I just just landed in DC for a learning conference but Patrick our flight attendant, already taught me something awesome about using Big Data for a Wow experience
insight
How To Handle That Tough Objection
StandardHow To Handle That Tough Objection
This unique and interesting approach is remarkable even for those tough objections that appear at the very start of the sales process.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Seriously, Which Is Better?
Standard
Somebody walks into your shop or calls you. You can ask a series of silly questions or a wicked awesome one. Which will you do? First of a series on the topic!
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Scrabble
Standard
You can call it volunteering if you want but I just call it “an old fashioned whoopin’ that keeps on giving”
It’s true I’ve been known to head to the local Sr. Center and um… volunteer to play scrabble with some of the folks that hang out there. My objective is twofold: give of my time and talent to these wonderful folks and of course, to win.
Scrabble is a great game. It’s a great game for anyone. It keeps the mind sharp.
Let’s all agree to that helping drive interest in the playing of Scrabble is a good thing – especially at a Senior Center. Let me make an argument that it’s even better when I do it. Scrabble in my hands for a mere hour a week, is a series of important life lessons for all of us.
- Losing never gets old. Chances are overwhelming that you will lose to me. (Ok, well 2 weeks ago was an exception – but I’ve got my eye on you Betsy). There’s no age when losing should stop. Life is funny like that; the only time losing stops pretty much is when you’ve given up trying something or are no longer literally getting in the game. My trouncing you is therefore, good for you.
- Chi is good, really good. Chi is a word that means vital internal energy. Good chi is exactly what you want in your Senior Center and exactly what you want in Scrabble. With me as your Scrabble guide, you’ll get vitally energized when you learn that you can spell “chi” for immense points in two other ways with just two letters as in “xi” and “qi”. What fun! When I did this for 31 points, Kathy shot me a look and then spewed out two other choice letters tied together that I can’t mention, but nevertheless, this is a teaching moment! – Teaching never grows old, even if we do.
- Without rules there’s Chaos. Just because we may have a little more life experience doesn’t mean rules get lax. I have a lot of personal rules about Scrabble I think are endearing and truly in the spirit of the game. One rule is that you should never put down a word that you cannot use in a sentence. Nancy disagreed when I asked her about “el” and then slammed down her 4 page print-out of acceptable 2 letter Scrabble words and said “That’s stupid- it’s a word! But to make you happy, how about you shutting the el up?” Funny now but she’ll think about it later and realize how much I’ve taught her.
This week at my suggestion, we’ve added a Scrabble trophy for the winner of the weekly matches. The winner keeps it for the week, snapping and posting photos of you and your trophy around town. A nice incentive to work hard every week and improve your game I say. My Scrabble mates liked the idea but suggested if I win, to take a photo of myself and the trophy at the end of a long walk on a short pier.
Not very nice but chi is xi baby– bring it on!
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Big Whoop
Standard
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
Standard
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
Rethink
Standard
Rethink
If you want to totally rethink what you are doing in business you need to get your customers to rethink what they’re doing.
And if you really do get them to rethink what they’re doing – that’s a huge win for you.
Apple did it. Like for the last 10 years.
Advanced Auto Small Engine Repair in my little town did it on Friday.
It’s a tough world out there. Most of us in sales and service know that even when customers love us – they are, by the time they call about that new service you’ve been pitching or your flyer or your email, – they’ve done the research and while you’re still in the game- it’s a price war between you and your competitors or them sticking with the status quo- just doing what they’ve always done.
Disrupt the thinking upstream. Teach. Preach. Challenge.
Be that person or that company.
Apple did it –blah blah blah we know that. And their disruptive tech did make us rethink what we are doing but it extends elsewhere too. Do you think they did some research and asked you and me if when you go in the store, that we wanted some 6 foot 3 bearded technical guru to greet you in the first 8 feet, get your name and ask what you are here for? Heck no.
They just did it. And that’s the way it is. We have been taught. But we had been taught before by Apple. They reshaped our thinking. We believe. We trust.
I had a first world problem Thursday night. My snowblower after a total of 3 feet exploded. Well I thought it exploded: the chute shot into the air about 10 feet. I don’t have a clue. Next day, my wife got a recommendation from a friend about Advanced Auto and they drove up, loaded the snowblower on the truck and then plowed my driveway. Plowed the driveway. They didn’t ask, they didn’t check, they just did it.
3 hours later they returned with a fixed blower, an education about the machine, a conversation about what I should watch for, an invitation to learn more and not a word about plowing the driveway except humble acknowledgment of my thanks.
While Advantage Auto didn’t wholly disrupt my thinking – they did reshape my thoughts about service expectations and education in a small way. It’s a great start for them. I grabbed 6 of their business cards and a promise to myself about saying a few things on social media.
The perfect world for changing your business or your approach is realizing and then innovating on changing the way your customers not just think and work with you, but changing the way they do their own business for the better.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
There’s Something About The Plastic!
Standard
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
Standard
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
Standard
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
Mark McCarthy's Blog 