Sales

Hard Work Redux

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Hard Work Redux

It’s not unusual to go home now and need to study work documents, emails and Power Points all night long it seems just to be ready for work the next day.  It can feel like you are studying for a final exam.   And some neuroscientists say our ability to think and learn has outrun our ability to remember, execute and act upon what we know.  Yep, that feels about right sometimes.

Our customers’ and prospects’ knowledge relative to us is pretty clueless – at least in spaces we need to be good at.  That’s new.  Used to be everyone kind of knew what we knew.   Not much rocket science to understand what a business card was for, but a “landing page”?  Yeah -you see. 

I can’t sell my colleagues, learners or bosses on stuff and visions like I used to anymore.  Now, I gotta really teach em’ first; really spend a lot of time educating before I can get anyone onboard.  Nothing wrong with that.  Just the way it is now.   Bet it is for you too. 

Hard work used to be – let’s face it, a lot below the neck.  Push harder, run faster , show up more often, beat the other guy to it, keep dialing, keep smiling, drive all night, stay later, get in earlier,  never give up,  never take “no” for an answer,  etc etc.

Now the hard work seems like it’s in your head now.  Again.  Like it used to be.

Know more, read more, analyze more, compare and contrast more, strategize more, think more, share your perspective and insight more, study more, research more.

Ain’t nothing wrong with that.  That’s the way most of us were brought up in school.

Never thought the stuff you did in school would help you in the real world eh? 

Things are different now. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Small Business Naked

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I’m not one for craft fairs. But I went to one recently and learned some awesome things.

Normally attending a craft fair, even if it is to only walk through as a courtesy to the organization running it, is worse for me than a visit to (gasp!) a mall.

Add the hustle of the Holidays and hundreds of sugar amped children screaming for Santa (fueled undoubtedly by the 4 tables of chocolate baked goods for sale) and I’d frankly rather drive ingots into my eyes.

But a couple of weeks back, I spent 45 minutes walking through one and it hit me hard.

These folks are Small Business Naked.

There’s no hiding in a storeroom or behind a “Closed” sign or even behind some HTML code for these craft table entrepreneurs. These folks have no choice but to lay out their wares right there in front of you, with no where to hide and are totally exposed.

These folks sit or stand inches away from their hand crafted “life long passions” or their “work that pays the bills” or in many cases as you could plainly see – they stand in front of what they feel is the very definition of themselves.

These naked small business owners have to have tremendous egos and confidence and pride like any small business owner we know but also have the unavoidable stress of being assessed and judged by hundreds or even thousands of people in a compressed period of time.

“Do you like me?” is what each business owner is asking you with his or her eyes as folks walk by. Meanwhile there is no wondering about the competitive landscape. Each naked small business owner needs to only look left or right to see who and what they are up against, fighting for those dollars in the strolling public’s wallets. No where else is the competition so “out there in plain sight”- with dozens of smiling yet competitive and competing small business owners inches from and across from, each other.

On so many levels, it’s clear that these folks who purchase a “craft table” face so many of the same hurdles the traditional small business does ranging from product market analysis to production, to inventory management, to marketing, to pricing strategy, to selling skills and the list goes on.

Except for one thing – They are out there exposed for 5 or 6 hours at a time, hiding nothing about who they are and what they do. That’s an awesome thing. I know now I’ll see these fairs a bit differently; perhaps as an opportunity for me to keep learning from some of the gutsiest group of small business owners out there.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

5 Things You Will Soon Lose (But It’s OK)

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Your Resume:  What you think of and how good you are about getting or keeping customers  (the only thing any employer truly should care about)  will soon best embodied by your blazing trail on the web via your blogs, slideshares, tweets, posts and commentary by businesses and customers you’ve influenced ( or not).  Your web fingerprint is a lot more credible than that single pager of spin we’ve grown to love.

 Your Thirst For Big Numbers.  You’ll soon despise having 500+contacts in LinkedIn or 10,000 followers on Twitter.  Instead you’ll yearn for being part of as many smaller networks you can.  It’s a bit sad, but we are embracing ever more tightly, the belief that “the bigger the network is the lower the trust of those within it.”  Tough business this world of trust is.

Your Memory:  Well, at least the loose data stuff.  With the Googlization of the world and how it changes how we use our brains (it’s a fact by the way)  to find out about stuff,  you’ll need just a swipe or a couple of spoken syllables into your (insert wicked smart battery powered thingy here) to get that memory jogged.  Good news it that neuroscience studies show it leaves more focus for the brain to work on more important stuff. 

Your Social Skills:  Tragic but we’ll soon be hard pressed to remember how to make eye contact, know which hand to lead with to shake hands and remember that unlike IM, you have to wait for someone to stop talking before sharing your thought.  Forget “Virtual Meeting”,  “Flesh Meeting” will become two dirtier words. Happily,  when we realize what we’ve lost we’ll get a fresh start on new and improved social skills. 

Your Boundaries:  It will happen.  Meeting at10 am.  Meeting at2:30 pm.  Go home at4pm.  Play with kids.  Nice dinner at6pm.  Watch reruns of 3 and a ½ men (Sheen came back from the dead- it was of course, just a dream).  Meeting at9pm with New Zealand staff.  Sleep.   Meeting at8am in UK client.  Meeting at10 am.   Rinse and Repeat.  Global is big. Global is different.  But global is money. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

 Mark

Why I Hate Disney

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It’s their employees mostly. 

I just spent three miserable days at Disney World.

I was at a Learning conference and that was great but the employees at Disney were something else. 

Enough with the eye contact!  I don’t know you and you don’t know me so quit looking me in the eyes all the time.   Let me avert my gaze at the ground or the menu or my beloved smartphone or anywhere else I’m comfortable with.  My mother used to look me in the eyes all the time – usually when I was in trouble.   I spent 3 days walking around Disney wondering what the heck I did wrong.

They wouldn’t let me open my own doors (though I know exactly how to do it and have never injured myself ) and even more rudely – after I struggled to dig out cash, uncrumbling it from my pocket to hand it out as a tip, they refused to take it.   How insulting and ungrateful.

Obviously there is lot of potential trouble brewing around the place too.  I’ve never seen more well dressed managers and supervisors walking around always checking on things.  Always ambling up, smiling and chit-chatting with the staff.  Made me nervous.  Must be a history of random guest chaos or something.  They should just go back into their offices and only get involved when someone has a complaint, like normal bosses do.

I’m not old and hardly selfless but given the number of “Mr. McCarthy’s” and “Thank You’s” I got  from the staff, I thought I was both.  I am darn proud not to be a Baby Boomer ( having missed that designation by a whole year thank you very much) and frankly I gave at the office, so I’m not sure why I remind you of your dad or what you are so gushingly thankful for.

Finally, I was appalled that I never saw a Disney employee sitting down or wearing anything but a smile.   Nobody had a chair  whether they were behind a desk, a booth, a counter or actually anywhere.   And smiling all the time? That’s just creepy.  Heck, I spend most of my day sitting down and hardly ever smiling from what I’m told.

Anyway, I heard Disney was conducting some kind of session at the conference about how they train their employees (ahem.. “cast members”).    It was supposed to be a “best in class” kind of session.  Yeah right.  Got it already.  Glad I didn’t waste my time going to that one. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Reminders

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Apple IOS 5.0 came with a new App called Reminders.   It’s pretty cool.   It didn’t come pre-populated though with any real helpful reminders about work so I thought I would do that in case you’ve forgotten.

  • Discovering needs is dead.  Creating needs is alive and well.   Big difference folks; a huge difference.   One assumes your prospect is a helpless victim of their environment, the other presumes they are definitively in charge of where they intend to go. 
  • Have you ever heard such a hue and cry for information and knowledge before?  Consumers and businesses yearn to understand social media, global marketing, internet marketing, economics, new languages, tablet and smart phone technologies and more.  Teach people too.  Teach people and you’ll corner that market and never go hungry. 
  • It’s not like it used to be anymore.   Before you ever hear from that prospect or customer they’ve been to your website and done lots of digging already (but they won’t tell you that).  When they finally get to you- you best deliver something other and better than a screen shot rehash.
  • You can choose not to have a credible or professional web presence for yourself online but that would be unwise.  Trust is at an all time low.  People, prospects, customers, partners and employers all want to see what your brand is and what you represent before they invest in you for real.    
  • You can have too many contacts, too many followers, too many fans, too many friends.  There’s a point where your influence like it or not, looks like it’s for sale or it’s too easily given away; either way – trust deteriorates, hits the tipping point and it becomes a zero sum game.
  • Be Invaluable.  Differentiate.  Simplify.   Hard to go wrong if you do those three things.  Just a reminder is all. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Email: mark.mccarthy@deluxe.com

Internal Blog: http://blogs.deluxe.com/Mark/

External Blog: https://growthebusiness.wordpress.com/

Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/GrowTheBusiness

Kids Make The Best Sales People

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Today’s post is a guest blog by my colleague,  Angie Harley.

For those of you who have ever spent significant blocks of time with children, you know what I’m talking about.  Kids are- and probably always have been- some of the best sales people I’ve ever encountered.

Now, since child labor laws exist, and we don’t sell cookies, this isn’t the next greatest idea for our business.  But, I think there are a 3 lessons we could all relearn- since each of us have this deep rooted experience from our own childhoods- from these little people.

Lesson #1: Be persistent.

My four year old has this down- see if you can relate. 
“Can I watch Megamind?”  No.  “Mom, can I please watch Megamind? “ No.  “But I said, please.” Thank you for using manners, but No.  “Why not?”  Because I said so…

Look at that- three no’s and there is still persistence.  No fear of the no with a kid- they just keep asking it differently. 

My six year old is a little better at this skill.

“Mom, if I eat all my dinner, could we go get ice cream tonight?”  Not tonight.  “Why can’t we have ice cream, it’s a beautiful day for ice cream, and I know you love the Dairy Queen?”  Good point.

See, she got the no- kept going, but look at the insertion of value statements, giving a benefit, seeking to understand the no.  Much more effective.  Be persistent, but do it well!  

Lesson #2:  Money isn’t the issue

“Mom, can I have a new game?”  We’ll see.  “Mom, this game is only $50 for the Wii, and you love to play the Wii.  We could have so much fun with this one.”  $50 is a lot of money, honey.  “Well, not if we play it every day, Daddy said your new pants cost $50 and you only wear them sometimes.”  Ugh, another point for the six year old.

You see, while money is important- it’s more about the value you get out of that money.  Don’t be afraid to ask for that high dollar sale, if there’s value to the customer, the money isn’t the issue.

Lesson #3: Be fearless of the insane.

Let’s use my four year old again- 5 minutes before bedtime.

“Mommy, I’m hungry.  Can I have some cookies?”  No, bud, it’s bedtime (what is he thinking!).

Call me a meanie, but asking for straight sugar right before bedtime is an insane question.  But, again, children are fearless when asking for the insane. Whether they know it’s crazy or not- it’s a bold, brave move to ask for the insane.  Try it, ask for that big sale, the crazy work schedule, or a day off- your fear may be the only thing in your way of a yes!

she wins another round. 

However, the lesson isn’t to pester your customers into prospects, but 

There is so much to learn, more than just the three lessons here.  So, the next time you are near a small child, pay attention to the little things they say and do to get their way.  You’ll be amazed how savvy these little people can be!

 

Angie’s Bio 

Angie Harley has a passion for learning- especially learning from the seemingly insignificant events of everyday life.  She has over 10 years of sales, management and training experience.  Angie lives in Minnesota with her husband and two sales savvy children.  She can be reached at angie.harley@deluxe.com

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Offline, Online and Flatline

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I love QR codes.

I really really do.

In our business they are the perfect marriage between online and offline marketing. A business comes to us and we print a QR code on that piece of paper that sends the consumer via their smartphone to a landing page we created for them.

QR codes link those 2 worlds together giving a business maximum exposure to grow their business. The value and effectiveness of both types of products by the way, just increased.

Perfect.

But now they’ve gone too far. QR codes are being engraved on headstones linking I guess 3 worlds together – real life, cyber life and now, afterlife. Folks literally can use their smartphone at the grave site and go directly to a memorial page online celebrating the life of the loved one.

Not sure we are getting into that business. But um, if you have any stone carving experience, give me a ring and we’ll talk. 🙂

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

It Never Was About You

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In business to business selling (particularly small business selling), good sales people begin to fail when it becomes about them.  

I see it all the time but I don’t mean when it becomes about being number one, or hitting the goals or maxing out on commission plans;- ain’t nothing wrong with that. 

Consider rather, the talented Sales Rep who begins with a new company or now has to sell a new product.  He or she is trained and coached to present to the small business owner not only what this product or service does for them but what it does or has done for small businesses just like the prospect they are speaking to. 

That makes perfect sense because the credibility of the solution or product obviously is not with the Sales Rep – it’s with the common customer experiences of customers that look just like the prospect.  Just like it should be. 

But then something strange happens.   

As the sales person becomes more successful, they start to believe they can skip all that “other customer stuff” because after all, they understand it all now.  They start to omit the small business statistics, the stories and the testimonials of other small businesses in their pitches.   The sales rep begins to launch into monologues about what they themselves know, what they themselves believe and what they themselves recommend.  

But the problem is “they themselves” still have comparatively little credibility with a small business prospect and frankly boasting about their time or years selling the product is a poor substitute for sharing what other small businesses are actually doing.

It’s never good to stop leveraging with other like small businesses do.  Never.   Sure, your credibility and experience counts over time but know your audience (SB’s) –  Survey after survey will show “what others do” is a highly influential variable in the sales process with small business.

If you are a sales rep who had a great start last quarter or last year but are starting to tail off or perhaps you coach sales reps that have had a great start but are fading; think hard about why.  If there’s scant reference to other successful customers and what they do, then it’s time to pretend you don’t know much about your product and sell like that again. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

 Mark

Customs Fail and Redemption

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Maybe it was the long drive.  Maybe it was just the thoughts of the most recent conference call that ended on our cell phones.  Or maybe it was the pressure of seeing the guns they were holding. 

 Regardless, it was failure.

Years and years of living, leading, preaching and teaching about our company’s  Transformation had just fizzled into 7 tepid words.

“….Checks and forms and stuff like that……”

That was our answer given to the Canadian Border guards to the question “So tell me, what does Deluxe do?”  when the three of us attempted to cross into Canada on our way to the Mirimichi, NB site from Groton, Ma.  

Waah.  Wah Waaaaahhhh.

After our passports were inspected, our trunk searched and our vehicle registration scrutinized, we sped away and realized immediately the enormity of our missed opportunity.

Chalk it up to what some call “primacy” where under pressure we revert to what we learned first about something years ago.  Maybe that was it.   Or chalk it up to tiredness or laziness or just plain ol’ choking when you got your chance at the plate. 

Either way it was bad, very bad. 

All week in Mirimichi we skulked from meeting to meeting and pondered the blunder.  Elevator speeches are critical and come in all sizes and in all places.  Even, we sadly learned, at border crossings.  What Deluxe Corp really does today is so much more than checks and forms and stuff like that!   How could we have dropped that ball?  What does that mean about ourselves and our next “test” whenever that is?  Will we ever recover? 

3 days and 5 hours of driving later, we had our chance.

We were crossing back over to the other side. 

Sunlight glinting off the M-16 rifles slung low by the two border patrol agents, we sat patiently at the checkpoint awaiting our turn.  Even from 25 yards away, our eyes narrowed and locked on to the men almost daring them to ask us – no not ask –interrogate us about exactly what Deluxe Corp does! 

Our turn came.  We rolled slowly forward with shoulders back, heads held high and with  military like precision slowly lowered the three car windows to proclaim as one, our company Transformation and nail this chance at personal and corporate redemption.  

“And what does Deluxe do?” asked our chiseled, square jawed inquisitor.

“We provide online and offline marketing services and thousands of other products for all kinds of businesses and financial institutions.” 

The agent nodded his head and smiled.  It made perfect sense to him. 

Was it perfect?  No.  Did it capture everything we do or can do?  Heck no.   But by golly, it was real, it was different and it was tangible.  It couldn’t be some catchy slogan, analogy or metaphor or these guys for sure would have given us a different and more personal kind of search this time.  Bottom line- We did it!   It was a lead story about Deluxe that was so so far away from just “Checks and forms and stuff like that.”

Don’t do what we did on the way up to Canada.  Be ready.  Someday someone (hopefully not with guns drawn),  is going to ask you what your company does and how you answer that can be a very big deal.  

Don’t fumble the pitch or mumble the wrong story.  It can be the difference in how well you break through to the other side.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Fixing a Throwback Problem

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Wiffle Ball (backyard baseball) is a real love of mine.  A plastic bat, 2 or 3 players, 6 to 8 Wiffle balls, a homerun fence about 70 feet away and you are good to go.  

 Unless you have pet peeves.  And I do.

One of which is this; When you are pitching to the other team or player, the least you should expect after throwing all the balls in, is that all the balls get thrown back somewhere remotely close to you.   For 30 years and thousands of games, this has been a problem.     

 

Because no matter who you play with from young kids to your adult friends, you are liable to get balls thrown back to you that are 10 feet left, 10 feet right, 10 feet short or 10 feet over your head. 

It slows down the game and frankly drives me insane.

So until a few weeks ago my effort to fix this problem was to progressively ask, then beg, then whine, then complain and then scream for everyone to please try and throw the balls back at least close to me, the pitcher. 

It didn’t work.  Balls were thrown back any which way (including the dreaded “soccer kick” and “plastic bat golf swing” of the balls back to the mound).

About 4 weeks ago it dawned on me.  I put a little plastic bucket at my feet when I pitched (see picture above of actual bucket in my backyard) and proclaimed new rules that an automatic run would score if upon the throwback to the mound, the ball landed in the bucket.   

It’s a rare moment when a ball actually lands or bounces into the bucket (it’s only 6 inches deep) so you’re not changing the outcome of any game and throwing the balance of the world out of whack but since then, almost every ball gets close to the bucket and hence, the pitcher.    Now everyone uses the “bucket rule”.  Problem solved.  Game on.

The point is kind of simple.  It’s either (or both) that I am a full Ginzu set of knives short of a silverware drawer for not thinking of this for 3 decades or it is that to change behaviors, sometimes asking for or demanding a behavior change does not work. 

Sometimes an incentive is better.

So the questions are, what work behavioral pet peeves do you have? And what could an incentive do for you?

  •  Your sales team is struggling to make the time to learn more about the industry they call upon or service?  Bury “incentives” in the details of industry knowledge materials you post on the Wiki.  (i.e. offer rewards for learning or knowing)
  • CRMor lead generation data not getting updated correctly or completely? Add a small “accelerator” to your SIP for quality detail about and for our customers.

There are a dozen more pet peeves for sure but don’t wait for years to figure out a solution to a nagging behavioral problem like I did.  I only wish I had thought of the “bucket rule” back when I was 12 and I probably would have gotten a few hundred more games in.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark