“That’s Not a Real Puppy”

“That’s Not a Real Puppy”

“What? Thats not a real puppy. That’s too small to be a real puppy.”

I love this commercial on a lot of levels. And I love that line about the puppy. I quote it often when I see heads down staring into the great smartphone abyss (and my family thinks I’m crazy because I say it). Have a look at the commercial first and refresh your memory – I’m sure you’ve seen it. Then, let’s talk about it.

I get it’s about a car. And about how this car ( the Toyota Venza) actually gets you somewhere to interact with people.

And I get it’s about how “younger” people may not quite understand what “being social” really means and Mom and Dad do. OK cool. Great message.

But it says a lot more to me than that.

It says that sitting at a computer or with your smartphone all day with your fans, friends and followers probably isn’t a good thing all an all. And it is starting to show.

Last week in USA today, it was noted that driver’s license acquisitions across the US are way down over the last few years with many teenagers delaying the getting of a liscence till nearly 19. A key factor attributed is the rise of social media and requisite devices we all have; that the need to hope in the car and physically “get together” is not there.
One of the hottest Training trends is Companies creating courses for new employees teaching them how to speak effectively in meetings and on the phone. The courses also contain training about how to use proper eye contact. All this because “conversation isn’t something folks are that good at anymore”.
It’s no surprise that in the developing worlds you are far likelier to see investment in wireless networks than in roads development first. Makes sense on a competitive level but getting connected and getting around isn’t getting easier unless you have smart phone.

Are we destined to in 5 years time be holed up in our basements, bedrooms and boardrooms connecting online and online only?

Technology at its best, is disruptive and changes the status quo. But when part of the status quo was a round of handshakes and a smile, a face to face lunch in in the cafe with a colleague, attending a party or an outdoor cookout, or a backyard game of volleyball or going for a walk – what’s so wrong with that?

I’m as guilty as anyone taking too much time online connecting with my Blogging. Twitter and the like and I can see how easily it can keep you in your chair. I think we have to fight that and fight it hard. I think that soon – digital isolation is not going to just hurt you at home (“687” friends isn’t really possible) but at work too. If you have only an all-digital relationship, how long before your prospects or customers say.. “What? That’s not a real person. That’s too small to be a real person..”..

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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I am Joe’s Lead

I am Joe’s Lead

I am Joe’s Lead.

Here I sit, in Joe’s queue. And It’s way boring man.

All I can see sitting in this CRM is this big banner over my head that says “moc.ecrofselas” That cursor thingy keeps swiping by me now and then, but never quite lands on me.

It’s been 2 darn days.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

And I am dying fast. Way faster than anyone realizes, particularly, Joe. He doesn’t get it. I’m a Small Business Lead you see. We don’t wait for anyone. We are crazy busy. If we ain’t moving – we’re dying.

I raised my my hand two whole days ago! But I am dying so fast I am starting to lose my memory as to why I am here. When Joe finally clicks on me and calls my business owner he’ll probably flat out forget why the heck he made me. He might even deny I exist at all because frankly he can’t remember why he filled out the form, and dammit, he’s busy.

Joe has a bigger problem about me, Lead. He doesn’t get me at all. I’m not “his lead” or his “commission ammunition” or his “meal ticket”. That just ticks me off. I am not something to burn thru, beg for, to be traded around or worse – to be ignored. And don’t think I don’t hear Joe dissin’ me and my peeps when he occasionally says we are “weak” or a “joke” or “trash from corporate”. If I could ( stupid glass!), I’d reach out and slap Joe’s scowl and headset clear off his face when I hear that.

Nope, Joe doesn’t get me. I raised my hand somehow, some way 2 days ago. It doesn’t matter how high I raised it – I raised it! And I am not a Lead, I am a Need of my business owner! I’m a gap, an idea, a dream, a pain that won’t go away, a prayer to save a business, a chance to go big, a plea for some education because I just don’t understand, a fear of my competition, a hope for a few more sales per month or a chance to put a stop to all these customers leaving us.

I am all of those things and more. I am a Need, not a Lead.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

So Joe do me a favor will ya? Click on me man. Do it fast before I forget how you could help me. God knows I needed something.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

Surprisingly Attractive

Suprisingly Attractive

It’s why we like to fish. It’s why we like Bingo and love gambling. It’s why some of us even like checking the mail ( any kind of mail I suppose). It’s why we like looking for seashells or walking thru old cemeteries or even trolling for old friends on Facebook.

We like surprises. We are wired that way. There is a thrill and pleasure of seeking – yet not really knowing what you are going to get or find. There is a ingrained yearning, a waiting and a hoping for good, interesting or just plain “cool” stuff to surprisingly appear.

I know people like that. People on the “cool” end of things. People like Mike who whenever you see him, you know he’s got something exciting to tell you, to teach you – heck – even his emails you don’t open right away cuz’ you have to be ready to take it all in.

People like Mary, David and Walter who when you are talking with them face to face or on the phone, are constantly surprising you with stuff or ideas to the point you walk away and write it down, google it or better – act upon it.

There are a handful of colleagues I roll the dice with often and on some days I land the 800 lb. Wicked Tuna of surprises talking with these folks. Brilliant stuff that makes you want to cash in and celebrate on the spot.

Surprise attracts; good surprises especially. All of the people above are successful, are always surprising and have huge fan clubs or client lists and are on the speed dial for more than a village of folks.

Are you a constant pleasant surprise to your customers? To your employer? To your family? Shouldn’t you be?

Are you offering valuable ideas, insight or selfless help to the point you attract people, prospects or those in need to you? Shouldn’t you?

If not you, is your company, your division or your team constantly surprising in a good way?

Good Surprise is great. We like it. We yearn for it. We manufacture entire industries around searching for it. And those individuals who do surprise well, tend to be the accomplished types who are magnets to those around them.

Surprise is, when you think about it, surprisingly attractive.

Go do that.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

Educate

Educate

Educate. It’s part of the sales process many can’t get used to.

But sales people have to do it.

Sure there’s lot of buzz and research about how prospects do all this learning online about a business before they even get to a sales person. I’ve preached that research before myself. But I’m not buying that it is entirely true hook, line and sinker any more.

I keep hearing prospects confused, unsure or frustrated about certain services or products. I keep hearing prospects so busy at work and so inundated with messaging and marketing- they don’t have time to research and learn.

If you are a company selling somewhat abstract services like money management, digital marketing, brand development, risk avoidance, sales training, marketing solutions and the list goes on – you have to understand that many prospects just really…don’t understand.

These prospects aren’t going to shout this out to you but not understanding stops any sales process or worse – prevents it from even starting.

Educating can happen with great marketing, branding or advertising but educating prospects live with real humans (i.e. sales people talking with prospects) often gets above the clutter. Face to face or voice to voice is the single most intrusive attention getting sales activity- and we must learn to better use it to teach vs. pitch.

Learn how and invest in finding ways to educate prospects first. Call to invite dozens to your live webinar. Produce YouTube videos with you explaining the marketing place and call not for an appointment but to share links with your prospects. Build education however brief into your conversations – not about your product or service but about the industry, the data, and the research – something intriguing that the prospect did not know. Offer incentives to learn; not just to buy.

If you skip the “educate” part of the sales process and focus like always on the offer, the snazzy presentations, the closing skills and the sales contest then you’ll severely limit yourself with the number of qualified leads you could have really had.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

On Dislodging

On Dislodging

You best be getting better at dislodging the competition. It’s going to get harder out there.

Oh sure it’s fun to sell products/services to small businesses who have never had a website, or any online meeting software, or water/ coffee services, or insurance, or you fill in the blank.

And it’s not just fun, it is darn easier too. Everyone knows that.

Every salesperson ormarketer knows it is a heck of a lot easier to get that small business into some product or service they never had before than to dislodge the competitor and stealmarket share.

I remember us sales people back in the day ( I was one of them), nearly careening into each other as we screeched out of the parking lot upon hearing a new construction site was opening up. Oh to be the first one there to sell the contractors on stuff! So much easier than kicking out the competition.

But you can’t bank on being first anymore – it’s just harder. More competition from not just your local region but from around the world. More competition because that small business prospect is not waiting for your knock or your call but is on the web looking at you and your competition making decisions and placing orders while you are snuggled in your bed unawares.

And soon, very soon – every small business new or old, is going to have things like a website package, online meeting services,POSsoftware, promotional products, outsourced legal support, business cards and more often right at the time of their business launch and just as likely right at the time you decide to give them a ring or a knock on their door. Now you may be lucky and all that business belongs to you, but I’m guessing you’ve got a bigger quota to hit than relying on that pipe dream.

All is not lost – Here are 5 Keys to Dislodging:

Find The Trigger: When you need to dislodge a competitor or another means in which the client is getting something done, search for that opening -be it a new sales leader or business partner that moves in, a new location that opens up or they just started putting a Twitter logo on their materials. Whatever that trigger is – there is a chance that new blood, new ideas or new budget is involved and your chances of dislodging have just gotten better.
Make is Easy & Fast & Painless to Come to You. Get it all done inside 24 hours; be it the product, the demo or the proof that gets in the clients hands. If you can, offer to cancel the competitor service for the client (like Geico does). Pain to change and pain to switch is as big an enemy of dislodging as anything else.
Remove The Risk; If there is no pain to “try you out” or “run side by side” or “guarantee you will be more satisfied” then you have great shot. Gutsy stuff for sure but what you do with that shot is what really matters. And do the math, compare this CTA ( Cost to Acquire) versus CTA for new business and you’re often surprised it’s cheaper.
Say it/ Script it: “I want you to come to us”, or “We can do better than what you are doing today” are great phrases. I know one group of sales people today who are having success dislodging by saying right up front to customers – ” This year we are committed to an aggressive approach towards competitive packages based on an annual volume.”
Be Incomparable or Comparable ( not anywhere in between) : Sometimes the worst thing you can be is “kind of like the other guy “. Nothing bores like a perceived commodity. Be, and accentuate the difference(s) hard or go straight up head to head ( like Flo’s Progressive insurance company ads do.) If you are decidedly different in one area – that is your lead story. If you are similar across the board to the competition; share that, be an advocate for getting the right solution for the client and beat the competition more often than not on price, service or quality.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Your Favorites & Mine

Your Favorites & Mine

Happy Friday and New Year,

Here’s a quick look back at 2011.

The votes are in (ok the views). Here are the top 5 (listed 1-5) most viewed blog posts at this site in 2011; presumably your favorites. Good taste I’d say and thank you for your readership. I’ve added 5 others I’d add as my favorites.

Look around a bit. What’s the worst that can happen? Steal something shamelessly and grow the business?

Top 5 Most Read Posts (2011)

You Had Me At Hello (and then, you just let me go)

The Most Powerful Phrase In Sales

Offline, Online & Flatline

My 25 Secrets Of Selling To Small Businesses

Help For Looooonnngg Sales Cycles

My 5 Favorite Posts of 2011 (aside from above!)

Customs Fail and Redemption

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Hard Work Redux

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

Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses is a hot movie of late starring the likes of Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Anniston.

The premise is that if your boss is horrible well um… go ahead and kill em’ (or at least try to).

That’s a little dangerous in the real world.

You might get caught. 🙂

Ah seriously, I don’t condone violence towards any horrible bosses. Too messy.

Here are four other (and better) ways to deal with a real horrible boss:

Demand he play well with others. You know the type – the “I’ll take my ball and go home type”. Not open to hearing concerns about your competing priorities, instead you hear “Fine, I’ll find someone who can get it done” and then you hear a click and a dial tone in your ear. This same guy makes no effort to collaborate but rather rams his way through people. This faux cowboy attitude is for the movies and 6 year olds. Kidnap this guy, surround him with your posse and scream “This is your team, we work together!”

Force her to take a stand. I suspect this is the most common trait of a bad boss; the fear of, or unwillingness to take a stand or pick a path or make a decision that means something. Swamped or swimming purposely in administrivia, the boss shirks the tough calls and instead being right or wrong, she is neither and everyone suffers in a frenzied, crazy busy world of essentially nothing. Corner her and take dead aim at imploring her to make choices! Even wrong decisions are better than none; at least then you can learn and move on.

Don’t Dread on me. She’s the one you can’t stand to see, hear or read – literally all the time. You see the email from her and you just don’t want to read it as you know it is bad news. You arrive in the morning and ugh, your voicemail light is on so that means she wants an answer or OMG she just walked out of her office and is walking your way hell bent to talk to you about your “improvement opportunities”. Enough! Does every interaction Ms. Boss have to be about something “wrong” or “bad” or “concerning”? Grab your scepters, your hoods, walk around like the Grim Reaper and let her see what you see. Dread is not a way to lead.

Unfriend him. Don’t you wish could do it more often with your friends in social media or even at home with family or relatives? But in the world of work, this guy is the boss who saunters up beside you and says “Yeah, this new incentive plan is a stretch” or “Geez, we made this product 10 years ago and it didn’t work then…” News flash Mr. Boss, I’m not your buddy and I am not your chum. You’re my boss and your immature efforts to bond with me as a “friend” by back stabbing your peers is appallingly odd and makes you look weak. And who wants a weak boss? Collectively dismember your friendship status with this guy as fast as you can and demand a change in his status back to loner.

There you go. Horrible gets better and nobody dies. Not much of a movie but aren’t horrible bosses enough drama already?

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

You Had Me At Hello (and then, you just let me go)

Dear Sales or Service Rep,

What the heck happened when you had your chance?

I had to speak with you today. I needed to talk to a human because as a small business owner, I’m super busy and sometimes it’s just faster. So you got me and I got you.

And I know it’s a big deal to talk to me, given how much I and my fellow small business owners are in demand. I’m all over TV. Seems like every company wants to help me, or guide me, or build a special site for me to visit. That’s nice.

So there I was, live and on the phone with you.

You blew it.

You totally had me when you said “Hello”. I was waiting. I was shockingly semi focused on you and what you were doing. I had a need when I called and you had a real voice. But in the end, the stuff you did and didn’t do, just let me go.

I’ve been a customer for 4 years but I don’t know if you knew that- you didn’t say. With my customers, it’s pretty much the first thing I notice. Sticking with me means something to me, but to you? I guess not.

You called me “Steve” but frankly only my friends; my doctor and my family call me “Steve”; at least not without asking permission first. Heck I’ve never called any of my customers by first name unless I knew them well or they insisted. You folks don’t realize how that rubs us business owners who are also customers the wrong way.

You tried to up sell me and cross sell me stuff like you were afraid. Huge turnoff. Have some confidence! People forget I am in sales too or else my kids don’t get fed. And while I may not be a pro at selling, I darn well don’t do it meekly. I have to up sell and cross sell too to make my business grow. So if you’re going to sell me, do it with pride and strength, not like your praying I won’t notice. When I sell, I’m proud of what my products can do. You should be too.

You had me at “Hello”, maybe next time you can keep me to “Goodbye”.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Voting Continues Today

You voted yesterday. Cool beans.

You are also voting today. And you are voting tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

You’ll still see lots of campaign signage laying around whether it’s an inspirational poster you walk by everyday or that performance chart ranking your sales or division vs. everyone else. And you’ll either walk on by oblivious to the message or you’ll stop, take it in and wonder what it means to you. Either way you are voting.

You’ll attend yet another campaign rally at 8:30am and you’ll listen to a stump speech by that person in power just like you do every day. And you’ll either cross your arms and stare at the floor or you’ll open up and offer a helpful comment or two. Either way you are voting.

You’ll still get campaign phone calls coming in at those inopportune times with folks on the other end who just want you to listen to them as they plead their case. And you’ll either half listen just enough to get by or you’ll listen real well and make their day promising to do their bidding. Either way you are voting.

You get to make important choices way more than every 4 years or every other year. You get to make them every darn day.

You can choose to look at it like that or not. Either way you are voting.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

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