I repeat without customers you don’t have a business. I believe every business must serve a purpose and every business must answer a need. No business is an island. Every business somehow interconnects. Customer service starts with the owner. I suggest that the owner connects with his or her business as if they were a customer or potential customer. If the owner can’t then hire a service that shops your business and get reports. There are too many statistics that tell us it’s easier to keep customers than to obtain new ones. So job number one is to make every customer regardless of size feel important. I would guess that no business owner tells their staff to ignore customers yet in many ways they do. An example is when a customer or potential customer calls your business and is placed On-Hold; how is that caller treated? Are they left in On-Hold Limbo listening to some obnoxious electronic music radio station beeps or worst yet dead silence? Or have you thought enough about that caller to have a custom On-Hold message that not only informs and entertains the caller it also helps your business up-sell and cross-sell products or services plus it keeps the marketing and branding message alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It informs prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/02/2021 Beliefs Guide Actions and Communications
Our beliefs guide both our actions and communications; after all why would we do something that goes against our beliefs? The beliefs we hold about ourselves are the core as to how we communicate. Our beliefs about ourselves are the foundation of our self-worth and become part of our self-image. People with high self-esteem feel at ease and self-reliant about themselves and their ability to communicate effectively. The messages we received from the day we were born until today shape both our character and behavior. The messages you give yourself with your self-talk are a reflection of the messages you received growing up from the people that had influence over you to the messages received from those who impact you daily. Changing beliefs can change your destiny. How you believe so you are. The messages you send to others start with your own beliefs. In business you send out messages all the time from your advertising marketing and branding. In business every member of your team is part of the message. One place you can be sure your message is clear and consistent is with your On-Hold message. By having a custom On-Hold message every caller can hear both your marketing and branding message while you keep them engaged Since 1987 HoldMasters the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

11/01/2021 Steps to Success
Every encounter starts with the first step, the meeting. The second is an ongoing step it’s called bonding and rapport and must continue throughout the relationship. Step one, the meeting, always starts with your birth with your parents, then your pre-school teacher or college professor, your fellow classmates, your medical advisors, your prospective employer, or employees. This point of the first meeting starts with bonding and rapport. As a baby, it’s your needs and cuteness. As you become a toddler it’s the millions of questions you ask however when it comes to career, it’s also the questions you ask. By asking questions and active listening to the answers whomever you are speaking with starts to bond and get into rapport due to the fact that you are interested in them. That interest is a must for ongoing relationships. When asking questions, in the business world, you not only show interest you also learn how you can help the other person’s get their needs met. In the third step, unlike a classical musician playing what’s written, you might see yourself as a jazz musician, improvising. That improvisation comes from listening and staying within the structure of the moment. This step is the most important in influencing the outcome. These outcomes could be the job interview where the HR person is asking you questions as well as you are asking them questions. During the Q & A time decisions are made as to whether you are a fit for the job, or the job is a fit for you. If you are in management need to get an idea to improve the business if you ask the employee questions, he or she feels like they are important and that you value their opinion, and if the employee buys into the idea, they will focus on making it happen. The other side of that coin is as an employee, management shares a new idea, and you ask the right questions; management may see the fallacy of the idea and appreciate you more as an employee. In both cases, more rapport is built. The same dynamics are in play when offering a product or service to a prospect. Ask questions. The prospect will see that you are interested in them and through their answers, you will quickly learn whether your product or service would be valuable to them. Now, these questions should come from your research of the industry and of that specific company. Most important, once again, is to actively listen to the answers. This continues that priceless camaraderie. Remember that every touch with that prospect or client must continue and build on that bonding even when they call and may be placed On-Hold. You can keep that rapport alive with custom On-Hold messages from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters, the On-Hold Message Company has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/29/2021 Size Doesn’t Count
I’ve been asked the question is On-Hold marketing just for large companies? The answer in a word is no. Any business regardless of size can install an On-Hold information system at their business. Today there is equipment available for even the very small and home-based businesses to use On-Hold messages to grow their business. Whether you have a simple 2-line phone purchased at a local electronics store and receive only a few callers a day or have a sophisticated business key system and receive hundreds of calls a day or use just a cell phone an On-Hold system will enrich your image and stimulate your services more effectively than any other medium. Surveys by CNN suggest that without messages On-Hold nearly 60% of business callers placed On-Hold will hang up. North American Telemarketers Association tells us that almost 30% of these callers won't call back. A survey by AT&T reveals that callers will hold up to four minutes longer when hearing music with information and there is a 2 ½ to 5% increase in sales. How much may this be costing you? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/28/2021 The First Five Seconds
When you call a company and are placed On-Hold how long does it take you to form an impression about the company you are calling? It’s been said and estimated that people form an impression of the company they are calling within the first five seconds of being put on hold. Many companies also underestimate how long and how often callers are put on hold since employees and management are not typically the ones calling in and according to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. Have you called your own office and asked to speak to someone in particular? Chances are you will be put On-Hold while your call is transferred. How would you like to turn that On-Hold time into a benefit? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/27/2021 Do You Want More Business?
If you are in any kind of commerce whether it’s a profession retail manufacturing or service one has to: 1. Know the business and industry inside and out. 2. Have great products and give great service. 3. Market and brand yourself and your business. My business is to help others market and brand themselves and their business while increasing sales. Using research and statistics from AT&T North American Telecommunications Association US West Nationwide Insurance and Maximarketing Studies we learn that an estimated 70% of business callers are put on hold of which 60% to 90% hang up with silence and 30% do not call back. 60% to 90% of callers with silence on hold hang up within 40 seconds; ask yourself “How much is this costing me?”. Having music on hold adds another 30 seconds to the hold time. Here’s the bottom line 15 to 35% of callers purchased additional items or services because of something they heard while On-Hold. I found this statistic very interesting that 84% of callers prefer a message On-Hold to other options. One reason is that callers that hear information On-Hold will stay on the phone for four or more minutes. A well-written and produced On-Hold message contains the elements of marketing on hold advertising on hold and information on hold all written for the ear to process into the theater of the mind. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/26/2021 Time VS Productive Time
Did you know that 16% of callers make purchases from information while On-Hold? Maybe that is why AT&T research tells us that there is a 2½ to 5% increase in sales when there is an On-Hold message. Plus your On-Hold message can help callers make better buying decisions. Seven out of ten first-time callers will hang up if they hear only music or “silence.” 1/3 of these callers won’t bother calling back. Why? Because they feel like they’re being ignored! They feel that it’s easier to call your competitors than to be ignored when they call you. Okay you realize that silence On-Hold is not helpful since people feel as if they’ve been disconnected so you have a radio playing. Great you like to waste time and you don’t mind if your caller hears a commercial or two or three maybe even your competitions. And just maybe your caller doesn’t like the music. May I suggest you turn that wasted time into productive time by having HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold message for you that not only informs and entertains your caller but also carries your marketing and branding message forward? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/25/2021 Obtaining New Business
How to obtain new business? Simple just ask for it. Ask your present clients to recommend their friends relatives and clients to you that is assuming you offer a product or service that’s apropos to their needs and wants. Networking is a great way of building a business. The key to networking success is to build trust relationships with whom you network. Trust is the key to building a successful business. Tell people what you do how you do it and then do it. Treat people like you like to be treated and watch the referrals and business come in. One thing that is very cost-effective yet very valuable is creating a Message-On-Hold for all incoming calls. With this On-Hold message you carry forward your marketing and branding communication and it helps keep that trust bond thriving. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and help keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/22/2021 Questions The Gold Standard For Success
The human brain is often compared to a giant organic computer. And like a computer you ask it a question it searches its files for an answer. Have you noticed that when you are searching for something on your computer the better you ask the question the better the result? The old expression “Ask you will receive” comes full circle with both your man-made computer and the one you are born with. When you ask a general question you get a general answer; ask a better question and you’ll get a better answer. So questions are the key to thinking. When you are presented with a challenge aren’t you asking yourself questions on how to solve the encounter? Questions precipitate results in every situation. If you are the CEO of a big company you will find by asking questions to your subordinates on how something can be done better they will search their mental files and find an answer. Or should you frame your desire as a question (Do you think if we did whatever?) once again their internal computer will search its’ file for an answer. If you sell for a living questions are the gold standard for success. Every question you ask creates the environment for the prospect to sell him or herself on your product or service. The key in sales is after you ask the question actively listen for the answer and stop thinking of your next question. When you ask great questions people think you are both smart and professional plus your chances of success multiply. Prospects always have questions about your product or service and should they call you make sure you have a great custom On-Hold message that answers FAQs’s all the while enhancing both your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/21/2021 Great Communication
The source of sales success is the knack to amass and impart data in a way that makes your prospect want to do business with you. Your value proposition, your pricing, even your products or service’s features -- none of those matters, unless you’re able to get your potential client to talk to you, and also listen to what you have to say. These same skills are just as valuable in any area of business and personal life as well. That means you must be extraordinarily attuned to your buyer and understand what they mean when they tell you or don't tell you, something. It also means that you can't just spin off a list of benefits or explanations to work together. You've got to understand how your prospects learn, what they care about, what communication style they prefer and adjust your approach suitably. The following are some communication skills that will help salespeople achieve success. Showing up to a call isn’t just about physically being on the other end of the line. You have to commit 100% of your attention to each call, otherwise, you’ll miss elements and make your prospect reiterate things they’ve already told you. It’ll be evident when you’re not paying attention, and that’s no way to behave toward buyers. You have to listen, and you must listen actively. Feed back the content and feeling of the prospect’s words, using your words, not his or hers. This assures the prospect that you heard him or her correctly. Then ask a relevant follow-up question to further clarify your understanding of their situation. Although we can say pretty much anything we want, our body language often reveals our true intentions or meaning. Impressive communicators know how to read others’ body language so they can predict the direction a conversation’s heading, also make sure their own body language isn’t broadcasting out signals they don’t mean to broadcast. Just like body language, voice tone, your voice pitch, volume, speed, and even your word choice, influences how the words you’re saying are understood. Add empathy, that is seeing the picture from the prospect's point of view, not only your own, plus understand what’s not being said, and remember, to always speak in specifics; doing these all-important activities will help make you a great communicator. Should the prospect call you, make sure you have a great On-Hold message, that continues your marketing and branding message all the while engaging the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help when your business is on the line.

10/20/2021 Creating Urgency
I have discovered even though your product or service diminishes the prospect's pain and is a perfect fit unless you show them some urgency, they still might not move forward. Have you noticed that companies always seem to have more needs than resources; so, unless they must buy your solution in the short term, the deal will probably stall? The question is then, should you create urgency? And, the answer is no. You must, through probing questions get your prospect to realize they’re unhappy or dissatisfied. And if your questions don’t lead them to those conclusions, accept they’re still in education mode and let your marketing department nurture them until the time is right. Some questions you might ask are: Are you in a growth mode and are you growing faster than the industry average? This reminds the buyer of their overarching business goals. This is a good tie-in to how your product would play into their strategy. What is the problem you’re looking to solve? The buyer might be focused on a different pain point than you. Use this question to figure out if they’re on the right track. Sometimes, prospects try to address the symptoms rather than the cause by mistake. Is the problem clearly defined? Learn how much time they’ve spent investigating the issue. The more clearly, they’ve isolated it, the more invested they probably are in fixing it. Figure out just how persistent this pain point has been and is it hard or easy to address. Remember, if it were easy to solve, it would have been addressed long before you were there. Also, how does this challenge affect revenue, profitability, culture cycle of business, and, does it affect a lot of people? This gets your prospect thinking about how widespread the effects are. Is your prospect’s job to address this challenge or is this a special add-on to his regular job description? And, what happens if you address this problem and what happens if you don’t? If it’s part of his job then make sure you tie their overall performance to fixing this issue; and if it’s a special assignment, then you know it’s urgent. What is the one thing that, if we could help solve it quickly, would have the most meaningful impact on the company and how would solving this problem affect you personally? Knowing the prospect's motivators can help cement the deal. Keep probing and asking questions and vigorously listen to the answers. Make sure you have a great custom On-Hold message, should that prospect call you, that continues your marketing and branding message all the while engaging the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help when your business is on the line.

10/19/2021 What’s Your Marketing Strategy
Whatever it is that you do to earn a livelihood you must have a strategy. Teachers need a strategy to motivate their class to learn, doctors, lawyers, and accountants need one to attract more clients, and those who offer a product, or service must have one to grow their customer base. Whatever it is that you do to earn a livelihood you must have a strategy. Teachers need a strategy to motivate their class to learn, doctors, lawyers, and accountants need one to attract more clients, and those who offer a product, or service must have one to grow their customer base. Whatever it is that you do to earn a livelihood you must have a strategy. Teachers need a strategy to motivate their class to learn, doctors, lawyers, and accountants need one to attract more clients, and those who offer a product, or service must have one to grow their customer base. Your sales strategy must be well thought out or you are wasting your time and it’s costing your business. A business strategy, market/branding strategy, and successful sales strategy are all intertwined and should deliver these essential results: • Clear priorities everyone understands • Clear outcomes everyone can measure • Clear guidelines everyone can follow • Clear goals everyone can work toward Without a strategy, decisions are based on what is best at the moment because the decision-makers have lost sight of the big picture. It’s like going on vacation and didn’t know where you were going or how you plan on getting there. I have found in most businesses’ sales start with someone at the top coming up with an arbitrary growth number based on investor demands, new product development, operational capacity, or some other factor that has absolutely nothing to do with sales. This growth expectation gets divided among regions and reps in ways that are equal, arbitrary, or based on some unsupported belief about which market or reps can support the most growth. Unfortunately, these are poorly planned strategies that often result in declining morale, increased attrition, and ultimately poor business results. To create a successful strategy, you need to assess where you’ve been and where you are now. Next, create a profile of your ideal customer. Then analyze your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and set a clear marketing and branding strategy. Know what your revenue goals are while developing and communicate a clear positioning statement. Finally, come up with a clear action plan that your entire team will be part of. These steps are the basics. After doing this activity, your team will have clear priorities that everyone understands, clear outcomes that everyone can measure, clear guidelines that everyone can follow, and clear goals toward which everyone can work. One way you can keep this strategy alive when these customers call you and are placed On-Hold is to have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters the On-Hold message company. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/18/2021 Integrity a Winning Attribute
If you don't have integrity, you have nothing. You can't buy it. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing. So, what is integrity? It is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness, it’s the state of being whole and undivided, that is known to be a person of integrity. In the business world, There’s growing recognition that business integrity is vital. In part, this is in response to an increased focus on integrity and ethics by regulators and legislators. It also reflects consumer preferences; the wider public is ascribing increasing importance to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making buying or investment decisions. And finally, another contributor to business integrity prioritization is organizations’ growing recognition that good behavior is good for business. So, what is business integrity? It’s the practice of incorporating ethical behaviors throughout your organization. Aside from the fact that integrity is always the right choice, there are valid business reasons for making it a priority. In business, it enhances your reputation — which can help attract and retain customers, engender employee loyalty and become a more attractive investment proposition. Business integrity is strongly correlated with financial performance. It can help you steer clear of regulatory noncompliance with its accompanying penalties. All of which are compelling reasons for any organization to prioritize an improvement in business integrity. Integrity starts with you regardless of what position you hold in the function of that business. It is important for your coworkers to trust you and know that your word is your bond. If you want to improve business integrity, you need to develop a corporate understanding of the term. Agreeing on a definition of integrity in business is a required first step on the road to a more integral organization. Having integrity is contingent upon doing the right thing even when nobody is watching, behaving honestly, and consistently adhering to high ethical standards because it’s the right thing to do — not for any perceived, benefit you will achieve. Every touch a business has with either a client or prospective client must continue to show that integrity is a major player in the culture of that organization from in-person contact, written contact, and phone contact. One simple cost-efficient and effective way are with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation, increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/15/2021 Reasons To Have A Message On-Hold
Did you know that having an On-Hold message on your telephone is one of the most effective ways to promote whatever business you are in? What your current clients or future prospects hear when placed On-Hold (70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold) is not only essential but also very smart for if you think about it; who is more captive than a caller On-Hold? With an On-Hold Message you can sell products and services introduce promotions drive website traffic answer FAQ’s provide customer service reinforce marketing encourage referrals build brand awareness keep callers entertained and informed and best of all according to AT&T research show a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/14/2021 Being Efficient and Effective
How do you market your business? Do you use the usual TV Radio social media and print? Are you active in networking yourself as well as your product or service? They all work some cost money some cost time and some cost both money and time. Remember marketing is what you do not who you are. Branding is who you are and the perception the consumer has of you and your company. Therefore one of the most efficient and effective ways of keeping that marketing and branding message moving is through a message On-Hold. You’ve done enough marketing to create interest in your company’s products or service and you’ve branded yourself and your company as one that consumers want to do business with now you have a captive audience on your phone waiting On-Hold for service; what do you offer them. Hopefully it’s not silent. Sixty percent will abandon the call within thirty seconds thinking that they were disconnected and if you are playing a radio playing music the caller doesn’t enjoy that could be torture and that caller might last up to ninety seconds. The good news is that with an On-Hold message that prospect would stay on the line for four or more minutes while your On-Hold message is informing as well as entertaining continuing both your marketing and branding message. On-Hold messages according to AT&T research will show an increase in sales between 2 ½ to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/13/2021 Time To Take Advantage
Isn’t it time to take advantage of the time callers spend On-Hold? In place of someone hearing silence or a fuzzy radio or simply awful music On-Hold now you can take advantage of time callers spend On-Hold. The definition of marketing has broadened in the information age every opportunity should be considered and there's definitely a vibrant marketing channel available through your phone's On-Hold button. There callers who are already interested in your products or services are waiting to hear what you can do for them and they are captive to that message. Having an On-Hold message carries both your marketing and branding image forward; it’s an image builder. You market a product that’s what you do; your brand is who you are. In today’s microwave world callers quickly go elsewhere when they don't get what they're looking for right away. Companies that think they may be losing sales to call abandonment probably are. They need a professional On-Hold solution. Telephone technology is getting better and less expensive allowing small companies even home-based companies to handle calls with "big company" style. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/12/2021 The Emotional Disconnect
How often do you call a business and are put On-Hold? According to AT&T research on average you will be placed On-Hold seven out of ten times or seventy percent. When you are placed On-Hold and are greeted by silence; what are your thoughts? My thoughts are have I been disconnected? Statistically again according to AT&T research within thirty seconds sixty percent of those incoming calls hang up and that is called ‘Call Abandonment’. Those businesses you called have spent hard-earned marketing dollars and precious time to get that phone to ring and when it does they have ignored you by greeting you with silence. Or maybe that business you called was kind enough to put a radio station on their phone line playing music not to your taste and commercials that you’d rather not hear. Once again AT&T research tells us that on average you might stay On-Hold up to ninety seconds then abandon the call. The good news is that if that company had a custom On-Hold message they could keep you On-Hold for four minutes or more turning wasted time into productive time. Why? An On-Hold message gives the caller information as well as entertainment answering FAQs. The On-Hold message becomes an infomercial for that business and once again according to AT&T On-Hold messages help increase sales from 21/2% to 5%. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/11/2021 Saving One Hang-Up A Day
How often do you lose a caller to hang-ups? It’s called “Call Abandonment”. Would you like to stop it? Research has shown that hang-ups will decline from 50% to as much as 75% with a message On-Hold. Many of our current clients have reported similar results. If you are saving only 1 hang-up per day (now fill in the blank) and it became a sale how much would that mean in a week a month a year in dollars? And at the same time you are improving customer satisfaction; wouldn’t you want to do that? On-Hold messaging can be viewed as one element of marketing. It lets a business speak directly to its customers and prospects while they're waiting On-Hold. As a marketing tool On-Hold messaging can't be beaten. The customer on hold is a captive audience. And unlike with advertisements and commercials your company has paid nothing to get the customer's attention. With a Message On-Hold you can showcase your products or services all the while reinforcing the customers' belief that they're doing business with a company that offers top-quality products or services. With an On-Hold message new listeners become advocates who appreciate the company more as they learn more about it. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/08/2021 Adding Value To Your Business
Here’s a question you might be asking; How does On-Hold Advertising add value to my business? Here are just some of the answers; by preventing caller hang-ups or call abandonment and remember each new customer or client is worth some dollar amount; how many can you afford to lose? On-Hold messages provide callers with both information as well as entertainment keeping them on the phone prevents call abandonment. On-Hold Advertising creates a professional image for your business that most of the time increases sales of either products or services. Messages On-Hold prevents silence from greeting your callers and turns wasted time into productive time. When someone calls your business you already know that they want information they called you. With On-Hold Advertising you can focus on both your marketing and branding efforts as well as imparting additional information about your products or service. The On-Hold callers are a captive target market. Companies of all sizes from single line home-based businesses to the biggest companies all find that On-Hold Messages is very useful in marketing their business. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/07/2021 Waste Not Want Not
Years ago I heard a saying “Waste not want not” and one of the things many people in business do is waste time. Salespeople are really good at that. Over the years I have wasted many hours of my time when if I just thought a little ahead I could have been more productive. Time is one commodity that is not replaceable. When I think of what I have missed because I’ve wasted time I can shudder. One of my personal goals is not to waste time anymore. One place I notice many businesses waste time is on the phone. A client or potential client calls in and while On-Hold waiting for service they are treated to some local radio station music beeps or total silence; not knowing if they have been disconnected. When all it takes is a custom On-Hold message that perpetuates your marketing and branding information. Here are some facts from AT&T research to support the need for On-Hold messages. 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. 60% will hang up within thirty seconds if there’s silence and with a radio playing maybe forty-five seconds. However with custom On-Hold Advertising they will stay on for four minutes or more. Best of all AT&T’s research found that 12% of the callers will take action on something they heard and there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with On-Hold Advertising. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/06/2021 How to Continue Your Marketing & Branding Message
Did you ever think about how your customers or clients are taken care of when they call your business? May I suggest that periodically you call in just like any customer or client might and see what happens? One thing that can assist any incoming call since 70% of them are placed On-Hold (AT&T statistic) is to have a great On-Hold message that keeps both your marketing and branding flowing. Remember marketing is what you do and branding is who you are. If you spend both your time and money on getting people to call into your business it’s more than worthwhile to spend a tad extra to continue keeping that image of who you are and what you do in the forefront. Remember these callers are captive to your custom On-Hold advertisement. You have the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling additional products or services as well as continuing your branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/05/2021 Things to Do To Market Your Business
You don’t need to spend buckets of money on marketing. Creativity and a bit of gumption to do something different from everyone else in the market can be the difference between business success and business failure. Networking is a great way to build a business. Remember it’s not what you know it’s who you know that really counts. Use social media like Facebook Twitter and LinkedIn producing your own videos for YouTube or writing your own blog are creative methods of letting people know about you and your business. Writing a blog like this takes some planning however and it does work. A very cost-effective and efficient way to market is done with the ‘Hold’ button on your phone. One of your goals in marketing your business is to get your phone to ring. Every incoming call has a value in what was the cost to get the call and what is that call worth. Using AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there’s silence On-Hold and maybe stay another ten seconds if there’s music. So ask yourself a question; “What is a new client worth to me?” Just think every abandoned call could be costing you those dollars. Now more from AT&T research; 12% of the callers On-Hold will take action on something they heard while On-Hold and there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with On-Hold advertising. How would that kind of an outcome influence your bottom line? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/04/2021 Marketing Tips 101
If you are in business or if you work for a business regardless of the kind or type of business, marketing is a must. Along with marketing, branding is of equal importance. Remember, marketing is what you do branding is who you are. For today’s blog, I’m going to write only about marketing. First, ask yourself, “Who are my customers, clients, or patients?” Unless you know that answer, marketing could be a tough road. When you know who they are you’ll know what makes them tick, and what is it that they really want and value. In case you didn’t know, staying in touch with them long after the sale puts you ahead of the competition. Anyone who breathes air is not your target. Targeting your marketing activities fairly and squarely at the people who need and want your service or product is the secret to creating quality inquiries and getting prospects to open their wallets. Remember, marketing is not advertising. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that advertising and websites are the only two ways to attract more business. You can market your small or large business in literally hundreds of ways, so it pays to know what they are and then eliminate the ones that won’t work, or that you can’t afford, up-front. Marketing really is a numbers game. Marketing efforts that won’t directly or indirectly bring in new business have absolutely no point. Know what your goals are in terms of revenue, expenses, profit, number of inquiries, and, of course, the number of new sales. For today remember this, your business card, sales brochures, sales letters, website, signage, uniforms, and car decal speak volumes about your business. Make sure they look professional and always appealing. While marketing your business you’ll get asked thousands of times ‘What do you do?’ Don’t make the mistake of boring the poor person who asked the question. Make sure you have a fun, interesting, and memorable elevator pitch ready always — and be able to deliver it in the time it takes to travel a few floors in an elevator. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation, increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

10/01/2021 Cheap Is More Expensive
Cheap is usually more expensive in almost any endeavor. Cheap usually means low quality in every aspect of the product or service. There is a difference between inexpensive and cheap and I don’t know of any business that wants to look cheap. All we must do is look at how the abundance of cheap food with little nutritional value has hurt our health here in the United States cheap food and high medical bills. In business it is necessary to be prudent but not cheap. Most businesses set out a budget and part of that budget is marketing. After all a business needs customers or clients. Usually about 80% of a budget is set aside for marketing getting the phone to ring but the sad part (or in this case the cheap part) is only 6% of that budget is spent once that phone rings. Since 70% of incoming calls are placed On-Hold (AT&T statistic) and the caller is captive to whatever you have On-Hold the sensible thing to do is to dispense information about your product or service. The good news is again according to AT&T research there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with On-Hold advertising. How would that kind of an outcome influence your bottom line? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/30/2021 Success=Disciplines + Daily Practice
Jim Rohn said “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day” and he is spot on with that. You start your engine toward success by getting motivated then you develop the habits that lead to that success. The question is what habits do you want to develop? I believe your personal habits overspill your corporate habits. To put it another way your personal habits reciprocate with your business habits. How you market yourself and your business and how you build your personal brand and your company’s brand should reflect each other. Every aspect of you and your business must continue the branding and marketing plan from how your product or service is introduced to its’ delivery to customer service and how your incoming phone calls are handled. With incoming calls. you have complete control. You can have your callers in silence and know that they will abandon that call within thirty seconds or you could have a radio playing some kind of music that not all your callers like while listening to minutes of commercials maybe your competitions or you can have HoldMasters create for you a custom On-Hold message that spotlights your business keeping both the marketing and branding messages flowing. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/29/2021 Taking Action
What action do you want your clients or customers to take? I would assume you’d like them to continue to do business with you. My guess is that you’d like your prospects to do business with you as well. Most people in business spend both time and money getting both new and repeat customers as a matter of fact according to AT&T about 80% of the average business budget is spent on marketing and brand building. Here’s the scary news the average business spends only about 6% of their marketing and branding budget once the potential client or customer comes in or calls up. Again according to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% will abandon the call hang up within thirty seconds if there is silence and they may stay for an additional fifteen seconds if there is music. This doesn’t have to happen if a low-cost custom On-Hold message is working and telling those callers information about products or services offered. Whether you are a home-based business or a Fortune 500 company your On-Hold function can be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing branding and sales tool kit. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/28/2021
ROI EXPECTATIONS When you spend one dollar marketing your product or service what are your expectations for your ROI? Have you ever put a price on the cost of each client you acquire or sale made? If one can use statistics as a barometer if you could show a 2½% to 5% increase in sales by spending less than $1000 would you consider that a sound investment? Remember in just about every area of life you must risk in order to gain the reward. In love as in sales you must risk rejection to get the sale or that first date. When you invested in your business regardless of what you do you took a risk in anticipation of building your bank account. If we take a risk we can see again and with again we have more to give to others. Your risk going into your business was predicated on some research and statistics. So here’s some statistics supplied by AT&T: 70% of all incoming phone calls are placed On-Hold; 60% will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is silence on the line and another fifteen to thirty seconds with music; callers will stay On-Hold for four or more minutes if there is information broadcasted and 12% said they made a buying decision from information heard while On-Hold. Remember according to AT&T there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales with an On-Hold message in place. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/27/2021 Don’t Ruin Your Reputation Your Brand
What kind of a reputation do you and your business have? Remember your reputation is your brand; it’s who you are as a person and as a company. You can devote fortunes of both time and money building your brand and in just minutes extinguish it. For that very reason it is judicious to have a well-trained support staff backing up every phase of your company. Your front-line people your sales staff must reflect your vision your brand as they market your product or service. Your receptionist customer service people and your telephone operator must do the same. Should a caller be placed On-Hold and according to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold what experience your caller receives while On-Hold either enhances or may diminish your reputation. You can prevent the tarnishing with a custom-made On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Your message will both reflect your brand and support your marketing efforts and as a bonus statistics from AT&T tell us there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/23/2021 Sales Process
How is it that the Top One Percent of Salespeople in 23 industries earn more than the average CEO, yet they seldom work as long, nor as hard? Almost all of the Top 1% utilize a consistent sales process with all their prospects and customers. Most of them print out their sales process in a questionnaire format so that they do not have to memorize anything. That way, they can focus all their attention on their prospects, rather than thinking about their next question or the next step in their sales process. Most of what the other 99% of salespeople do is in direct opposition to how the Top 1% sell. They don’t prospect efficiently, they do not utilize a consistently effective sales process, and they believe that their primary function is to persuade and convince prospects to buy their products and services through manipulative persuasion tactics and believe that’s their primary function. Also, they fail to get a conditional commitment to do business at the beginning of the sales process, they neglect to determine the exact buying intentions of their prospects, including what their financial capacity is when the purchase will occur, who makes the final decisions, they attempt to do what they call “building rapport.” However, what they are really doing is trying to get the prospects to like them, which is an inherently manipulative process. And most salespeople do “sales presentations,” rather than determining what their prospect wants, and why, most salespeople close at the end of their sales process while the top salespeople start closing at the beginning of their sales process and continue to close throughout the process, as many as thirty times. Lastly, most salespeople are locked into old beliefs about selling. Therefore, when they try to improve, they only improve on what they already know that can only result in small incremental improvements as opposed to dramatic increases in their sales productivity. Selling, particularly in today’s digital, buyer-centric environment, is hard for even the most seasoned sales reps otherwise we could hire anyone with a high school diploma. To be successful in sales you need a killer elevator speech, ask the correct discovery questions, and helping your prospect decide if your solution is even right for them in the first place. If you don’t have a belief in your product or service, then neither will the prospect. Some of the paramount needs a salesperson needs are ongoing training and coaching, and goal setting. An organization must be the backup to that salesperson. One way is with a cost-efficient and effective custom On-Hold message should that prospect call and is placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/22/2021 Emails
In case you haven’t noticed we are in a pandemic. Most businesses are struggling and getting new business while maintaining your current business is getting more difficult. One way to get new business is through email. It’s been said that “There's great power in words if you don't hitch too many of them together” and that is so true; that means brevity rules. I as most of you receive many emails daily. The ones I usually open have a great subject line with a very brief message. I notice the ones I open pique my curiosity in both the subject and body of the email. The ones I don’t read are the ones that piqued my curiosity with the subject however turned me off by the size of the body the message. I even have gotten emails with a full-fledged sales presentation. In my message on-hold business I have done both. In the beginning I would send emails that had all the reasons and statistics of why a business should use a message on hold. Now I just write “I can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another marketing person for your business for pennies” and I include my phone number and my web address. My subject line usually says “Grow Your Business”. Both subject and body are brief and to the point. This has garnered for me more positive results than when I wrote a novel about my business and why the recipient of the email needs my service. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/21/2021 Stop Wasting Time
Most people don’t realize how often people are placed On-Hold when they call. I remember when I was presenting my service to a business owner who received a phone call while I was making my presentation. His receptionist answered the call asked the caller if she could place him On-Hold. Meanwhile my prospect was telling me that they never put anyone On-Hold. The receptionist buzzed my prospect then he excused himself to answer the phone. After listening for about one minute he told the caller he’d get the information placed him On-Hold for about two minutes returned to the phone and took care of the business thanked the caller for his business and hung up. My prospect then turned to me and said and I quote “We never place anyone On-Hold”. When I pointed out the scenario I had just witnessed he realized that he was not cognizant about the time people are placed On-Hold at his business. Being On-Hold with silence greeting the caller isn’t a good idea for you are wasting valuable marketing and branding time as well as your caller’s time. Advertising your company just makes good common sense. According to AT&T about 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% will abandon the call within 30 seconds. That could mean a loss of revenue for your business when just having a custom On-Hold message might have saved that call. More statistics from AT&T that 12% of those callers take action on what they heard while holding and having an On-Hold message creates a 2 ½% to 5% increase in sales. Let HoldMasters help create that custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/20/2021 Rituals To Habits To Success
What are your daily rituals? Rituals are done over and over again become habits and habits dictate whether you attract or repel success. Rituals are little things for example for physical health; the ritual of doing exercise every day makes a person look and feel different than the person that doesn’t. In sales the ritual of making one more call every day increases the opportunity of making more sales. What happens is the person who exercises daily or the salesperson that makes that one more call daily creates a habit. There are two kinds of habits those that make you better are called good habits and there are bad habits; the ones that hurt your growth potential. Success and failure are not spontaneous occurrences; they grow from the little rituals and habits you display every day. See what happens when you change just one ritual for a week. In place of that sugar muffin and coffee for breakfast eat some fruit or have an egg. See how you feel at the end of a week. In place of going online first thing in the morning read something to advance your knowledge of your business or learn something about a prospect you plan on visiting. See how that helps you close more sales. Another good habit is having On-Hold advertising on your phone. It has several positive outcomes; first it can up-sell and cross-sell present clients by sharing with them other aspects of your business. Second it answers FAQs that frees up your receptionist. Third it entertains the caller so that they don’t feel like they are being ignored and forth it’s just good common courtesy to appreciate the caller so that he or she doesn’t feel abandoned. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let Holdmasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/17/2021 Keeping Your Brand Alive While On-Hold
Have you ever called a business been put On-Hold and listened to horrible sounds? Too often a business will hook up a radio in their phone room not realizing that all of the electrical energy in that phone room will affect their radio. The only people that are affected are those people that call into your business your clients or your potential clients. Why don’t you give them a well-thought-out presentation of your company while keeping your brand alive? When someone is On-Hold they are captive to your message and this is the perfect time to inform and even up-sell or cross-sell your products or service. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold so the odds are in your favor of making that caller have a pleasant experience calling your business and using AT&T’s research again your should experience a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/15/2021 Networking Can Build Your Business
Do you network? If not you are missing one of the most successful ways of building your business. Networking is getting your business friends and associates to recommend you to their business friends and associates and after all aren’t warm introductions better than cold calling? You bet it is. People network all the time. They tell their friends about a great movie they saw or a fine dining experience they had and that’s networking. It is great word-of-mouth advertising and a lot less costly than buying it. Yet many business owners and decision-makers ignore customer service. I don’t know if it’s a lack of knowledge of how a customer is handled once they call in or come through the door but poor customer service is flourishing in the business world. Since I deal with telephones allows me to share what I mean and offer a solution. AT&T research tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and 60% of those callers will abandon the call within thirty seconds if there is just silence on the phone it makes sense to offer an alternative. Now some companies offer music via a radio station. That is a method of keeping your customers and clients entertained some of the time. What if the station you choose plays music that the caller doesn’t like it’s torture. Add to that playing music alone might keep the caller online for maybe ninety seconds according to AT&T. However if you have a message On-Hold that is both entertaining and informative that caller will stay On-Hold for four minutes or more. As a bonus again according to AT&T with an On-Hold message there is a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/14/2021 The Times They Are A-Changing
There are things that are changing in business and some things are staying the same. The changes of course deal with computers smartphones tablets and the i-Watch. What has changed in business are the methods to attract new customers and clients. What hasn’t changed is how you keep them as customers and clients. Your customer base is the bread and butter of your business and they should never be ignored. Yet how often does a longtime customer or client call get placed On-Hold and hear nothing but silence; or maybe you have a radio playing or music On-Hold? Here is a question; what is that caller learning about your business? if you have a new product or service what is he or she hears is nothing. And the new prospective client when placed On-Hold what would you like him or her to know about your business? Putting an On-Hold message on your phone line is a perfect time to tell your caller large amounts of information that helps put them in a buying mood. It shows you care and it tells your story carrying both your marketing and branding message forward. According to AT&T research a business with an On-Hold message shows a two and a half to five percent increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/13/2021 Getting New Business
How is your year going? Great I hope. Today’s blog is about getting NEW BUSINESS for YOUR BUSINESS. As I see it there are just a few ways of getting NEW business. First on the list is paid advertising. You can advertise in print radio television the internet flyers promotional products etc. All of them work and all cost money. Or you can work on recommendations from your present clients and add to this NETWORKING. On one end of the scale you can pay for NEW business (paid advertising) or on the other end you can use your time to NETWORK. If you think about it getting satisfied clients to recommend you or a fellow member of your NETWORKING group is pretty much the same thing; one person telling a friend about you and your product or service. I realize Time is Money however would you rather present your product or service to a person with an introduction from a friend or take a cold response from your paid advertising? My choice is the recommendation but that’s me. Another way of getting NEW business and keeping current business from leaving you is through great customer service. One way to achieve that is with a great On-Hold Message from HoldMasters.The idea being callers get frustrated angry bored feel you don't care & hang up but with HoldMasters they hear the information of interest that engages so they stay involved during On-Hold time and learn information of value--the experience is satisfying. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/10/2021 Own The Power Of The Message
I have been a Jim Rohn fan since the first time I heard him speak. Jim once said “Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom.” Back in 1987 I was having a major challenge I was single for the first time in twenty-plus years and had been replaced at a job that was paying me in the six-figure range. To add to the challenge there was no money coming in all of it was going out and my bank account was dwindling close to zero. I had to do something and I knew someone who was producing On-Hold Messages and thought what a great idea. That caller is captive to the message and it made sense that by having Information-On-Hold one should be able to keep their marketing and branding message going all the while holding the caller’s interest. Years later AT&T did the research and confirmed the power of Messages-On-Hold and how on average they produce anywhere from 2 1/2% to a 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/09/2021 Raising The Bar Closing The Sale
How would you like to make more sales? This might seem to be a silly question however you’d be surprised at how many smart decision-makers pass by a very simple sales tool the On-Hold Message. With the knowledge supplied to us by AT&T that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and by having On-Hold Advertising speaking to your captive caller telling him or her exactly what you want them to hear you raise the bar toward closing the sale. AT&T tells us that 12% of the callers act on something they heard while On-Hold and the results of having an On-Hold Message show a 2½% to 5% increase in sales; how would you feel with those results? When a business offers nothing but silence or a radio station on average the caller will stay On-Hold between fifteen to forty-five seconds then abandoning the call. There are no estimates of the amount of lost revenue but there are lost opportunities to make the sale ergo lost profits. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/08/2021 Communication is King
I am in the "EduTainment" Business. I know how to Educate and Entertain all of your ‘In-Coming Callers’ while building up your bottom line. Communication is the response you get. Over many years in broadcasting from being a DJ on the radio to Bozo the Clown on television communicating with an audience has been a prime goal. The knack of writing requires the ability to write for the eye if your message is in print or write for the ear if your message will only be heard not read. The connection for writing for the ear means that your message has must reach the theatre of the mind on an auditory plane in order to persuade the listener. This skill has been honed over many years and put into practice when we write an Advertising-On-Hold-Message for your business. Take advantage of your captive listener and see how you could reap the 2½% to 5% increase in sales that AT&T says happen with On-Hold Messages. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/07/2021 Becoming A Trusted Advisor
How many people sell what you sell? How can any buyer choose whom to buy from? What is your brand? Whether you work for a large corporation or run a home-based business you are still the CEO of Me Inc. and must establish your own brand. Most real estate salespeople are exposed to the MLM of their communities and yet certain salespeople always lead each month in closings. Why may you ask? Because they have established themselves as a trusted advisor; they have built their own personal brand. You can do this too and although it’s hard work it’s easy to do. Most important is to do your homework and really know your prospect and his or her challenge(s). It’s equally important to know all about your product or service and how it can resolve your prospect’s challenge(s). Now it’s time to build your own personal brand for Me Inc. Start by asking questions easy non-threatening to start questions like “What made you decide to go into your business?” The most important is for you to listen actively to the answer. Keep the funnel of questions and answers going each time digging a little deeper into the challenge(s) facing that buyer. As those challenging questions continue that prospect will feel the pain. There is no need for you to do a features and benefits song and dance all you need do is share how your product or service can alleviate that pain. You will note that as your meeting progresses you seem to be morphing from a salesperson to a trusted advisor. FYI usually trusted advisors have greater staying power than salespeople; ergo by losing the account to another salesperson or other vendor. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/06/2021 Excellence Is Never an Accident
I hope you are having a happy and restful Labor Day. Thomas Jefferson said "I'm a firm believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." Excellence is never an accident. No matter how well your product or service performs no matter how great you are in customer service remember nothing happens until a sale is made. If your sales are down or your sales team’s sales are down there is a fix. If you are a salesperson keep a journal of every meeting. What worked and what didn’t work. What were the questions you asked? How were they answered? What was your follow-up question? Did you zero in on the challenge(s) this prospect has? What were your solutions? Take some time to look over your journal entries and see if there is a pattern to your meetings with prospects. Think of yourself as a doctor diagnosing a patient and you are the patient. Be opened to see and evaluate those things you did right and see where you need improvement. Excellence is created by continuous learning so read a book take a class go to a seminar find a mentor. Remember selling is a profession and just like the doctor takes continuous educational classes salespeople must do the same if they want to be at the top of their class. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line. Many of my older blogs and articles are on my website (www.holdmasters1.com) that you might find helpful in upping your success.

9/03/2021 Branding Your Business Is A Full Time Job
There are things that everyone in business needs to know. Every business needs to be marketed in some fashion. Also every business needs to have a brand identity. Your marketing tells your potential client what you have to offer and your branding tells them who you are. Unless you have a product or service that is exclusive to you your brand image is your ace in the hole. Your brand image is the one that must be carried throughout your marketing process and how you do that could be the key to getting and keeping business. Therefore how you brand yourself regardless of what widget you sell or service you provide that branding must be carried on with every client contact. Most businesspeople do well in the first contact. Where they fall short is in the follow up. One of the areas that is almost ignored is your telephone. Here is the scenario; you spend time and money to have someone call your business they call and according to statistics 70% of the time they will be placed On-Hold and when put On-Hold they are greeted with either silence or a radio. All your branding efforts could be lost when this happens. If you have a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters your branding would be continued while the prospect or client would be holding. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/02/2021 Carry Both Your Branding and Marketing Message
What is it you want everyone that calls your business to know? Do you want your company’s brand continued whenever anyone has contact with your business? There are ways to do this. The first way is training. Just like going to a franchise restaurant the food and service should all be the same and at your business all employees should be trained to give the service. you the decision maker wants everyone to receive. The same holds true with your incoming phones. According to AT&T statistics 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. Here you now have a captive person listening to whatever you want that person to know about your company. For a very small cost you can carry both your marketing and branding messages to every incoming call. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

9/01/2021 How To Prevent Call Abandonment
I find it hard to believe that any businessperson doesn’t want to keep incoming phone calls from hanging up; it’s called call “Call Abandonment”. Yet there are companies out there that still have silence waiting for the caller when placed On-Hold. Sometimes you might hear a radio station playing some format of music and commercials maybe even one for the competition. And then there are companies that have an On-Hold message. Messages that inform show courtesy and entertain the caller. Statistics show that with silence callers will abandon your phone queue within 40 seconds with music about 90 seconds however with an On-Hold message they will stay on-lne for four minutes or more. A big plus statistics also show an increase in sales between two and a half to five percent. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/31/2021 What Do Your Clients Hear When Placed On-Hold
How many times have you called a business and been put On-Hold? According to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. While you were On-Hold what were your thoughts? Did you learn something about the company you called? Did you learn anything about the products? Or were you forced to listen to some radio station or worse yet were you left in silence? Again according to AT&T 60% of people placed On-Hold and hear silence will hang within 40 seconds and with music they will last maybe 90 seconds. However with an On-Hold message callers will say On-Hold for four minutes or more. Best of all there is a two and a half to five percent increase in sales with an On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/30/2021 Carry Your Marketing And Branding Message
Too often decision makers think they know how to market their business. The problem is today’s marketing is totally different then even one year ago and unless those decision makers are staying up-todate they will miss the mark. Today unless you have many dollars to invest there are many roads to take to promote and market a business. There is the ‘Old School’ of radio TV and print. Then there is the ‘New School’ that includes the old and now the Internet along with networking. Marketing your product or service is a full-time job. One of the key jobs of marketing is getting brand recognition about your product or service. Another key function about your marketing is getting that phone to ring or having people walk through your doors. When people walk through your doors you don’t want them ignored. Nor should you want them ignored when they call. Having someone greet them when they walk through the doors and carry your marketing and brand message should be a given. What about the phone? You really don’t want to ignore them there since they will hang up and move on to another organization that does what you do. This is where HoldMasters can help you carry your marketing and brand message forward with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/20/2021 Focus A Key to Success
Focus is a major key to success. Have you noticed that what you focus on is usually what you get? Our brains are such that we can only focus on one thing at a time; sure we see lots of other things but our focus is on one. To be successful we must have laser focus on whatever task is at hand before we move on. Using the concept of seeing the task completed in advance can enhance our focus because of the feeling we anticipate getting at its conclusion. Success in anything seldom comes haphazardly; we need imagination planning focus and hard work. Have you noticed that the more you focus the harder you work and the more success you get? It all starts with an idea your goal. Then set your map in place those mini-goals on your highway to success. Here is where you focus your energy as you see your idea getting closer as each mini goal is reached and how you navigate any detours on this road. Use all the resources at your disposal to make this journey as smooth as possible. One resource should be the HOLD button on your phone. You have the perfect opportunity to share your idea with a captive listener by having a custom On-Hold message sharing your vision. and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/19/2021 The Sales Presentation
The quality of your sales presentation will often determine whether a prospect buys from you or from one of your competitors. Many presentations lack pizzazz and are seldom compelling enough to motivate the other person to make a buying decision. By pizzazz I’m talking about your enthusiasm, enthusiasm is contagious. If you’re not enthusiastic, how do you expect the prospect to feel? Are you telling compelling stories to pique their interest? Always qualify your audience prior to your sales presentation. Make sure they can use what you offer, can they afford it, and are you speaking to someone who can say, “yes”. Ask questions to find out what they have at present that serves in the same area as your product or service. Before you launch into your presentation determine if your product or service would be of value. Find out if they are satisfied with what they have now and what would they like to see to improve their satisfaction. Even if a prospect is interested in your product or service, they may not be able to buy at the present time. Often it comes down to a budget issue, and the timing's not right. Other times, it's because a contract hasn't expired. Sometimes the prospect already owns a product that works for them and buying your product wouldn't be any kind of improvement. In that case, don't try to fast-talk or pressure them into buying from you. It's much better to confess, "I think your current setup is just fine for you right now.” Prospects appreciate honesty and you'll have a good chance of making the sale at a later date when their situation changes (e.g. the product breaks down or their current provider jacks up their fees) or getting referrals. Show that your product or service will increase their profitability. For example, in my Message On-Hold business that these messages are both cost-effective and efficient. Then I’d share that since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember, I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/18/2021 Appointment Setting
Regardless of the business you are in you either have a product or service you are offering. To make that sale you need to set an appointment in order to have a conversation and see if what you have answers a need and relieves pain. As a representative of your business, you will always have two goals. Your ultimate goal is to close the sale and get a new client. Your immediate goal is to get the prospect to move to the next stage in your sales process (the appointment) but first focus on the right goal, create enough interest to set that appointment, and don’t sound like a salesperson. Confirm that the prospect is available for the call. This is one of the more debatable appointment setting tips as many people will disagree, but I suggest that you open your call by confirming that the prospect is available by asking if you have caught the prospect in the middle of anything. This small change can show the prospect that you respect them, and their time and it can buy you 2 to 5 minutes to work with when the prospect says they are available. Once you confirm that the prospect is available, share some sort of elevator pitch. This should be one to two sentences that communicate how you can help the prospect. Your elevator pitch could be a value statement or value proposition, it could be some pain point examples, or it could be a quick past client example. Now, ask good probing open-ended questions. These questions should be determined from your research about the industry or specific business, they will help to make the call more engaging and interactive. You are usually going to get some objections when you are making B2B cold calls. Instead of trying to figure out how to respond to an objection when you are on a live call, stop to outline the objections that you can anticipate ahead of time and prepare some responses in advance that will help you to keep calls going. Remember, your immediate goal is not necessarily to sell the product and is more so to set the appointment. As a result, you don’t need to build the prospect’s level of interest so that they purchase. You need to build just enough interest and curiosity so that the prospect wants to continue the conversation. For example, in my Message On-Hold business when I tell someone that I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. There is usually curiosity created. I might then expand on it by telling them that since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. At this point assume they are interested enough to continue the conversation and ask them if they have their calendar handy and set up the date and time. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember, I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/17/2021 The Elevator Speech
The 30 Second Elevator Speech is a brief, persuasive speech that you use to spark interest in what you and your organization do. It communicates who you are, what you’re looking for, and how you can benefit a company or organization and, it’s typically about 30 seconds to a minute in length, the time it takes people to ride from the top to the bottom of a building in an elevator. Within your elevator speech, you need to know your objective and focus on the challenges that you solve and how you help people. First and foremost, your speech should excite you: after all, if you don't get excited about what you're saying, neither will your audience. Make sure you communicate your ‘Unique Selling Proposition (USP),’ then engage your audience by asking open-ended questions (questions that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer) to involve them in the conversation. Then, put it all together and practice it before a mirror for in-person encounters and record it for when you are using the phone. Remember, you only have a few seconds to make a first impression and create interest. In building your elevator speech ask yourself, “What challenges does my product (or service) solve” (and that should narrow down your target market). Who is your competition? When Henry Ford started selling automobiles his competition was horses and bikes. In my message on hold business, my competition is canned music, radio stations, beeps, or just silence. If you can further distill your 30 seconds to one sentence better yet. It helps you, as a representative, focus on exactly what you do and who you’re doing it for. It also helps you clearly market your business. Your goal should be to have your audience ask for more information, but that is not your cue to go into a sale presentation it’s your cue to set an appointment for a future conversation; make your listener want more. Think of your elevator speech as a simple headline at the top of your website or brochures that will communicate the core essence of your company and generate interest in learning more about what you do. In my message On-Hold business, I can turn your phone's "On Hold" function into another marketing person for your business for pennies. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember, I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/16/2021 Here’s an Idea
Everyone offers ideas both to themselves and to others. So, what is an idea? By definition an idea is any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or an activity, alternatively, it can be a thought, conception, or notion, an impression, an opinion, view, or a belief, your plan of action; an intention and last but not least is a groundless supposition; fantasy. Bottom line, an idea is a concept developed by the mind. In the business or personal world ideas are exchanged between others or, within your own psyche. An idea can inspire, stimulate, and persuade or it can be a deterrent or, a discouragement. Since ideas are thoughts, and thoughts are things, ideas are very powerful. Ideas generate questions and, as usual, questions spawn answers; some we accept and some we don’t. In business when ideas are exchanged there is either buy-in or buy-out. So, how do you create an atmosphere for the buy-in? By asking questions to discover needs and desires. Needs to me are immediate and desires are long-term. Getting to the buy-in requires tapping in on emotion. The first emotion is fear and the pain it brings. The second emotion is a pleasure and the joy it brings. The more fear you create, pain, the better the chance for a buy-in when you play the pleasure card. In sales (and we all sell something usually ideas) all buying decisions stem from the interplay of the following emotions: 1. “Fear” if I don’t make a decision now, I’m toast. 2. “Greed” if I make a decision now, I’ll be rewarded. 3. “Altruism” if I make a decision now, I will help others. 4. “Envy” if I don’t make a decision now, my competition will win. 5. “Pride” if I make a decision now, I’ll look smart. 6. “Shame” if I don’t make a decision now, I’ll look stupid. Every idea either creates or augments one or more of these emotional states. Therefore, when offering ideas always ask the questions that will elicit one of these emotions. Remember, ‘facts tell, emotions sell’. Keep the ideas flowing with great questions, not only to others but to yourself as well. Then offer an idea that could assuage the pain and increase the pleasure like an On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It affords you the opportunity of up-selling and cross-selling current clients and exposing prospects to your business philosophy. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Remember, I'm the guy that can turn your phone's "on hold" function into another salesperson for your team for pennies. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/13/2021 Keeping Your Brand Message Alive
Whatever business you are in there are others that compete with you. They do the exact same thing you do; so why should I do business with you? What distinguishes you from your competition? It’s your brand. It’s who you are. It’s your personality and style and it’s the trust you build up every day with those with whom you connect. Branding yourself is a full-time job from the first “hello” to saying “thank you” for the order or for the confidence in doing business with you. That brand must follow you and your business in every aspect of your company’s existence. All too often that branding stops when the phone rings and the caller is put into a maze of “press one/press two’ and if placed On-Hold and greeted with silence or a radio playing some pop tune or a gaggle of commercials maybe even the competition’s advertisement. To keep your brand message flowing a message On-Hold from HoldMasters is your ticket to success. After conferring with you and researching your business and your industry we write a script that contains five different messages that rotate while a caller is On-Hold. Each message both markets your products or service as well as keeping your brand message alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/12/2021 Setting Goals
When setting your goals do you make both short and long term goals? I would suggest that this be part of your business plan. The old saying “If you don’t know where you’re going how will you know when you get there?” rings true. I would also suggest a daily goal which can be different than a daily plan although they may seem similar. The goal is the motivation to execute the plan. When setting goals I believe one should first look at the big picture then break it down in into smaller parts until you get a daily goal. Your plan should then reflect the ‘how’ to reach that daily goal. As an example in choosing my Messages On-Hold business I first looked for a need the need to market and brand any business. Then I looked at the how the how to do it. Then I did my homework and found who is doing that now. There are countless numbers of people in advertising PR marketing and branding using every available tool television radio print social media direct mail etc. however very few in On-Hold Advertising and that became my niche. I looked at the statistics from AT&T that told me 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and I thought what a huge potential prospect list. Callers placed On-Hold captive to a marketing and branding message what a potential goal mine of increased business for the business being called. Again according to AT&T On-Hold Messages help increase sales from 2½% to 5% well worth the investment. My goal was to seek out decision makers through personal introductions referrals from networking with other businessmen and women. Another goal was to create strategic alliances with people that offer phone service both cloud-based and hard wired. I have added the use of blogging to my daily goal. The purpose of the blog is to inform and educate every type of business as to the benefits of On-Hold marketing and branding. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/11/2021 Marketing A Full Time Job
Here are some thoughts to think about. Marketing your business is a full time job and is a line item on your budget. You must promote your business regardless of what you do. Whether you sell widgets or are a professional there are on-going costs to marketing. If you use television radio print direct mail social media or a combination of them all there are costs involved and those costs are necessary if you want to grow your business. All of those marketing costs are designed to get your phone to ring and when it rings how you handle your calls can be the difference in profit or loss. Let me explain. Your marketing worked and that has caused the phone to ring. There is a 7 to 10 chance that caller will be placed On-Hold. Now here is your challenge; do you want to continue your marketing and branding information and keep that emotional bond with the caller and your business or do you want to break it off? If the former may I suggest an On-Hold message as your ticket to success. Surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/11/2021 Marketing A Full Time Job
Here are some thoughts to think about. Marketing your business is a full time job and is a line item on your budget. You must promote your business regardless of what you do. Whether you sell widgets or are a professional there are on-going costs to marketing. If you use television radio print direct mail social media or a combination of them all there are costs involved and those costs are necessary if you want to grow your business. All of those marketing costs are designed to get your phone to ring and when it rings how you handle your calls can be the difference in profit or loss. Let me explain. Your marketing worked and that has caused the phone to ring. There is a 7 to 10 chance that caller will be placed On-Hold. Now here is your challenge; do you want to continue your marketing and branding information and keep that emotional bond with the caller and your business or do you want to break it off? If the former may I suggest an On-Hold message as your ticket to success. Surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/10/2021 Job Number One
Keeping your client base informed and educated and at the same time assisting new callers to your business entertained and informed as well as keeping your marketing and branding alive is job number one of a Message-On-Hold. According to Telemarketing Magazine surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold; maybe that is why AT&T tells us that there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when there’s Advertising-On-Hold rather then silence or a radio station. Advertising your business on your phone when callers are placed On-Hold is cost effective and efficient plus prudent. U.S. West Communications found that messages On-Hold results in a 40% increase in retention of phone callers On-Hold 15% increase in inquiries 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/09/2021 Job Number One
Keeping your client base informed and educated and at the same time assisting new callers to your business entertained and informed as well as keeping your marketing and branding alive is job number one of a Message-On-Hold. According to Telemarketing Magazine surveys show that 15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard while On-Hold; maybe that is why AT&T tells us that there is a 2½% to 5% increase in sales when there’s Advertising-On-Hold rather then silence or a radio station. Advertising your business on your phone when callers are placed On-Hold is cost effective and efficient plus prudent. U.S. West Communications found that messages On-Hold results in a 40% increase in retention of phone callers On-Hold 15% increase in inquiries 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/09/2021 60 Hours a year On-Hold
A few years back I was making a presentation for HoldMasters to a businessman who told me that he never puts people On-Hold. The phone rings and the operator answers putting the caller On-Hold while buzzing my prospect. He takes the call and tells the caller he will look it up. He then puts that caller On-Hold while he goes to his files. About two- or three-minutes pass he comes back picks up the phone and takes care of the caller’s needs. He then turns to me and repeats that “they never put anyone On-Hold”. According to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold and an estimated 60% of business phone callers put on hold will hang up without messages On- Hold. The bad news is an estimated 30% of these phone callers don't call back. CNN did a survey that said that the average person spends 60 hours per year On-Hold and the average executive spends 17 minutes per day on hold. I wonder how much business is lost by that 30% who don’t call back and how much business might be gained during those 60 hours per year On-Hold? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/06/2021 What Buyer Want To Know
More than a decade ago Delta Airlines did some research that showed among many things what people in business who served them really want to know; four items consistently topped the list. First ‘Do you like me?’ Customers want to know if they are sincerely liked by the people who serve them. People are able to sense the ‘likeability’ factor from how a representative relates with them; do they use their name do they really listen and do their voices demonstrate sincere empathy? Second ‘Do you care about me?’ And consumers also try to figure out if those serving them really care about them the client. Customers can sense this from the questions asked the tone of voice amount of eye contact how helpful staffers are and whether they say or do things that show caring. Third ‘Can I trust you?’ Buyers want to know if they can trust that person that’s serving them. One way is if the representative delivers what was promised. A business can lose the buyer’s trust with delays in responding to emails text messages or phone calls. Always try to respond within a day. Fourth ‘Do you know what you’re talking about?’ Buyers want to know if the salesperson is both competent and knowledgeable. Signs can be found in how conversant the representative is with a particular condition the client is experiencing or with the product or service they are purchasing. Have you the representative solved challenges like this in the past? Should that client or prospect call you make sure you carry this ‘Buyer Wants’ forward with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/05/2021 Growing Your Business Is Not About Selling
Generating or growing business relationships is not about selling – it’s about forming trust rapport and value foundations without selling. Buyers want to communicate with people who want to fulfill the buyer’s needs or solve his or her challenges. The job of today’s sales representative is to engage communicate add value to the business solve the challenges create opportunities educate inform but don’t try and sell; it doesn’t work. People don’t like to be sold they liked to be helped and there is a difference. If you as a salesperson still operate with the same principles and techniques you were using in the 60′s the ’70s and ’80s you are obsolete. The technology supporting the sales process has clearly evolved the traditional sales strategies tendered by sales gurus 20 or 30 years ago have not kept pace with today’s market needs. They are not nearly as effective as they once were and as I’ve mentioned in most cases they are obsolete. If you are missing closing sales stop blaming the economy. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are offering added value? Are you talking or are you listening? It’s not about you your company your product or your service. It’s about meeting your customer’s needs and adding value. When you start paying more attention to your customer’s needs rather than your revenue needs you’ll find you no longer have a revenue problem to complain about. Keep these thoughts in mind when it comes to them calling you. Make sure your phone system has an On-Hold message that continues to educate as well as carrying both your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/04/2021 Finding The Person Who Can Say Yes
How many times have you or a salesperson you know chase down a lead to find out it’s not the right person? We’ve all done that and it’s no fun. During your first conversation with a prospective customer your job is to discover if they've got the money to buy your offering and if you're talking to the person who has the authority to buy. This information is paramount for your success after all you can’t get an order from the wrong person. There are questions you can ask that will lead you in the right direction. Do you want to know how the company purchases products or services of this type? How is the decision made? Who is involved with the decision and who makes the final decision? What challenges are you still faced with that your current solution still does not solve or address as effectively as you would like? What will it cost you and your company if you keep things the way they are today? Questions like these usually spark the conversation and give you the information you need to know whether you have a good prospect who has a real need for what you are selling and if they have the dollars to perform. Often time prospects like this call you for more information. How they are treated on the phone could be a large part of their buying decision. Make sure every step of the way incoming calls are handled makes that buyer trust you and your company. One cost-effective and efficient option is a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/03/2021 Create Value Not Just Communicate
Anyone selling anything product or service must create value not just communicate it. In a recent survey it was discovered that prospects rated only 1 in 8 of the sales conversations they had with salespeople as being useful in any way. In other words the potential customer or client said that time spent with 7 out of 8 salespeople was a complete and utter waste of their time. It’s no wonder that so many sales “opportunities” end up with the customer deciding to do something else or increasingly to decide to do nothing - driven no doubt in part by the depression brought on by so many incompetent value-less sales conversations. Today buyers are more sophisticated and they expect you to create value. Having generic value isn’t enough; you need the specific value that reflects the challenges germane to that prospect. This shift from communicating value to creating it is one of the most profound differences between transactional and consultative selling. Value creation depends on the ability to truly understand the prospect’s situation and what they are trying to achieve. It involves creating a gap between their goals and their current reality. You the salesperson must answer the age-old buyer question “What’s in it for me and my company?” Keeping the value premise alive should be part of the On-Hold function of your telephone system via an On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

8/02/2021 Building Sales Opportunities
I am totally convinced that networking is one of the best ways and cost-efficient ways of building a business. Networking works as an effective low-cost marketing method enabling you the networker to build sales opportunities and contacts based on referrals and introductions. Sadly many people miss the boat due to the fact they talk to a ton of people but seldom listen. To be effective at networking it is strongly suggested to dig deeper into the relationship and find out if there is synergy between you and the person you’re speaking with to build that relationship. Resist the desire to talk about your business no matter how much you love it or how sure you are that the person you're speaking with needs you. You want them to do the talking. Keep asking them open-ended questions and you can delve deeper into their mindset by asking them to tell you more about the business clients how they got into the business. Make yourself so interesting that when you ask that person out for coffee they are looking forward to the meeting. When going to a networking opportunity if possible know who is going to be there know who you’d like to meet. Google them and learn something about them and have some questions in your mind to ask. Know something about their industry and their business. As you can see networking isn’t just showing up with a smile it’s preparation as well. Remember networking is all about relationship building so ditch your sale pitch. Should that person call you make sure your phone system has an On-Hold message both to entertain and educate all callers. Having an On-Hold message carries both your marketing and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/30/2021 What’s At Stake For The Buyer
Jake Sorofman a highly skilled specialist in digital marketing says "When you start with what’s at stake for the buyer you earn the right to their attention." This must be the mantra in sales regardless of what you sell either a product or a service. I can safely say that every buyer of goods or services always thinks “What’s in it for me”. For those of you that sell for a living (and we all sell something) always approach your buyer (or potential buyer) with that thought in mind. To find out what they want and expect ask questions. Think of yourself as a doctor. Doctors always ask questions they don’t start by prescribing medication. Until you know what the challenge(s) is what pain the buyer has you cannot help him or her. I would suggest you have a set of questions ready to ask until you uncover the pain. Once you know the challenge you can offer a solution. Remember if you can’t help be willing to tell that to the buyer and thank him or her for their time. You might even ask if they know anyone that could use your product or service. Should they call you your phone system should reflect the personality of your business with a custom On-Hold message. Anyone from single line phones from your home to Fortune 500 companies who receive incoming calls and places callers On-Hold and according to AT&T 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold can use this service (unless your only phone is a cell phone). Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/29/2021 Don’t Pursue Success Attract It
I believe you don’t pursue success you attract it. Success leaves clues and once you have those clues and you own them and incorporate them into your life you will be attracting success. There are four Laws of the mind that come into play: 1. Once your mind fixes on an idea that idea tends to be realized. 2. Where there is an element of doubt the harder one tries the less they are able and doubt wins out. 3. When the battle is between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind the subconscious always wins. 4. A dominant emotion subdues a weaker one. The focus must be a key ingredient. Focus is about finding simplicity in this ‘Age of Distraction’. It’s about finding the focus you need to create to work on what’s important to reflect to find peace. By having focus in your life you develop a simple system for getting things done. Your ability to focus will allow you to create in ways that perhaps you haven’t in years. It’ll allow you to slow down and find peace of mind. It’ll allow you to simplify and focus on less — on the essential things the things that matter most. I would suggest one thing to focus on is how people who call your business are treated over the phone. If they are placed on a brief hold (and AT&T tells us that 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold) how are they treated? Are they treated to information about you and your business or are they treated to a radio electronic music beeps or silence? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/28/2021 Rituals Become Habits
Creating habits for success starts with your daily rituals and we all have them. Take a moment and think about your rituals from the time the alarm wakes you to when you find your pillow at the end of the day. Those rituals define you and guide you on your path to either success or struggle. Rituals become habits and we are the product of our habits. So the question is are your habits helping you or stopping you? If the latter create new rituals in order to initiate new habits. Do something new for twenty-one days and you have a new habit. See if it helps change your direction if not do something else. Remember you are in charge of yourself. You are not a tree you can move you can change. One habit that everyone in business must develop is the habit of engaging the client to keep that emotional connection alive with every touch you have with that client and there are many ways of doing this. One idea might be a monthly newsletter where you share facts and tell stories. Another way is using your HOLD button on your phone with a custom On-Hold message by HoldMasters the On-Hold message company. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/27/2021 Eating Elephants
The old question: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”; is true both in your personal life and business life. Too often when challenges arise many of us see the enormity of it and forget to address those challenges one at a time. Most people I know can’t stuff the whole elephant in their mouth at once so take little bites. Remember to see the challenge as it is not worse than it is. Then make a decision of what you can do about it and if what you have decided doesn't work try something else. Never give up; know that something will work. We are always making decisions and they come from the questions we ask ourselves. The ultimate question should always be “What is the outcome I want?” If you are in a business whether you offer a product or service you might consider asking the question; “How can I gain a larger market share with new prospects and increase sales with existing clients?” One way is by using your phone. Too many businesses use email and text messaging to connect. Neither of those methods matches the human voice. Words on a screen do not reflect tonality and emotion which is key in communication; these help you engage with the person Another way to use the phone is with your HOLD button. When placing someone On-Hold has a message that reflects your marketing and branding message. One that engages the listener and keeps the emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/26/2021 Emotions The Key To Success
Do you remember where you were on 9/11? Why do you remember? Could it be you are emotionally connected to that date? What is your emotional connection to 9/10? Dale Carnegie said “When dealing with people remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic but creatures of emotion.” Influencing others about ideas products or services seldom works with logic and always works with emotion. Emotion is the engine that moves people into creating the outcomes they want. Plato said “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire emotion and knowledge.” I believe that knowing (knowledge) and wanting (desire) don’t move the needle until the emotional component steps in. Remember facts tell emotions sell. If you are in business offering products or services to others once you tap into the prospect's emotional field your chance of success blooms. One rule that I believe is paramount is never to break that emotional connection. If you do you could lose that client. Every touch you have with that client must keep that passionate connection alive. Creating that type of connection starts with the culture created by the owner(s) and moves down the line from upper management to mid-management to worker bees sales bookkeeping janitorial and phone operators or receptionist. One area that is easy to handle that is both effective and efficient when incoming calls are being placed On-Hold is having a custom On-Hold message. It keeps the emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/23/2021 How To Continue Your Marketing & Branding Message
Did you ever think how your customers or clients are taken care of when they call your business? May I suggest that periodically you call in just like any customer or client might and see what happens. One thing that can assist any incoming call since 70% of them are placed On-Hold according to AT&T is to have a great On-Hold message that keeps both your marketing and branding flowing. Remember marketing is what you do and branding is who you are. If you spend both your time and money on getting people to call into your business it’s more than worthwhile to spend a tad extra to continue keeping that image of who you are and what you do in the forefront. Remember these callers are captive to your custom On-Hold message. You have the opportunity of up-selling additional products or services as well as to continue your marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/21/2021 The Sale After the Sale
How to increase your sales is the concern of everyone that sells a product or service (and we all sell something). I think we can all agree that knowing your product or service is essential. I would add knowing your industry is another criterion. People like to buy from people who know the industries vagaries as well as the product line. Have you ever noticed that there are similar products and services available at all different price points? Why then are some less expensive the others? One reason I believe is the type of service the customer receives after the sale I call it the sale after the sale it is called customer service. I’ve noticed that the more expensive an item or service is the better quality it is and the customer service is extraordinary. I’m sure that everyone believes that they give suitable customer service; but do they? I believe that from the person answering the phone to whoever talks to that client knowledge and courtesy should be the backbone of great customer service. Having great customer service most always creates additional sales. One-way to up-sell existing clients is to have a great Message On-Hold. Since 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold (AT&T research) this enables you to take that wasted time and repurpose it to productive time since that caller is captive to whatever they hear while waiting On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/21/2021 The 94% vs. 6% Conundrum
Why is it that most businesses will spend 94% of their marketing budget to get the phone to ring and only around 6% when it does? Do they feel that once that incoming call rings there is zero reason to spend any budget? They’re wrong. You’ve spent money on creating a desire for your product or service. That was part of your marketing dollars. If you are a savvy marketer you also spent some of that budget on creating your brand. Now the phone rings and how you treat your callers your potential customers or current clients can make all the difference in the world. With the knowledge according to AT&T that 70% of all callers are placed On-Hold it is essential that they are treated with respect and equally essential that you carry both your marketing and branding message forward. When placed On-Hold you can procure an On-Hold message that both carries your advertising and your branding message at a very nominal cost. These On-Hold messages works 24/7 never taking a vacation or sick days. It’s has all the information that you would want everyone who calls your company to know while keeping your brand alive. It prevents that emotional disconnect that silence or a radio station offers. The proof of that is companies with On-Hold messages usually see a 21/2% to 5% increase in sales (AT&T research). Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/20/2021 Writing For The Ear To See
If you are reading this you are experiencing writing for the eye to see. If you are writing a radio commercial or an On-Hold message for your telephone system you must write for the ear to help you reach into the theater of the mind. Most people write for the eye. At HoldMasters we have learned to write for the ear which is a knack. Those of you reading this and who understand what a powerful marketing tool On-Hold messages really are realize that while one of your incoming callers is holding you can reach that part of his or her mind that can see feel and almost touch your product or service. Writing for the ear is a skill that enables the listener to keep that emotional bond that is the key to making the sale. Don’t think putting someone On-Hold is a bad thing. With the right message On-Hold according to AT&T research you may experience from a 21/2 to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/19/2021 Facts Tell Emotions Sell
If you want to make more sales learn how to get that prospect emotionally involved with your product or service. Remember that “Facts tell and Emotions Sell” is more true today that at any time in the past. In the past your better widget would sell based on facts. What has happened is that the competition now has copied and even improved on your widget. However if you get that prospect emotionally involved your widget will be the one chosen. As an example I haven’t seen lines waiting to buy the new Samsung but what about the i-Phone 12? Over the years Apple has created an emotional attachment to their phones and tablets and people just want them however that isn’t true for their computers. The question is then how can you keep that emotional attachment going for your product or service. One way is via the telephone. When someone calls you there is a s 70% chance they will be placed On-Hold (according to AT&T research) and through your On-Hold message you can keep that emotional connection. If you have nothing but silence there’s a 60% chance they will abandon the call within thirty seconds (again AT&T research) with a radio playing music maybe ninety seconds. But with an On-Hold message they will stay on the line for four or more minutes. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/16/2021 Attitude Determines Altitude
Your attitude will determine your altitude. Before you focus on your product or service make sure your attitude is positive and before you see that current client or prospect make sure your attitude is positive. Here are some helpful suggestions that could help you have that positive attitude: First visualize the deal initially. See the customer taking ownership of your product or service before they do. Remember the sale starts with you not with them. Second find out what the buyer has done in the past. This will always result in understanding how your prospect is as a buyer. You do this by asking questions. And third consider every customer a million-dollar sale. Treat people like millionaires and they will act like millionaires. Do this regardless of how the customer acts irrespective of the size of the order. That small customer today could be your most important client tomorrow. Have an On-Hold message on your phone system so when that client or any client or prospect calls and is placed On-Hold they will be treated to a custom On-Hold message that carries your marketing and branding message forward. Your attitude will be on display even when you aren’t on the phone. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/15/2021 The Circle To Success
How high is your confidence level? To reach that next level of success you must have confidence; in yourself along with the product or service you provide. Confidence in your product or service stems from your passion and your passion is a powerful tool that is felt by those around you. Your confidence stems from your belief in your product or service and that belief builds trust and remember trust is not visible it must be felt. Once you build that trust bond the sale of your product or service is almost automatic. Your passion will be sensed by the buyer and the circle of belief to passion to confidence continues. You can extend that circle with the Hold button on your phone. Having a custom On-Hold message that echoes your belief and passion along with your marketing and branding message helps keep the emotional connection and trust bond alive all the while engaging and inspiring the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/14/2021 Leadership A Must
Leadership is one of those invisible musts every person in business should possess. No I’m not speaking about the apparent leaders like CEOs or Presidents; I’m speaking about you being a leader. Leadership is not about position. Leadership is everybody's business. It is for men women and children. It is for families businesses and communities. It is for you. It’s how you lead yourself. We must influence or lead ourselves without formal authority. When you lead yourself you attract others to you hence you attract success. Remember life doesn’t happen to us it happens through us. Being a leader means you step up and always lead. One simple thing you can do is have an On-Hold message installed on the On-Hold button of your business phone. On-Hold messages make small companies sound big and big companies sound friendly. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/13/2021 Musts Not Shoulds
To offer your products or services there are “MUSTS” not SHOULDS that must be present to reach a successful conclusion. The first MUST is to establish rapport. Without rapport you have nothing. If you want to engage your prospect or client after rapport is established you must make a strong emotional connection the stronger the better. Once that connection is made only you can break that bond although others may try. You must be enthusiastic about your product or service; enthusiasm is contagious and you want it to spill over to that client or prospect. When you send out those vibes others sense and feel it along with you. When you are enthusiastic about what you do you feel this positive energy. It's very simple. To influence others you must be first influenced. When offering your products or services you must ask open-ended questions and you must listen for the answer. If you ask the public to call your business having a great custom On-Hold message is a must. The reason is simple it keeps your marketing and branding message alive along while preserving that emotional connection that’s so paramount. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/12/2021 Shoulds vs Musts
Everyone has an idea of what SHOULD be done to travel that road to success in every endeavor both in the personal and business world. I have noticed that those who are successful turn those SHOULDS into MUSTS. For the sake of this blog I’m going to focus on the business world. For those of us that don’t accomplish our goals I would suggest we all knew what we SHOULD do but didn’t. Failure isn’t one cataclysmic event it’s an accumulation a series of little things stacked up until one day the stack crumples and the blame game starts. Why did we fail? Was it our lack of understanding of our P&L statement? Our lack of understanding our products or customer’s needs? If you are in sales the lack of making that one more call? As salespeople do you ask probing questions and actively listen to the answers? When you turn those SHOULDS into MUSTS your journey on the road to success is a far more pleasant trip. You MUST pay attention to all the little things for as the saying goes “from acorns giant oaks grow”. When we uncover our Musts the brain’s most primitive defensive center gets shocked. The riot gear gets called up. Security measures are called into play. Because choosing Must raises very real and scary questions. Know what you want to do hold the thought firmly and do every day what MUST be done and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal. Most people know how to use a phone yet fail to communicate completely. Your phone has a tool on it that helps keep the MUSTS alive of your business. It keeps the rapport and the emotional connection alive; it’s your ability to put someone On Hold but only if you offer the caller something of value to hear while holding. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/09/2021 Integrity in Sales
Honesty and integrity are essential to a Sales Professional. Honesty is maybe the easiest to be clear about; you must tell the truth and not tell lies. If you tell a lie even a small one and you get found out your credibility is gone and any chance of a sale goes with it. Plus you must remember what you said. Never promise and under deliver it can compromise your integrity. In addition chances are you’ll never get more business from that client and never a referral. Remember most people remember what you did wrong then all the good things you do. When salespeople are passionate about their product or service and enthusiastic to make a sale it is inviting to embellish or twist the truth a little. For example to say that their solution meets the needs of a prospect when it doesn’t or that it can be delivered within a time frame or budget that they know is not possible. What integrity is and why it matters in sales. Integrity is about having strong ethical values and sticking to them. For example not talking negatively about your competition or not sharing confidential information or in our business not working for a customer’s competitor. Helping you maintain that integrity can be as simple as having a message on hold that keeps your marketing (what you do) and branding (who you are) alive when someone calls you and is placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/08/2021 The “WHY” Is More Important Than The Question
Value comes from providing value and providing it come from gathering better information and using that information wisely. There are no magic bullets in sales. Looking for them comes from a position of lack and insufficiency and people can sense that and build walls between you and them. First things first get to know your prospect; ask probing questions like “ What is it you are trying to accomplish?” Followed by “Why is that important to you and what would happen if you didn’t accomplish it?” The ‘why answer’ is very often more important than the ‘why question’. Very often this determines if there is a fit; if there isn’t a fit walk away that prospect will remember you. By showing that prospect how your product or service relieves the pain and eliminates the challenge is building value. You can continue to build that value when that prospect or now client calls you by having HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold message about your company and how it helps other businesses achieve their goals. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/08/2021 Progress The Key To Happiness
Many of us see The New year January ONE as a fresh start and a chance to make progress in the New Year; progress can start anytime like right now. I’ve discovered from reading many books and going to many seminars that progress is the key to happiness and we all want to be happy. Getting things might excite you for the moment but progressing toward your goals whether personal or professional will make you happy and fulfilled. Lasting happiness comes from growing not just getting. Some people resolve to change in the New Year don’t worry change is automatic you don’t have to work on it; progress is not. If you want lasting change you first must have a vision of what you really want not what you’re not going to get. This vision must be compelling of what you are going to create something that really excites you it must be something that pulls you not something that you need to push yourself to do. Push requires willpower and willpower never lasts. Discover your reasons for this change and these reasons will pull you toward the goal or goals. Reasons can be positive or negative; if I don’t do this this is what I’m going to get or if I do do this this is what I’m going to get. Reasons come first answers come second. Review these reasons every day. In order to make this or these visions a reality remember these three words “Raise Your Standards”. Make your “Should” list into a “Must” list. When you do this something within us changes. Treat all the people you do business with as you would like to be treated from the first hello to when you deliver your product or service to when you call them or they call you. Should they call you having a custom on-hold message not only keeps them engaged but it also continues both your marketing (what you do) and branding (who you are) and it affords you the opportunity to up-sell and cross-sell your product or service. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/07/2021 Selling the Sizzle
Too often many salespeople try to sell the steak that’s a Bozo no no; sell the sizzle. I mean by that when you are presenting do it with panache. You want your presentation to be vibrant persuasive and memorable although you don’t have to be a professional entertainer. When presenting the words you use need to create mental pictures in the prospect's mind. Think of old-time radio before television when there were productions and we the audience had to see in our mind's eye the pictures. When you read a novel don’t you picture the action? What I’m speaking about are the words you use in your presentation make them vivid so that the buyer can see him or herself using the product or service. And you want to communicate that you’re saving them time and effort increasing their profits–whatever the appropriate benefit as you eradicate the challenge(s) they are facing. The key to developing a solid presentation style is to recognize your strengths and build on them. If you’re a born storyteller incorporate more stories into your presentation. If you’re not use fewer stories. Compelling delivery comes with practice and experience. Be yourself be passionate and most importantly be real. That’s all your customers want and expect. Never forget when that customer calls you have a custom On-Hold message that continues both your marketing and branding story. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/06/2021 Are You Planning to Fail?
Are you planning to fail? Then you better have a plan. If you research high successes in any field you’ll find that they have clearly defined goals that they are persistently motivated to reach. What’s more they don’t sit back and rest once a goal has been met; instead it motivates them to go on and make the next goal that much more exciting. You should not only set goals but you should also write them down. Goals that are not written down aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. Write them down so you can take the daily actions necessary to reach them. You need both short-term goals like making a particular number of calls each day and long-term goals like reaching a particular dollar amount of sales or breaking into a specific number of large accounts within a year. T here are reasons for setting clear goals: first a goal helps us focus they drive us forward and reaching a goal and second they increase our confidence for reaching the next goal. Third every step you take toward achieving your goal teaches you a valuable lesson you can apply toward your next goal. A cost-efficient and effective way of reaching your goals is to have On-Hold advertising on your phone’s “Hold” button. This is advertising to someone who has called you and you are able to continue both your marketing and branding story to a captive listener. Research tells us that On-Hold advertising gets a 12% response from the callers and additional research says that a business with On-Hold messages shows a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/06/2021 Are You Planning to Fail?
Are you planning to fail? Then you better have a plan. If you research high successes in any field you’ll find that they have clearly defined goals that they are persistently motivated to reach. What’s more they don’t sit back and rest once a goal has been met; instead it motivates them to go on and make the next goal that much more exciting. You should not only set goals but you should also write them down. Goals that are not written down aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. Write them down so you can take the daily actions necessary to reach them. You need both short-term goals like making a particular number of calls each day and long-term goals like reaching a particular dollar amount of sales or breaking into a specific number of large accounts within a year. T here are reasons for setting clear goals: first a goal helps us focus they drive us forward and reaching a goal and second they increase our confidence for reaching the next goal. Third every step you take toward achieving your goal teaches you a valuable lesson you can apply toward your next goal. A cost-efficient and effective way of reaching your goals is to have On-Hold advertising on your phone’s “Hold” button. This is advertising to someone who has called you and you are able to continue both your marketing and branding story to a captive listener. Research tells us that On-Hold advertising gets a 12% response from the callers and additional research says that a business with On-Hold messages shows a 2½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/05/2021 The Most Important Sale
Every decision is a form of a sale. Decisions are made through questions and every sale is a decision to buy into an idea product or service or not. Everyone is a buyer. The entrepreneur must first sell himself or herself on the idea. Once the idea is bought by the entrepreneur he or she then sells it to others the banker for financing potential employees and of course prospects. In my mind the most important person to sell first is yourself. Since all sales are emotional first than followed by facts the entrepreneur must be emotionally sold before any of the next steps can start. If you don’t have belief in your own idea product or service how do you expect to influence others to buy? Those people looking to be employed by this company must be sold on their ability to do the job and bring value to the company before the interview. Those who interview for a sales position must believe in the product or service to be successful in sales. All the above starts with the most important sale of all selling themselves. Once this sale to yourself is complete than being at the top of your game in doing your job makes for success all around. Keeping that emotional connection within the organization is a key to success and creating that emotional connection with clients and prospects cements that success. One way to keep the clients emotionally connected is with the hold button on your phone. Should they call the business and be placed On-Hold having a custom message keeps that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/02/2021 The “WHY” Is More Important Than The Question
Value come from providing value and providing it come from gathering better information and using that information wisely. There are no magic bullets in sales. Looking for them comes from a position of lack and insufficiency and people can sense that and build walls between you and them. First things first get to know your prospect; ask probing questions like “What is it you are trying to accomplish?” Followed by “Why is that import to you and what would happen if you didn’t accomplish it?” The ‘why’ is very often more important than the question. Very often this determines if there is a fit; if there isn’t a fit walk away that prospect will remember you. By showing that prospect how your product and/or service relieves the pain and eliminates the challenge is building value. You can continue to build that value when that prospect or now client calls you by having HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold message about your company and how it helps other businesses achieve their goals. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

7/01/2021 Motivating Your Client/Prospect
As someone selling something to another person wouldn’t it be great if you knew how they make their decisions? The job and livelihood of anyone that sells anything from A-Z depends on their ability to help your prospects/clients identify the challenge they are facing provide a potential solution to that challenge and getting them disturbed and motivated enough to take action and move away from their pain toward your solution. To do this you first have to identify what motivates them and you do this by asking a simple direct question; “What are you looking for as a solution to your challenge?” If they answer with something that will bring them pleasure they are ‘toward type’ people; if the say what they don’t want they are fear based and move away from type people. If they move toward tell them how your product and/or service will give them the pleasure they are looking for. If they are away types tell them what the cost could be if they don’t move forward. Most people are away types and will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. This meta-program can work over the phone as well as in person. You can continue this process with your On-Hold feature of your phone should that prospect or any prospect call you and be placed On-Hold by having a custom On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

1/01/1970 Handling Objections
One of the most important skills in dealing with other people is how to handle their objections. This is a paramount skill in the selling of a product or a service. The research was employed with over 67,000 sales meetings and 5 million recorded calls than using AI put together some suggestions. The following doesn’t cover those infrequent out of left field objections they seldom block the deals. When you get an objection pause and speak with calm authority. That pause should even be a little longer than during parts of the sales call. Never interrupt the prospect or customer when dealing with an objection. If you maintain a calm demeanor amid a flurry of sales objections, you’ll build trust with your customer. Data suggest that asking questions when you start answering the objection works and works well. In most cases, objections usually start from misunderstanding. The salesperson, using the prospect words, triggers the buyer to elaborate. You are asking the buyer to further explain. Never ask “why?” when handling objections. “Why” doesn’t clarify. It’s a threatening question that questions the validity of the buyer’s objection. It puts your buyer on defense. Try phrasing by asking the buyer “what is causing the concern?” Make sure you validate the objection. Most people go through life of feeling misunderstood therefore, give that buyer the gift of being or feeling understood is so important. If you get this objection handling skill right, it might be the first time in your buyer’s life that they’ve felt truly understood; how rare is that? Too often some of the objections are just smokescreens the buyer’s words from the actual reason. Unless you find the true objection, you are truly in the dark. You might listen to what the buyer said and answer it by saying, “that is an easy one, what other obstacles would we have to overcome before moving forward”? If they don’t have anymore, then the first objection is the true one. Now, don’t start off by saying, “Can I make a suggestion?’. Try this and see how it works, “May I bounce a few thoughts off of you?”. This question neutralizes your buyer’s mind. It implies that YOU are the vulnerable one, not your buyer. Now is the time to reframe the objection. Think of a past objection and see if the following reframe questions could have helped. If your objection a problem, reframe it as an opportunity, If the buyer sees it as a weakness, reframe it as a strength, or a poor timing objection can be reframed as the perfect time. In order to close out objection time as the question, “What part of your concern do you feel is still unaddressed?”. To prevent a price objection don’t bring it up until late in the sales call. When you delay talking about pricing, the customer gets a chance to be impressed with your product. And if they’re wowed, they’ll likely have fewer pricing objections. Objections are your friends and when handled with a system they will cement your sale. You have wowed your buyer by building rapport and an emotional bond; don’t break it. Should you receive a call from this buyer make sure you have a custom message On-Hold in place of music, radios, beeps, or silence. Information keeps the buyer's attention while holding. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/30/2021 The Costanza Methodology
I was never a big watcher of ‘Seinfeld” yet the other day I was watching an old re-run the episode was called "The Opposite". In this episode George Costanza realizes that everything he's been doing his entire life has led to his current situation a life of misery. So he figures that if he does everything the opposite of what he has done in the past he will create the opposite results. As the episode goes on George ends up attracting a beautiful woman a new job with the Yankees and everything he touches turns to gold. While the episode is pretty funny we as salespeople can learn a great lesson. Sometimes we salespeople get stuck in the habit of taking the same actions that we have always taken. Or worse yet we do the same things that every other salesperson in our industry is doing. Remember the saying “If we always do what we’ve always done we’ll always get what we’ve always got.” If we salespeople always do what others do in our field there is no difference between one rep or another and therefore no real value proposition for the client/prospect. So my question to you is are you getting the results you want? If not take the ‘Costanza Methodology’ and do the opposite or at least something different. Who knows you might find you’re separating yourself from the pack and find lots of new business. Another way to create that separation is having an On-Hold message that carries both your branding and marketing message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/29/2021 Meta-Programs
How your brain pays attention to things and what it pays attention to is a form of pattern recognition where your brain attempts to sort through what the body is sensing and experiencing; these are called Meta-Programs. Meta-programs are mental shortcuts that direct your decisions behaviors actions and interactions with others. They are internal representations of your external experience of reality. As a salesperson (and remember we all sell something) finding out your prospects Meta-Programs will assist you in closing the sale. They are like software applications for the brain where one program controls the performance of several other programs. The software runs in the background and regulates your thoughts beliefs values memories and responses. Meta-Programs are therefore mental programs that run our lives at an unconscious level of awareness. These mental programs determine how information is processed by deciding what to delete distort and/or to generalize from your experience. Meta-Programs help you to better understand other people and their psychological tendencies. This is valuable because it will help you to adjust your actions and methodology while interacting with other people. These variations can enhance your contacts with others by helping you to acquire deeper levels or understanding and theoretically effect people to your way of thinking. This becomes possible because Meta-Programs will provide you with understanding into a person’s goals. And once you understand their rationales you will then have the key that will help you to win over their options evaluations and actions. You can continue this understanding by supplying additional data to the prospects Meta-Program via the On-Hold feature of your phone system with a custom On-Hold message. Here you have a captive listener who called you; don't waste your or their time with silence a radio music or a series of beeps. Let HoldMasters create a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/28/2021 Story Telling to Increase Sales
Storytelling can help you hit your sales quotas faster. It works because people love hearing about characters who face and overcome challenges. It’s what makes a TED Talk go viral. And why you might get misty-eyed when you hear an old love song. Telling your stories and the story of others humanizes your selling and makes connections with prospects on an emotional level and more meaningful (and productive). Storytelling is truly an art form, but actual science explains why the human brain loves stories. Besides resonating with an audience on a deeper level, storytelling is also an opportunity for you to get creative with your sales presentation and bring some personality to what you are selling. Think about the kind of sales presentation you’d want to hear: Do you want to listen to a bunch of bland industry-related stats? Or would you like to hear about a real-life scenario when the product or service helped make someone’s life easier or better? You don’t have to be a great writer or creative genius to use storytelling in sales. All it takes is a little strategy and practice. The basics are stories have a clear introduction, middle, and conclusion. This structure makes the story straightforward and easy to follow. First, who is the main character and what is the challenge? Then, how will this character overcome this challenge? Second, what is the takeaway you want the listener to get once you’ve finished your story? You want them to see how your product or service will improve their business and solve their challenge. Third, your story must be interesting as well as informative to hold the listener’s attention. Use words that have a punch and make sure to keep it simple so the listener will understand the overall objective: to sell your product or service. Fourth, this is the most crucial part of your story use case studies to tailor the message to your prospect. Weave any industry changes that might impact your listener’s business. And fifth, always practice your story out loud. Record yourself telling the story until it sounds natural and authentic to your listener. The more you practice the more confident you’ll sound. Great storytelling in sales isn’t complicated – it’s all about being authentic and communicating how your product can help people in real-world scenarios. The key is to make your prospect the focus on the story by making him or her main character. Remember to personalize your story by researching their company or industry and bringing that information into the story. Usually, storytelling connects with the prospect on an emotional level. You want to keep that emotional connection on-going even when they call your company. One tried and proven way is with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/25/2021 Focus On Your Attitude
Your attitude will determine your altitude. Before you focus on your product or service make sure your attitude is positive and before you see that current client or prospective one be sure your attitude is positive. Here are some helpful suggestions that could help you have that positive attitude: First visualize the deal initially. You have to see the customer taking ownership of your product or service before they do. Remember the sale starts with you not with them. Second find out what the buyer has done in the past. This will always result in understanding how your prospect is as a buyer. You do this by asking questions. And third consider every customer a million-dollar sale. Treat people like millionaires and they will act like millionaires. Do this regardless of how the customer acts irrespective of the size of the order. That small customer today could be your most important client tomorrow. Have an On-Hold message on your phone system so when that client or any client or prospect calls and is placed On-Hold they will be treated to a custom On-Hold message that carries your marketing and branding message forward. Your attitude will be on display even when you aren’t on the phone. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/24/2021 Rapport Is Key
It is said that getting into rapport is key to creating great business relationships. Anyone doing any kind of business; doctors lawyers accounts manufactures store clerks and salespeople should all get into rapport from the start of a new relationship and keep it going throughout. Remember people like to do business with people who are like them. Rapport building starts from the first “Hello” and never stops. One key to getting into rapport for business is active listening. Make sure whomever you are interacting with knows you hear them. This is accomplished by paraphrasing what they said throughout the conversation. Also mirror them with words voice tonality posture and style. Ask pointed questions that get that other person speaking about themselves their favorite subject. Empathize with them connect on an emotional level; be real and authentic. People can sense insincerity as well as sincerity. Keep the rapport going should they call you and are placed On-Hold with a custom-crafted On-Hold message from HoldMasters. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/23/2021 Emotion The Key to Sales
Emotion is the key to sales. It is very rare that a sale is made on features and benefits alone. Think about your own buying habits most people get an emotional feeling first then justify that feeling with the features and benefits. The saying that says “Facts tell emotions sell” is the difference between a winning sales strategy or a salesperson with a skinny family. By definition emotion is a natural state of mind deriving from one’s circumstance mood or relationship with others. Emotions start with motion. Anything you sell the decision is always made as to the result of a change in the buyer's emotional state. All buying decisions stem from the interplay of the following six emotions: 1. Greed "If I make a decision now I will be rewarded." 2. Fear "If I don't make a decision now I'm toast." 3. Altruism "If I make a decision now I will help others." 4. Envy "If I don't make a decision now my competition will win." 5. Pride "If I make a decision now I will look smart." And 6. Shame "If I don't make a decision now I will look stupid." Every successful sales approach either creates or augments one or more of these emotional states. When enough of these emotions are present inside the buyer's emotional state a buying decision becomes inevitable. You are able to keep that emotional state alive when a client or prospect is On-Hold with a custom-crafted On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/22/2021 Are You Busy Or Productive
Never confuse being busy with being productive; they’re not the same. If you think checking off all the boxes on your to-do list qualifies you as being productive; think again. Time is always a great teacher and over time successful salespeople have used a few techniques. Your tool chest should have many sales aids to help you but the one tool you have that is most important is your mind. If you live on the edge stressed out tired and lack energy all those you come in contact with will notice including your prospects or clients. The way you overcome this is a small investment in yourself it’s called exercise. They say “you are what you eat” so choose a diet that is good for your overall health. You fuel your success by keeping your body and mind running at their peak performance level. Take care of your existing clients and ask them for referrals. If you’ve taken excellent care of them they will be happy to recommend you and research tells us that personal connections will increase sales activity by some 243 percent; not too shabby. Use the power of today’s technology. Work smart and focus your energy on winning the right clients you can save time and effort wasted on unqualified leads. Even if you don’t see results if that prospect is the kind of person you’d like to turn into a client stay with him or her; build that relationship. Be diligent and follow up on all leads. When any of these prospects or clients call you make sure you have a custom On-Hold message that carries both your marketing and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain both their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/21/2021 Leadership
Being a leader is not being a boss telling the team what to do, or else. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want to be done because he or she wants to do it.” The word "leadership" can bring to mind a variety of images. For example, a political leader, pursuing a passionate, personal cause; An explorer, cutting a path through the jungle for the rest of his group to follow; An executive, developing his or her company's strategy to beat the competition. Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to "win" as a team, individual, or organization; and the leader must have a vision that has to be dynamic, exciting, and inspiring. Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way. Leadership means different things to different people around the world, and different things in different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious leadership, political leadership, salesmanship, and leadership of campaigning groups. Effective leaders create an inspiring vision of the future, they motivate and inspire people to engage with that vision. Add to that, they manage the delivery of that vision, and they coach and build a team to be more effective in achieving that vision. Creating a vision a leader will focus on the organization its strengths and his ability to analyze the current situation then they look at how he or she can shape their business to be more effective and become a leader in their field. Now, a leader must motivate and inspire people; it’s the leaders' ability to motivate and inspire people that helps them deliver that vision. Leaders must ensure that the work needed to deliver the vision is properly managed either by themselves or by a dedicated manager or team of managers to whom the leader delegates this responsibility – and they need to ensure that their vision is delivered successfully. A leader will then ensure that the team members have the necessary skills and abilities to do their job and achieve the vision. They do this by giving and receiving feedback regularly, and by training and coaching people to improve individual and team performance. Leadership also includes looking for leadership potential in others. By developing leadership skills within your team, you create an environment where you can continue success in the long term. And that's a true measure of great leadership. Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. The man who successfully marshals his human collaborators to achieve particular ends is a leader. A great leader is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of circumstances. The truth is, everyone is a leader, if not of a team, but of yourself. As an individual, you need a vision of where you want to go (goals) and you must inspire yourself and that is done by influencing yourself and your thinking. In sales, if you influence your prospect and inspire him or her you build the foundation for success. When you influence a prospect or client you build trust and an emotional connection that you want to keep. Keeping that connection must be a goal in every interaction, even when he or she calls you. Should they placed On-Hold having a custom On-Hold message will help to keep that connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects, around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/17/2021 Building Your Own Brand Loyalty
A very simple way to build your own brand loyalty and prevent hang-ups is by Advertising-On-Hold. By not advertising On-Hold with On-Hold Messages from HoldMasters you are throwing away money. Think of how much you are spending to have them call you; don’t you think you should spend a few bucks once they’ve called? It’s been researched that seventy percent of callers are placed On-Hold and that the caller will spend up to five minutes On-Hold listening to a Message-On-Hold whereas they will hang up with fifteen to twenty seconds with silence On-Hold and maybe stick around for a minute with music. BTW there’s a twelve percent increase for additional product information with an On-Hold message. How would that affect your bottom line? On-Hold messages can help your business communicate important information while your caller waits. With an On-Hold Message you will help them stay focused on your products services company history and so much more. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/16/2021 Waste Not Want Not
Have you heard the expression “Waste not want not? Are you wasting valuable time with your incoming callers when you place them On-Hold? Every business place callers On-Hold at one time or another and it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the time On-Hold were ‘Productive Time On-Hold’ as opposed to ‘Wasted Time’. HoldMasters writes records mixes and delivers your On-Hold message production fully customized to your business' marketing needs. You can entertain educate and even up-sell and cross-sell customers who end up On-Hold when they call your firm. Research tells us that companies with On-Hold Messages see a two and a half to five percent upsurge in sales. Effective On-Hold messages cannot only encourage callers to stay on the line but it can also expose new sales opportunities by marketing certain products and services. Our job is to turn your wait times from an encounter into a marketing opportunity. HoldMasters has been helping businesses all over the country enhance their image as well as being an effective marketing tool so when your caller is placed On-Hold you can take advantage by informing educating and entertaining them. With Silence-On-Hold or a radio station you could find it hard to keep that caller on the phone and if you have a Radio-On-Hold that caller might hear a commercial for your competitor. When a caller does not feel compelled to stay on the phone chances are they will hang up. When they disconnect typically the next step could be to pick up the phone and call a similar company to yours. If your organization allows this to happen you have probably lost that customer or new sales opportunity. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/15/2021 The Ninety-Six to Four Percent Marketing Gaff
Did you ever wonder why most businesses spend ninety-six percent of their marketing dollars on getting people to call them and only four percent is spent when they call? I agree that more needs to be spent getting the calls but four percent once the call comes in is ridiculous. Back in the 1980s I was privileged to be a general manager of one of the top radio stations in our market. I realized then that when the phone rang at the station the person who answered it was the first contact to our listeners who called in our advertisers who called or any other call that would come to the station. Also that person who answered the phone was also the first person who would greet visitors to the station; again listeners advertisers or anyone else stopping by. By most standards of the time that was a minimum wage job around five dollars an hour. A person with all that responsibility getting a minimum wage was not a great idea. I wanted someone who could handle this awesome responsibility of the first contact. I found a college graduate with both personality and the smarts needed and that I could trust to deal with those incoming calls and visits. I started her at seven-fifty an hour and within thirty days she was up to ten dollars an hour. I tell you this story to get you to think about how your incoming calls are being handled and what happens after the call is answered. Are your callers placed in ‘Auto-Attendant’ hell without being able to speak to a human? When placed On-Hold do they hear silence or some radio station or are they able to get great information about your company and how you do business? Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/14/2021 Selling An Intangible
If your business provides a service, rather than a physical product you probably understand the challenges of getting prospects to see the value in what you offer. It’s not easy to explain the features and benefits of something that the prospect can’t see or touch. The key to selling services is to focus on demonstrating that you understand your prospect’s problems. You also need to demonstrate that you know how to solve them. Selling a service isn’t as difficult as you might think it is if you use the right methods, you can get your prospects to see the value in what you offer. Since you don’t have an actual product that the customer can see and touch you can’t really show them how it works. Its features and benefits aren’t as easy to see. This means that you need to be able to paint a picture that can get the prospect to see how your service will benefit them. The first sale to be made is selling you, you are the product just as much as the service you offer. If you want prospects to become clients, you must get them to view you as someone who is reliable and trustworthy. You need to get them to like you. Remember, people buy from those they know, like, and trust. It’s important that you work hard to build a strong connection with your prospects. Before trying to sell, you should develop a relationship first. Build some rapport. Let them get to know you. The better you are at building rapport, the more you will increase your chances of closing more deals. Because you are the product, you must know how to position yourself the right way. This means getting your customer to see you as their resource. You need them to see that you’re the one who can solve their problems. And, if you’re going to solve their problems, you must demonstrate that you understand what their problems are. You must ask effective questions that allow you to get to know them as well as you can. The great benefit of asking exceptional questions is that it doesn’t just allow you to get to know your prospect, it also helps you form a better connection. As your prospect tells you about him or herself, he or she will start to trust you more. It’s because you’re taking a genuine interest in his or her needs and wants. Remember that prospect doesn’t really care about your service (or product) all they care about is, “what’s in it for me”. They care about how it’s going to help them. They care about what’s going to happen after they hire you. Therefore, you need to focus on outcomes. Focus on feelings because emotion is what fuels most of our decision-making. We tend to make our decisions based on how we feel. If you can appeal to emotions, you will earn a commission. This goes for any type of influence, personal or professional, to get people to act, you must get them to feel something. And, to appeal to their emotions, you need to know what they want to feel. You need to know what they are passionate about. And you need to bring it up in the conversation and don’t be afraid to also show emotion. Since you’re selling something that can’t be seen or touched, you need to find other ways to get your prospect to see the value in your offering. You must prove to them that you are worth the investment. You need social proof. If your prospect knows that a lot of other people have taken it as well. If you can show your prospect that others have used your services and gained a benefit because of it, you will greatly increase your chances of earning their business. Have a few stories about how you’ve helped other clients like your prospect. Building your company’s brand is significant to the success of any company, but it’s especially important to service-based companies. Again, since your prospect can’t see your offering, they need something to connect to on a deeper level. Successful branding is about perspective. It’s how your USP is going to make you stand out from the crowd. Find out what your unique brand perspective is and work hard to communicate it to your prospect. It’ll give you a way to connect with those you want to serve. Selling intangible products doesn’t have to be too difficult. As you can see, most of it is about selling who you are. The great thing about this is that you’re already unique. There’s nobody else who is exactly like you. When you are not there, and the prospect calls you make sure you have a custom On-Hold message that continues both the emotional connection and your brand message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects, around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It enables you to up-sell and cross-sell; it makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/11/2021 How Is Your Aim
Most people don’t fail because they aimed too high and missed it’s because they aimed too low and hit; some people didn’t aim at all. So the question is what are you aiming at? I have found that if you do what is easy your life will be hard conversely if you do what is hard your life will be easy. People who don’t do what is necessarily needed to stop complaining. Don’t complain about your body if you never exercise or your stomach when you eat everything in sight. Don’t complain about your business when you don’t do what successful people do. Like baking a cake if you follow a proven recipe you will get the same results that a master baker gets. It is said that success leave clues so become a detective and follow those clues. I have found that successful people have very positive self-talk. Self-talk is a driving force and if your self–talk is negative your results usually are negative and the opposite is true positive thoughts yield positive results. If you are in sales there are certain things that are ‘MUSTS’ to be successful. These MUSTS also work in every business situation. You MUST have a goal and a plan to reach that goal. You MUST follow through on your promises. You MUST build relationships with your clients. You MUST under-promise and over-deliver. If you are in sales I think a MUST is to make one more call each day. Every business MUST always market and brand themselves at every opportunity. One way this can happen with an On-Hold message for your phone system People placed On-Hold are captive to what is played into the phone. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/11/2021 How Is Your Aim
Most people don’t fail because they aimed too high and missed it’s because they aimed too low and hit; some people didn’t aim at all. So the question is what are you aiming at? I have found that if you do what is easy your life will be hard conversely if you do what is hard your life will be easy. People who don’t do what is necessarily needed to stop complaining. Don’t complain about your body if you never exercise or your stomach when you eat everything in sight. Don’t complain about your business when you don’t do what successful people do. Like baking a cake if you follow a proven recipe you will get the same results that a master baker gets. It is said that success leave clues so become a detective and follow those clues. I have found that successful people have very positive self-talk. Self-talk is a driving force and if your self–talk is negative your results usually are negative and the opposite is true positive thoughts yield positive results. If you are in sales there are certain things that are ‘MUSTS’ to be successful. These MUSTS also work in every business situation. You MUST have a goal and a plan to reach that goal. You MUST follow through on your promises. You MUST build relationships with your clients. You MUST under-promise and over-deliver. If you are in sales I think a MUST is to make one more call each day. Every business MUST always market and brand themselves at every opportunity. One way this can happen with an On-Hold message for your phone system People placed On-Hold are captive to what is played into the phone. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/10/2021 The ABC’s of Selling.
When selling ideas products or services know it’s as easy as A.B.C. Years ago A.B.C. meant ‘always be closing’ today it means ‘always be curious. The same principles apply in every aspect of the operation of your internal business as in your external sales process. Selling an internal idea as in outside sales you first must get in rapport with the person or group you are speaking with. On an internal level the boss or manager needs to become a leader not a boss barking orders; the same for external sales the salesperson needs to lead and not sell. Remember on an internal basis many of the people you are sharing your idea with just might have a better idea so to be curious you might mention the challenge facing the company and ask if the rank and file have any better ideas. When selling a product or service by asking questions you can determine whether you have the solution to the challenges faced by your prospect. By asking questions shows the people you are speaking with that you have a grasp on the challenges and you are seeking additional information. Being curious is a powerful tool to grow a business both on an internal and external level. Curiosity creates trust and you can keep that trust with a simple On-Hold message. Remember AT&T says that 12% of the people that are holding will take action on what they heard and according to AT&T a business will see a 2 ½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/10/2021 The ABC’s of Selling.
When selling ideas products or services know it’s as easy as A.B.C. Years ago A.B.C. meant ‘always be closing’ today it means ‘always be curious. The same principles apply in every aspect of the operation of your internal business as in your external sales process. Selling an internal idea as in outside sales you first must get in rapport with the person or group you are speaking with. On an internal level the boss or manager needs to become a leader not a boss barking orders; the same for external sales the salesperson needs to lead and not sell. Remember on an internal basis many of the people you are sharing your idea with just might have a better idea so to be curious you might mention the challenge facing the company and ask if the rank and file have any better ideas. When selling a product or service by asking questions you can determine whether you have the solution to the challenges faced by your prospect. By asking questions shows the people you are speaking with that you have a grasp on the challenges and you are seeking additional information. Being curious is a powerful tool to grow a business both on an internal and external level. Curiosity creates trust and you can keep that trust with a simple On-Hold message. Remember AT&T says that 12% of the people that are holding will take action on what they heard and according to AT&T a business will see a 2 ½% to 5% increase in sales. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/09/2021 Losing Business?
Raise your hand if you want to lose business. My guess is that nobody raised his or her hand. However how many businesses do things unintentionally that lose business for them every day. Let’s just take one thing as an example the telephone. This one instrument that everyone in business uses is so misused that it helps lose business therefore profits are lost daily. For example when your phone rings how is it answered? Are you using the auto attend feature? Does it send you into a maze of press this press that? Are the directions clear? Can the caller ever get to a live person? May I suggest that whoever is the BIG CHEESE call your own company and see how you like what you hear if not better change it for that could be a cause for slow or no growth in sales? When answered does your phone reflect what you believe is your company’s image your brand? If not change it for that could be another reason for slow or no sales growth. Customer service in today’s economy is paramount. Good customer service gets people talking about you in a very positive way and poor service gets just the opposite reaction. One other thing to consider is having a great On-Hold message for when people are placed On-Hold (this is a plug for what I do). It’s been researched that when placed On-Hold if people hear silence they hang up within 15 to 30 seconds with music from a radio station or CD you might keep them for about a minute however with a HoldMasters On-Hold Message sharing information about your business in an entertaining fashion will keep the caller’s attention close to five minutes and it’s really considered great customer service. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/08/2021 Self-Motivation For Success
Self-motivation like meditation isn’t just ‘New Age’ psycho-babble it is, according to the dictionary, the initiative to undertake or continue a task or activity without another’s prodding or supervision. It’s the thing that makes you get out of bed in the morning. It’s the thing that pushes you to make another call after the office closes. Without self-motivation, chances are you will fail It is imperative that you become masters of your own fate. Depending on anyone for anything in life breeds opportunities for others to let you down. Now, that may sound a bit pessimistic, but it’s not. It’s a reality that if you put the responsibility of your own success, happiness, financial well-being, or anything else in the hands of someone else, you no longer control your destiny. Find a song that pumps you up. That song will impose on you what is called “Classical Conditioning.” Pick a song that helps you clearly envision success and play that song before every big call or after a horrible one. Condition yourself to associate it with success and never play or listen to it other than when you need it, or else it’ll begin to become associated with a variety of other random things. What is it you want to accomplish both personally and professionally and write them down; these are called your goals? Look at them every day, post them on your mirror where you dress, on the dashboard of your car, and where you can see them in the office. Visualize yourself achieving those goals and fake it until you make it. Then watch how you progress toward them Remember, if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there. Eating healthier will lead to more energy and will put you in a better mood. Eating that greasy hamburger and fries for lunch, or that candy bar, which spikes your sugar levels then crashes you like a freight train, only slows you down. It’ll make you more tired. And, if you’re tired, you’re making it harder for yourself to become, and maintain, any significant level of self-motivation. Should you find yourself in a slump do something that makes you happy. Have a list of things that make you happy like ten push-ups, listening to music or a podcast, anything that interrupts your mood then get back to work. Self-motivation isn’t overrated. Having inspired your quotes on your computer monitor or in your cubicle isn’t for dummies. It’s for people who understand the power of self-motivation and will do absolutely everything in their power to achieve a state of it and stay there for as long as possible. You might even have some motivational verbiage in your On-Hold message so when your callers are placed On-Hold you are inspiring them. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/07/2021 The Emotional Connection
People use your goods or service because of an emotional connection, and they justify it with the features and benefits. Part of being human is seeking, experiencing, and communicating emotions. Take any product and you can boil down the reason someone made a purchase to moving toward (or preventing from losing) one of those three cornerstone motivational emotions. That’s why feature selling is ineffective. As a business owner or sales rep, if you don’t know how to evoke powerful emotions in the selling process, you’ll struggle to get even mediocre results. What you are really selling is affluence or status, reassurance, time or convenience, pleasure or personal empowerment. With affluence, remember, people, want other people to know that they have money and are of high status, thereby making them feel good about themselves through validation and that plays directly into the motivation. Using affluence as a motivator focus on personal benefits, specific ROI, case studies that demonstrate the exact benefit your prospect is looking for, plus remember to use words like a reward, valuable, exclusive, distinguishing, profitable, and gain, can help you paint the picture. Peace of mind is priceless in playing to the power motivation. People want to have control over their lives. You can’t put a price on feeling safe and protected. Reassurance is the business that all insurance salespeople and financial planners are in. Here are some ideas on how you can use reassurance to sell products or services. Get your prospect or customer in the mindset of not worrying about this one thing and focus on running their business. In other words, describe what your product will allow them to do. Have you received any awards or recognition in your industry? Do you have any additional training or certifications that will make your prospect more at ease? By sharing this you build trust to your advantage. If you’ve done your homework on both the industry and business, share that knowledge; this usually brings a feeling of trust, the prospect believes that this person really knows my business. Share your testimonials that show others have already put their trust in you. And remember to use emotional words like guarantee, results, improve, satisfaction, the leader in, secure, safe, trusted, and reliable can help you win trust. If your customer is a working professional, busy parent, or anyone else with extremely limited time or energy, then selling convenience is a piece of cake, and this especially popular in the technology industry right now. You may suggest the value for them in the terms of time either lost or gained, remind them how much energy their current solution is costing them. What else they could/should be doing. What would they rather be doing? What are the more important things they could be doing with their time? How much more effective would they be at their job if they could get this one area under control? And use words like productivity, effectiveness, simple, quick, “plug and play”, and “done for you” will help them realize how much time they could be saving. We all move toward pleasure and away from pain. We humans will pay almost any amount to enjoy a little more pleasure in our lives. Though B2B selling isn’t usually about selling pleasure, many companies buy products for the office that give them pleasure. You need to translate the value of pleasure for your prospect and make using your product enjoyable. Have them visualize a brighter future and remember to use words like fun, please, imagine, enjoy, satisfy, you, delight, and opportunity to play to the pleasant emotions. Personal empowerment is a key to a successful meeting. If you can help them become a better person and reach their dreams, you’ve hit the jackpot. This includes everything from fitness to finance to emotional health, and so much more. Have any of your customers made headlines after utilizing your product? Do you have pictures of your customer receiving their accolades? Offer to highlight your prospect if they go with you. Does your prospect need the publicity that you can offer? Would they make a good case study? And here use words like image, respect, power, reputation, prominence, influence, and prestige. This word will evoke emotions. You must always keep that emotional connection alive, even when they call you and are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/04/2021 Are Questions The Answer?
Don’t you learn more by asking questions? Isn’t every decision you make decided by asking yourself questions? If you are in sales (and everyone sells something) wouldn’t you learn more about your prospects and/or client’s challenges and needs by asking questions? Have you noticed that when you ask questions and actively listen for the answers you know how your product and/or service can help that prospect/client solve his or her challenge(s)? Isn’t it important to find out what is causing the pain? Do you research the client/prospect before you call him or her? Do you have at least a basic understanding of their business and business model? Do you agree that knowledge is power or at least potential power? Do you prepare questions in advance? Do you know that you must present both your marketing and brand message every chance you get? Are there passive ways to keep those messages alive and up-sell and cross-sell present clients? Are you aware that On-Hold advertising increases sales on average between 2½% to 5% (AT&T statistic)? Again from AT&T; did you know on average 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold? Are you aware that 60% of incoming calls will abandon the call within 30seconds if there is silence beeps or music causing a loss of potential sales ergo ROI? Did you know that 12% of people On-Hold will take action on something they heard while holding? Did you know that since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects not only in Central Florida also around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages? Are you aware that On-Hold marketing makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly? Will you let us help you when your business is on the line? BTW did the questions in this blog get you thinking?

6/02/2021 Setting Appointments
We are always setting appointments when we are young it’s to meet friends to go to the movies or the dance, as we get older it’s the same stuff however, we now call it social engagements or doctor’s visits. In the business world, our appointments are still the same, appointments with the boss or employee appointments with upper management. In business, there is one extremely important appointment, sales with prospects or existing customers. Remember, without sales businesses close their doors. This blog is directed to sales and any other function that involves other people. When calling someone what is your goal? This should be to get the appointment even though in sales the ultimate goal is to close the sale and get a new client, however, your initial focus should be to set the appointment and not try to close the sale. Your prospect receives many calls from salespeople and is very guarded so, never sound like a salesperson. Always ask the question, “Is this a good time, or am I interrupting”. This small change can show the prospect that you respect them, and their time and it can buy you 2 to 5 minutes to work with when the prospect says they are available. If given permission to share some sort of elevator speech. This should be one to two sentences that communicate how you can help the prospect. Your elevator pitch could be a value statement or value proposition, it could be some pain point examples, or it could be a quick past client example. Usually when you make B2B cold calls be ready for objections. Keep a list of objections you have received. How did you deal with them? Did it work? Keep track so you can be prepared. If you’ve built enough interest or curiosity, you should be able to close this appointment. Remember this is not the time to sell your product or service, it’s just to get the appointment and start your rapport building and building your emotional connection. You never want to lose the emotional connection and one way it gets lost is when that prospect calls you and is placed On-Hold and you are listening to some kind of music, a radio, beeps, or worst yet, silence. On-Hold messages keep that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

6/01/2021 People Skills
People skills are an essential part of work, life, and social success. When you have strong people skills, you are better able to influence others positively, communicate your ideas, overcome social anxiety, and promote yourself. People skills are the tools you use to communicate and interact effectively with others. Individuals with strong people skills can predict behavior, relate to others, and socialize easily. Research has even found that those who have strong people skills make an average of $29,000 more per year. Albert Schweitzer said, “constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate” and Og Mandino said, “Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster. Your life will never be the same again.” People skills are one of the most underappreciated areas of career development. In career development, we are lucky if we have the occasional people skills training or communication course. Interpersonal intelligence, or PQ, needs to be honed. Just like we develop our IQ, we need to work on our PQ. People smarts are just as important as book smarts. Researchers define people skills as three sets of abilities. First, someone’s personal effectiveness. As a people skill, personal effectiveness is all about how you come across to others. Are you able to promote yourself? Can you communicate clearly? Can you get what you need from others? Someone with strong personal effectiveness typically also makes a memorable first impression and has a confident presence with the people they meet. The second is your interaction ability. This is how well you predict and decode behavior. In an interaction, can you empathize with someone? Are you highly perceptive? Finally, someone with strong people skills can intercede easily. This means they are able to lead, influence, and build bridges between people. Are you a connector? A mediator? Oftentimes this can be calming down difficult or toxic people. What is your social assertiveness? Do you stand up for yourself in social situations? Do you feel confident interacting with others? Are you assertive with your social needs? Social assertiveness is essential for conserving social energy. People with high social assertiveness have more focused social energy and have more clarity in their interactions. People with low social assertiveness: • feel out of control in social situations • are addicted to people-pleasing • have more toxic people in their lives • People with high social assertiveness are able to: • establish boundaries • stand up for their needs • can tell people, “No!” Extroverts, ambiverts, and introverts all have different levels of social energy. Are you an extrovert, introvert, or ambivert? Once you know, you can spend your social energy efficiently. Are you memorable? Do you make a strong first impression? Do people remember your name after meeting you? People with a weak presence: • struggle to get clients or make friends • frequently deal with people forgetting their name • feel awkward in many social interactions •People with a memorable presence: • leave a lasting first impression • have a robust network • quickly build rapport To help, become interesting, master communication. Become comfortable communicating your ideas to large groups Poor communicators usually think they are unworthy of attention, avoid sharing their ideas, cannot get buy-in on their opinions, and are underappreciated for their hard work while people that excel in communication skills have little to no problems public speaking, presenting, or communicating to large groups. Most people think this is a skill you cannot learn—not true! Anyone can learn to be a master communicator. One of the best training you can get is joining your local Toastmasters club. If you feel socially anxious, and most people do, make sure you know the signs. Learn to get past the small talk and create conversations that are memorable. Most interactions occur with your first impression that is made within your first five minutes. Once you get past this you can create your invitation for a meeting, and you are building rapport. If you have been successful, you created a relationship. This works in your life on both a business and personal level. The conversation is the key to move this along. To be a star in conversation ask an open-ended question that gets others to speak. Again, this simple tool builds rapport for business, socializing, even dating. Be likable. Likability is an important facet of trust. We often hear about being “authentic” or “genuine.” These are all aspects of likability. To like someone, we, want them to be congruent with their words and actions. We tend to like people who we feel are showing us their true selves One way, in the business world, to use those people skills and to continue the emotional connection you have made is a very simple yet powerful tool on your telephone with an On-Hold Message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/31/2021 Customer Service the Prime Directive
Customer service is the act of supporting and advocating for customers in their discovery use optimization and troubleshooting of a product or service. It's also the processes that support the teams making good customer service happen. The goal of customer service is to foster better customer relationships. Customer service shouldn't just be a department it should be the entire company. Good customer service costs less than bad customer service. The more advocates you have the less you need to spend on marketing and those happy customers become your best sales force. Jeff Bezos says. “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." The COO of the Ritz-Carlton says that their cited customer service policy which is predicated on the concept of employee empowerment from the janitors to the chefs to chief executives is encouraged to fix any guest problem they encounter -- and they don't need to ask permission to do so. However employees can't connect with customers to answer questions and problem-solve unless they're committed to this mission. Every person in business should look at this model for the impact of giving the team this autonomy. The CEO of Pepsico says that “when you assume negative intent you're angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent you will be amazed." This is applicable to customer service as it is to company culture. People trust recommendations from friends more than any other form of advertising and they tell people about it when they have great customer experiences with a company. Remember customer service shouldn't just be a department it should be the entire company. Another area that is usually ignored by many business owners is the way phone calls are handled specially when the caller is placed On-Hold and all they hear is some cheesy music beeps radio or worst yet silence when a cost-effected and cost-efficient custom low-cost On-Hold message is available. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/28/2021 Decisions Decisions Decisions
Decisions Decisions Decisions we make every day. The question is how do we decide? A decision is a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration. How do we go about making that decision and what do we think will be the end result? What will we learn or gain from making this decision? Or what will we lose if we decide to sit on the couch and eat a bag of potato chips instead? If you are in sales and remember everyone is selling something it’s important to consider how and why we make decisions. On any given day we must decide: 1. to call this potential customer not that one; 2. to pick up the phone or email a current client.; 3. to spend time generating leads or serving existing customers or 4. to read an article related to your work or scroll through your social feeds. A decision is not a casual thing that you may or may not do. A decision is powerful and should not be taken lightly. As the old saying goes “If you want to take the Island burn the boats.” Your decisions plot your life. Think about some of the ones you’ve made in the past and how they affected your life. Would you make them again? In business any business we must make decisions every day remembering the who what where and why we are doing them. One decision every kind of business must do to be successful is how to market and brand their product and or service. You are the CEO of ‘Me Inc. and must decide how you will emotionally connect with your present client or customer base as well as your prospective ones and how you will keep that emotional connection alive. One cost-efficient and effective way with On-Hold messages on your phones. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/27/2021 Nothing Has Meaning
Nothing has any meaning until you give it meaning. How you respond to events reflects the meaning you give it. Too often we humans blame everything from the weather to our fellow humans for the negative events that come into our lives. My thoughts are in many cases it’s the meaning we placed on those events not the events themselves. A sales representative may see the rain as a deterrent to sales while another may see that same rain as an asset. Different events give us different emotional connections and we all seem to function on emotion first facts and reason second. How often have you thought of something that happened to or around you in one way then saw it another way and changed your feelings? What I believe is you changed the meaning you gave it initially with a change of your emotional stance. If you run a business what meaning do you give customer service? It should be on the top of your list; if you want to grow I think it should be a priority; that’s the meaning I give it. To me customer service starts with the first interaction and never stops. From sales call to phone call customer service must reign supreme. One area that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is when a caller is placed On-Hold. Here you have a captive listener. If a new caller you could have the opportunity to continue both your marketing and branding message keeping that emotional connection alive. With a current client it’s your chance to up-sell your products and/or service. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses maintain that emotional connection as well as their marketing and branding messages to their clients and prospects around the nation to enable them to increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/26/2021 Why Businesses Fail
Running a business is not for the faint of heart. The ‘Small Business Administration (SBA) tell us that there are a number of small businesses in a broad range of industries that perform well and are continuously profitable, however, 20% of small businesses fail in the first year, 50% go belly up after five years, and only 33% make it to 10 years or longer. What seems to lead to business failure. The most common reasons small businesses fail include a lack of capital or funding, retaining an inadequate management team, a faulty infrastructure or business model, and unsuccessful marketing initiatives. Running out of money is a small business’s biggest risk. Owners often know what funds are needed day to day payroll; paying fixed and varied overhead expenses, such as rent and utilities; and ensuring that outside vendors are paid on time but are unclear as to how much revenue is being generated, and the disconnect can be disastrous. Inexperience managing a business—or an unwillingness to delegate—can negatively impact small businesses, as can a poorly visualized business plan, which can lead to ongoing problems once the firm is operational. Poorly planned or executed marketing campaigns, or a lack of adequate marketing and publicity, are among the other issues that drag down small businesses. Another reason is business owners who miss the mark on pricing products and services. To beat out the competition in highly saturated industries may price a product or service far lower than similar offerings, with the intent to entice new customers. While the strategy is successful in some cases, businesses that end up closing their doors are those that keep the price of a product or service too low for too long. When the costs of production, marketing, and delivery outweigh the revenue generated from new sales, small businesses have little choice but to close down. Another common reason small businesses fail is a lack of business acumen on the part of the management team or business owner. In some instances, a business owner is the only senior-level person within a company, especially when a business is in its first year or two of operation. While the owner may have the skills necessary to create and sell a viable product or service, they often lack the attributes of a strong manager and don't have the time to successfully oversee other employees. Without a dedicated management team, a business owner has greater potential to mismanage certain aspects of the business, whether it be finances, hiring, or marketing. Smart business owners outsource the activities they do not perform well or have little time to successfully carry through. A strong management team is one of the first additions a small business needs to continue operations well into the future. It is important for business owners to feel comfortable with the level of understanding each manager has regarding the business’ operations, current and future employees, and products or services. Many of these small businesses often overlook the importance of effective business planning prior to opening their doors. This business plan should include, at a minimum: • A clear description of the business • Current and future employee and management needs • Opportunities and threats within the broader market • Capital needs, including projected cash flow and various budgets • Marketing initiatives • Competitor analysis Business owners who fail to address the needs of the business through a well-laid-out plan before operations begin are setting up their companies for serious challenges. Similarly, a business that does not regularly review an initial business plan—or one that is not prepared to adapt to changes in the market or industry—meets potentially insurmountable obstacles throughout the course of its lifetime. Marketing is a key and entrepreneurs often fail to prepare for the marketing needs of a company in terms of capital required, prospect reach, and accurate conversion-ratio projections. When companies underestimate the total cost of early marketing campaigns, it can be difficult to secure financing or redirect capital from other business departments to make up for the shortfall. Because marketing is a crucial aspect of any early-stage business, it is necessary for companies to ensure that they have established realistic budgets for current and future marketing needs. One area that is overlooked is the telephone one of the most important marketing, branding, and sales tools available. From the phone system you but to how phone calls are handled from the auto-attendant to the On-Hold function. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/25/2021 On Being an Entrepreneur
Many people become entrepreneurs because they want to take charge of their financial future and enjoy the freedom entrepreneurship can provide. While the fascination with entrepreneurship is strong, there are some realities you should be aware of before you decide to take the leap. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. If you're not prepared, you could end up turning your dream into a nightmare. There are many hazards to being an entrepreneur. Isolation is an occupational hazard for entrepreneurs. Until you grow your business to the point of bringing on other people, it’s going to be a one-person show. This means extended periods of time alone, and that can get to you. Even introverts need a little human interaction every now and then. You must have laser focus. When you don’t have a boss or company tracking your progress, it’s easy to lose focus. Your freedom to do whatever you decide with your time will backfire if you don’t stick to a schedule and plan. Today, things like social media notifications can lead you down time-wasting rabbit holes. This is where you must create goals and benchmarks in your business. Don’t give in to activities that will distract you. Create clear goals and benchmarks in your business. Don’t give in to activities that will distract you. Your focus should be spent on strategies that grow your business. You have embarked on entrepreneurship that provides you the opportunity to earn significant income, but that income can be inconsistent. So, until you have built a steady customer base create an emergency fund. There are places that seem like they would be a good investment but aren't. Testing with a small amount is the key to see what really works in your business. Just because someone else had success with a strategy, doesn't mean it will work for you. Stay away from time-wasting activities. The information age has brought on information overload for many entrepreneurs. We see something that works, and we want to try it for our business. To grow your business, you must focus your time on what will make it grow. Get a mentor, go to a seminar. Read a book. Learn and then implement. Learning without action can hurt your business. Running a business involves many moving parts you can’t do it alone. Starting out, you can manage those parts on your own. Eventually, there’s so much to manage that you can't focus on things that will help your business grow. Being the “jack-of-all-trades” only hurts your business in the long run. In the beginning, find a virtual assistant and find places where you can outsource. Make sure what you do works for you. Just because it worked for someone else doesn’t mean you will see the same success. Test it out in a small way. Testing will give you valuable feedback from your customer list that in turn helps you create products and services that generate income. Being an entrepreneur can be the start of an amazing lifestyle. You can achieve freedom in your life and finances and build a business that you pass down to your children but never get satisfied. This is the time to set newer goals to grow. Always push beyond what you think is possible in your business. The "sky's the limit" is a cliché, but if you consistently set higher and higher goals, you can make it your reality. Most entrepreneurs miss a very simple and powerful tool in growing their business, the telephone, and its On-Hold function. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/24/2021 Questions and Trust
Everyone must work, but for many of us that job isn’t just a paycheck, it’s an opportunity to express ourselves and make something better. Entrepreneurs and go-getters often feel as if they carry the weight of an entire organization on their backs, and therefore could always use a little extra motivation. As Oprah Winfrey once said, “I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” There are many questions we must ask ourselves. The entrepreneur might start with, “what do I know that could help society and give me a roadmap to success” and, “what part of society could be my target market?” Then the question could be, “do I want to offer a product or a service” and, “do I want to be a leader in that market, or a me too?” When starting a business remember the words of Andrew Carnegie, “The first one gets the oyster, the second gets the shell.” Questions play a major role on every level of the business from the CEO down the line. One of the key factors is sales. If sales aren’t made there is no business, and everyone who invested their time and/or money loses as well. The salesperson might be asking him or herself, “do I believe in the product or service, and do I trust and believe in the leadership of the organization?” Every team member on a subliminal level is asking that same question about trust, and the team leaders are asking the same question, “can I trust my team?” Dr. Joyce Brothers once said, “Trust your hunches. They're usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.” You must discover you, what you do, and trust it. Remember, every sale that is made should be built on trust. These sales are not only to prospects but to your fellow team members on each level of the organization. In selling to prospects, the salesperson must build trust, again, without trust, no sale. Trust can be built on every level from the culture of the organization, its philosophy, customer service, accounts payable, to how phone calls are handled. One area of the phone that is usually ignored is when a caller is placed On-Hold. Here you have the perfect opportunity of starting or continue building that trust bond. Will Rogers once said, ‘Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/21/2021 Relationship Building
Stop ‘Closing the Sale and Start Opening Relationships’ should be the mantra of everyone that offers products and/or services to the marketplace. Not too many years ago the idea was ABC “Always Be Closing” today the ABC is “Always Be curious”. However the successful representative is building relationships. There is more to selling than one sale. There are opportunities to up-sell cross-sell and re-sell your client base if you have a relationship. How you build those relationships is both an art and a science. The science part is the easy part find the formula and replicate it. The art is developing the formula. The first part of the formula is gaining rapport. People like to work with people who are like themselves. So step one is to recognize how your prospect/customer/client takes in information. We all take information via one of our five senses with sight sound and touch being most prominent. Therefore it’s your job to communicate within that sense. Next you must know what challenges they are facing. Once you know that through asking pointed questions you can ascribe an antidote to help them assuage the pain your product and/or your service. Just by doing these two activities you stand a greater chance of building that relationship. However it should not stop when you get that order or contract. Relationship selling must continue every time you or your business touches that client. Should that customer call you and be placed On-Hold that emotional connection must be kept by having an On-Hold message that bolsters your brand and marketing message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/20/2021 What Is Your Professional Brand
When building your social media skills to grow more sales one of the key elements is for you to define your professional brand. How do you want to define yourself? Are you just another sales rep or would you want to define yourself as a trusted advisor? My personal choice is the “Trusted Advisor”. Then the question is what steps should you take to obtain that status? Step 1: Freshen up every existing Social Media profile. Delete quotes photos videos and all other matters that can hurt your professional persona. Step 2: Revise your LinkedIn and other social media profiles with issues that will appeal to your target audience. Step 3: Increase and share regular content such as industry news discerning articles case studies and other content that is geared towards attracting your target market based on their concerns common challenges and more. Step 4: As with the general rule of prospecting establish what level of decision-makers you need to target and go find them through the various tools now available through social media and build your social network around those people. Step 5: Know the social media channels these decision-makers frequent and learn more about them by observing them on these channels. Step 6: Now that you have done all the above it’s time for you to offer valuable insights which will establish you as knowledgeable and create the trusted advisor status. Remember once these decision-makers call you treat them with respect by having an On-Hold message on your phone rather than a series of beeps a radio station or silence. On-Hold messages are both effective and efficient as they carry both your marketing and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/19/2021 Communication Is the Response You Get
George Bernard Shaw once said “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Too often in business we think we’ve communicated and don’t understand why we didn’t get the response we wanted. Remember communication is the response you get. Just because you say something doesn’t mean communication has taken place. Also remember words are only seven percent of communication there is 93 percent that isn’t words; body language represents fifty-five percent and the tonality of your voice the other thirty-eight percent. Yet everything we do is communication. We as a species can not communicate. The person we communicate with most often is ourselves. What we say the choice of words we use in our head the tonality have a great effect on our personal psychology. When you are in business every communication has power from what you say to yourself to what you say to the person you are communicating to. One area of extraordinary communication is on the phone. There you have no body language as a guide only words and tonality. That is why your choice of words is prime as well as your sound. On the phone you must match volume tempo and the keywords the person you are speaking to uses. Your phone can be a huge asset in your business from finding new clients or prospecting to servicing current clients. One area of passive use of the phone to increase business is On-Hold messages. Here you have a captive listener so now is the perfect time to continue your marketing and branding message to up-selling your current clients on goods and/or services you offer. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/18/2021 Enthusiasm Is Contagious
Do you have a job, or do you have a career? I would suggest that whatever you do to earn your daily bread you do it with enthusiasm. If we got to profile who we did business with we would all pick someone who’s enthusiastic over someone who’s not enthusiastic. And yet, this very important “sales technique” is widely ignored. The first definition I was given of selling was “transference of feeling about a product, idea or service.” I was told nobody will be more excited than you are about your products or services. Zig Ziglar said, “For every sale, you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough,” and Zig was spot on. To help you, start with the words you use like; fantastic, tremendous, awesome, wow, great, spectacular, and fabulous. Next, take a minute and think about something that excited you in the past and tell that story out loud. Try and remember how you felt as you tell the story and listen to your voice. Then use that same voice along with the words we mentioned when you are talking about your product/service. When watching T.V. try to find a commercial where the actors or actresses are unenthusiastic, chances are you won’t find any. Believe me, they are not naturally that enthusiastic. They do it because enthusiasm SELLS! We are inherently attracted to people that are enthusiastic. Make it your goal to be that kind of person. The word enthusiasm traces its roots to the Greek word “Enthousiasmos” which means “divine inspiration”, “To be inspired or possessed by a god, be immersed, be in bliss”. Many of us surrender to the effects of enthusiasm every day but we won’t use the power ourselves. We see it all the time, so it becomes incumbent on you to embrace it. Here is a thought that if you act enthusiastic you will become enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is contagious and can be continued even when you are called by your client and he or she is placed On-Hold. If you have an On-Hold message you can keep it going with a very cost-effective and efficient message On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/17/2021 Vision Statement/Mission Statements
Maya Angelou said, “My mission in life is to not only survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” What a great example of a vision statement. If you are not familiar what a ‘’Vision Statement’ is remember, a vision statement is a document that states the current and future objectives of an organization. The vision statement is intended as a guide to help the organization make decisions that align with its philosophy and declared set of goals. This is not only a for a business it’s for an individual even a family. There is a difference between a ‘Mission Statement’ and a ‘Vision Statement.’ A Mission Statement defines the company's business, or individuals or family and its objectives, and its approach to reach those objectives. A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of all three. Elements of Mission and Vision Statements are often combined to provide a statement of purposes, goals, and values. Now, if you run a business, where do you see it in the next year, five or ten years? The same question should be asked about yourself, or your family. When creating a vision statement, it should be concise, no longer than a sentence or two. It is recommended you want to be able to quickly repeat it and, more importantly, understand it. A vision statement needs to be more than a catchy tagline. It needs to be easily remembered. As an example, Apple’s corporate vision is, “to make the best products on earth, and to leave the world better than we found it,” short, sweet, and to the point. To create a vision statement in business brainstorm with your team for when it is done the team will feel ownership and work to produce the results you strive for. The same holds true with your family, get the entire family to put in their thoughts and when you all agree, your family, as with your business, should be on a path to success. A vision statements gets all the members of the group rowing the boat in the same direction. With an individual creating a vision statement is looking for the same result however, since you don’t have a team, bring people that are close to you together, or find a professional counselor to guide you. Often, from your vision statement your mission statement can be formed. Your professional or personal mission statement should be a short summary of your company's (family’s or personal) purpose. The best mission statements are guidelines by which a company (family or the individual) operates. Everything you do should work toward your mission statement. Most mission statements are between one and three sentences, never exceeding 100 words. Apple’s mission statement says, “to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.” Short, sweet and to the point. In the business world a mission statement must address customer service because without customers, you have no business. One area that is both cost-efficient and effective is your phone. How phone calls are handled can have a major effect on your business. As an example, when, a customer is placed On-Hold what do they hear? Are they hearing a radio, music, beeps or just silence? If so, statistics tell us, they will abandon the call within 30 seconds, yet, with a custom On-Hold message they will stay on the phone for four to five minutes. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/14/2021 What Is Your Professional Brand
When building your social media skills to grow more sales one of the key elements is for you to define your professional brand. How do you want to define yourself? Are you just another sales rep or would you want to define yourself as a trusted advisor? My personal choice is the ‘Trusted Advisor’. Then the question is what steps should you take to obtain that status? Step 1: Freshen up every existing Social Media profile. Delete quotes photos videos and all other matter that can hurt your professional persona. Step 2: Revise your LinkedIn and other social media profiles with issues that will appeal to your target audience. Step 3: Increase or share regular content such as industry news discerning articles case studies and other content that is geared towards attracting your target market based on their concerns common challenges and more. Step 4: As with the general rule of prospecting establish what level of decision makers you need to target and go find them through the various tools now available through social media and build your social network around those people. Step 5: Know the social media channels these decision makers frequent and learn more about them by observing them on these channels. Step 6: Now that you have done all the above it’s time for you to offer valuable insights which will establish you as knowledgeable and create the trusted advisor status. Remember once these decision makers call you treat them with respect by having an On-Hold message on your phone rather than a series of beeps a radio station or silence. On-Hold message are both effective and efficient as they carry both your marketing and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/13/2021 Communication Is The Response You Get
George Bernard Shaw once said ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’ Too often in business we think we’ve communicated and don’t understand why we didn’t get the response we wanted. Remember communication is the response you get. Just because you say something doesn’t mean a communication has taken place. Also remember words are only seven percent of communication there is 93 percent that aren’t words; body language represents fifty-five percent and the tonality of your voice the other thirty-eight percent. Yet everything we do is communication. We as a species can-not communicate. The person we communicate with most often is ourselves. What we say the choice of words we use in our head the tonality has a great effect on our personal psychology. When you are in business every communication has power from what you say to yourself to what you say to the person you are communicating with. One area of extraordinary communication is on the phone. There you have no body language as a guide only words and tonality. That is why your choice of words is prime as well as your sound. On the phone you must match volume tempo and the keywords the person you are speaking to uses. Your phone can be a huge asset in your business from finding new clients or prospecting to servicing current clients. One area of passive use of the phone to increase business is On-Hold messages. Here you have a captive listener so now is the perfect time continue your marketing and branding message to up-sell and cross-sell your current clients on the goods or services you offer. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/12/2021 Enthusiasm Is Contagious
Do you have a job or do you have a career? I would suggest that whatever you do to earn your daily bread you do it with enthusiasm. If we got to profile who we did business with we would all pick someone who’s enthusiastic over someone’s who’s not enthusiastic. And yet this very important ‘sales technique’ is widely ignored. The first definition I was given of selling was transference of feeling about a product, idea or service. I was told nobody will be more excited than you are about your products or services. Zig Ziglar said, ‘For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough,’ and Zig was spot on. To help you, start with the words you use like; fantastic, tremendous, awesome, wow, great, spectacular, and fabulous. Next take a minute and think about something that excited you in the past and tell that story out loud. Try and remember how you felt as you tell the story and listen to your voice. Then use that same voice along with the words we mentioned when you are talking about your product/service. When watching T.V. try to find a commercial where the actors or actresses are unenthusiastic, chances are you won’t find any. Believe me they are not naturally that enthusiastic. They do it because enthusiasm SELLS! We are inherently attracted to people that are enthusiastic. Make it your goal to be that kind of person. The word enthusiasm traces its roots to the Greek word ‘Enthousiasmos’ which means ‘divine inspiration’, ‘To be inspired or possessed by a god, be immersed, be in bliss’. Many of us surrender to the effects of enthusiasm everyday but we won’t use the power ourselves. We see it all the time, so it become incumbent on you to embrace it. Here is a thought that if you act enthusiastic you will become enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is contagious and can be continued even when you are called by your client and he or she is placed On-Hold. If you have an On-Hold message you can keep it going with a very cost effective and efficient message On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/11/2021 Relationship Building
Stop ‘Closing The Sale and Start Opening Relationships’ should be the mantra of everyone that offers products or services to the market place. Not too many years ago the idea was ABC ‘Always Be Closing’ today however the successful representative is building relationships. There is more to selling then one sale. There are opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell your client base if you have a relationship. How you build those relationships is both an art and a science. The science part is the easy part find the formula and replicate it. The art is developing the formula. First part of the formula is gaining rapport. People like to work with people who are like themselves. So step one is to recognize how your prospect/customer/client takes in information. We all take information via one of our five senses with sight sound and touch being most prominent. Therefore it’s your job to communicate within that sense. Next you must know what challenges they are facing. Once you know that through asking pointed questions you can ascribe an antidote to help them assuage the pain your product or your service delivers. Just by doing these two activities you stand a greater chance of building that relationship. However it should not stop when you get that order or contract. Relationship selling must continue every time you or your business touches that client. Should that customer call you and be placed On-Hold that emotional connection must be kept alive by having an On-Hold message that bolsters your brand and marketing message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/10/2021 What Are Your Intentions
Your personal and business intention is a statement that defines how you intend to interact with your family customers, your community, your business family, and your environment and so much more. This enables you to have full potential without fear. Goal setting can inadvertently make us feel like a failure. We either hit this month’s budget or we didn’t. Intentions, on the other hand, are less shame-based and offer more opportunity to feel a sense of accomplishment. With intentions there is more room for magic to happen. By magic I mean those little surprises that help us generate income or increase our influence in ways we didn’t expect. For example, you might have the goal to book 5 clients this month when in reality what you desire is to make money in a way that feels energizing and aligned. Maybe booking 5 clients will feel energizing and aligned but maybe there’s a speaking opportunity for the same amount of money that would feel even more energizing and aligned. You don’t want to be so focused on booking your 5 clients that you 1) book clients who aren’t aligned and suck the life out of you or 2) miss that amazing speaking opportunity. Intentions offer us a more compassionate way to set goals. There have been studies that look at a general way to describe types of communication or information transfer that defy common understanding of time and space, which suggest that conscious intention, thoughts and feeling, influences unconscious activity. In fact, our eyes receive and process 10 million bits of information per second, but we only consciously engage with 16 of them. This means we are only aware of a fraction of the information that is at our fingertips. There are ways to use intention-setting to elevate both your personal and business goals. You can create a vision board for both your personal and business life. Vision boards are all the rage these days and there’s a reason why. Have you ever considered creating a vision board specifically for your personal and business life? It can be a fun way to uncover what you desire for yourself and your business. It enables you to look and feel like where you want to focus your attention. Especially if you find yourself too much in your head, spending time to reconnect with your bigger mission through imagery can be incredibly rewarding. Let your imagination run wild. You could schedule a monthly intention-setting party. It can be fun to get together with your family, co-workers, and management once a month and share your intentions with each other. You can ask each other questions like: Where do you desire to focus your energy? What was your biggest learning from the previous month? What do you hope to celebrate at the end of this month? If you are the boss, you might outline your ideal day as CEO. As an entrepreneur, it is important to be clear on what your ideal day as CEO would look and feel like. Otherwise, you can get side-tracked from your bigger vision of life and business by spending your days responding to low-priority emails, scheduling meetings over meal-times, and slipping back into old workaholic routines. Setting your own schedule is one of the greatest perks of being an entrepreneur so take time to make this happen. Ask yourself: How many hours do I want to work every day? What would my dream mornings look like? How often do I want to work out each week? When am I most productive? How important is it to practice daily of self-care? Intention-setting doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be as simple as choosing a word of the week like ‘confidence’, ‘focus’, ‘trust’, ‘joy’, ‘visibility’, or ‘play.’ This is a great way to stay committed to an intention without having to do anything too elaborate. Try writing your word in your journal, putting it on a sticky note on your computer, or creating a calendar reminder so you see it daily. In the midst of trying to achieve goals, it is easy to focus on where you are falling short and forget how amazing you are. Take some time to remind yourself what you are truly gifted at. What is your superpower? Is it navigating difficult conversations? Is it getting people to view something differently? Is it your strong intuition? Is it your coding skills? In the fast pace of life, don’t forget to celebrate all the ways that you are shining. It's important to taking a step back to imagine where you would like to be in 5 years. This can be a powerful exercise. This isn’t about knowing all the answers but tapping into the essence of your big dreams. We can get so caught up in the day-to-day activities of family life or running a business that we lose sight of where we want to go. Take a moment to close your eyes and picture yourself 5 years from this moment. Where are you? What are you doing? What is the impact you are making? Who is around you? How do you feel? What wisdom does your future self-want your younger self to know? I assume one of your intentions is to is to treat everyone in your life, both family and professionally, with respect. One of the areas in business that is a must is great customer service. When someone calls the business how they are treated plays a huge role in keeping them as clients. Having a custom On-Hold message is a very cost-effective and efficient way to accomplish that. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/07/2021 Selling Is An Art Not A Science
Sales are not about what you sell it’s about making friends (A/K/A relationships). If you make enough friends the sales will follow. Sales are the most important function of any business for without a sale zero business is done; this includes the professions as well. Remember you can only sell well if you are convinced that your product or service is valuable. When conversing about your product or service keep it simple and be clear and direct. Pressure is an art and may work if you are able to create fear uncertainty and doubt. One caveat; don’t rub it into where you anger the prospect. No one is ever angered into a sale. As I’ve stated in previous blogs know your clients do your homework on the industry the company and the person. Make sure your presentation flows however know it well enough to shift gears if the energy changes. You the salesperson must show passion and excitement for these two qualities are contagious. When asked questions don’t guess be honest. Humor is a great gift and is a wonderful lubricator. Sales is an art not a science meaning you can always improve. You can improve on the way incoming calls are handled by having a custom On-Hold message by HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System. Don’t put your business On-Hold with a radio station a series of beeps or silence when someone calls you and is placed On-Hold. Inform and entertain them with a cost-efficient and effective On-Hold Message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/06/2021 Prospecting the key To Sales
The old expression “Finding a needle in a haystack” is a lot like prospecting for sales yet prospecting is the lifeblood of all sales. In direct marketing they speak of a formula “AIDA” (Attention Interest Desire and Action) so think of prospecting as the process of creating attention and interest enough interest to win a conversation to explore the subject area more deeply. I believe the goal of prospecting is to create interest and convert that interest into a conversation. When prospecting if you are only looking for prospects that are in the “Desire Phase” (someone interested in solving a particular problem or purchasing a known type of product or service) or the “Action Phase” (someone already in the process of searching for a solution to the problem) but if your approach is only to look for these people then you’re in for a number of rude awakenings. The prospect that is in the desire phase in all probability has someone in mind and the chance it’s you is remote. To prospect successfully you need to target the decision-makers. Make yourself valuable to the prospect by stating how your product or service can improve their lives. Always work with the highest of integrity there is no need to use tricks or bend the truth. Remember it takes many contacts before you reach the right person therefore never stop. Many sales are made after the twelfth call and many a salesperson doesn’t follow up after two calls. Cold calling works well with both snail mail and email so use them. Remember should that prospect call you and is placed On-Hold it’s imperative to be professional there as well. Don’t subject the caller to a radio a series of beeps or silence when for s few dollars you may have HoldMasters The On-Hold Message system deliver informative and entertaining custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/05/2021 A Winning Strategy
To get a winning strategy, you must have a compelling goal. Like it’s been said many times before, “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” Once you have that goal you must keep it in focus. Keep it in your vision. Think about it when you’re lying in bed. In other words, keep your eye on the prize, your goal. You control how you focus on that prize. You get to decide how much intensity you want to employ. Just don’t run on instinct too often those who run on instinct lose in the end. Test things out and see what works, then you can employ the ammunition in your arsenal to the greatest effect. Stand up to bullies, if you stand up to them, they’ll fold. Be intense. People sense weakness. If you’re not willing to hang it all out, you won’t win in the end. One of the most effective games to play is to lull your opponent into thinking nothing’s wrong. Along the lines of keeping your enemies even closer than your friends. When people let their guard down, they reveal weaknesses that can be used against them. There are three tests that can be used to gauge the advantages of one strategy over another and to estimate how good a strategy is. A good strategy is well in step to the company's situation - both internal and external factors and its own qualifications and objectives. A good strategy leads to a justifiable viable advantage. The bigger the competitive edge that a strategy helps build, the more potent and valuable it is. A good strategy enhances the company’s execution. Two kinds of performance improvements are the most informative: gains in effectiveness and gains in the company's long-term business muscle and ready for action position. I would suggest that modeling how a successful business creates a strategy would work for you and your business. Most successful businesses also use the ‘Hold’ button on their phones to educate and inform potential clients as well as up-selling and cross-selling present clients. Using On-Hold time is a winning strategy to increase the ROI. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/04/2021 Bad Habits Interrupt Your Life
Bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. They jeopardize your health — both mentally and physically. And they waste your time and energy. So why do we still do them? And most importantly, is there anything you can do about it? The first question is what usually causes them? And the second question; how do I alter them? Most of the time, bad habits are simply a way of handling stress and boredom. Everything from biting your nails to overspending on a shopping spree to drinking every weekend to wasting time on the internet can be a simple response to stress and boredom. Often stress and boredom are just surface issues and the cause goes way deeper. Do you have some deep-seated beliefs or reasons behind those bad habits? Is it an impending event or some limiting belief? To overcome this negative habit step one, identify it. Remember, you don’t jettison a bad habit, you exchange it for a good one. All of the habits that you have right now — good or bad — are in your life for a reason. In some way, these activities provide value to you, even if they are bad for you in other ways. Smoking, as an example, for many it reduces stress and so does some form of exercise; which one would you think is smarter? Don’t fool yourself and think that cutting out a bad habit without replacing it works; it doesn’t. Step two think about a substitute for that bad habit. In other words, plan ahead. Step three, eliminate the triggers. Your environment makes your bad habit easier and good habits harder. Change your environment and you can change the outcome. Step four, pair up with someone. The two of you can hold each other responsible and applaud your wins together. Knowing that someone else demands you to be better is a formidable inspiration. Step five, and most important, see yourself succeeding. A good habit in business is to never ignore your client, patient, customer, or prospect, even when they call you. One way to keep connected is with an On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

5/03/2021 Passion and Excellence
In the business world selling is the fuse. The first sale is the entrepreneur selling himself or herself on the business itself the vision. He or she must feel and exhibit a passion for the business because passion is contagious and flows throughout the flow chart. Having the money doesn’t qualify you to be an entrepreneur it takes knowledge and know-how. Both of these assets are available by hiring experts in the field and listening to them. Next is building a team to implement that vision. Depending on the type of business the team can be engineers code writers or management types that understand the business. An integral part of the business is people that understand marketing branding and advertising whose collective knowledge is to tell the prospective users what the business does who they are and what they stand for and the advertising is there to entice buying. This part of the team should be outsourced to professionals And finally the sales team. Their job is to call on prospects and share what the product or service does and how it can help a business either save or make money. Like every professional sales-teams in order to be constantly successful must have constant training. Doctors Lawyers and CPS’s have constant training for their professions. There are new sales strategies that should be implemented and that could be the job of a sales coach. Remember top performers in sports all have coaches why not sales? If everyone on the entire team shares the passion and strives for excellence success is almost a shoo-in. One of the areas that are a must is great customer service. When someone calls the business how they are treated plays a huge role in keeping them as clients. Having a custom On-Hold message is a very cost-effective and efficient way to accomplish that. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/30/2021 Fear of Rejection Be Gone
Many salespeople dread using the phone to call clients and prospects for fear of rejection. I once read a book “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” for when you overcome that fear the rewards will put a smile on your face and jingle in your pockets. Your attitude will determine your altitude and your future. I don’t think of rejection as a failure and I don’t believe in failure. I substitute the word “Failure” with the word “Learning” therefore I never fail I learn. Anytime you get rejected take a minute and replay what happened. Use that rejection as a learning tool. Once you fine-tune your phone approach you will see far better reception to your calls which in turn will add to your success. When making business calls consider making a professional greeting never jump into your sales story. You might consider being more formal by saying something like “Good morning (afternoon) Mr. Ms.” as opposed to a common “Hello”. Introduce yourself and your company without getting too specific. Know what the goal of your call is are you looking to sell your product or service or are you selling the idea of an appointment? Always thank the person for the time for taking your call and state the purpose of your call. I always like to have a face-to-face meeting even if it’s a Zoom Meeting so see if you can schedule one. Always give a choice of time rather than ask “When Can we meet?” By giving them a choice you are taking control. Constantly thank them for their time and for your upcoming appointment. And follow up with a “Thank You” note and a confirmation of the time. Should they need to call you keep that professionalism alive with an On-Hold message from HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/29/2021 Tangible vs. Intangible
What’s the difference between selling a tangible vs. an intangible? Both require effective communication and the ability to match that customer’s need(s). That said selling a product is different than selling a service and understanding the techniques that you need to use to be able to show the benefit(s) to the customer. In selling a tangible product you must ask questions that enable you to understand that customer/prospects need(s) and then you match your product to fill that need(s). With tangibles you promote the key features and attributes that point to the benefits. Often times with a tangible you have the opportunity to do a demonstration that in most cases is the best tool in your sales kit. With a service you have a little tougher sell for here you need to build a strong trust bond since that customer has nothing to see hear smell or taste. You need to convince him or her that the service's quality and your experience and personal dependability are worth paying for. One thing that can help ramp up the sales is testimonials since you haven’t a product to show. Testimonials are also very helpful in tangible sales as well however in- service sales are paramount. In either case follow-up is always a must and so is an On-Hold message. The On-Hold message shows the client/prospect that you care enough to keep that trust bond alive and that marketing and branding message moving forward when they call in and are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/28/2021 Building A Trust Bond
A recent CBS News/New York Times poll asked “What percent of people in general are trustworthy?” The answer was stunning only 30%. That’s pretty dismal. When the same poll asked the question but change the question to “How many people do you know are trustworthy?” The answer changed dramatically to 70%. This shows me that when people get to know you and like you they then begin to trust you. Trust is a keyword when selling anything and that trust takes you away from being just another “Sales Rep” to being a trusted “Advisor”. In order to build trust when you don’t have the solution for that client’s best interest tell them don’t sell them something that you know will not deliver the outcome that the prospect/client wants. Always give the unvarnished truth and let the prospect/client choose. Never misrepresent the FAB (features/advantages/benefits) of your product and/or service. Don’t over promise and under deliver. This prospect/client can refer you to others and I always feel that getting a referral is far better than “Cold Calling”. You can keep that “Trust Bond” going even when you are not face to face with that prospect/client by having a custom On-Hold message on your phone system that carries both your marketing message (what you do) and your branding message (who you are). Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/27/2021 Stop Closing The Sale
Stop closing the sale and start opening relationships. For years’ sales trainers and sales managers have been coaching salespeople on “How to Close” a sale. Remembering that everyone is a salesperson we as a species are always selling. Parents sell their children ideas to assist in the child’s personal development husband and wives sell each other on family matters religious leaders sell their congregations on scriptures owners of business and CEO’s sell ideas to the employees the media (TV radio social media) sells products and services to viewers and listeners and salespeople sell products and services to potential buyers and current customers. No one likes to be sold. People buy for different reasons and when you break it down to the lowest common denominator it’s due to an emotional connection and it relieves some kind of pain. Creating relationships should be the goal of everyone. Once a relationship is created trust is established and without trust there can be no relationship. Keeping that trust bond alive is the grease to sales. One way to keep it alive is with a very cost-effective and efficient On-Hold message on your phone. Nothing can break an emotional connection more than ignoring callers and beeps music or silence on the phone are examples that can be fixed easily. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/26/2021 Building a Business
It’s been said that everyone is the CEO of ‘Me Inc’. Whether you want to become an entrepreneur or just the best receptionist, bookkeeper, janitor, or salesperson there are things that should be developed. First of all, there is the why you are doing what you do. The entrepreneur must have a powerful message, both a mission and vision statement, and the rest of the staff needs to buy into that mission and the vision. Since every business offers a product or service everyone connected must focus on the consumer as well as understanding the market, they are dealing in. Customer service must rule, or you have no business. From the CEO down the organizational chart, it is imperative that each member of the team know their own strengths, weaknesses, skills, and time available to accomplish the goals that fulfill both the mission and vision statements. Every team member from top to bottom needs to surround themselves with advisors and mentors to create accountability for their activity. A business plan is a must and if you want this business to run like a well-oiled machine, all team members should be part of that planning. Most of all if the entire team has the passion to win, they are well on their way. I would suggest that each team member needs to continue to grow by reading books and taking seminars that deal with their specific part of this operation. Those team members that deal in finance need to stay abreast of the latest tax laws, HR should understand the latest in government regulations and benefits, salespeople need to have continued training, and top management, working with their mentors, need to read those books and attend those seminars. As stated above customer service is the key to a successful business venture. Once you have a customer and have acquired his or her trust never lose it. Regardless of how small their needs seem to be to you, to them it is prime and must be addressed. One area that seems to be ignored by many businesses is their phone. Do you have a phone system that is current like your smartphone or one that is years old? When someone calls your business how is the call handled? Is the receptionist pleasant and knowledgeable? If someone is placed On-Hold, what do they hear, a radio, music, beeps, or silence? This is where you can keep the trust or lose it. This is where a caller feels unimportant and, in most cases, abandons the call. The way to prevent abandonment is with a custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/23/2021 Vision Statements and Mission Statement
Your business or personal identity needs both a ‘Vision Statement’ as well as a ‘Mission Statement’; and there is a difference. A ‘Mission Statement’ is usually a more straightforward and a simple explanation of what your organization (or sales organization) does right now how it does it and who its primary consumers are. The objective of this statement offers a simpler shorter-term definition of your company fixed on existing and pragmatic terms. The vision statement is more complex and spotlights the long-term and would-be principles of your company; what do you want to accomplish in the next decade? The ‘Vision Statement’ should also create the goals for your employees to work toward so everyone is pulling the rope in the same direction. These goals should offer inspiration that is the central ideas that form the underpinning of the business. To get your team passionate about what they do may I suggest that all of the employees create their own ‘Mission Statement’ of how they will add to the ‘Vision’ of your company. Make sure you broadcast this to your clients customers and patients every chance you get. This will enable them to better understand the who what where and why you are in business. One great place to bring this to the top of the mind is with a Message On-Hold. This very cost-effective and efficient service will inform and entertain all of your incoming callers and remember AT&T tells us that 70% of all coming calls are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/22/2021 Size Doesn’t Really Matter
Size Doesn’t Really Matter Being a small firm can sometimes be an advantage allowing you to play on the quality and exclusivity of your service. However your size can also put off impending buyers. It is up to you to sway them that you are at least as professional as your larger competitors. Working from home can create an image problem although many a successful business is run from home. It is imperative that what you look like doesn’t scream SMALL. Your website must be pristine not poorly put together. Remember your potential client can look you up so make sure your credentials look the part of success. Your phone system can play an important part of your image. Larger companies seem to have not only automated attendants answering the phone but On-Hold Messages delivering both branding and marketing information. On-Hold messages are both cost-efficient and effective. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/21/2021 Under Promise And Over Deliver
Whatever business you are in greater success comes from building long-term relationships with your customers clients or patients. Never over promise and under deliver always try to do the opposite under promise and over deliver. Always be consistent for that helps maintain the trust bond and the emotional tie which drives every business. Every message you share with your client base should focus on being coherent yet sound different. Carve out your own identity your own brand so your prospect base can see the difference between you and others in your field. Maintain that identity when your phone rings and that caller is placed On-Hold (Remember according to AT&T research 70% of all incoming calls are placed On-Hold. The very cost-effective and efficient Message On-Hold is a great way of keeping that emotional tie alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/20/2021 Branding for A Small Business
Branding is just as important for small businesses as it is for big names. Indeed many corporate brands try to look more like small firms in order to appeal to consumers that prefer to support independent brands. Even those of you who do MLM should consider branding yourself so you will stand out from the crowd. Branding is not just a logo or how the world sees your business. Branding actually defines your business to yourself. It also gives your team and those you want to sell your identity. One could call ‘Branding’ your business identity. Your brand must define the heart of your business your business values not just its looks and a jingle. Most potential customers can see through spin and fluff. The benefits that a strategically defined brand can bring are the same as when people fall in love with each other that emotional connection. Since most sales are made on an emotional basis great branding leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. Make sure you brand differentiate you in the marketplace. Think of your brand as a person with values beliefs and purpose. Carry that brand message on everything you do from your printed literature to your advertising and your PR to your phone. One place where you can enforce your brand message effectively is when your phone rings and the caller is placed On-Hold. Advertising On-Hold works because you have a captive audience to your message and it’s non-threatening. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/20/2021 Understanding Empathy
Stephen Covey said, “Every human has four endowments - self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change.” That is a great introduction to understanding ‘EMPATHY’. A formal definition of Empathy is the ability to identify and understand another's situation, feelings and motives, while sympathy means understanding someone else's suffering. It is said that there are three components of empathy: Cognitive, Emotional and Compassionate. So, what does empathy mean in business? Studies correlate empathy with increased sales, with the performance of the best managers of product development teams and with enhanced performance in an increasingly diverse workforce that includes top management. The question then is why is empathy important in business? Job shifts perspective from the company to the customer. Inside the company, empathy helps with management and collaboration by helping to understand the other person's perspective. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes can make it easier to find a compromise between two points of view. Businesses show empathy by smiling and taking the trouble to remember people's names: that's empathy in action. You can drastically improve the customer experience by taking a few seconds to build a rapport by simply expressing genuine empathy. Here’s how: 1. Listen carefully Be a good a listener and try to repeat what the customer says to assure them that you are listening and that you understand their concerns. 2. Smile This may sound cheesy but smiling when talking to customers can can make a huge difference. It comes across over the phone and they will feel it in your voice. 3. Make their problem your problem. Take ownership of the customer’s questions, especially if it is a complaint. Have a one-to-one relationship with your customer so that they have a point of contact that they can come back to. 4. Allow them to ‘get it all out’ When the customer is angry, allow them to vent without interruption. Listen to the person carefully while using the time to figure out what you can do to fix their issue. 5. Be respectful. Make sure you talk to the customer with respect. Never talk down to the customer or talk over them. Approach it like a regular, professional conversation and they will appreciate you for it. 6. See it through their eyes. Share your customers perspectives and try to see what their struggling with and why. What is their end goal, and what can you do to help them achieve it? 7. Understand their priorities. Every customer, particularly in an emergency situation, will have a list of priorities. Make them your priorities too and address them in the right order (mirroring them). This will reassure the customer that you know what they want and are taking care of them. 8. Show that you care. You can build rapport by showing a personal interest in the customer. For example, if a customer says they have been sick, show that you care by asking them about their recovery. 9. Begin with a positive statement. If the customer has spent some time explaining a frustrating problem, then beginning your response with a short, direct statement of intent can gain their confidence. Something like “Okay, we can fix this…” or “Right, let’s get this problem sorted for you…” will reassure the customer that you are taking ownership of the problem. 10. Avoid assumptions. Another way to show empathy, should that client call you, make sure you have a custom On-Hold message in order to reiterate your company’s marketing, branding, and philosophy. Nothing shows a complete lack of empathy when putting someone On-Hold and all they hear is a radio, some music, a series of beeps, or the worst yet total silence. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/16/2021 Leverage Your Losses
How can you leverage your losses? At the end of your sales day it’s a good idea to think about your calls; those that worked and you got the deal and those that didn’t work and you lost the deal. Use the “No Deal” as a learning tool. If you lost to a competitor use this opportunity to find out what your competitor did better – or differently – to win the deal. Get feedback so that you will garner knowledge so you won’t lose next time or maybe you’ll be able to resurrect the opportunity. Maybe you lost because one of the decision-makers put the kibosh on the deal however usually the person that brought you in wanted to move forward so ask him or her for referrals. One way you can never lose is by having a cost-efficient and effective On-Hold message on your phone system to both educate and inform all incoming callers. No one likes to place a caller On-Hold but 70% of the time it’s inevitable. Therefore don’t subject that caller to a series of beeps a radio station or worst of all silence; you will lose 60% of them within thirty seconds. With an On-Hold message they will stay On-Hold for four or more minutes and history tells us that 12% will take some action to something heard while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/15/2021 Prospecting for New Business the Number One Challenge
I have read that prospecting for new business is the number one challenge for growing a business. In today’s world the methods used in the past work less and less. Many of the decision-makers on your list have spam filters and chances are they don’t even see your email. Email open rates keep going down to now it is estimated that the click-through rate is down to 5%. Do the math; only 5 out of one hundred will open your email. If you think about it in today’s world video is king so how about making a short video? I’m suggesting the use of video for sales prospecting nothing fancy just you talking to the camera and saying a few words educating a little bit and introducing yourself; pointing to a helpful resource. Don’t be surprised that your simple video will boost the opening of your message and how it will engage the prospect with your content and get you that face to face. Another simple but very effective tool is your On-Hold button on your phone. With 70% of all incoming calls placed On-Hold and 60% will abandon the call within 30 seconds if there is silence or beeps and another 10 seconds if there’s a radio playing. However they will stay for four or more minutes with a message that continues both your marketing and branding messages. BTW on average 12% of those callers will take action on something they heard while On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/14/2021 What Is Your Professional Brand
When building your social media skills to grow more sales one of the key elements is for you to define your professional brand. How do you want to define yourself? Are you just another sales rep or would you want to define yourself as a trusted advisor? My personal choice is the ‘Trusted Advisor’. Then the question is what steps should you take to obtain that status? Step 1: Freshen up every existing Social Media profile. Delete quotes photos videos and all other matters that can hurt your professional persona. Step 2: Revise your LinkedIn and other social media profiles with issues that will appeal to your target audience. Step Step 3: Increase and/or share regular content such as industry news discerning articles case studies and other content that is geared towards attracting your target market based on their concerns common challenges and more. Step 4: As with the general rule of prospecting establish what level of decision-makers you need to target and go find them through the various tools now available through social media and build your social network around those people. Step 5: Know the social media channels these decision-makers frequent and learn more about them by observing them on these channels. Step 6: Now that you have done all the above it’s time for you to offer valuable insights which will establish you as knowledgeable and create the trusted advisor status. Remember once these decision-makers call you treat them with respect by having an On-Hold message on your phone rather than a series of beeps a radio station or silence. On-Hold messages are both effective and efficient as they carry both your marketing and branding message forward. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies

4/13/2021 Social Media Selling
Recent reports suggest that over 70% of decision-makers use social media sources to obtain information prior to making decisions about purchasing products and/or services resulting in big changes in sales activity specifically cold calling and inbound lead generation networking and other means of obtaining new business leads. Although seasoned sales professionals still use the tried and true however thanks to social media those methods are enhanced. Today’s social media channels allow you as a sales rep to develop your own professional brand through various digital channels. By using your networks on LinkedIn Facebook and other social channels you are able to identify potential prospects gain information into their needs and challenges and then utilize this knowledge your brand and social network to provide them with valuable insights that relate to their specific needs. This valuable exchange of information can enable you to engage them in conversation in order to stimulate their interest and get their agreement to call email or meet with them face-to-face. Social selling affords you a better way to expose and launch new opportunities and to cultivate existing and growing business connections. The bottom line all of this activity is targeted to get your phone to ring. How you handle that can be the catalyst to a successful sale. One thing that is a must is to give that caller information that carries both your brand and marketing messages forward. One very cost-efficient and effective way is with an On-Hold Message from HoldMasters. The On-Hold message shows the client/prospect that you care enough to keep that trust bond alive as well as that marketing and branding message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/12/2021 Selling Yourself
Every business faces similar challenges and if you are on the sales team you must uncover those challenges. Remember sales drive every business so without sales products or services aren’t exchanged hence your business is not doing well. The salesperson’s first job is to sell themselves into becoming a trusted advisor. There are some basic questions every salesperson should ask to acquire what those challenges are. These opening questions should be rather benign ‘how’ questions for example how did you get into this business or profession? BTW with every question you ask you must actively listen to the answer in order to build the trust bond. A follow-up question might be what have you found to be your greatest challenges? Here is the key that opens the door to build your certainty as that trusted advisor. This is where you have to listen intently. The next question might be can you tell me more about that and please be specific? Here is where your inherent empathy takes over as you listen and then you might ask how long has this been a problem? Then you may ask if you can solve that challenge what will it mean to your company? I believe this is a key where you become that trusted advisor. This is where you think of who you know and trust to help that prospect reach his goal and solve that difficult chapter of his business. You help solve the obstacle(s) you have built and will have that political capital for getting their business as well as referrals. My business is the ‘Message On-Hold’ business. We add a new dimension to customer service as well as adding a full-time marketing branding and salesperson to your team for pennies a day. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/09/2021 Selling Tangible vs An Intangible
What’s the difference between selling a tangible vs. an intangible? Both require effective communication and the ability to match that customer’s need. That said selling a product is different than selling a service and understanding the techniques that you need to use to be able to show the benefit(s) to the customer. In selling a tangible product you must ask questions that enable you to understand that customer/prospects need(s) and then you match your product to fill that need(s). With tangibles you promote the key features and attributes that point to the benefits. Often times with a tangible you have the opportunity to do a demonstration that in most cases is the best tool in your sales kit. With a service you have a little tougher sell for here you need to build a strong trust bond since that customer has nothing to see hear smell or taste. You need to convince him or her that the service's quality and your experience and personal dependability are worth paying for. One thing that can help ramp up the sales is testimonials since you haven’t a product to show. Testimonials are also very helpful intangible sales as well however in-service sales are paramount. In either case follow-up is always a must and so is an On-Hold message. The On-Hold message shows the client/prospect that you care enough to keep that trust bond alive and that marketing and branding message moving forward when they call in and are placed On-Hold. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/08/2021 If You Want to Grow Carrots Don’t Plant Tomatoes
Selling can be a very tough and discouraging profession or it can be easy and fun if you have the right perspective. Take some time and map out your sales strategy either with a sales trainer or coach, the more eyes on a strategy the better. Other people tend to see hear and think about the things we have not. Just because we are professional doesn't always make us right. Be open-minded after all it is the brass ring we want, not just being right. Know your target market, who is your ideal customer. Remember if you want to grow carrots you do not plant tomatoes. Once you have identified your target, focus on going after the business you want. If you are more passionate about who you are selling to. You usually will have a much higher conversion rate. Create an action plan for the day, week, or month, then, work that plan. More often, for some reason, when you work your plan you reach your goals. Even if you only set aside one hour a day to make calls, set appointments, and follow up, you will see results. Obviously, the more time you spend the higher your success ratio; what we focus on grows. Consistency will move you forward and closer to your goals. Stop talking and start listening to your prospect as he or she speaks. Selling isn’t telling your story, it is listening to theirs. Find the need, fill the need and sell. Find the pain point. What do they need and how are you going to solve it? Selling isn’t being pushy. Be curious and ask questions to discover how you can work together and what your customer might need. You can’t solve their problem without knowing what it is. So, ask questions that will get you the answers that uncover their pain, and then you can heal it. Solving a problem with your solution: that’s selling. Let go of your agenda, make it about them and the money will follow. People buy from people they like; don’t you? Your prospects are no different. People buy on emotion and back it up with intelligence. Remember, “Facts tell, emotions sell”. You want to stay connected with your prospect or customer so be yourself. You are building a relationship. This might take one call or two or seven or more but keep at it and your prospect will appreciate your efforts. Always be respectful of people’s time and remember to listen. Always show value to your prospect before, during, and especially after the sale. When you show value, you are more likely to hear “yes”. Selling is nothing more than learning about another person, being interested, curious, open, and honest, and making someone’s day with a smile. (It is a lot like dating) So go and have fun. Keeping the fun going should they call you and be placed on hold make sure you have a custom on-hold message that engages them and keeps that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/08/2021 If You Want to Grow Carrots Don’t Plant Tomatoes
Selling can be a very tough and discouraging profession or it can be easy and fun if you have the right perspective. Take some time and map out your sales strategy either with a sales trainer or coach, the more eyes on a strategy the better. Other people tend to see hear and think about the things we have not. Just because we are professional doesn't always make us right. Be open-minded after all it is the brass ring we want, not just being right. Know your target market, who is your ideal customer. Remember if you want to grow carrots you do not plant tomatoes. Once you have identified your target, focus on going after the business you want. If you are more passionate about who you are selling to. You usually will have a much higher conversion rate. Create an action plan for the day, week, or month, then, work that plan. More often, for some reason, when you work your plan you reach your goals. Even if you only set aside one hour a day to make calls, set appointments, and follow up, you will see results. Obviously, the more time you spend the higher your success ratio; what we focus on grows. Consistency will move you forward and closer to your goals. Stop talking and start listening to your prospect as he or she speaks. Selling isn’t telling your story, it is listening to theirs. Find the need, fill the need and sell. Find the pain point. What do they need and how are you going to solve it? Selling isn’t being pushy. Be curious and ask questions to discover how you can work together and what your customer might need. You can’t solve their problem without knowing what it is. So, ask questions that will get you the answers that uncover their pain, and then you can heal it. Solving a problem with your solution: that’s selling. Let go of your agenda, make it about them and the money will follow. People buy from people they like; don’t you? Your prospects are no different. People buy on emotion and back it up with intelligence. Remember, “Facts tell, emotions sell”. You want to stay connected with your prospect or customer so be yourself. You are building a relationship. This might take one call or two or seven or more but keep at it and your prospect will appreciate your efforts. Always be respectful of people’s time and remember to listen. Always show value to your prospect before, during, and especially after the sale. When you show value, you are more likely to hear “yes”. Selling is nothing more than learning about another person, being interested, curious, open, and honest, and making someone’s day with a smile. (It is a lot like dating) So go and have fun. Keeping the fun going should they call you and be placed on hold make sure you have a custom on-hold message that engages them and keeps that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/07/2021 Phone Selling
If you’re not comfortable on the phone sales probably are not the career for you. Learning how to capture and keep someone's attention without physically being in their presence is a skill all salespeople need. It’s also a skill that demands constant practice and improvement. There are a few basic characteristics everyone needs in a phone-centric career like sales. Don't have the characteristics outlined below? Either practice until you do or look for another gig. You need to have enthusiasm and patience along with passion confidence and a sense of humor. Most important always be prepared. Know the purpose of the call and have some basic questions to ask so you can achieve your goal. Practice your phone call in advance. Visualize the person you are calling as more than just a voice; act as if you are face to face. Your voice and tonality should sound relaxed and put a smile on your face so there is a smile in your voice. Match the pace of the person you are calling as well as the volume they speak. Never apologize for calling act as if you are doing them a favor. Be clear and concise in your conversation and also remember non-verbal sounds including laughter sighs and gasps are all ways to influence and encourage your listener. Likewise pausing on and stressing certain words can affect your listener’s reception. Never end a call without thanking your prospect for their time and attention. They didn’t have to take your call so acknowledging their busy schedule is always appreciated. Share with them your company’s philosophy and both your branding and marketing strategy. Should they call you make sure you have a custom on-hold message that engages them and keeps that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/06/2021 Pique Your Prospect's Interest
When selling you have one minute or less to pique your prospect's interest. So what should you do? What is the best way to get your point across and win that sale? Buyers are more educated today than ever before. What salespeople should focus more on is understanding the prospect's world. The best way I know of is to ask questions intelligent questions; then listen actively to the answer. When listening you automatically talk less (and that’s a positive) and learn what you need to do to close the sale or realize you don’t really have a prospect; either way you win. Stephen Covey said “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Don’t let that be you. Once you understand what is going on in the other person’s world only then will your ideas be accepted and understood by the prospect. I suggest you practice keeping your talk time to a minute or less and always end by asking an open-ended question not questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”. Create dialog by requiring the prospect to think of how to answer. Begin your questions with words like “when why how or where” Get the prospect emotionally involved. Always let the prospect know you understand him or her by paraphrasing what you believe they articulated. Share with them your company’s philosophy and both your branding and marketing strategy. Should they call you make sure you have a custom on-hold message that engages them and keeps that emotional connection alive. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/05/2021 Transactional Analysis in Sales
There isn’t any business that is successful where nothing happens until a sale is made. Whether you are a professional (doctor, lawyer, CPA), manufacture a product, or offer a service other than what the professions offer. The sales department is viewed as the lead entity, with marketing serving the needs of sales. This is especially true of business owners who define marketing as advertising and public relations. The sales director or manager directs the creation of pricing, distribution, promotion, and communications plans predicated on the company’s philosophy. Internally in every business, there are sales made to change procedures or innovate new ideas. The process to make either sale, internal or external, is the same. First and foremost, rapport throughout the process is king. Building a trust bond is next with the help of great rapport. Asking questions and active listening to the answers is key. An internal question may be asked of the employee for his or her suggestion about what they believe could assist in making the company, within their department, run better. An external question might be to ask what they, the prospect, think their biggest challenge is in moving the business forward. The skills for these interactions are found in understanding Transactional Analysis (TA). TA is a psychological theory, that helps explain why we think, act and feel the way we do. We’ve all experienced communication breakdowns. You know the feeling. One minute you’re having a normal conversation with someone, and the next you’re fighting, or one of you has shut down. In both cases, there’s a breakdown. The conversation has failed to achieve its goal, whether it’s being heard, solving a problem, feeling connected, making a decision, or a sale. It takes seconds for a conversation to shift from a positive, connection-driven interaction into a negative one and negative interactions take a toll on our relationships and studies show that we need 5 positive interactions to make up for every negative interaction we have with someone. According to TA, communication breakdowns happen because we’re not fully present in our conversations. That is the prime reason why active listening is so important. TA suggests that instead of reacting to the here and now, we’re communicating from different ‘ego states’, and when these ego states are crossed, conflict happens. These three-ego states are parent, adult, and child. For successful communication, both parties must be acting as adult to adult. Any other like a parent to child or child to parent, even parent to adult or, adult to parent doesn’t make a successful communication. Remember, a transaction equals conversation/interaction between two people. Therefore, when selling a product, service or idea always be of equal stature as two adults. This equal stature prevents the salesperson from acquiescing, and it creates mutual respect. In order to keep that mutual respect and that emotional tie ongoing when receiving incoming phone calls every business should continue with that adult-to-adult connection by employing a cost-effect and cost-efficient custom On-Hold message. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/02/2021 The Art to Active Listening
There is an art to active listening. Active listening is all about building rapport understanding and trust. Restating what you heard not by using that persons’ words but through rewording in your own words what you heard starts that process of trust. If possible when you are paraphrasing see if you can create an emotional connection since most sales are made via emotions with facts justifying the emotional connection. Share your personal initial thoughts and appropriate information perceptions and understanding; then once again listen actively for the response. Putting feelings into words will often help a person to see things more objectively. When you validate a person’s challenges issues and feelings you are building that ‘trust bond’ that takes you a step away from a salesperson to a trusted advisor. Always ask probing questions that will draw out your prospect or client even more and showing him or her that you really understand their business. When that prospect or client calls you make sure that you continue your marketing and branding with a custom On-Hold Message by HoldMasters The On Hold Message Company. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.

4/01/2021 Effective Listening
In sales we speak about ‘Active Listening’ as a skill that helps to close sales. Listening is hard work! Effective listening is more than just a skill; it's also a matter of attitude. To be an effective listener you must accept people for who and what they are not what you want them to be. When you judge people you usually distort your ability to hear what they are saying and in a sales-situation this can be the difference between getting a new client or keeping an established client. Active listening requires you to really listen not to be thinking of a retort or interrupting that person or finishing their sentence. To be a good active listener pay attention listen for ‘hot buttons’ recognize emotional messages stop other tasks and don’t allow interruptions. Since you are asking questions and actively listening for answers it’s a good idea to paraphrase so that your prospect or client knows that you understand and are listening. All of this adds to your marketing and branding efforts. It allows that prospect or client know you are there for them emotionally bonding with them. Another area of your business that continues your marketing and branding efforts is on your phones. When a prospect or client calls and is placed On-Hold do you continue with your marketing and branding? HoldMasters The On-Hold Message System creates custom On-Hold advertising that carries your marketing and branding messages to all callers so that when placed On-Hold there is more than a series of beeps a radio or silence greeting the caller. Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies mom and pop businesses and home-based businesses around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly. Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.




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