Money In The Mail

My loyalty rewards from my electric company came in the mail last week. I got $70.36...that's a few dollars less than last year's amount but I'm not complaining. At all. 

I had a general idea about what I would buy this time around. Last summer I started pricing webcams due to the fact that my laptop didn't come with one built in. After reading some reviews, it looked like I would end up spending around $50. 

I got a Logitech C310 for $29.99. It was regularly $49.99. I think Best Buy had it marked down because they now price match Amazon. And speaking of Best Buy, due to their horrible service, I had a $50 gift card they sent me and I still had $22 remaining on it. I was saving it to go toward my webcam.

After paying the difference for the webcam and splurging on the kids at Taco Bell, I have just under $50 left on the loyalty rewards gift card. It'll be used for new MAC foundation and a wig. 

Now about this webcam situation and what it means to you:

I'll be posting more videos here. There are things I want to discuss and sometimes "talking" it is better than typing it. Know what I mean?

That's about all I know so far. It'll pretty much be like everything else I conjure up...Do. Then plan. 

And if you haven't looked into loyalty rewards programs offered by your service providers you need to get on that ASAP. 

Healthy Meals for Busy Moms

On any given day, I see a number of busy moms taking to twitter looking for dinner inspiration. But they aren't wanting just any old recipes. They're all seeking the same thing - something quick and its gotta be healthy. 

It doesn't matter if you work inside the home or spend your day slaving away in a cubicle. We're all pressed for time and stretched thin trying to do more with less, especially when it comes to cooking. 

So is it really possible to serve the best of both worlds at the dinner table tonight? Can you whip up a home-cooked meal that tastes good and doesn't call for an hour of prep work and a pantry full of expensive specialty ingredients? 

Of course you can and Debra Shigley shows you how!

photo courtesy of indebskitchen.com

Deb created In Deb's Kitchen with us in mind. She realized the majority of us want to incorporate fresh foods with healthier, packaged options. She also put together a few food rules. Nothing real strict or complicated and some go against the "clean" eating advice you may have heard. 

I could talk about food all day. Go take a look for yourself. Let me know what you think.

CLICK HERE to join Deb on Facebook.

How To Upsell A Cheapskate

Have you ever pulled up to the drive-thru and before you could get your window down, the employee was asking, "Would you like to try one of our triple decker milkshakes today?!" 

And when you politely say no - and proceed to ask for what you came to get - they finish off by saying, "Is that all? Would you like one of your triple decker milkshakes to complete your order?"

Um. Didn't we already have this conversation??

In the past, these kinds of upsells were only limited to fast food restaurants. Now, almost anywhere you go you'll be hit with a million dollar add-on question. And in most instances, the script the poor clerk has been given to recite is all wrong. 

Why? Because it's a script. It doesn't change. They spit out the deal of the day to every customer they encounter. No matter what the person is buying. 

Office Depot got it right though. I absolutely love that place. Not because they try to milk me for extra cash when I go in to get copies made, but simply because when they do - they push something on me that I actually might need. 

The last time I went in for copies, the manager (yes! their managers really do work and don't just stand around with hand-held talking devices trying to look important) glanced at my press releases and said, "Would you like to see how these would look on colored paper?!" 

Well yes I do...and why didn't I think of that??

He walked me over to their selections, patiently let me look at about six different colors, and then he broke it down as to which colors cost what. Maybe he could look in my eyes and tell I was one of those kinds of people. If you give me too many choices, I can't commit. But when you put a price tag on those options, my ass can make a buying decision quick, fast, and in a hurry!

So why didn't he try to direct my attention to the marked down printers right behind me? Duh. I obviously had a printer of some sort and I didn't come in asking for one. I came in wanting copies. It was his job to make me leave with better copies than I knew I wanted. 

That's how the sales process works. You listen. You identify a need. And then you offer a solution specific to that customer. Not a one-size-fits-all lame attempt to merely increase the number of items sold per transaction. 

Is it hard? Not at all. Is it easier to train inexperienced sales teams to recite a script? Probably so. But we all know that easy and effective are not the same.