Say Something Nice ( & 3 Ways To Do It)
Your mother was right about having something nice to say. Especially if your clients are businesses.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
coaching
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
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Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a little more free time, just maybe this one Friday, to spend with your kids?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry so much about being half way through the month and the pile of bills on the desk is already 8 inches high?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you felt like you could be more confident about what people thought of you?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry about being safe or being taken advantage of by anyone?
Wouldn’t it be nice you felt like you can’t focus on the important things because you are so darn busy?
Wouldn’t it be nice to not always pray that nobody really knows just how confused you are about some things some of the time?
It sure would be.
But I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about the small business owner you. He or she is thinking these things all darn day and you can help them.
You serve these people. You help these people. You love these people.
And chances are what you do and what you have helps every one of them with all of the angst they have above.
Maybe you can help them put that best face forward to the whole world both online and off- line. Maybe you can get them more calls, more visits, more leads and more money for that stack of bills. Maybe you can take hours off their plates with your super cool products, services or widgets so they can take this afternoon with the kids. Maybe you can secure their payments or their business or their workers and lessen the worry. Maybe you can help them feel it’s OK not to quite understand digital marketing or financial products or even custom full color print because heck, you’ll teach em’.
Make no mistake. The products you are schlepping are worth nothing. They are silly, stupid and dumb. It’s what they do that matters. And further, it’s what they do emotionally that really matters.
So go out there and help these people. Make their day. Don’t talk about pricing and sizes and subscriptions and colors and shipping fees. Help them take a load off and ease a bit of their burdens.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
The 4 Best Sales Pick-Up Lines Ever
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The 4 Best Sales Pick Up Lines Ever
Want to get a date with your prospect? Want to see if you make those sparks fly? Or maybe you want to date your current customer and move into a deeper more satisfying relationship.
Pick up lines work great.
My favorite one in college (worked darn near every time) was when I sauntered up to an unsuspecting attractive young lady at the bar and said “I can play Lionel Ritchie songs on the piano, you wanna hear some? ”
But I’ve grown and realized that pick-up lines aren’t just for your love life. They’re for work too.
Here are my top 4
“I know people just like you, in fact I spent the weekend in Vegas with hundreds of them” – This one is always good; you’re smart about their business – you went to a trade show in their industry and bragged about it. You’ll be fun and a good listener.
“You may not know this, but I’ve been watching you..”. Creepy? No, not at all. You’ve been watching them on social media, maybe read their posts or blogs. You might have even read their financial reports. You’re the type that makes people and businesses feel special. You’re a nice talker, not a stalker.
“I’m learning about the most entrepreneurial and successful people, do have a minute for me to interview you?” This one is always great. People like to help people and especially if they can talk about themselves too! You’re sure to get some time and maybe even for way more than a minute!
“Do you believe in love at first sight or should I show you that again?” Great line to use In your presentation when you are super proud of your stuff – your product or your solution. It is very contagious and attractive to be proud so be proud! You’ll have prospects fawning all over you.
Till next time,
Truly Grow The Business.
Mark
Big Whoop
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Big Whoop
- You have a new dry cleaning store that also provides a unique pick up service? Big Whoop.
- You have a new service that writes blog posts for your business so you don’t have to? Big Whoop.
- You have loan acquisition product for my bank that is cheaper than my current partner? Big Whoop.
- You have all in one online and offline marketing product suite? Big Whoop.
- You have an online fraud prevention product that is tablet friendly? Big Whoop.
*****
- Big Whoop cuz’ I wash and iron my own dress shirts.
- Big Whoop cuz’ I don’t blog on my business website.
- Big Whoop cuz’ the pain of switching to you blinds me just thinking about it.
- Big Whoop cuz’ I don’t care what you have my business is small.
- Big Whoop cuz’ I am very careful.
We spend a lot of time focused on why clients and prospects should choose us. So much time. So much time it is often sickening.
We need to spend more time on why clients and prospects should even choose at all.
Big Whoop is what you never hear your client say but what they often think. Let’s be honest, most businesses and consumers are getting it done today, somehow or some way.
Your job is to get them to think change, to want to change, to inspire or scare them into change. Get them to think differently. Get them off the status quo.
Status quo is ten times the enemy your competitor ever will be. Go focus on that.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Inherently Suspenseful
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Inherently Suspenseful
The Wall Street Journal published an article touting the growth of golf on play-by-play on radio. “So what” you say? Well, hear me out – there’s a lesson for us.
It’s true that golf on radio is growing – but that wasn’t what struck me as the most interesting point of the article. The article touted how popular golf is on TV and I admit I’m a huge fan. I’ve always told people that I like to watch TV golf because it’s relaxing and frankly, being from New England, the weather is always better there than out my window.
That’s why I think I like TV golf. But I know now that’s not the reason.
The writer of the article (John Paul Newport) said this about golf on TV, “Television discovered that watching the little ball sail through the air for several long seconds, to land who-knows-where, was inherently suspenseful.”
Brilliant insight.
So that’s why I watch it. It is inherently suspenseful. And sure I like the physics and geometry of it all; playing angles and surfaces and the wind which by the way, adds to the suspense of where that little white ball is going to land.
And I got to thinking about those fleeting moments every day that are inherently suspenseful for us; getting the mail ( what’s there?), getting an email ( what is this about?) , a comment, a poke, an update or a post ( I wonder what this is?). And what about the scratch cards, the monopoly tickets, even the daily specials – we are suckers for this stuff. We love small things that are inherently suspenseful.
Add up a bunch of those inherently suspenseful moments and maybe you get to be like golf on TV with some eyes watching you. How good would that be for business?
Each Apple IOS release is inherently suspenseful ( what new features and benefits to me are there?). Each TED series talk is inherently suspenseful (where will this go?). These days even the smaller businesses are getting in the suspense game; will the pizza place write out a joke inside the box cover? Trade shows are inherently suspenseful ( what will be in the booth? What’s new?) and of course social media tools done right deliver suspense ( FourSquare, Facebook and YouTube).
Inherently suspenseful is attractive. There’s surely a ton of great ways people are doing it today you can discover, but keep your head down and that left arm straight and look for those moments in your personal interactions with clients or in your business’s interactions and string some fleeting moments of suspense together.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Some Things Change, Some Don’t ( But Could If We Try)
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Some Things Change, Some Things Don’t (But Could If We Try)
I am waiting. Right now. But I am OK. I guess until I get the bill. But I’m still OK.
My water heater has been leaking for three days and of course two of those days are over the weekend.
At first I thought some weird condensation thing was happening given the freezing temperatures and then I was hoping it might be some pressure valve temporary issue where it needed to vent a little bit of water on the floor and that would be that.
Who am I kidding? My first thought wasn’t any of that. As soon as I realized this was a leak vs. tracked in snow in the basement, I raced to my IPad and looked for a video on “Leaking Water Heater”. I’m a complete moron when it comes to handy man stuff (yes, there is a reason I am the only son-in-law that never gets tools for Christmas like the other guys)
That video of a Colorado plumber explaining things (and I have no idea why some Colorado local plumber’s video was at the top of the search page given Google knows exactly where I am searching from in Massachusetts) taught me to consider condensation and to check and see (by putting small bucket under the pressure valve tube) if the pressure valve was the culprit. They weren’t – that meant the worst scenario; an actual breach to the water heater.
Here’s the point about how some things change though. When I need service or a product today I learn first. I educate myself first. I get myself smarter before I go make a call or query Power to the buyer. I know you do too. And I use video. (Who doesn’t?)
Here’s where some things don’t change but probably could have. Armed with new knowledge and not feeling like a complete idiot, yet sadly realizing this cool expert plumber guy was a couple of thousand miles away, I called someone else. I called the company that fixed my furnace last year and the air conditioning thing a ma jig. I called them and asked them to recommend a plumbing company to help with my water heater issue.
They gave me a name. Done. That company is on their way.
Referrals from trusted people or suppliers are killer. That will never get old.
I will tell you though, if that video in water heaters was a local guy, a local company – I would of straight up called him first as the video was done so well done; professional yet personal, homey yet really informative.
So recognize this all you businesses or salespeople or experts in any field – get some quality video out to help educate your prospects and customers. Get it out in such a way that you drive it to the top of search engines using everything you got in great content and SEO. Because getting smart is what we all do now as the first step before we open our wallets.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
There’s Something About The Plastic!
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My Cat in a rare moment not licking plastic
There’s Something About The Plastic!
“There’s something about the plastic!” is a hilarious phrase around our house these days. And I think there’s an interesting business lesson to it as well. Let me tell you why.
I have a cat. I like cats. My cat likes plastic. I like plastic too. But not like my cat. My cat would lick plastic all day long if you let him. Plastic bags, plastic wrappers, plastic sheet protectors, empty plastic zip lock bags ( his fav) or pretty much anything plastic including the Tupperware kind of stuff. I have no idea why.
My son’s friend Jamie heard me incredulously exclaim (after seeing the cat lick a zip lock bag for an hour) how crazy it is that the darn cat licks plastic all day long and Jamie shouted “That’s what all cats do!!” He said it with the obvious tone that he knew the answer as to why they do. I leaned forward and could not wait for the answer – I needed to know!. And then Jamie said…. “There’s something about the plastic!”
That was it. He had no idea why either. And that’s why we all collapsed on the floor laughing and why the phrase now is spoken, texted and emailed randomly among us for last 6 weeks especially when someone texts or says something worthy (unworthy).. “There’s something about the plastic!” is the label we put on something said that brings absolutely nothing new, interesting or valuable to the conversation.
There’s a bit of that that goes on at work too eh? Here are 6 of my favorite phrases (often shouted out ( like Jamie did)) that mean nothing or are just plain let downs. I have been guilty of a few of these myself for sure. Please feel free to add yours in the comments section!
- “We tried that a few years ago, it worked great.” [And why is it not still here? Usually heard in a brainstorm meeting]
- “Just gotta get people to offer it more. ” [usually in a sales meeting- we all know it’s more complicated than that]
- “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this” [usually followed by silence. Thanks cpt Obvious.]
- “We need better leads” [ I’ve been on all sides – selling to feed my family, sales management & training and I can say never in my 25 years have I seen where that is true – it’s how you work the leads ( or better, make your own) that matters ]
- “People need to be retrained” [OK –so this hits home today in my role but seriously- it’s a rare day that folks need “retraining” – what they really need is” re-selling” of the content by a leader or “re-coaching” or “re – holding people accountableness-ness”
- “We have to prioritize this with everything else.” [Guilty am I here at times on this but think about how often we really hear it. And how “future tense” it is. Worthless. And usually it never does get prioritized because that means something needs to be “de prioritized” and that is courage not enough of us have in excess. ]
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Amp It Up: Prefacing Questions
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Amp It Up: Prefacing
Asking questions in sales, service or support is important. There are a million theories, books and articles on what questions to ask.
I don’t care about any of that today.
I’m going to give you 3 powerful tips however that will amp up the results of your questions and they take all of less than 3 seconds in a tactic I call Prefacing.
Each of these is additive in that if you apply just one tip, you’ll get better results than you do today with your normal questions but if you do all three – watch out, you’ll see amazing results immediately.
Preface #1: “I always ask…” Begin with “I always ask..” as a preface to your question of the customer or prospect. Let’s pretend you are on software sales – “I always ask business leaders if you see enough data on a daily basis to measure the health of the business…” Or let’s say you sell online marketing “I always ask owners where they think the best social media place to be to drive business.” Whatever your purpose is in asking the question is fine. But prefacing it with “I always ask” makes you sound like you’ve been there before; that you have experience, that this is not your first rodeo. In less than a second you’ve built some credibility in the minds of the listener and that psychologically will result in a more thoughtful answer by the recipient.
Preface #2: Add an Affiliation: Remember this is additive – so for example “I always ask the CFO’s of Consumer Financial organizations if they see enough data… Or “ I always ask my HVAC folks where they think….”; This addition is incredibly powerful – not only are you credible already by adding “I always ask” but now you’ve imparted in just one more second, that you know something, have talked to, have hung out with people like them in their world or in their industry. You’ve talked with CFO’s (and even better talked with CFO’s in financial orgs) or you’ve talked with HVAC owners and understand what is happening. Immensely powerful – your questions now have an even better chance of getting thoughtful and deep answers which translates into better sales service and meaningful conversations.
Preface #3: Put a Number on the Questions: This too is additive so in our examples let’s take it to the 3rd level, “I always ask the CFO’s of Consumer Financial organizations these 3 questions about visibility….” Or “I always ask my HVAC folks these 2 questions about where they think the best place is…” The theory is simple and powerful. Placing a number on the questions helps lower time tension. People are busy. When you articulate the number of questions you are going to ask in a particular space then the listener knows when it will be over and in essence will stay focused for those questions and give you great information. Not articulating a number can lead to that self-talk of “When will this be over?” or other distractions. Prefacing with the number of questions needn’t be limiting. You can easily move on to other subjects with for example “I always also ask 2 questions of HVAC folks about how hard it is to get paid quickly….”
Are the types of questions you ask important? You bet. Does everybody forget or not even think about the value of Prefacing a question? Without a doubt. In my opinion prefacing is as important as any aspect of questioning.
Here’s the beauty of today’s post. It’s easy. It’s less than 3 seconds of your time. If you are in sales, service or support as a pro or perhaps a leader, or you are a business owner, consultant or entrepreneur looking to get better conversations and more business; print this thing, spend a few minutes wrapping your head around and go to it – you’ll be amazed at what you get in return.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
10 Things You’re Doing Wrong at Work
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You’re Doing It Wrong
Duh. Sad part is at some points in my life (and some more recent than others) I’m guilty of every one of these.
- Coaching to “gaps” first. Neurological and observation data proves coaching to strengths first and more often than coaching to gaps, results in better performance.
- Thanking a customer for calling. How silly. Welcome them, Greet them or Wow them and then Thank them (profusely) for the business at the end of the call.
- Nobody has ever asked anyone, in the entire history of the world, for more PowerPoints to help them learn something. But we keep on giving.
- If what you bring to the sales or service party is the exact same thing that can be found on your website, brochures or catalogs, you’re doing it wrong.
- Thinking that in this global, democratized and highly connected world that the real selling is over when they “sign on the line that is dotted”. Au contraire – it is just beginning.
- Time snobbery. Obsessing and devaluing content, books, blogs and videos if their origination date is more than 6 months old. Newer is not always better or different or smarter. Quit it.
- 8 days and near 24/ 7 hours spent in a war room to fix a run of bad performance and just 8 minutes on a conference call celebrating landing a large client or exceeding performance for the month.
- In your office. All day. On the phone. And you haven’t seen a manufacturing floor, the call center, some customers, suppliers or a lunch with a department in months.
- Asking a question of a client or prospect that has no apparent immediate benefit to them to answer. That’s just not smart.
- Reading this post and agreeing (or not) and just leaving it there. Pick one, two or six that resonate with you and make a plan and execute upon it today.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Plan Ahead (and Behind)
StandardPlan Ahead ( and Behind)
It’s always a risk to see my mug on video first thing in the morning – but here are two short ones to jump start your day with messages about planning.
The first one can help you like, today..
This next one can help you like, forever…
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Mark McCarthy's Blog 