A Wii Bit of Advice

It was a blast. It was nerve wracking. It was mentally exhausting.

And there was a lesson to be learned.

Strike One. Strike Two. Strike Three.

No baseball here, those strikes came in the first three frames of Nintendo’s Wii Bowling. Cool.

Bowling alone on the Wii gaming system in my basement “Man Room” Saturday, little did I know it would be a night for the history books in the ol’ McCarthy homestead.

Strike Four. Strike Five.

Five strikes in a row. Don’t think I’ve done that before. If I did, it was never in the first 5 frames out of the gate, that’s for sure. I’m not going to lie to you and say that I don’t ever bowl with the Wii;- I have. Not that much though, and not for months now.

Strike Six. Gulp.

I’m feeling pretty good right now. I know exactly what I am doing. I am holding the controller in a special way with my hand held high but slightly cocked to the left. I know that on my backswing, my hand is brushing within an inch or two of the Christmas tree because I hear the jingle of the ornaments from the breeze my arm swing makes. I’m taking a perfect and consistent half step forward toward the TV and with a jagged sharp twist of my wrist just at the right time – I am giving the ball a wicked left hook right into the pocket.

Strike Seven. Strike Eight.

Holy Jimoly. Gulp. Gulp.

Strike Nine.

I am standing, just staring at the screen; looking at the 9 strikes in a row. Wow. I admit I am perspiring a little as I realize I am on a course with destiny. Am I going to bowl a perfect game? A perfect 300 game? There are websites dedicated to bowling the perfect 300 game in a Wii. It is not at all easy to do. Is it possible for me to get 12 strikes in a row?

Deep breath…..hold controller up high, angle to the left……press the “B” button…….

WAIT ! I yell to myself silently….. This is no good………. I am alone.

What good is bowling a perfect game without a witness? What good is playing golf by yourself and getting a hole in one if nobody sees it but you? What good is making the half court behind the Subaru, off the garage “nothing but net” basketball shot if you don’t have someone there to see you do it?

“Boys! Boys!” I yelled upstairs. “Come downstairs, you have to see this!”

Both came running. I showed them what was happening; The 9 strikes in a row; The perfect game in progress. I knew I was taking a big risk bringing attention to myself. My timing will certainly be off now. But at least I have witnesses. Maybe I can do this and these two 13 year olds will see electronic bowling history made before their eyes.

Strike Ten.

Would you believe it? I was more shocked than anyone. I did not lose my touch. I had the special grip, the swing back, the breeze, the stride, the twist and of course; the 10^th strike.

Two more to go. I smiled; nodding my head while simultaneously showing the boys my special grip on the controller. I then pressed the B button and swung my arm back……

Into the Christmas Tree……..aaahhhhggghhh…………and only…. nine pins fall down……

I picked up the spare and ended with a 289.

Crushed though I was having missed the perfect game of 300, it was the best I’ve ever done and I think it might have been worse if I had rolled a 300 and there was no one there to see it.

So what’s the lesson learned by this story? It’s simple. Everyone’s big event is better with someone special there to see.

When the anniversary date comes for your 10 year employee, be there when the gift and the certificate are presented; it makes a difference in the experience. The “drive by” a week later acknowledging the date just isn’t the same.

When the results come in on the sales contest on the 3^rd business day of every month; don’t post the winner on the wall or email the results to all. Stand by the winner’s desk, wait for her to arrive and share the news aloud for all to hear. She’ll remember that feeling and that moment far better than the memory of opening a congratulatory email message.

When the promotion is approved, the new program launches, the degree is acquired, the first presentation is given and other big moments in a person’s work life happen perfect or not, having witnesses first hand makes it all that much better.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Holiday Stories – Laugh & Learn

We all have them.

Maybe they are part of family lore. Maybe they are things only you remember.

And maybe some are funny.

Sometimes the funny stories are better. If they make you laugh when you think back on them – maybe there’s a lesson there. In fact, if you know anything about humor; there almost always is.

My first experience with the damage done by leaking confidential information happened 40 years ago today on Christmas Eve. Let’s just call it, given the recent news stories, a St. NickyLeak so to speak. I was only 5 years old and it happened just a mere 30 seconds after my 7 year old brother was told (in sworn confidence) the truth about Santa by Father. Racing down the hall, older brother Kevin ran into our bedroom, slammed the door behind him and exclaimed that Santa was (gulp) ..fake. Good times. Later, Kevin worked a few years for U.S. Government (with a real security clearance mind you). I was a little worried about that.

My first experience in workplace safety training occurred at very young age too. For as long as we lived with our parents, there was no live tree in the McCarthy household for fear of an infestation of bugs or far worse, the invasion by larger animals that may have burrowed or nested in the festive tree and that would surely take over the house. There were also no electric lights on said Christmas tree for fear of fire (ever- no matter how large the UL listing got) and quite understandably then there was no roasting of chestnuts of any kind as our fireplace was never opened (not even once). I learned to love tinsel, fear live trees and continue to be amazed that someone can have a real fire inside a house. I wouldn’t trade any of it though because today, I’m always working safe and living safe; checking the oven, the stove, the basement, the emergency brake……….

My best experience for understanding the value of knowing your audience occurred during Christmas 2001 when my 4 year old son showed a quick understanding of the game of chess. As we began to play with the shiny new board (a gift I cheerily procured having suffered nearly a year of torment playing endless games of Connect 4) and he smartly moved pieces around the board I said “That is very astute of you, son”. He froze, looked at me oddly, squinted hard, then balled his fists up and snapped “Well, you’re “A-stupid” too!!””.

Be it this Holiday or any other time people and family gather to celebrate; funny happens and stories are born. Next time you tell or experience one around these times, look for the lesson- I’m betting it’s there.

Till next time,

Grow the Business.

Mark

Lean In

When you visit a small business, lean in and take a little peek thru that half opened storeroom door. You just might be able to see a little arm attached to a littler hand holding a bright crayon scribbling away on papers laying about that worktable. Of course then you realize, that Kristen who is tallying the receipts out front, is this little one’s Mommy.

When you grab that coveted Hi back stool at the local bar (you know, the chair just opposite the TV but kind of on the corner so you see everything), go ahead and order that Sam Adams and as you wait, lean in a bit and you just might see a purse on the floor overflowing with bills including those yellow “final notice” ones. For a second you get that sick feeling in your stomach too- you’ve been there. Of course then you realize, Mary must have just raced here for the closing shift and is praying she makes enough in business and tips tonight to at least get the late late late ones paid.

When you take Max for a walk and see “Mike’s All Pro Painting” truck next door at Dave’s house you’re curious so you step a little closer. You notice the truck is clean with a nice logo on the side- a real pro. But lean in a bit and take a look inside the cab and you might just see a catastrophe of burger wrappers and coffee cups. But as you look even closer you see in the midst of this mess a copy of Entrepreneur magazine and WSJ’s guide to Small Business. Of course then you realize, Mike has much bigger dreams.

These folks and many other small business owners have kids, bills and dreams.

And many of you have the chance every day in what you do to help these folks grow their business. You have the advice, the ideas, the products and the services that can do that for them.

But So what? Growing their business doesn’t really mean anything. At least not always to us it doesn’t.

We have to think deeper.

Helping Kristen, Mary and Mike grow their business is way more than just growing their business to them. Growing helps them pay for that after school program, or for those late late bills or for that seminar to learn how to secure an Angel investor and live that dream.

Growing is often a wonderful means to an end for small business owners. And those ends aren’t much different than what you and me have in mind.

So lean in.

But lean way in this time and give em’ a hand.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

The Wicked Awesome Awards

If I was in fact, having an actual awards ceremony, I think these four winners would give some inspiring acceptance speeches. And if they actually knew they were winning a Wicked Awesome Award (they don’t) they would be thrilled.

Until the WAA’s reach that “coveted” status, the awards actually mean more to me (and hopefully you) than anyone else. Why? Because each of these winners affected me in some wonderfully wicked awesome way. And you get the benefit of knowing how.

Each of these people over the last 6 weeks did something simple, yet so helpful they inspired me to stop, grab my red book and write down these moments. That’s a big deal in my book (literally) and makes them worthy winners.

Here they are;

Adolphe at Verizon who called me on his lunch break from his own cell phone to confirm that my cell phone was working properly while I was traveling in Kansas City last month. He said he would; I didn’t really believe it but by golly, he did.

Helen at Target who checked left, right and then all around her looking for her boss. And not having found him, grinned, left her register and helped the elderly woman bag her groceries way down at the end of the checkout lane. Helen, you’re right; some things just aren’t in the training manual.

Rev. Dean who sat next to me on the plane last month, each of us sharing stories about work and life, stopped mid sentence and sincerely asked if there was someone in my life he could pray for over the next month. There was Rev. Dean, thank you, thank you very much.

Tim and Jimmy at Hannaford, who insisted on loading my wife’s groceries in the pouring rain saying “Just get in the car- we got it!”. Tim is a made up name (and so is Jimmy) but this complete stranger and his son totally made my day and I wasn’t even there.

Congratulations all. No lives saved or Herculean efforts here but Wicked Awesome for sure.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

I Sent My Wife Roses For No Reason. What Did You Do?

Yesterday, I sent a dozen red roses (in a beautiful vase I might add) to my wife at her place of work.

I sent them just because I love her; no other reason.

In fact, the card read….“Just because I Love You.”

Upon receiving such a thoughtful delivery and reading the attached note, my lovely wife apparently teared up in front of all her co-workers, which of course made said co-workers tear up, and they in turn even got visitors to tear up. Love all around and tissues for everyone.

Ahem. 🙂

I know. All you guys are looking real bad right now.

Some other guys are looking bad right now too but they don’t even know it. They will of course when they get home and see this blog post taped to the fridge like a sentry guarding the bottles of beer that lie within.

Fun.

But my friends, I’ll take the heat because here’s my point; you can’t be boring or predictable, you gotta keep it fresh. You gotta surprise.

Are you the sales rep that sent the Thanksgiving card out to the client to say thank you for their business? Probably not, but some other partner/ supplier somewhere else, probably did. You go ahead and send out just one card like everyone else.
Are you the sales leader who suddenly sat down and called out on behalf of your sales person to set up 5 appointments just for her, so she had a chance to knock em’ dead with her presentation? Probably not, but some other sales leader, somewhere else, probably did. You go ahead and keep coaching her on her presentation.
Are you the sales rep who called looking to hit voicemail (cause you knew if you got your customer live for this, it would be interrupting) and left a message about the link you sent to help them deal with a problem totally unrelated to what you sell? Probably not, but some other sales rep, somewhere else, probably did. You go ahead and call only when you are looking to hit your quota.

You love your significant other. You love your customers. Keep it fresh. Surprise the hell out of em’ now and then. You know it’s good. And yeah, you beat back the dreaded “boring” and the competition every time.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

What He Wasn’t

It’s been 5 years now, to the day.

So I’m hoping that you won’t mind too much if my Dad joins me here for a bit.

I still stare at his picture now and then and try to articulate in my mind what this man meant to me and my family. And truth be told, I’ve recently come to think it’s not so much about what he was that matters. But rather, what he wasn’t.

And, I think there are some lessons here for perhaps more than just me.

He was one who carried a gun of course, being a policeman. But he wasn’t a man who glorified that or let his five kids see the gun much. He wasn’t afraid of it for us; he just knew what it was really for. Into the house he came, walked right to the bedroom, opened up a safe (at least that’s what we thought we heard as we were never allowed close enough to actually see) and locked it away.

He was one who spent his days (or night shifts) dealing with horrible actions committed by equally horrible people but he wasn’t a man who ever brought that work home. For years we eagerly sat around the kitchen table jousting to be the first to ask “Did you catch any bad guys today?” And his answer was always the same “Sure did, kids, sure did.”

He was one who never made a lot of money. But he wasn’t a one to complain, he just worked harder right along with my Mom who was a nurse. More work details and more shifts were the means for them to find a way to send the boys to a private high school and who knows what else we didn’t realize then, was a real financial burden.

He was one of the Greatest Generation raised by a single mother in a tough Irish Catholic neighborhood. But he wasn’t one like so many of that generation who was always quiet, almost stoic about what he felt. “Have I told you lately that I love you?” was something he said to all of us well into our teenage years. The letter he wrote me when I was 17 (which I still have) expressing how much he loved me and how proud he was of me is something I cherish to this day.

For 5 years and maybe because he left us earlier than expected, I’ve struggled to define in my head who he really was, what he taught us and what he believed.

But it’s when I start to think about what he wasn’t; that’s when I start to see who he really was.

That’s a great lesson for us too Dad, thanks.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

What’s Easy

I write a lot about easy. But this one’s a little different.

I write often about how important it is to small business customers and prospects that your products are easy, that your website is easy, that your billing is easy, that your ordering is easy, or that your customer service is easy. Basically easy is what small business needs.

Here’s the rub though. What’s easy for small business isn’t necessarily easy for you.

What’s easy for small business is:

To Keep Who They Got: Dislodging a vendor in a small business is not easy. Last I checked SB’s don’t have a team of sales or process strategists charged with looking at the value of bringing something or somebody in brand new. Nope it’s more like, “I’ve been with them forever”, or “I know his family”, or “It’s too much work to change mid year”, or “This thing is like 1/100^th of my budget why do I care?” etc. etc. You have got to make it easier to switch.

To Blow You Off: Heck, they themselves are or were, sales reps or account managers in one way or another for their own business-most of em’ anyway. And they have staff trained to get rid of sales reps and marketers like you and some personally make it an art to avoid everybody but customers, family, their accountant or their banker. It’s not that they don’t think you have a good product, it’s just that there’s no darn time to spare. You have got to make it easier to see why just a little time with you might be valuable.

To Not Believe You: The Small Business owner who has that type A personality, and is the wearer of all hats, and with the ego through the roof and the work ethic like nobody else;– Is she going to flat out just believe you when you say you can help grow her business? Heck no. You have to make it easier for her to trust you.

I usually end all my posts with real applications, real ways to get it done. I usually give you a few things you can just run with right now and tackle the problem and grow the business.

That would be too easy.

And there’s a better way. Though this blog is only 6 months old, type in the search box the word “easy” (10 posts) or “value” (13 posts) or “credibility” (7 posts) or any darn word you think might be make sense. Therein is a lot more help to make it easier for you and your customers.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Chairvolution!

It’s the easiest and most effective “how to sell” prop in the world.

The simple chair.

When I get a chance to speak to sales folks, I’ll occasionally launch into using a real chair that happens to be lying around to help folks learn how to sell. Every time I do it; I see heads nod in enlightenment and jaws literally slacken as many salespeople have “aha” moments.

It resonates so well that I typically walk away from these little talks saying to myself “Geez, I’ve got to do that chair thing every time!” But then, as I am apt to do; I forget to do it the next time. Not any more, I am committed to embracing the chair!

So with apologies to the office furniture and chair sales folks out there, I must explain that the ubiquitous chair is the perfect prop to represent your “product” or whatever it is you are selling or marketing. It is precisely because the “chair” is so common and so “everywhere” that it works. It works because it allows you the teacher, speaker or trainer to easily put emphasis on more than just the product and focus on the positioning, credibility and solutions your product or service really needs to get sold.

The chair is big. Really big. You could spend a whole day preaching and teaching a lot more than just the 6 lessons below but heck, it’s a start.

Welcome to my Chairvolution. Please steal shamelessly.

6 Easy Chair Selling Lessons

Start by saying “I am going to sell you a chair” and then follow the guide below as you teach and preach.

Lesson 1: Put the chair behind your back and ask (as if you are the sales rep) “What kind of chair would you like?” This is a great first lesson because it is about what not to do. In this harried, crazy, no time and no trust world of buyers we live in; the age old “Tell me what you dream” is really just about dead. Open ended, out of the blue questions more often stop sales processes, not start them. You’ve got to lead folks or give them a comparative reference. Psychology notes that comparison is less brainwork than creation. Discuss.

Lesson 2: Bring the chair back from behind your back and say “This is our most popular selling chair” Pause, then ask the group – “How many of you just ever so slightly had their interest piqued?” Here is a great 2^nd lesson in the value of popularity. Popularity is so important that the next 2 lessons using this chair go even deeper there. There’s a reason Amazon built that algorithm!

Lesson 3: Continue holding onto the chair and say “This chair is the most requested one by the folks at your company”. Pause and ask “What’s different in this lesson?” What’s different is that Popularity positioning you shared in Lesson 2 has been turned around and is now positioned with something more valuable to the client. That is that prospects “like them” ( i.e. those people that work in this company) love this chair. No doubt the interest of the group is piqued about the darn chair. Discuss.

[Here is a good place to remind the group that we have yet to talk about the features and specs of the chair as a means to sell it, and oh by the way…in all of these lessons today-we won’t!]

Lesson 4; “Everyone in your department on the first floor has this chair” Here it’s getting obvious that the closer you get to the truth about popularity of product by customer and prospect type, the better. Study after study shows that most people need to and love to do what other people just like them do and make similar choices. Yep, like the Amazon pop-ups and the Net-flix pop ups; you get it.

Lesson 5: Switching gears, look longingly at the chair and say “This chair will make your back feel better” or “This chair will get that capital expenditure under control” or “This chair will give your employees that “Google” office feel they want”. The point here is that you are showing just how much work needs to be done before you talk about the darn chair to prospects. What problem it solves, what pain it eases, what yearning it fills. Have fun with this part as nary a mention of price, height or color is in sight.

Lesson 6: Take the chair and roll it up next to one of the participants in the room and say “Your mother suggested I talk to you about this chair”. Have a good laugh at those who say “I don’t like my Mom” but the point is this – The best selling approach ever is a credible referral from someone the prospect trusts or even better; loves. Sales people should work hard to secure referrals and references. Frankly with those in hand, there is no real selling involved, it’s already done.

Don’t couch this one folks. Unseat all those beliefs that selling is about price and options. Lay it all on the table in a different way this time and use that chair! I promise it will open a brand new door to how salespeople think about sales.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

A Salesperson’s Thanksgiving Poem

A Salesperson’s Thanksgiving

Turkey Day, Oh turkey day,
Football, food and fun.
The problem is like every year,
Your day is too close to December one.

So whilst others sit not worried,
Not concerned, not one iota,
I can hardly touch my food at all
So worried am I, about my quota

Gravy, bread and mashed potatoes,
All look so delicious and nice,
And while I already hit up my friends and family once,
I’m thinking, I should do it twice.

And then I thought as plates were piled,
Up high with a second serving,
What’s the point of this Holiday if
I’m filled with worry and unnerving?

So when rich, tipsy Aunt Betty finally took that tumble,
As she is yearly apt to do,
I broke her fall right quick this time and said,
“Will it be one $10,000 order or two?”

Till next time,

(Happy Thanksgiving!)

Grow the Business.

Mark

5 Oddly Wonderful Things to Say to Customers

They are only “odd” because folks don’t say them too often. And they are “wonderful” because well……just read on, and I’ll tell you.

“I just came out of a Training class on….” We rarely say this yet many of us attend training regularly in the classroom or online. We think it is a sign of weakness that we had or went to…um.. a training. Our clients want to know that you are getting training because heck, maybe you are getting smarter about them. And even if you didn’t go to a recent training, our clients want to know that you read that book on small business marketing trends or that other one on customer loyalty. Smart sells. Wicked Smart sells even better. You have to share it.

“I Love You…” Ah yes, warm and fuzzy for sure but I say, why not? Why not say “I love you” but tie it to a good reason? “John, this is such a pleasure. I love to talk to 5 year plus customers because you know the marketplace and you know us….” Or “I love to talk with customers who take the time to give us feedback, I know how busy you are …”. Love is a word customers don’t expect to hear, at least from a partner or supplier. And unexpected love is a very cool thing.

“Guess which one is the most popular these days?” If you want to improve your chances of a client or prospect listening well or listening longer to your presentation (or even a conversation), you should embed survey-like questions early into the experience like “What % of retailers do you think would say “keeping returning business is more important than getting new business?”” or “Which do you think most retailers prefer, this or this?” You make the call on the question but do two things; draw out the answer so you insert your value proposition, and then if you don’t believe me that this works, read the bestseller Made To Stick (Heath Bros) and take a look at the evidence supplied on page 89. Folks will pay attention longer to see if they are right or just to know what the right answer is. Find a way to conversationally add this to your client facing meetings and contacts and more sales will ensue.

“You can trust our business with your business…” This is obviously a B2B thing but 10 years ago I pitched this phrase as something we could and should close phone calls with or have on business cards or ( and these were really new then): emails! etc. etc. I have never forgotten it and always wanted to make it part of our customer experience but we haven’t done it just yet. Now I have proof that this would work – Have a look at this Roger Dooley article at his Neuroscience Marketing blog and learn about the real evidence supporting in “10 Words That Build Trust”! Then, tell me why you wouldn’t want to say “And as always, you can trust our business with your business, have a great day!”

“Here’s what I want you to do..”. It’s a rare day that we sales and marketing folks send out samples or emails or catalogues or brochures or links and ask any customer/ prospect to do anything. The most we often eek out is “Have a look and if you have any questions let me know” or “I’ll give you a call next week and you can let me know what you think.” Ugh. Be specific and give instruction. “Have a look at page 3 and circle your two favorites” or “Watch the video and jot down two things that you want more information on as that will be my first question to you when we talk next week”. People like to help people. People like (most of the time) to have clear direction. Psychologically, people will more likely keep that next meeting when there was something of detail they were supposed to do vs. just another scheduled contact.

There, oddly wonderful aren’t they? Let’s make them a little less odd shall we?

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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