Is your business growing as fast as it could?

I believe if you are reading this comment, you believe that there is a possibility that it could grow faster. This is because you would not be searching for new information if you thought everything was going great.

Let me give you an example. Over the past number of months I have been doing some research into the habits of business owners. What I found is that many business owners are either too busy or are not interested in growing their businesses. Either way this is a sad statement about them and their business.

Why would I write that? It is because if you are not growing (improving your strategies and processes) you begin to rot. In other words the old ways become the usual ways. Remember that if you continue to do what you’ve always done in business – you will get less as some upstart company is going to creep up on you and give you more problems than you ever felt was possible.

So my concluding question for you is; what can you do today to improve your business?

To brag or not to brag – that is the question?

A few years ago I gave a speech to an association of retailers. I was discussing marketing and different aspects of it. I casually mentioned that I'd thought that rich people were better clients than poor people, and moved on with my speech. During the question and answer portion a man doubted what I had said. He said the best payers in his business were those that didn’t have much money, as compared to those that were rich.

Instead of arguing with this participant I escaped a confrontation. This has prompted me to think about this for some time and this is the perfect opportunity to write about it.

Can any of you tell me why you would want to sell a high quality product to poor people? I am not saying you ignore the poor people. What I am saying is; ‘Wouldn’t it be true that rich people have more money to pay for a high quality product?’

While this anecdote may make me look a bit arrogant, I see it different. The person that questioned me is a living example of an industry that's done a lousy job of communicating the value of their products. The key question that every one of you should be answering is, "Why should your customers purchase your products or services?" Whether you are a one person army or multi-million dollar company this question needs to be answered. If an owner of a business or the employees don't understand the value of the products that you sell, neither will potential customers.

My point is simple, in order for your customers to pay the highest price for your product they have to understand the value of what you are offering. The key to effectively communicating your value is to justify it by showing and identifying to the prospects the unique value that your product or service provides.How does your company help your customers understand this unique value? 

If this influencing only begins when they enter your business premises – you’ve already lost the battle. The marketing of your business needs to take place 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.

Did you ever notice how some of your actions can be so easy?

Did you ever wonder why they are so easy? Do you think it could be because you have a passion for this activity? Did you ever wonder why you have such a passion for this activity?

I believe it was because you understood the reason why you were doing it.

Why do I know that? It is simple and I will give you an example. For almost 2 months I’ve been blogging my ideas and thoughts about sales and marketing. I take a lot of joy in doing this. It is not done for praise it is because I have all these ideas in my head and blogging is a great way to get them out to readers like you. All of my thoughts are based on over 30 years of marketing and sales education with much trial and error.

Recently I checked to see the numbers of how many had been reading my posts and the locations they come from. I am pleased to tell you that I have readers from Canada and the U.S. But to my surprise I also have readers from the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. My thanks to all of you!

To conclude I want to tell you that if the occupation you are doing gives you the same sort of joy that I write of – you will never ‘work’ another day in your life.

Does the future belong to people who can spread ideas?

I came across this the other day, some real food for thought.

“Here are ten things to remember:

1. Create a cause. A cause seizes the moral high ground and makes people’s lives better.

2. Love the cause. “Evangelist” isn’t a job title. It’s a way of life. If you don’t love a cause, you can’t evangelize it.

3. Look for agnostics, ignore atheists. It’s too hard to convert people who deny your cause. Look for people who are supportive or neutral instead.

4. Localize the pain. Never describe your cause by using bull shiitake terms like “revolutionary” and “paradigm shifting.” Instead, explain how it helps a person.

5. Let people test drive the cause. Let people try your cause, take it home, download it, and then decide if it’s right for them.

6. Learn to give a demo. A person simply cannot evangelize a product if she cannot demo it.

7. Provide a safe first step. Don’t put up any big hurdles in the beginning of the process. The path to adopting a cause needs a slippery slope.

8. Ignore pedigrees. Don’t focus on the people with big titles and big reputations. Help anyone who can help you.

9. Never tell a lie. Credibility is everything for an evangelist. Tell the truth—even if it hurts. Actually, especially if it hurts.

10. Remember your friends. Be nice to the people on the way up because you might see them again on the way down.”

Written by Guy Kawasaki who is a founding partner and entrepreneur-in residence at Garage Technology Ventures. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books.

What are your targets?

I remember at time about 15 years ago when I was working with a sales manager and he told me to set goals for the following year. After having been the owner of my own company before I knew what to do. So about a week later I submitted my sales targets/goals. He looked at them and said they were no good.

I looked at him and asked him why he said that. His response was very revealing. He told me that my goals were not high enough. I said as compared to what? I had only started work for him in August and had a very good start. I realized that he wanted me to set higher sales goals because he thought that it was going to motivate me even more than I was already. 

What did I learn? People have to set goals for their reasons. These reasons can be for retirement income, a trip or to put extra money away for your child’s education. The sales goals should stretch you to reach farther than you thought you could achieve, but they should always be reasonable. The targets need to be reasonable as if they aren’t, you may start to question yourself. When you start to question yourself you may feel so much pressure that you start to have a defeatist attitude.

So when you set your next targets/goals make sure they are S.M.A.R.T.;

• Specific – regarding numbers, contacts etc.
• Measurable – by having numbers you can measure how you are doing
• Attainable – with some stretch to what you think you can achieve.
• Reasonable – is your new goal a reasonable increase while still stretching your ability?
• Trackable – so you can track and see your progress.

Any comments or questions on this process?
 

Today is Family Day were I live, and how does this affect you?

When I think about families I think about Baby Boomer's. This is because they were the result of a population explosion after The Second World War. 

So what is a Baby Boomer?

Baby Boomers are defined as adults aged 46-64. It is estimated that 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. is a Boomer. When they are asked "how old do you feel?", at least 20% of the Boomers responded that they feel at least 10 years younger than their age. 30% of them say they feel at least 5-9 years younger. The most important part of this research is that more than 74% of boomers say that advertising these days seems to be intended for someone younger than them.

The question becomes; can advertisers really be missing the mark on hitting America's largest and most wealthy demographic?

According to Association of National Advertisers from a webinar called The Four Truths about Boomers and Media:

• Boomers are sponges for content and media. Even more so than the younger generations.
• Boomers with the help of family and friends have the ability to ramp up on technology quickly and proficiently.
• Boomers are most comfortable with a leg on each side of what's familiar and what's new. It is your job to see where they are habitual in their behaviors or whether they are open to new activities.
• Boomers are a curious and thoughtful group that value quality and family.

As a Baby Boomer, it is my hope that by posting this information it will change the way you market to Baby Boomers.

Can fear impact your sales?

First of all how would you define fear?

To me fear is a Funny Emotion Arresting Results. Yes when your prospect fears something about your product or service they won’t buy what is being offered.

Remember your clients never buy your product or service! They only buy the results your product or service will give them. So how do you help your prospective clients overcome their fear? I believe that the use of stories is the perfect way.

So what type of stories do you tell your prospects? I can tell you it is not stories about you and your business. I know that it is stories about how your product or service helped or impacted a client once the purchase was made. Remember all prospects are asking this question; what's in it for me?

If you would like to share any of your stories about how this has worked for you, this is an open forum to do so.

What is the best way to choose a client?

I think this is a very important question that many businesses don’t ask.

This is because I’ve been told that many times sales people have made a sale and the person turns out to be the Bride of Frankenstein or just Frankenstein.

Let me give you an example that you might relate to. Let’s look at dating, which is not much different than the first connections you make with a perspective client. You are trying to understand the person to see if there is a connection or if they value some of the same things that you do. If there is that connection you want to move the relationship forward, don't you?

So how should you choose your clients? This is achieved by getting to know them, and there is only one way to get to know them – that is by asking questions. No this is not an interrogation it is simply asking them questions so that you see if you are on the same wave length. No, it is not about talking about the weather. It is pointed questions so that you can understand the patterns they commonly use in a wide range of situations. 

You may be wondering why you would want to know that. It is because if you understand their thinking habits you will know how they will act during particular situations with you.

When you choose a client that way – it will be a lot smoother sailing for you and them. It will also create a situation where you will want to be in contact with them and give more customer service than they would even have expected. A good situation to be in, isn’t it?

“I’ll do it myself!”

How many times have you heard this from a child? While I believe independence is a great quality, I wonder if at times in business and life our independence hinders us.

Consider this real life example; a woman has severe pain behind her eyes and is taking pain killers to lessen the pain. Two days later she is rushed into a hospital and is diagnosed with an aneurysm (a blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel). At the end of the day, the reason why people have doctors is because they don’t have that expertise themselves.

It is the same reason why I get comments like this; “In the past we just pieced together ideas from many different sources for an ad. Then we would try to blend it so that it would work. With what you’ve done is listen to what we wanted to accomplish with an ad and then used your expertise to improve our idea so that it worked.” A. Waldner

To bottom-line it, the reason why business people have specialists is because they don’t have all that expertise themselves.

What does the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and you have in common?

No, I am not thinking of that!

In the mid 1960’s, Sports Illustrated was trying to think of ways to increase readership during the winter months. This was because the winter months were normally a slow time for sports stories. The editor decided that he would put pictures of models on the cover to increase readership. The method worked and the Swimsuit Edition became an annual event. 

Over the years Sports Illustrated has received much criticism for many reasons for their risk taking decision back in the 60’s. In fact in the late 70’s they received a large amount of criticism due to what a model was wearing. In fact they had 100’s of people cancel their subscriptions. Much to their pleasure the cancellations were small as compared to the increase in the magazines readership.

So to answer my original question - what does the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and you have in common, everything. Do you need all of your female staff wearing revealing swimsuits? No, not at all! You have to look at what is happening in your industry or business. Look for the challenges. When you have identified some unfortunate trends take some extraordinary action. By doing this you will transform your business. The rewards will always be in your favor when you make a bold well thought of decision.

A man goes to the Psychiatrist, feeling very upset and depressed.

The Doctor asks: "What’s the matter?"
The man says: "Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my wife comes home from shopping, she attacks me verbally."
The Doctor says: "I have a real good cure for that. When your wife comes home from shopping, just take a glass of water and start swishing it in your mouth.  Just swish and swish but don't swallow it until she goes to bed and is asleep."

Two weeks later the man comes back to the doctor looking fresh and reborn.

The man says: "Doctor that was a brilliant idea! Every time my wife came home from shopping, I swished with water. I swished and swished, and she didn't get upset with me! How does the water do that?"
The Doctor says: "The water does nothing at all…it just keeps your mouth shut."

I think every sales person can learn something from this story. We all can learn that there is a time to speak and a time to shut-up.

Outsmarting a woman?

A man calls home to his wife and says, "Honey, I have been asked to fly to Canada with my boss and several of his friends for a fishing trip. We'll be gone for the long weekend. This is a good opportunity for me to get that promotion I've been wanting so could you please pack enough clothes for a 3 day weekend. And also would you get out my rod and tackle box from the attic? We're leaving at 4:30 from the office and I will swing by the house to pick my things up. Oh, please pack my new navy blue silk pajamas.”

The wife thinks this sounds a bit odd, but, being the good wife, she does exactly what her husband asked.

Following the long weekend, he came home a little tired, but, otherwise looking good. The wife welcomes him home and asks if he caught many fish? He says, “Yes, lots of Walleyes, some Bass, and a few Pike.” He said, “But why didn't you pack my new blue silk pajamas like I asked you to do?” The wife replies, "I did. They're in your tackle box."

Other than this being a cute story – this is a reminder to remember that in business and in life - integrity is everything. The key thing to remember if you are not into integrity is to think about how many people will be told that you conned one person.

How happy were you with the Super Bowl commercial blitz ?

As you saw the Super Bowl commercial blitz has extended way beyond the Super Bowl game.

The companies who paid the marketers used every trick in the book to stand out before, during and after the game. Their goal was to build noise and not get lost in all the ad time bought by the other companies. At $3 million for thirty seconds of air time, the companies really have to look closely at their return on investment. Small companies must examine their return on investment as well.

The Super Bowl is all about hype, when you consider that one of the broadcasters had a pre-game show that lasted 8 hours long. Yes this is all about the ‘entertainment’.

It is my opinion that many of the companies bought into the entertainment value of their commercials as well. Yes all of the companies that bought airtime are well known companies. But have they forgotten that you advertise to bring prospective clients into your store or check you out on-line? Companies advertise/market to create income and to make a profit. If people are only entertained by an ad, how has that created income?

Consider the Volkswagen/mini Darth Vader commercial for a moment. The commercial was 1 minute long. The time you viewed the product/description or the iconic V.W. emblem was approximately 7 seconds. The question I have for you; is that enough time to convince you to shop for a Volkswagen?

The Power Went Out

Earlier this week the power went out in my office. This is getting to the point where I expect it to happen. Another thing I expect is that the power supplier in our area never explains why the power went out.They just send another monthly bill.

Our power supplier is a public utility. To me that means they work for the public, but it also means that they are paid by the public – in other words all of their other customers. What burns me is that they don’t seem to be accountable for what happens or even care to explain why the power outages happen.

I hope with your business if something happens that affects your customers you are honest and upfront with them to tell them what is going on. If not, your customer’s will soon be looking for other providers of their needs.

What about the ‘Generation Y’ buyers?

Yes these are those people born between 1985 and 2010. Some of you may be saying I don’t sell to those types. Well maybe not today. Although if you plan on staying in business or plan on selling your business to another owner you should be very aware of this generation.

This is the generation that has a massive amount of knowledge about electronic media. They also use this media to help them make their decisions. If you want to make your business aware to this generation you will never get their attention by using the old media types. This is because they don’t view the media the same as the generations that came before them.

Kenneth W. Gronback is a recognized expert in the fields of demography and generational marketing. According to Mr. Gronback; there was an irony to this generation. They have the potential of being the most consuming force in America’s history and yet they avoid conventional marketing and branding.

What does that mean for the long-term health of your company?

NFL lockout - imagine, the unrest!

Could there be no season, or worse could there be replacement players used. Yes, as this past weekend was the Super Bowl, I thought I’d give you my perspective on the potential of a NFL lockout.

What does that have to do with marketing? Well the NFL is no different than your business. If there is a controversy in your business, potential customers hear about it. According to David Carter, the executive director of the University of Southern California Sports Business Institute; "If (a strike) goes on through the summer and there's no football come September, well, there are very few winners here and a lot of losers."

Even if you are not a NFL fan you realize that it is big business. When this business fails to operate the way people think it should, it creates a ‘house of cards effect’. Pull one card that is the foundation of a house of cards and the rest fall. First of all the advertisers and the broadcasters, then there is the bars and restaurants near the stadiums, then the National Football League. No, I have not forgotten about the players they will lose as well. Considering they are the talent and at present earn 60% of the revenue, a work stoppage can have an enormous affect on their long-term earnings. This is because the average player only plays a very short time. According to the NFL Players Association the average career length of an NFL player is 3 1/2 seasons.

 

What I am saying is to remember that your actions can have an enormous effect on all aspects in your local environment. This local environment includes you, your staff and all the people you serve or work with. So the next time you make a decision, please view your actions from a big picture perspective.

How do the executives in the study by Deloitte with Forbes Insights assess their overall talent management program?

This was very revealing;

• 20% of the executives feel that they are world-class,
• 43% believed they are world-class in some areas,
• 26% felt they were adequate but needed to improve,
• 7% were getting by but needed significant improvements, and
• 4% were under-performing and needed radical improvements.

I say this is revealing because these companies are among the best in the world. A closer look at the data reveals that self-described “world-class” firms are setting a different talent agenda than their counterparts at other companies. The world-class firms strategic approach to talent includes having a plan and aligning their business and talent goals.

My questions for you are;

• Do you have a plan?
• Are your business plans aligned with your talent goals?

You may wonder why I spent this week discussing this study and including it in a marketing blog. My reason is very simple - the talent you have relates to and give life to all of your marketing. 

Where do executives expect to see talent shortages over the next year?

According to the study conducted by Deloitte with Forbes Insights, some of the shortages should be eye-openers for anyone in small business today. The results were;

• 52% in the Sales area,
• 47% in Customer Service, and
• 46% in Marketing.

If I were you, this is a wake-up call for all small business owners. You need to get out of your comfortable feeling and realize that Sales, Customers Service and Marketing are the only areas of your business that will keep you sustainable.

Without having people properly trained and executing these skills to the highest ability – your potential customers will go elsewhere.

To learn more about the art and science of marketing contact me at 519-539-2267.

Are you ramping up yourr social media programs?

According to the study by Deloitte with Forbes Insights; most executives seem to recognize we are living in the technology age.

Yes, these executives appear to understand we are living in the age of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, so they are ramping up their social media programs as part of their emerging talent strategies.

Of the executives surveyed, some industries outpace others:

-        Nearly four in ten (39%) surveyed Financial Services companies reported they will “significantly increase” their focus on social media,

-        along with 37% of Life Sciences/ Health Care firms and

-        33% of Technology/Media/Telecom companies.

However, only 20% of surveyed Consumer/Industrial Products and 21% of surveyed Energy/Utilities companies plan to do the same.

While this blog is about technology, it is also about how companies plan on communicating with their clients or potential customers. My next blog will focus on more areas where improved communication is needed according to the study.

More results from the study conducted by Deloitte with Forbes Insights

Executives who participated in this survey believe that “developing leaders and succession planning” is currently both a top concern and a top talent priority. They also believe this will be the number one talent priority three years from now.

Companies self-described as “world-class” have a clear sense of the pressing talent issues three years from now and are more likely to make investments in creating career paths and challenging opportunities for employees (46% for “world-class” firms vs. 36% for all others), developing leaders and succession planning (48% vs. 36%), and recruiting hard-to-find skill sets (42% vs. 29%).

The area that was interesting to me was recruiting hard-to-find skill sets. In future blogs I will identify what some of these hard-to-find skill sets are.