Remember the old saying, “curiosity killed the cat”?  Well, the lack of curiosity has done-in more than a few businesses and leadership teams.  Strong questions make a big impact.

We’ve all watched the lawyer movies and know the basic concept of never asking a question, to which you don’t already know the answer.  That makes sense in the court room, but skilled leaders know the value of asking genuine questions to gather new information.  That information can shape your sales approach, your company’s direction, the way your solution is framed, and a whole lot more.

That’s my premise and it’s one I stand by.  Opening questions in the sales cycle can get the conversation going. Gathering information sets the stage for better understanding. Good listening typically starts with strong and planned inquiries. Trial close questions can close the deal, for sure. So, what’s happened with the concept of asking good questions?

Get a lot More4Your Business

I’m not sure there is one specific answer, but rooted in the reply is the fact that some people seem to want to be the ones who know everything.  So, if you know what the person is going to say or are convinced you have the answer, then why ask the question?  Really! Why ask the question?

For the information gathered is the reason why.  To get to the heart of what’s on the person’s mind. To better understand their circumstances, goals, objections, and a myriad of other benefits.  It’s a basic, but important reminder.  Put more thought into asking better questions.  Not comfortable in a social setting, or on unsure footing with a boss or a co-worker?  Start by asking a few good questions.  If you listen and pay attention, you’re likely to get more good questions and gain valuable insight.  That’s the power of asking questions.

Uncovering problems, improving processes, learning why something works the way it does, or why it isn’t working at all, are all ways to gain new business and solidify the business you have.  It’s also the way to recruit new employees, retain your key talent, and build better relationships with those who work with and for you.  Think again about the value of a good question (or two) before that next big meeting with your client, prospect, or boss.

What will you ask first?

We get it. It’s a big commitment. You don’t want to invest all your time just to get hurt again. You want someone who listens and communicates, someone who supports your growth and grows with you, and most importantly, someone you can trust.  

When it comes to choosing a long-term partner, there’s a lot at stake. Finding the right customer-relationship-management system is a big deal (Well that took a turn, didn’t it!).  

Customer-relationship-management is a technology system that centralizes communication between your company and your customers. It does so by keeping a record of all customer communications via marketing and sales tools, such as digital leads and email campaigns. Known asa CRM for short (a nickname? so adorable!), CRM systems help ensure consistent messaging across various platforms for a business and serve as an effective lead generation tool.  

Things to do before you say yes.  

As you start to think about taking the next step with a CRM, we’ve written down some tips to consider before it comes time to define the relationship or “DTR” as the cool kids say.  

✏️ Know your needs.

CRMs help to strengthen communication with customers. Where is there opportunity to improve relationships? What are current communication roadblocks with your customers or stakeholders?Define your goals and have a clear strategy for what you’d like your CRM to improve. 10/10 do not recommend going into a relationship without clearly defining your standards and expectations.

✏️ Do your research.  

Check out various CRM platforms. Compare costs and identify integration opportunities.Does the CRM connect to your email campaigns, social channels, and sales tools?There’s no shame in considering all your options.

✏️ Gather internal and external input.

On your team, who will be using the CRM the most? Bring them into the conversation. Ask your employees for their thoughts and concerns. Also, see what other businesses utilize. We use Constant Contact as our CRM, but we’ll get to that later. Keep gathering input! Investing in a CRM is like investing in a long-term relationship – you want the people most important to you to support the big decision.  

Red Flags!

No matter how much work you do on your end, some partnerships aren’t meant to be. Avoid the heartache by identifying toxic traits and red flags in potential CRM systems.Save the Taylor Swift record, gallon of chocolate ice cream, and tissues for later. 

🚩Isn’t supportive 

A supportive CRM partner is there for you throughout your data and marketing sales journey. A little handholding can be nice. If your CRM isn’t user-friendly or doesn’t provide training and educational opportunities for you and your team, maybe it’s time to cut that negative energy out of your life.  

🚩Doesn’t communicate  

Hidden extra costs revealed after onboarding? Rolling outa major change to your main dashboards without proper notice? No, thanks! The right CRM will have honest, timely communication with you in order to foster success. If not, maybe it’s time to say you’ve met someone else.

🚩Refuses to grow  

Your CRM should grow with you. It needs to lift you up, not bring you down. Letting go of a CRM that doesn’t allow for customizations that help your businesses process improve may indicate that your relationship is going in different directions. Just like Ross, sometimes you want to P I V OT your strategy. Cue the Friends theme song!

Don’t settle! 

Did your potential CRM pass the red flag test? Congratulations! You are one step closer to finding the one (if only real dating was this easy...). Before there’s a ring on your finger, make sure the CRM checks all the boxes below to ensure you are choosing the right partner.  

✅ Practical

Complicated relationships aren’t worth it. Your CRM offers all preferred features and user-friendly practices and aligns with your industry goals.

✅ Adaptable

You’ve got big dreams, and your CRM needs to keep up. As a long-term partner, a CRM must be able to handle your businesses’ volume of marketing and sales data.

✅ Trustworthy  

All relationships are built on trust. A CRM houses all valuable data in one place, and it should be someone you can rely on when life is chaotic.

Having second thoughts?

We might just know the perfect someone for you.

At 5PointsCreative, our agency and a few clients utilize Constant Contact as a long-term CRM partner. SharpSpring offers reliable marketing and sales integration in a user-friendly format.  

By choosing SharpSpring through 5Points Creative, you’d have a real-life customer support team making sure you’re utilizing all strategic advantages. We’re basically the90’s rom com bestie.  

Lean on us anytime at:
5pointscreative.com/SharpSpring

Mister Starr was my 10^th grade geometry teacher. I didn’t do so well in his class. I do, however, remember him clearly reminding our class to “check your work.”  Admittedly, even when I checked it; I got a lot of problems wrong.  However, when I went back and checked what I was doing, I often found mistakes in my computations.

Today, when I write or do proposals, checking my work often results in me improving the product or finding a stronger way to communicate what I am trying to convey. Proofing your work is paramount to successfully completing a project, yet . . .

How often do we take a shortcut or completely skip that step?

Time is critical, and that proposal or piece of copy or social media post must get handled right away. We don’t have time to get a proofer on it. Frankly – you don’t have time to skip that important step. Trust me when I say, there isn’t a mistake made at my company that I haven’t made myself at some point in the last decade. Shortcutting the proofing process is one oversight I must confess to making more than once.

It’s an oversight I endeavor never to make again. Admittedly, I probably will, but there are always consequences when we do. 

Some Examples4You

Typos don’t just happen to regular folks like you and me. Here’s a perfect example of a network telecast in the NBA Finals on a major national broadcast.

It’s not just spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you want the best example of one of these errors that went uncaught you can message me on LinkedIn and I’ll share it with you personally so you can say, “wow."  

A proofreader will catch things that cause confusion too. Like the time I worked for an NBC affiliate, and they wanted us to sell commercials in an ice-skating sports special called, “Ray Charles on Ice." That event title could mean a lot of different things.

Often when we write we know what we mean, or we eliminate key words in a push to simplify, or to fit copy into a tight space. That can create problems too.  I’m sure this North Carolina convenience store marketing team didn’t intend that their sign would read the way this one does.

By now you get my point. “Check your work” like Mister Starr said. Get a fresh set of eyes on what you produce. And make certain that proofreading is a key part of your process.

Some of the best ideas are stolen (may I more politely say borrowed). 

Over 30 years ago I was a TV sales manager who called on businesses and ad agencies in Michigan. One agency founder had a fun title on his card, and I remembered that.  Fifteen years or so later, when I started my company, I decided I wanted to have some fun with our titles, as well.  Internally we all know what we do, but externally, we like to poke a little fun at the formal titles and let our experience and sunny outlook shape the language that distinguishes us. 

It's an attention getter and it’s on purpose. 

The same approach may not work in health care or finance.  It might not be great in city government, non-profit work, or in the legal profession.  But, in the world of advertising and marketing it’s a wonderful icebreaker.

And it’s intentional. 

A Different Look4Our Agency

In the past, some folks have questioned whether it comes across as unprofessional that we have a Quarterback, a Marketing Therapist, a Client Whisperer, or a Creative Alchemist.  It might do just that. People could prefer to know they are dealing with a Director of Operations, an Account Lead, or a Creative Director, but then again, they eventually figure it out and by then they are curious. 

If it does scare someone away, it probably wasn’t meant to be or wasn’t going to be a great fit for our team anyway.

It isn’t the only way we try to be unique or approach things differently, but in the universe of getting started in a business relationship, it presents an interesting calling card. We’ve done things this way for almost 14 years and it’s one of those special touches ­­that has become a habit and a part of our fabric. 

Recently as we onboarded four new employees, it gave us a chance to help them pick fun titles, stretch our creative brains, and remind everyone why it is we do what we do on our email signature and business cards.

Different is good. 

I thought so when I met the Big Cheese in 1992 and I know so now as an Advertising Czar.

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Fonts matter.  

So often in business a great deal of time is spent focusing on what we’re writing and that’s important. At the same time, it’s important to evaluate the appearance of what is written. Taking a closer look quietly makes a difference in the way copy is presented.  

I have three distinct perspectives from which I write business communications.

Intentionally, I have different signatures for each of three organizations in which I’m involved, and I use different fonts (and often colors) for each one. Sometimes when I am writing I find it helpful to present the emails in the style that represents that company’s branding or approach.  

So, I’d encourage you to think about the whole idea of evaluating the appearance of what you’ve written and understand why. Take the time to pause and double check tone, approach, and confirmation of clearly communicating your message.  

It’s not a multiple personality thing.  Don’t worry.  It’s a multiple font thing and it’s intentional.

And just like that, the holidays are already here! As you frantically hang the stockings with care or try to meet those 2022 goals before the new year, it's important to slow down this holiday season both in and out of the office. With these simple tips on how to unplug from work during the holidays, you'll be ready to enjoy the full experience of this season.

What does it mean to "unplug" from work?

There are different ways you can unplug from work, both literally and figuratively. Our recommendation is to start (literally) with technology.

While it may be tempting to peek at your computer and work emails as you take a break from gift wrapping, resist those urges! Leave your laptop in a safe place at home before you hit the highways for the holidays. Ditching the computer at home will remove your direct line to work responsibilities and clear your attention span for holiday fun and rest. Plus – maybe Santa will bring you fabulous gift to occupy your time.

Although unplugging could be extended to ALL technology, we understand the necessity of having your cell phone handy during the holidays for emergencies or those holiday pajama photos. However, you can still unplug from the work and personal social media platforms that you use on a daily basis. Challenge yourself this holiday season — no Facebooking, no Tweeting, no Instagramming — and especially no endless scrolling on TikTok!! What special holiday moment can you experience around you? If you're tempted to take a photo, try to save it on your camera or cell phone to post later. Those adorable family Christmas photos can wait until 2023!

Why should I do this?

Did you know that 38% of people say their stress increases during the holidays, and roughly half of holiday vacationers don't disconnect from work during their time off (American Psychological Association)? Constantly being in work mode can have a harmful impact on your creativity and productivity. The additional time you dedicate to work outside of rest hours can lead to prolonged exhaustion and create burnout – and nobody enjoys this experience!

There's a reason your brain feels so different during and after the holidays. A change in your daily routine stimulates the senses with new smells, feelings, sights, sounds, and tastes (especially when the smells are holiday cookies or Grandma's cooking). When you unplug from work mentally, your brain can rest from its usual routine and accelerate from sponging up all the holiday experiences. But even if your job doesn't require much mental strain or creativity (like an assembly line), your mind can still benefit from the change in the long run.

What are some examples of what I can do?

·      What concerns or worries enter your thoughts when you think about disconnecting from work during the holiday season?

·      Many people worry about not being able to disconnect from their colleagues or clients when they leave for holiday break. Our suggestion is to start with writing out solutions and a plan to address your concerns with your team before you all leave for the holidays. This way, you're leaving your teammates with an action plan to start smoothly in the new year.

·      This may require training employees or colleagues on certain aspects of your job, communicating your extra holiday vacation plans in advance to colleagues and clients, working ahead on certain projects, and creating temporary processes while you're away.

·      While this may seem like a lot of work up front, the idea is to create plans that help your team, your clients, and yourself so everyone can succeed.

Do these things before you leave:

·      Write down your list of concerns about what it means to disconnect from work.

·      Create a plan of solutions for each concern.

·      Bring in team members, employees, colleagues, and external resources to help with action steps on executing the plan.

·      Work ahead on projects or requests so that you return from the holidays to a milder workload.

·      Create temporary processes and communicate the processes to those who could be impacted by your extra time away during the holidays.

·      Set your out-of-office message, turn off email notifications, step back from your desk, and breathe. It will all be ok.

·      Keep your first day back at the office clear of meetings and commitments to allow time to catch up on emails and missed phone calls.

Do these things while you're gone:

Breathe. Drink a cup of hot chocolate. That's it! Feel the fuzzy reindeer socks on your feet. Hear that? It's holiday break. This is your time to step away from work and give yourself some space to be present and spend time with those you love.

However, if you are heading out for the holidays early and you're in a position where your team may need to reach you with questions, here are some helpful ways to handle incoming notifications while you're away (if you absolutely positively must answer):

·      If you are in a position where you must receive some work emails, set holiday break alerts on your email so that even if you don't check it every day, you can still stay aware of urgent issues.

·      Put your phone on airplane mode when you're away from work, so it won't distract you with unexpected calls or notifications.

·      Set recurring time blocks throughout your trip for digital detox time—after all, spending time with the people around you is part of what makes the holidays so valuable! Be sure to stick to these time blocks.

·      Create a new holiday tradition: food, activity, location, music, fun, chill time, etc. Experience something a little different than what you're used to during the holidays.

Do these things when you get back:

Coming back from holiday break can be the hard part, but it doesn't have to be.

• If possible, schedule an additional day off between traveling home and returning to work. This can be a day when you are home to unpack, catch up on laundry, or just take an extra 24 hours to rest. Holiday traffic can be a knock-out, after all.
• Make a plan on what is realistic to achieve the first day and first week back after the holidays. Perhaps include:

• Reading and responding to X number of emails or calls each day.
• Setting up meetings to touch base with your team or clients.
• Assessing how things went while you were gone and the next steps needed.

While it's crucial to success to take time away for yourself, it's just as important to plan how you will step back into work when you return. After all, you don't want to reverse the good things your holiday break brought you by trying to do too much when you come back to work!

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