marketing

Sudden Death

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Sudden Death

I don’t like going to the Doctor much but he’s a smart and funny guy, so it’s kind of bearable. 

Bantering with him last week (cuz’ the longer I can keep him talking, the less prodding he ends up doing – which is fine with me),  I joked about how I read that recent studies suggested a daily aspirin regimen could cause some nasty side effects like stomach issues.  (I don’t have a problem with the daily aspirin he recommended but like I said, the more I keep him talking….. )

Anyway, being funny but mostly smart,  he said, “Well then don’t take the aspirin Einstein, it’s no big deal to me. The side effect though could be Sudden Death for you – so have fun with that.” 

Hilarious.

But it hit me as a bit more poignant as I walked out of his office thinking about how we do some horn blowing at work about the perceived awful side effects of doing this or that, but sometimes we forget the side effects of making a change to something we know works could be a lot worse.   

You can give up walking over to talk to someone or using the phone:  Heck, a stroll down the hall wastes time because you don’t know if someone is there.  A phone call or Skype doesn’t get recorded so you don’t have a record of what you talked about like email does.  But truth is, face to face and/or voice to voice carries a gazillion other intangibles that are still valuable.  And the “Sudden Death” impact of giving that up?  Sudden Forgetfulness of YOU.   Do people only know you by your emails?  If so, you matter little to them no matter how many you write.   

You can give up making quality cold calls:  Cold Calling has awful side effects at times that can be painful, depressing and darn near ruin your day or week.  So you can hire someone else to do it for you or fire off a gazillion emails and skip it altogether, hoping the darn phone rings.  Or you can suffer the Sudden Death side effects of not cold calling and not make any sales at all.  Good luck feeding the kids with that.
You can give up saying fervently “Thank you” or “I’m sorry” or “I appreciate you” or “Mr.”  or “Ms.” to customers:    After all, everyone has no time, everyone is busy and heck, there are a lot more important things I should be saying to customers.  But no, your getting in the words “today’s special promotion is…” or the “the confirmation number is…” or the “best number to reach you if we get disconnected is…” doesn’t trump the power of the smaller phrases or titles.   The Sudden Death impact of losing those little ones is the erasing the difference between you and someone that can be replaced by a computer.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Numbers Matter

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Numbers Matter

“You’ve been a customer for many years…”

 “We have a lot of customers where you are….”

 “We build a ton of websites for small businesses….”.  

 Shoot me now.

 Numbers matter.  

No specific numbers can sound like you are lazy.  No specific numbers can sound like you are reading from a script.  No specific numbers sounds like you don’t care.  No specific numbers says you are probably making it up anyway.  

Trust is low in the marketplace.   No specific numbers makes it worse.  Customers and prospects are yearning for numbers – real numbers, real proof that you are credible or that you do care.

If you know how long a customer has been with you in the number of years or months, share it.  If you don’t know- find out and share it every time you contact them.

If you know exactly how many customers you have that are just like the prospect you are talking to (i.e. exactly how many in their town/city or exactly how many just like them (their line of business) are already customers)), then share it.  If you don’t know- find out and share it every chance you can.

If you know how many websites or widgets or thingamajigs you have that people use or buy or love then share that.  If you don’t know- find out and then spit it out.

Numbers are credible.  Numbers are proof.  Numbers get attention.  Numbers earn you a first look or even a second look.  Numbers get you sales.  

Numbers Matter.  

 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

On Dislodging

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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

If You Knew, You’d Act Differently

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Let’s start this post with Jeopardy like feel except that the answer to the following 6 questions is the same:

 What is, “You bet I would!”

 

  • If you knew small business prospects are 3 times more likely to act when you give dollar discounts versus percentage (%) discounts, would you handle your offers or pitches differently?
  • If you knew most small business prospects had already looked at your website before they called you inquiring about pricing, would you handle the call differently?
  • If you knew most small business prospects initially dislike being interrupted over the phone by sales reps, would you handle your call opening differently?
  • If you knew most small businesses think you are more credible if you give specific details (like “we are launching a 3 part welcome program to all new customers..”) vs. sharing a customer testimonial, then would you speak or market differently? 
  • If you knew that 3 out 4 small business prospects in Manufacturing, Construction and Healthcare have their interest piqued when you share information specific to their industry ( vs. say just 1 out of 4 Retail prospects care about information specific to their industry), would you plan your contacts, visits and marketing with these types of verticals differently?
  • If you knew that most small businesses don’t yet realize social media is the new and most sacred  “Word of Mouth”, would you talk about, advise, encourage and role model social media differently?

The above are true and just a smattering of real data about real small businesses I culled from the research done by firms like the Enterprise Council on Small Business (ECSB) and other reputable research orgs. 

Now you know.   Go forward differently.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

 

Show Rooming Is Our Fault

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Show Rooming Is Our Fault

Target got all a tither last week firing off letters to their suppliers demanding they either reduce their costs or focus on giving Target more unique and exclusive products to sell in their stores.

Problem is that folks go to Target, look at a product, touch it, hold it, feel it, ask questions about it and then turn around and go online and buy the same thing cheaper from some online company that doesn’t have the costs to bear for the brick and mortar, the labor and all the rest.

They call it Show Rooming and brick and mortar retailers like Target are getting sick of it. 

But Target is mad at the wrong people.  It’s not the supplier that’s the problem – it’s us. 

Maybe it was the way I was brought up or where I’ve worked but there’s something wrong about using one company to learn and see everything about a product and then going out and buying it online ( or anywhere else for that matter.)   And it happens a lot.

There’s something wrong with walking into the local hardware store, getting that advice on which paint to use to cover paneling, spending some time at the color wheel and then saying “Thanks man!” while jumping in the car to speed off to the superstore to get the exact same paint a little cheaper.

There’s something wrong when the Veterinarian examines your dog, hands you the product she needs to stay healthy and you put it down sheepishly saying “gee I can’t get that right now” only to go on line, look for the same product and order it there for 3 bucks cheaper.

There’s something wrong with going to a car dealer, working the sales rep for 2 days, getting all the answers, taking that test drive and getting all of it down on paper  to then neatly fold it, slip it into your back pocket and then shopping around with all this new knowledge to get better price from some other dealer who sells the same model car.

And it happens to you too.

It’s not real different in sales either when you spend 3 weeks educating a prospect about a solution, prepare a proposal and that prospect takes your proposal and their new education, then turns it over to a competitor and says “Beat that”.  That happens, that’s life but that’s Show Rooming a Sales Rep and that ain’t right.

It’s a lot like stealing I think.  For too many people it’s not a problem to take insight, or time, or commitment, or ideas only to use them against the very people and places that were so skilled or gracious in giving them to you in the first place by going somewhere else to buy.

That’s called Show Rooming and nope, even though its rampant and even a source of pride for some, I don’t like it one bit. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Your Favorites & Mine

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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

From Have To Believe

Crushed

A Training Veteran

Larry Bird?

 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

 

Drug Reps Selling Differently

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An article from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal very much worth the read.   

Drug Reps Soften Their Sales Pitches

Interesting.  A Softer sell.  A different kind of sell.

And Sales are going up. 

  • Interesting to read what happens when a sales rep becomes a resource to the physician.  
  • Interesting to read what happens when a sales reps shifts focus on providing more help to the physician’s patients.
  • Interesting to read what will happen when a sales rep becomes a real help to the physician allowing her to get more time to see patients.

It’s not a stretch to replace each word physician in the bullets above with Small Business Owner or Banker or Distributor etc.  And to change each word patient to customer.   

Nope, not a stretch at all. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Embrace First

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Embrace First

The best business advice I ever got was about 10 years ago.

She hauled me off into a side room and said “At least embrace the culture first, even for just a few minutes, before you go ahead and change it”.

Seems timely these days.

A lot of us have new responsibilities. Some even have a new job. A whole bunch of us have new customers we are calling on. And even if you don’t have any of these, it’s a new year and most of us have something or someone we are charged up to go about and change.

But here’s what you gotta know.

You have to take those “few minutes” first to embrace, to learn, to build some trust, to analyze what levers you can really leverage. Those few minutes can be literally a few minutes, but more likely it’s longer than that. It can be an hour, three days, a week, two weeks or even a couple of months. And that’s the problem some times; – we have so little patience once we’ve decided that change is needed.

But remember that that culture or department or team or customer you are trying to go change already exists. It’s a real thing. It’s not like you are starting from nothing. It likely has some people, processes or strategies that do work or are wicked smart or have already brought the effort forward from someplace that was much worse.

Ignoring that is stupid. It’s not about going slow. It’s about going smart.

So take the “few minutes” to embrace it, them or the group. Get close. Listen. Don’t’ talk. Take a few steps to the right or left and embrace again. Get close. Listen. Don’t talk. Rinse and Repeat.

And when you think those “few minutes” are up and you’ve listened enough, force yourself to add a few more.

Change is big and change is good but change works far better when you start with an embrace.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

3 Little Words That Will Rock Your World

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It’s not “I love you” cuz’ I don’t.  Not really. 

But no worries ( and sorry if I just rocked your world :)), those aren’t the 3 little word types I’m talking about anyway.

Actually, I’ve got 3 sets of 3 little words that are a heck of a lot better than what we usually say.

These words are perfect for pros in Sales, Marketing, Training, Leadership or just plain ol’ Life in general and should be used all day long.

So good are these 3 little words that they will Rock Your World.  They will do better than that and make Glorious your entire 2012 if you chose to use them liberally. 

So the question is, do you want to improve your performance, have people really love you more, crush quota or get promoted this year?

Oh Hell Yes!  (Um…These are any of the 3 little words I am talking about- but I like them).

Here they are.  Print these and tape this across you’re the face of your smartphone- that way I know you won’t forget them. 

  •  “What I Can”: Oh to have a dollar for every traditional phrase I hear of “there is no way” or “I can’t” or “It is not possible to hit that date” and I’d be super rich.   “What I can” followed by the word “do” or “say” or “give” is so much better.  Simple psychology here- focus on the positives or what is within the realm of possibility.  The opposite i.e.  “can’t” is an automatic tension raiser.  Use “what I can” this in sales, coaching and collaboration and people, no matter what you do, will see you as someone who always says “yes!” 

 

  • “What We Believe”:  This is especially for you sales and marketing types.  Usually we blather on about “What we have” in the realm of the products or services, or options and promotions etc.    Instead of starting your sales and marketing conversations with “What we have are ____ and ____…” replace it with “What we believe is small businesses should take advantage of______ “or some phrase like that that espouses intelligence.    Customers/ Prospects know your darn products (heck they went online before they called you!).  What they want is advice and counsel.  They want a company or a person that has an opinion, a belief.  It’s less risky that way.   They want to hear what you believe.  Do this and you will make more sales.

 

  • “What Most People”:  Throw away everything else – these are the most powerful words in sales,marketing and training.  There is comfort (especially in a sketchy economy) in what other “like” people or businesses do.  Just lead with these 3 words!   You don’t need to explain it, tee it up or cringe before you say it.  “What most people buy is the _____”.  Or “What most people say is within 120 days they see great results”.   You get it.  But no one really says it often enough.  People and businesses (especially some say, small businesses) wont’ move till they know it works and most others are doing or using it.  Say it 50 times a day or more and you win!    

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

 Mark

7 Bold Predictions For 2012

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7 Bold Predictions For 2012

I’ve done these before.

 And by the way,  that’s “Mr. Markstrodamus” to you.

 

Talkology Will Rule.   IPhone 4s’ Siri, Dragon Dictation and the like continue to grow in influence.  It’s a mere matter of time.  Holding a phone to your ear was a pain in the tuckus so Bluetooth came along,  nested in our ears and gave you your arm back.  Why deal with the sprain and pain of typing then?  Wireless microphones we will all soon wear as we enter orders, write reviews and even update systems like salesforce.com

QR codes will explode for businesses large and small.  Don’t get what these are yet?  They allow you and your customers to spend more time with a product.  Be the first to have a ritual develop using the QR codes with your brand, your stuff, your resume’, heck even your T-shirt.  Enough with the “What is this QR code again?” stuff.  Learn it – and execute on it ahead of everyone else.  Someone else agrees with me on this one see here.

“Attraction” Will Be The Marketing Buzzword.  It’s not about getting “attention” or calls to “action” anymore.  It’s about building a product, a following, coveted knowledge or even a legend about what you do or can do.  You will aspire to have buyers search and yearn for you so much you need to beat them off with a stick.  Look for sales training, marketing campaigns and web content to rally around the best way to answer the customer pleas of “Tell me more!” instead of the other way around.

Video Selling Will Actually Happen.  Never did really take off eh?   But it’s getting easier everyday and frankly too much is lost for seller and prospect alike without visual cues.  Get out your Skype or Face Time  Makeup (I can assure you that’s a product coming) and either iron that shirt or cover it with a sweater cuz’ now its going to matter.

“You Are For Hire” Booms:  Oh, you’ll keep your day job but frankly social networking isn’t working fast enough for many businesses.  You’ll be contacted based on your “Kloutish” or Tweet Grader scores, or  number of Facebook fans et all, then signed up and rewarded in $$ for influencing your friends even though you aren’t part of any affiliate program.  It’s like Mary Kay and Lia Sophia cept you do it online and without a blog.  Trust is low.  But Trust is necessary for buyers to buy and now Trust will be worth cash to you.  ( And you will take it because you will believe!)

Simple Makes A Comeback.  Oh sure we all think we are simple to buy from or deal with; except that we aren’t.   We know that we as a species have outgrown our ability to remember and execute well upon what we learn as what we are learning is so vast.  We know we have to bring simple back.  The single greatest killer of sales is not the status quo ( are you kidding me in this economy people and businesses want to stay put?????) rather,  it is complexity.  Confusion and complexity is like hitting the emergency brake on sales.  Look for “It’s as easy as 1- 2 -3” to come roaring back.   

2.5 = 3.5, XLVI, 2, 18 & 8:   Charlie Sheen rejoins 2 & 1/2 men ( as  the show is plain terrible now- and really, who likes Alan playing the bad sleazy guy anyway!) -They’ll say it was all a dream.   Also, The Patriots win Superbowl XLVI in February, The Bruins repeat, The Celtics get banner #18 and Red Sox crush Theo’s Cubs in World Series to get their 8th trophy.    How do you like dem’ apples?

That’s what I see, and you?

 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark