At this point, many sales people give a yelp of protest at this advice. They want to dive right into their product and services, and fire up their “All About Us” presentations right away!

But if you want to develop a long-term relationship, slow down! Give it some thought! By telling a new prospect that you’ve listened to what they said and that you want to think about it, you’re showing them that you respect their ideas. That’s flattering stuff. And by asking for a second meeting, you’ve also assumed close. In this case, close is simply a second meeting.

And of course, your prospects will definitely want to talk to you again! Everyone loves a good listener. Plus, your new prospects will want to hear big payoff from investing in their first meeting with you. And guess what? By slowing things down, you’ve favorably predisposed your prospects into liking what you have to say. Why? Because if they’re busy, they’re thinking subconsciously, “Now, why am I meeting with this person again? I know, pastries are good, but that’s not real reason, although I sure would like another one sometime soon. Oh, I know why -- it’s probably because I like this person. I’m sure I’ll like her products, too.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to meet with her again!”

So ask for a second meeting and go home. Go back to your office. Armed with information you’ve gleaned from careful questioning and listening to your prospects’ concerns, you can custom-build a PowerPoint conversation that’s “All About Them”. This is way more effective than typical “All About Us” presentation.

And remember, Grandma didn’t have any use for bullet points! Bullets are for shooting people, and pointing is bad manners! So when you develop your PowerPoint conversation, remember what Grandma really loved: relevant, entertaining, illustrative stories. Make sure you tell a few good stories to your client in every conversation. Bullets can injure and kill: but a good story can really help you sell!

Put it all together…  A little coffee, a little treat, a little conversation: that’s essence of beginning and developing an ongoing customer connection. A series of conversations over delightful treats can set a beautiful stage for building a long-term business or personal relationship. This approach is much better than plunking down a notebook computer filled with fancy graphics, animations, and sound effects. You may kid yourself that PowerPoint’s technical “eye candy” can take place of Grandma’s penchant for telling entertaining stories over coffee and cake – but it isn’t.  You only get to build strong relationships over time, so put away your hard-sell PowerPoint presentation slides….and grab a cookie!

This is why you must think about protecting trademark of your products right from beginning. These days it is not uncommon to see pirate companies illegally copying trademark of recognized products with intention of benefiting from established reputation of such products. In some cases such pirate companies could even try to register your trademark before you.

Registering trademark of your product in United States is a low cost investment that guarantees you possibility of exploiting your trademark's " built in " client base for a renewable ten-year period.

Help your business partners feel comfortable doing business with you.-

Those importers and distribution companies in United States with whom you do business with, will feel more comfortable if they know that you have your product trademark properly registered in USA. The reason why they rather have it this way, is because they would also be affected by a company that competes with them by illegally exploiting your trademark.

Don't let others steal your profits.-

Those fraudulent companies who feel tempted to copy your trademark will not necessarily have to be inside USA. Their manufacturing operations could be located in other parts of world, possibly in Asia or in some corner of Latin America or Eastern Europe, and from there send their illegal products bearing trademark of your company into United States, affecting your sales and reputation with out you even noticing their actions.

That is why it is utterly important to seek protection for your trademark with US Customs authority. Once your trademark is recorded with US Customs, they will detain illegal shipments coming into US either by sea, air or land, that illegally use your trademark for commercial purposes.

Secure your company's success.-

Having your trademark legally protected in United States is without any doubt a low cost investment with a high benefit for your entrepreneurial future. In event that you decided to sell your entire company or just a part of it to an American company, by having trademark of your products protected you would be guaranteeing your self a more sharp and lucrative transaction.

ExportingToUSA.com is proud to help you do business in United States offering you a variety of international marketing and intellectual property services. For more information click here.