Those three little words are the foundation of Web 2.0, and the centerpiece of effective branding strategy.
If you are attempting to create an online brand, or even a personal brand, you have to understand the concept of "Tell Me More..."
Think about the tools you use to tell your story: your website, your twitter account, your company collateral, or even your resume. The ideal reaction to any of these items is, of course, "I'll buy it/you/the service!" But before customers reach that decision point, they often want you to "Tell Me More.."
It's not possible to convey a complete branding message in 140 characters on twitter. The whole point of twitter is "Tell Me More..." No matter what the message, interest is the goal. Interest leads to action, and interested clients are the best kind. A website can be much more detailed, and provide brand messages, videos, blogs, etc. But, how do you get someone to your website? First, you have to create an interesting message that makes a potential customer say, "Tell Me More..." Here's a recent example - watch this video, and see what comes to mind for a "tell me more" moment:
Sophisticated storytellers think about more than just their tale; they consider the audience's reaction. Creating an online brand IS the modern equivalent of storytelling. I agree with Annette Simmons: Whoever Tells the Best Story, Wins). As you present your value proposition, think about what you would like your listener/reader/customer to do or say. Be ready for what comes next, when they say, "Tell Me More..."
Asking for the toughest customers is like trying to pet a shark, or date a nun – you instantly know that it won’t end up well, so why ask for it? I was out to dinner last night with my friend, BigTime. Surprisingly, he let me know that he only wants the toughest customers. Say what–?
My friend is one of the best salespeople I know – he deals with an ultra-elite clientele in the Big Apple. This guy specializes in the demands of high-net-worth individuals with a skill that is both rare, and easygoing.
His customer logic goes like this: I want only the most difficult customers because, if they even think of shopping me with competitors, I will win every time. The toughest customers will chew up my competition, and disqualify them right out of the gate, because that’s the kind of service and solutions that my company can provide. He’s looking for the clients who are so tough and so demanding that other service providers get scared by their demands, and struggle to prove they can meet them. It’s not a problem for BigTime, and that’s the way he knows a qualified lead.
Interesting perspective. We bounced the idea around some more, and I came away with some additional thoughts. If you are faced with a tough customer, thank them for helping you to be better. If you are taking a beating over something you did, or your company did, or you are about to do, I have two words of advice: don’t duck. Here are six more: Face it, take it, fix it. It’s that simple.
Face up to the challenge of the difficult customer, and you will learn what it is that you need to know. For BigTime, he always looks forward to the toughest possible client as the greatest opportunity. He knows that he can offer what others cannot, that’s why he’s BigTime. A demanding client, in his business, means that the competition is out of the mix. The best way to defeat your competition is unequaled customer service. Disqualify your competition by being the one who doesn’t duck the tough stuff. When you resolve the really scary issues, you learn, you grow, and you create customers for life. The only way to know if you have what it takes, is to get started. If you’d like one suggestion on what you could do today, make up your mind to astonish the most difficult customer you know (and yes, the people you work with are internal customers). What can you do to make a difference, and show that when it comes to customer service, you are BigTime?
Difficult times show us what we are made of; difficult customers force us to be better and help our companies to demonstrate competitive advantage.
[ The names in this post have been changed to protect the guilty ]
I'll let you in on a little secret, about how to transform from good to great in the sales game. The one thing that makes a good salesperson great: It's always the customer.
If you have the talents of a monkey, but you are sitting in front of customer who wants to buy what you are selling, you will close a sale. Additionally, you will be able to answer the phone with your feet, but that's another story.
If you want to see a great salesperson in action, concentrate on what the customer is doing. Great salespeople inspire action by meeting needs. Good salespeople do a lot of demos, and keep busy saying things like, "activity breeds results!" while hoping for the best.
If you can only do one thing right, Focus on the customer. If you lose your way in the sales process, focus on the customer. The customer will bring you back on track.
If sales is about meeting needs, the needs you need to meet (great english, huh? sorry friends, it's my 9th language ;-) are only found within the customer.
For more thoughts on how to identify a buying customer, follow this link: http://bit.ly/deouak
What are the characteristics of a high-integrity salesperson? If you are looking for evidence of integrity in sales, consider the following:
Integrity is about doing the right thing, even when nobody's looking.
High integrity sales people make it ok for the customer to say "no".
You can't win 'em all. Disappointment over the facts is a hobby for small minds, and does not reflect high integrity.
If your product or service isn't right for a customer, a high integrity salesperson will know it, accept it, and move on. High integrity sales people also do not "throw grenades" into their own company when deals don't take shape. They understand how to work within an organization to get things done, within the rules, even when the sale doesn't go their way.
For me, I do not believe the customer is always right. I believe the customer is always the customer. The customer is the lifeblood of the business, but the business cannot be sacrificed to meet the customers' needs. That sacrifice is called "selling at any cost", and it has more to do with desperation than integrity.
The salespeople I admire are the ones who place the customer's needs first. High integrity sales people then become so involved with what those needs are that they know how a deal will take shape (or not). If they lose a deal, high integrity salespeople are disappointed, but rarely surprised, because (by definition) they know what's right for the client. If integrity is important to you, you want to do what's right.
Being able to push back from the table and understand that a deal is not right for a customer is a mark of integrity. It is a powerful position in negotiations, when you want to win but you don't have to. The high integrity sales person thinks and behaves in a way that serves the customer - helping them to find products and solutions that truly fit.
What is the "Moment Before" someone finds your website, learns about your product, or decides to purchase your service? Understand that moment, and you find strategic direction for your marketing and sales campaigns. Sanford Meisner, one of the godfathers of "method acting", first coined the phrase as part of an emotional preparation for performers. Before taking the stage, the actor must consider the "moment before" - what has just happened offstage, to create the tears, the laughter, the anger, or whatever other emotional through-line is driving a particular scene? After all, if you dog has just died, or you won the lottery, your "moment before" changes everything. This concept from the world of theater is imminently important to business today.
While actors benefit from a clearly defined script to let them know the moment before, they still have to find their own creativity to express it, engage with other characters onstage, and then move the story forward. Similarly, businesses must understand the "moment before" to create their own story, and involve customers in the process.
That moment before is crucial to understand how to market yourself (or your products), how to position services among competitors, and how to place a brand on the world wide web. In a recent client session, I asked, "What do people think of - what is the need - that causes people to find you on the web? What is the the desire - that causes them to find you?"
When a company is able to step into their customers' mind, to understand what the customer lacks - the "fill in the blank" need that causes the customer to seek out a particular solution, and ultimately, your particular company. That "I need a _______" is the keyword search and the place where the sales process really begins. PS: It's also the place where your potential customer finds your competition.
Many have written about the nature of desire. (Desire has many definitions, please stay with me on the high road here). I am speaking specifically of the desire that is part of "the moment before" a potential customer begins to seek out your product or service. At its core, desire is produced by one thing and one thing only. In fact, all desire - including the kinds of desire that are found elsewhere on the internet - have their roots in one simple thing.
All desire comes from lack - we can not want unless we lack something.
For want of a nail, a shoe was lost For want of a shoe, a horse was lost For want of a horse, a rider was lost For want of a rider, a battle was lost For want of a battle, a kingdom was lost
Consider what the customer wants, before they become a customer:
The moment before is about what's missing. Lack creates the first step towards a particular product or service. So, to understand what it is that is lacking is to understand the customer.
Effective marketing and sales strategies can focus on creating that sense of lack - or capitalizing on it. So much of our effort is spent on addressing the needs of the customer, through features and benefits, but what about understanding the moment that got the client to engage? If we understand the moment before, we understand who our customer really is. Moreover, we can understand what alternatives (either competitors or substitutions) come into play as part of consumer behavior. If the "moment before" is right, the performance of the organization will be, too.
A wise florist once said, "Nothing happens until somebody smells something." The lifeblood of a business is where it all begins, the true source of the company's progress (or failure). In a recent online post, I suggested that the lifeblood of a business is not profit, customer loyalty, cash flow, or even its employees.
By any other name, it would still smell as sweet.
A company's lifeblood is its ability to attract customers, through effective marketing and sales strategies. Without a clear vision of who you are, what you do, and who you do it for, your business will never be able to create results. And really, that's what profit, loyalty, and cash flow are to a business: the results of effective strategies, from an efficiently run business.
The lifeblood of a business is where it all starts - without it, there is no business -and that is marketing and sales. To extend the metaphor, if the blood is healthy, the organism (organization) thrives. To be sure, an organization requires many parts to make a whole, and it would be foolish to minimize one part over the other (is the hand more important than the kidney? Kneecap vs. intestine - who would win, in a cage match? Likewise, finance vs. engineering, marketing vs. customer service. Although, come to think of it, Iron Man vs. Spiderman has often crossed my mind...that would be interesting...)
This guy would win and you know it.
All parts of the team must work together to create a meaningful result. But it all starts with attracting customers. Attraction is the lifeblood of the business.
To deliver results in terms of cash flow, loyalty, and profit, it all starts with reaching out to the customer. It doesn't matter whether you are a Fortune 500 company, or a one-man-band. If your customers don't stop and smell your roses, all the other stuff will never follow.
So many of my friends are holding a stack of business cards but still feeling empty-handed. Sound familiar? Here are some ideas on what to do with a networking contact to get the results you need. Specifically, I'd like to share some strategies I've used to create emails that get answers. Networking to the next level requires some clear strategy – especially in this economy.
“Time to Talk?”
That’s the subject of your next email, the one you’ve been wanting to send to your newest VIP contact. “Time to Talk?” is open-ended and non-threatening. It could mean, “Do you have time to talk?” Or, “Is there a time when we could talk?” or even, “Look, it’s time to talk!” The response to that question is, under any interpretation:
"Talk about what?"
Question and response. Hmmm.... you just started a dialogue. The objective of your email is to generate interest, and ultimately, a response. I assume you have something you would like to know about? If you are seeking a new opportunity, you need to approach this message with a clear idea in mind. The objective is to secure a conversation to discuss your idea, and that's why you need a "time to talk".
“I know a little bit, about a lot of things, but I don’t know enough about you.”
An initial networking contact is a quest for information. So many folks misinterpret Steven Covey, and begin with the end in mind…instead of seeking first to understand, than to be understood. If your opener is, “So, do you want to buy some of my stuff? Are you the decision-maker? [or even worse] Do you have a job? Do you know someone who has a job?” Yikes, Gunga Din. It’s probably not “time to talk”. My magic will not work for you.
Ask a question before its time, and you will get the wrong answer. It takes time to earn the right to advance, and a time to talk is step 1. Have you proven that this company is a good customer, or somewhere that you want to work? Do you know that your contact is the sole decision maker? Even if your answer is “yes”, you still need to confirm that theory. And you need to know that there is interest in you discussing your personal value proposition before you share it. Come to your contact with a demonstrated knowledge of their business or situation, and ask them to confirm/deny or elaborate on a specific idea or theory.
Confirm/Deny/Elaborate
After a brief one sentence introduction about where you met or how you were referred, you want to identify why you are writing. As you define your purpose (seeking information about a particular topic) ask you contact to confirm/deny/or elaborate on your theme – it must be a specific concept that could help his/her business, or a specific question about the processes within the company. (email me if you want some specific ideas) Your topic should demonstrate a specific knowledge of the company, but require clarification from your contact. After all, you have to have something of value for your contact to confirm/deny/elaborate on. Clear details on a specific question will create trust, and establish you as someone who does their homework. Suggest a time to talk, and offer a specific time when you will follow-up. Stick to your plan and follow up when you say you will - if they haven't contacted you first.
Demonstrate a knowledge of your subject and request confirmation in a brief (less than 20 minute!) conversation. Stay on topic, gather the information you need, and take that next step.
While “Always be closing” makes for some interesting drama, it’s a recipe for disaster in this economy. Real sales strategies don’t come from Hollywood –so, how about a plan that you can actually use?
Every sales person, every Alec Baldwin fan, maybe everybody who can read and write, knows the slogan, “Always be closing”. That was the message from his character, Blake, in the classic movie, "Glengarry Glen Ross". As much as I enjoy Alec Baldwin as a performer, "Always be Closing" is a recipe for disaster in the current economy. I'm seeing a lot of individuals "go for the close" (and fail) when what they really need to know is: how to go for the sale.
Here’s a little secret that is the one common characteristic of every successful sales engagement, and every successful sales person. The one most important characteristic of sales success isn’t the killer close, or mental toughness, or a strong forceful personality, or...or whatever.
The best salesperson is ALWAYS the one who is in front of a customer who wants to buy what they are selling. Think about it. Finding a customer that’s buying is the secret ingredient. It’s not some slick closing strategy or verbal kung-fu that forces a sale. If you have the talents of a monkey, and a customer that wants to buy what you've got, you are going to close a deal... and be able to pick up objects with your feet. Impressive! Qualifying an opportunity has never been more important. And, opportunities are scarce! So, how do you do when it comes to qualifying opportunities?
Based on my experience, the number one thing you can do to help grow your business -especially if your business is the "business of YOU": learn how to “always be QUALIFYING”, and the transaction will take care of itself.
Are You Qualified to Drink This?
Questions are a great way to approach an opportunity, because of what is implied behind the curiosity. (And I'm not talking about questions like, "If I can drop the price by 2%, will you buy TODAY?!?") The questions I'm talking about are the kinds that yield results - a series of "yes" answers that helps you to clearly define the customers needs. Your concern, your caring, your experience, your product knowledge all are conveyed ...indirectly. It’s a style shift, and it can be subtle, but the results are huge. The message behind the message is that you are genuinely concerned about the customer's concerns - and, quite frankly, the mutual fit for your agendas. You go from “telling and selling” to helping your customer to solve a problem. As you help to identify their needs, you tailor your services and solutions for what they want, not just what you can do. The best person to articulate customer needs is always the customer. If there’s no need, there’s no sale.
Of course, there are many more aspects of qualification. What’s the budget? How did you hear about me/my company/my gorilla-like reflexes, etc.? Have you ever seen/used/owned equipment like this before? What is the salary for this position? Etc. etc. All important questions, and all must be asked as part of the needs identification and implementation phase.
You still have to ask for the business. But closing is just the final step in the qualifying process. First, make sure that you’ve got a qualified customer that’s come forward with some real clear needs, and you are almost home. With all due respect to Alec Baldwin, remember to “always be qualifying”… unless, of course, all you want to end up with is a set of steak knives.
Have you ever had a really good guided tour of the weeds, often called a "brainstorming session"? As the ideas churn forward, each one less practical than the last, participants are rewarded and encouraged to dream large and often improbable solutions to real-world problems. How can these sessions be managed into an effective process, one that allows for the necessary freedom of thought but also the guidance that delivers real and tangible results?
Separating real accomplishment from group therapy requires a facilitator who is willing to set up clear communication on what is expected. (I will assume that "Six Thinking Hats" and other resources are already in play for the group leader). Often what is missing is a clear objective for the session, and necessary details about the business challenge at hand.
In a brainstorming session, CONTEXT trumps CONTENT. In other words, participants need to know a clear objective and framework for what is about to be discussed. We CAN think of lots of things, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we should. The best ideas will be the ones that fit the context most appropriately. It is a delicate balance to create an environment of trust and openness within a framework of objectives and results. However, that is part of the clear communication that is required before anyone goes deep into the potential abyss of "brainstorming".
Setting the ground rules is key for an effective session, and all participants (operative word: "ALL") need to understand that they will be expected to offer ideas. Effective brainstorming takes courage, and that requires en_couragement from the facilitator. Oftentimes, the starting point is a version of "there are no bad ideas"...(ooh, I've had a few. There was the football bat, and the unicorn feeder...still convinced that all ideas are good ideas?) The key thing to remember is: Don't get married to your ideas, but put them out there just the same. A good facilitator creates that environment and gets everyone to play in the sandbox.
If every idea is good, then none of them are. That's why Edward de Bono's book is so effective, because it breaks brainstorming into steps and facilitates cream rising to the top. For me, the first step is a clear and established context for ideas - only then can those ideas be shaped into results.
Judgements and comparisons must come after the brainstorming session, to separate the wheat from the chaff. The stack ranking of ideas and collation of valuable material must be handled with respect - but handled nonetheless. Brainstorming takes courage, a true willingness to bring your best ideas, and an ego-less attachment to the outcomes.
Helping companies to create great leaders. Helping leaders to create great companies. Professional development coach, speaker and author. westfallonline.com
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