June 2012

Need4A Plan

It’s usually pretty easy to come up with a mission statement, a distinguishing characteristic of your organization, or even a unique selling proposition for your company. Leaders frequently focus on these concepts. Hours and hours will be spent figuring out what is most important to the company or the organization. Then you’ll typically decide how what you represent is communicated. It starts with the drive is to determine what you and your organization are all about.

Knowing what you represent is clearly important, but so is who represents you.

Have2Observe

The other day I took my son for ice cream at a local parlor and we were greeted passive indifference. The clerks had planted themselves at a table – were listening to hard rock music and we seemed to be interrupting their afternoon. We asked for a flavor they had listed, but it was too much trouble to go to the back and bring it out so we just didn’t get it. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but it was a lost sale for them.

Earlier in the day another clerk at a different place was so busy interacting with her manager and fellow employees she totally messed up my order and that was after she had asked me to repeat it - twice.

It’s wise to be sure of what your company represents – at the same time you have to pay close attention to who represents your organization. Are they polite? Are they aware? Are they engaging your customers or patients? How would you even know??? Strategic partners of B2C Enterprises can help you uncover your potential and current client service issues. If there is one thing worse than bad service, it’s not being aware of just how bad it is.

May 2012

Look2The Sea

While it’s true a lot of us look to water for perspective or to help us reflect, I want to share a story I heard recently that you may be able to use as a springboard even if you’re landlocked right now. The Sales Manager of a TV station in Central Virginia was telling me he’d had some time off recently. He accompanied his son’s elementary school class on a trip to the Virginia Beach area. They did the usual field trip sites – aquarium and museums, but they made time to see the ocean too.

Some of those kids had never experienced the beach, the tide, the expanse, or even the “sea girls” flying around above. It was a brand new experience.

Using His Story4Perspective

Can you remember the first time you saw the ocean or the grit of the sand between your toes? Probably not, but over time you’ve come to appreciate the expanse, the power, the calm, the beauty, and all the other things that drive so many of us to a shore of some kind.

Imagine the excitement some of those kids felt at seeing the ocean on that spring day in April.

Now capture that same rush and remind yourself why you took the job you currently have or how much you like solving problems or creating a product or a solution. Whatever it is you do on a daily basis could use a jolt of that same freshness. Everyone finds themselves in challenging times in business. The key is to push through them, anchor to a knowledge of why you are passionate about what you do, and take a new look at an old situation.

It’s kind of like you’re seeing it for the first time…

April 2012

Turn It In2Something Good

Early in my career I worked directly for six different sales managers over a period of about two years. It would have been easy to be distracted by all the various routines, demands, and processes each wanted me to employ as I was getting started in the advertising business.

All had things they could offer a young salesperson. Somewhere in the middle of all the changes I made a decision to try to grab on to some of the strongest elements of each of their styles. I took the prospecting plan of one, the relationship building skill of another and the inventory management strategy of a third. Over time these different managers’ ways were combined with my own experiences to help forge my own management approach. It actually helped me.

How Its Helpful4You

A lot of things may be working against you. There’s no doubt it’s easy to be distracted by things going on around you – mergers, cutbacks, slowdowns, budget freezes and turnover can hold you back from doing your best.

I don’t think you need a rah-rah, go take on the world pep talk. That’s not why I am writing this. Instead, I want to encourage you to pull back and evaluate those things that might be perceived as negatives by others. Take a look at the situations that are dragging down the people with whom you work and make a decision.

First of all – ask yourself if you can fix it. Then do so. If it isn’t fixable; figure out a way to take the negative and become stronger through it. Maybe you can take notes and set them aside for when you are the big boss. Or try using the time to hone specific skills. Perhaps you can get better at observing what people are really trying to say or communicate. Possibly it could be finding a way to be more creative. Whatever the outcome, you set the direction you are going to take through the choppy waters.

It may actually help you in the long run.

March 2012

Not2Be Confused

I listened to a recent radio broadcast of a college basketball game. The teams were moving up and down the court at a fevered pace. There was lots of movement and action – not any scoring. This went on for a few minutes and the announcer said something that caught my ear. He said, “Don’t ever confuse activity with accomplishment,” and it hit me.

In commerce - especially in sales and business development – that statement is the key to staying ahead of economic struggles and downturns. For years, I have encouraged Account Managers and Clients to review --- really review --- their prospect lists.

There is another big benefit…

Prescription4Change

Account Managers used to hold up their long list of prospective clients – kind of like a shield – to show me how much they had going and how hard they were working. Over time I learned to help my team evaluate how genuinely interested their prospects were in working with them. It didn’t take long for all involved to determine the list wasn’t as promising as the Account Manager would have hoped.

Never confuse a big prospect list with a good one.

It was scary for the reps to let go of some of the accounts they were working on, but the reality of figuring out who was really interested freed them up to go out and pursue other businesses. That ultimately led to them finding better and more interested prospects. They had a fresh start.

How about you? When was the last time you honestly evaluated who you were targeting?

February 2012

In2the House

There was something at the front door. It was the 2012-13 Yellow Book, but it could have just as easily been the Easy to Use One, the Verizon one or some other one. Phone books.

There are so many times people ask me about advertising in the yellow pages (or some equivalent). First of all, let’s agree on one thing – it isn’t advertising. It’s a directory. Next try doing a quick calculation with me…to say you use your yellow page directory 1% of the time would mean you spent about 15 minutes each day reviewing the book. I’m not sure that’s even possible

There are times and places where it can make sense for a business, but those instances are becoming less and less frequent. The book is closed 99.9% of the time.

Not4Long

It did make it into my house, but within hours it was out the back door and being recycled.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with someone who told me their organization spent over $750,000 in directory advertising each year. It is the fear of loss driving that. If you’re not in the yellow pages people won’t know how to find you, what you offer or how to call…

Nonsense. (Otherwise you could show me the McDonald’s, FedEx and Facebook ads in your local book)

Advertising, marketing, public relations, referrals and repeat business are the elements of a successful growth pattern for most all organizations. The web and smart phones have actually made that consumer contact easier. Even the directory representatives will confirm theirs is a shrinking industry. Don’t be afraid --- embrace the new and craft your very own plan.

January 2012

Priced2Sell

For the longest time I believed people bought primarily on price. The lower the price the better the chance someone would buy. Everyone loves a bargain right?

These days there are smart phone aps that allow you to stand in one store and check a competitor’s price right then. If the other location has something cheaper – you leave, go across town, and buy the same item for less money. As a retailer – you needn’t be afraid, but it should be on your mind as you do business. Be aware of price.

My Dad is a good consumer and he price shops (he also reads this newsletter). He’d drive across town to buy gas that is five cents per gallon cheaper. But even my Dad has his limits and as price conscious as he may be, it isn’t always the lowest priced place that gets his business.

During the winters he’s out in the Phoenix area and while he could choose a .99 cent tostada from Taco Bell on his Monday Night Mexican dinners, he never does. The tostada at his favorite place probably costs five or ten times as much – and he doesn’t use a smart phone to do a price check analysis.

Application4You

People can spend less, but can they get what it is you offer? While they can scan a price with their iPhone and see if it is less at the Big Box Store nearby, they can’t necessarily get the specific service you provide, the helpful tip your staff passes along, or the feeling of being known by name. They can’t count the economic velocity of keeping dollars “local”.

If you live by low prices – you’ll quickly learn – there’s probably someone who has them even lower.

Build value, offer a fair price and create an atmosphere people enjoy enough they’d pay a little more for the added experience. Then people will choose to do business with you – on purpose. Perhaps someday, Taco Bell will do fresh tableside guacamole and serve an ice cold margarita, but until then folks like my Dad are going to pay a few bucks more for their tostadas.