Putting it in perspective

"Serving people an enjoyable experience."

-Michael Gill

Technorati Tags: Customer Retention Customer Service Michael Gill Starbucks saved my life

What's in a goal?

goal /goʊl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[gohl]

–noun

1.	the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

I find it interesting that the term "end" appears in the definition of a goal. Outside of sports do you really view the goal as the end?

In sales, the word "goal" is really just a synonym for benchmark. In January we all get new benchmarks (our boss will call them goals). And by September she'll be hounding you why you haven't beat your goal yet. But according to the definition, the goal is the end?

So have we taken goals for granted?

Don't you expect that your sales team will surpass its goal? Haven't you found yourself judging your best salespeople by the amount they pass their goal?-- I have.

Shouldn't the goal be something to aspire to and not just something to surpass?
Because when was the last time we saw a baseball player keep running the bases once he gets home?

Looking back

I found this video on the Catch-up Lady's blog today and find it a sobering reminder of the past.



Of course its quite funny, but it serves a purpose--given all the technology that we have access to today are we really faster?

In 13 years what will we look back at and ask ourselves-- how did we ever manage?

GM vs. Lexus

"You could start a fire on Lexus dealership lot and not get any help." This was a quote from our keynote speaker yesterday, in reference to the products you sell.

Think about for a second.

When you walk on a GM lot, how long does it take to get help? A minute, maybe two?

What about a Lexus lot? Does anyone help you?

This argument isn't indicative of just GM or Lexus, it has to do with public perception and desirability. Lexus knows that its products are desired, GM tries to make up in its desirability by approaching you immediately. By no means do you sacrifice customer service, but what would happen if you didn't call a customer back right away? Would you lose the sale? Depends on your product right? And I also think it has to do with your level of service. A customer will wait if they know when you call them back they will get 100% of your attention.

Here's and Idea for you...
In order to create desirability in your product it has to start with your service. Multi-tasking is a term that doesn't exist in customer service. Period. You do need to do many things at once, just not with a customer's time. When you talk to to them or interact with them it's 100% all the time, every time.

Unique is better than best

Every Friday I enjoy going to Burger King for lunch. But the other day a coworker suggested Hardee's. I scoffed at the idea- why do you want to go to that grease pit? But he insisted they had cleaned up their act.

So we went. I was ready for a huge disappointment, but much to my surprise they had in fact made the whole experience better. In fact it was so overwhelming that I went back the next day! Of course it didn't hurt that they gave me a coupon.

I was please to find the experience the same if not better! They gave me the discount off and let me keep the coupon.

So let's talk burgers. They do it better. Period. They serve them "pub style" half wrapped in paper (that makes a sound just like in the commercials). And they come in a basket. Inside they have guy specific advertising and movie trailers playing by the soda machines . One really neat nich idea is they ask you "for here, or take it with you?" not to go! Brilliant! One more thing--the burgers are all cooked to order, not nuked to order like other places.

So they not only do the burger thing better, but they do it uniquely! I came back for the quality burger but I was more enticed to come back for the uniqueness of the experience.

Here is an idea for you...
In everything you do shooting to be better is always the goal. But when was the last time you aimed to be the most unique?

I received a phone call from a customer the other day thanking me for sending out such "fun" e-mails. She enjoyed trying to figure out what was in each of them by the subject line-which is always unique. I aimed for her attention and chose to be unique to get it.

A good example of charisma

A good leader has charisma. So does some of the best CEO's. This is a prime example of highlighting charisma.

Its also the person I am caucusing for.

Technorati Tags: Charisma Barack Obama Motivation

What to do about Johnny ITKS?!

I have some bad news for you.

Johnny ITKS works at your company. And he works at everyone's company.

Who is Johnny ITKS?

Johnny ITKS is that salesperson that likes to be "in the know" with their customers. They think its a good thing to keep customers informed of every little detail about a plan or a product launch to make themselves look good. Johnny ITKS (in the know salesperson) is a very bad thing for your business. What Johnny likes to do is pretend to be friends with your customers by providing 'inside' information to them. What Johnny is afraid of is losing the customer. Therefore he tries to add value to the relationship by giving information to them that shouldn't be passed along. Not only does this devalue the brand in the customer's eyes but causes fear and doubt about company ethics. Remember all that money you spent on building you brand in an area? Johnny ITKS can make that a mute point in no time fast.

Now don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of your salespeople making friends with customers.

But you see, Johnny ITKS does so at the expense of the company. He plays friends with your customers on the pretense that he adds value to the relationship by 'helping' the customer cut through the clutter, mess, and evilness that is your BIG company. YIKES! In effect what he does is play good cop to your bad cop with a customer. He puts them under the impression that without that relationship they would be doomed! Doing business with your company would be a nightmare. But no worries Johnny ITKS is on their side.

What Johnny doesn't understand is that he can provide value to the customer relationship in ways that don't compromise your company's intergrity and value. He can provide meaningful solutions to the customers problems and by not wasting the customers time with frivious phone calls. And knowing when to say no.

So what can we do about a Johnny ITKS?
The first step is identifying one. This isn't easy and I don't have a fool-proof method for this. But before you start sharping your pitchforks and digging out your torches to go after the rookies you should know a thing or two about a Johnny ITKS. They can be any one of your sales team--rookies or veterans. Maybe one day you will get lucky (like I did) and have a customer forward you an email from a Johnny ITKS with the simple words "should I have received this?" My best advice is look for those within your staff who have an apparent disregard for sensitive information. Also, and hear me out on this one-always take the customer's side on everything and don't try to understand the who, what, and why of new policies or procedures.

The next step is to build loyalty to the brand in your sales staff. Start by not talking down to them, but up.
Huh?
In a recent Fast Company article one editor wrote about his experience working at an Apple store. He noted, "Many companies fail from the start by talking down to their new hires and using training materials geared for the lowest common denominator. Gap started employee orientation on the wrong foot by showing us a video about the perils of employee theft. Starbucks handed out Orwellian handbooks telling us to "Be Authentic." Such approaches produce cynicism and engender a fake sense of belonging, if any at all. Apple treated us like adults."
So talk up to your salespeople, make them want to have your brand as their next tattoo.

I realize all this may sound like a 180 degree turnaround from how this post started. But I believe the best way to get the most out of your team is to treat them in the highest regard. Too often I see companies treat their salespeople as well... salespeople. And you know that mentality will only breed that behavior from them

So here is an idea for you....
The next time your sales staff is in town. Treat them like the rock stars that they are. When they come to the corporate headquarters have ALL of your staff out front cheering them on as they walk in. (See iPhone launch) When they are to walk into the conference room for the meetings introduce them like professional athletes. Really! Have your ever been to a pro football, basketball, hockey game and not got chills down your spine?
Why do all this you ask? Well its my philosophy that Johnny ITKS can't exist in a company who treats him so well. You see it would be Johnny ITKS's guilty conscience that would get the better of him.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service Relationship Building Sales Fast Company iPhone Launch Apple

The 100th Post!

A lot of thought went into this post. Its the 100th!

That's a big milestone. Great TV shows hit 100 episodes.

So for this post. I will do a some shameless quick promotion and we will move on.

Here is the link to my website.

If you click here you can quickly navigate to my Linkedin page.

And the last one. My mom just opened her consignment store. So here is her website. And if you ever find yourself in eastern Iowa-- stop by and say hi to her!

R.I.P.- Door-to-door selling

Every Thursday evening this summer I religiously sat in front of the television and watched Mad Men on AMC. Thanks to my friend Nick who pointed it out, I became addicted very quickly.

That being said. In episode 11 a 1960's suburban housewife (Betty, wife of the main character) is called on one day by a door to door salesman who is selling air conditioners. Now, set aside all of the 1960-isms, think for one second about the success of a door to door salesman back then versus now.

Then: The chances of the door being opened were pretty high. Most housewives in suburbia stayed home, you could target affluent neighborhoods and get a good 'open door' rate.

Now: The chances of the door being opened are relatively slim. On the off-chance one is open it could be someone who works overnight. I Googled "door to door salesman" looking for a picture for this post and found this article. It sheds even more light on the environment that salespeople would face if they continued to do door to door sales.

So in this series I want to look at what trends in what I will call the modern era (1960-present) of selling that have died off. The first being door-to-door selling.

When did "the knock on the door" become more costly than a phone call? There had to have been one day when the CEO of Electrolux sent a memo to his sales staff calling them in off the streets.

When that day did happen what was the results and how did that change the landscape of sales? We can all look back now and see the that the next logical step in sales was the cold call and the catalog. However that is hindsight, so what was their foresight?

The point of all of this is to see what will be changing in our landscape and what we can do to anticipate those changes. I have to believe that one day sales will evolve from relationship selling to what?

Please post your comments.

Many versus one

A colleague of mine sent me this article.

I think its a great reminder that big things don't always motivate your staff.

I worked for a company once that gave away a car to its top performing manager. We all worked really hard to win the car, but in the end 99.9% of us got nothing for our hard work.
One person got a car (who coincidentally left the company less than a year later) and the rest of us got a congratulatory email.

Who is to say that the outcome would have been different if they spent that $20k on iPods. But what I can tell you is that I would at least have had something to walk away with in the end.

Whats my point?
I want you to be the person to stand up in the next meeting and advocate a smaller reward. One that can be shared company wide. Give everyone that sense of accomplishment and not just one person.

Perspectives and perceptions

I was at a car dealership last weekend having my Civic serviced when this came to mind.

Salespeople often lose the value perspective.

Case in point. I overheard a car salesman talk about the 3 customers he had to take care of today to get them in cars. To him it was 3 out of dozens he would work with.
To the customer it was the one most important purchase they would make this year.

Earlier this week I wrote a proposal for a new client. I won't brag the proposal wasn't that big in comparison to others that I have sent out.
But to the customer, it was huge! Ginormous! It was one of the most important decisions she would make this year.

So I treated it that way. It may not have been big in my perspective, but it was in her perception.


So here is an idea for you....
When you are preparing your next proposal or talking with a client put yourself back in their shoes. Or even your own shoes when you started with the company. Remember that first big sale, or account you landed? Its that way everyday with your customers.

Sure you may sell hundreds of widgets everyday, but your customer only buys one. And its the one that is the most important to her.

Second place thinking

I think this article points out two things:

1. Verizon doesn't understand the market
2. The problem of thinking your number two.

Clearly Verizon thinks its the touch screen that sells the iPhone and I can't totally disagree. The touch screen is a pretty sexy feature. But its not the only feature that sells the iPhone. Ease of use, intergration, and simplicity--not to mention it is the first phone to be that easy to use with that many features. But hey, if Verizon thinks its the touchscreen--well I guess we will find out if they were right.

Also, it points out the problem with thinking you are number two. Rather than actually listening to the pains in the marketplace, Verizon is deadset to make a phone to carve those iPhone users (or wannabe iPhone users) to their product.

Hey Verizon! Either people want an iPhone or they don't. Period.

So what about all the other underserved Verizon customers who could care less about the iPhone? I believe Verizon would be better served if they listened to their customers and gave the marketplace a product that served their customers needs instead of making a copycat product. WOW-What a concept!?!?! Maybe Verizon should think "Hey Apple has the iPhone, so lets set out to make an innovative flip-phone! And better yet lets ask our customers--the ones who will actually use the product for their input and suggestions".

Alright. So this was a bit of rant. But it bugs me to no end when all companies do to steal marketshare away from each other is copy products. Innovate! Listen to your customers! Why not go in another direction?

Here's an Idea for you...
When you are out talking with your customers-either on a sales call or a presentation. Listen to their pains, their concerns, and most of all their goals. This may sound basic but if all you do is refute your competitors claims you will always be second in the customer's mind.

Technorati Tags: Things that bug me Creativity Positioning Verizon iPhone killer

Convenient must know easy

For those of us iPhone users the much anticipated iTunes Wi-Fi Music store became an available download today. Like everything Apple when I went to sync my iPhone all of the necessary software automatically downloaded perfectly.

Within minutes I was on the iTunes music store sampling and yes.... buying music.

That's when it hit me. Not only was it convenient to do (I am rarely without iPhone in hand), but it was easy. The interface was intuitive to understand and unlike other cell phone companies it didn't require a manual to understand. In fact, my iPhone didn't even come with an owners manual because its so intuitive.

But we will save intuitive for another day. Today convenient and easy are intersecting.

Remember back when you were shopping with your mom at the grocery store? What was the best part (besides the cereal isle)? --Of course it was the checkout. That is when you could talk her into getting some candy. It was convenient--the candy was right there. And it was easy--simply put it on the belt with all the rest of the food.

Welcome to the essence of a quick and repeated sale.

When convenient meets easy you have a happy customer, a repeat customer, and a viral customer. If its easy to buy your product, people will happily buy and buy and buy. Then they will tell their friends to do the same.

Look at what happens when convenient doesn't know easy. Take cigarettes for example. They are convenient--right behind the cashier. But not easy--you have to show your ID. But that works perfect for that product.

And when easy exists all on its own. There is a take and bake pizza place in my city, but its on the other side of town. It's easy to order when I get there, just not convenient--so I don't get there very much.


Here is an idea for you...

Do you make it Convenient to oder or re-order your product?
-A website, an 800 number, or a fax number.

And if you do--great! But now how easy is to use those methods?
-Is the website confusing?
-The 800 number buried on the order form.
-A fax number that is always jammed.

Convenient must know easy, and easy should have convenient on speed dial. As for me--I am back on the iTunes Wi-Fi site where easy and convenient are on a honeymoon in the repeat sale islands

tags technorati : Creativity Customer Service iTunes Wi Fi Music Store iPhone Easy Convenient

Inspiration

A blog posting inspired by Jessica Hagy.

Technorati Tags: The Perfect Job creativity

rev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee /part deux

Can revolutionary be in the eye of the beholder?

Take the iPhone for example. It is not a revolutionary product.

Prior to the iPhone you could use a mobile phone to text, send email, hear voicemail, surf the web, and view your contacts, etc. No big deal. But if all (or almost all) of the features of the iPhone were available on other phones why were mobile companies so afraid when Apple announced it was joining the fray?

Because they have a history of taking ordinary products and making the use of the product revolutionary.

Before iPhone using all these features were difficult. I had a web-enabled phone and never used the web feature. I didn't know how, and couldn't figure out how to navigate within it.

What makes the iPhone a market changing device is Apple's approach to make the interface revolutionary.

Here's and idea for you...
If your company isn't in the habit of making revolutionary products, they can stand out by making revolutionary processes. If you sell widgets just like five or six other competitors why not make your order process the simplest?
That's revolutionary in the customers eye.

To be revolutionary you need to question the norms of your market. Then you need to make the norm the simplest, easiest, fastest.

Now watch your competitor's customers question why it should be so difficult to do business with them and not your company.

Technorati Tags: Creativity Customer Service Differentiation

Changing the rules

Remember when you were on the playground as a kid. It never seemed to fail, there was always one kid that changed the rules when they weren't winning.

You could never win. The rules kept changing.

So what happens when Apple decides that they priced the iPhone too high?

They changed the rules. They said--now its $399.

But wait. What about all of those early adopters that spent $599, not but a few months ago?

Did they just get trumped by the big machine? I think Apple was right in changing the price. $599 was high, but I don't they were right in their timing. Apple was the company that taught us $349 was the right price for music in our pocket. They were also the same company that said you should get what you pay for. So-- to have the internet, phone, ipod, YouTube, etc. in your pocket will cost you.

They just did the price decrease too soon.

Technorati Tags: Apple iPhone $399 Customer Retention Positioning

rev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee

adjective, noun, plural -ar·ies.
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
2. radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure, principles, etc.: a revolutionary discovery.

I heard this term used in the hallway today and it caught my attention. 

Revolutionary....

What have you done that was revolutionary lately?

What has your company done that was revolutionary?

Is revolutionary anything we strive for anymore?

Is revolutionary possible?

Who dictates something as revolutionary?

Can the market accept revolutionary products, or are we bound to mediocrity?

These are some questions floating in my head. Please post your answers in the comments area.

The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website!

Random Crap for Sale

I check woot.com everyday for two reasons.

1. They inspire me to write good copy. Seriously. If you need a boost in the creative rear (pun intended) woot.com is a great place to go.
2. I like seeing what the deal is-because it changes daily.
   

So when they were selling a bag of crap today I was intrigued.

What? How-can-you-sell-that? Has the world gone mad?

Nope.

Check out the copy that they wrote.

Bag O’ Crap XXI

Wait, wait, why are you clicking that button? Don't click! You don't want this junk. Seriously, clicking that I WANT ONE button is a one-way ticket to disappointment and shame. You'll cram a few useless clumps of consumer flotsam into your life, be out like eight bucks, and for what? For what? What is the sound of one hand crapping?

If you must proceed, CHECK THIS OUT. Somebody misunderstands this concept every time, so please READ THE BIG PRINT:
1. WHEN YOU ORDER THIS ITEM, YOU’RE ORDERING ONE (1) BAG WITH up to THREE (3) PIECES OF CRAP IN IT.
2. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SELECTING THE QUANTITY: THREE WHEN YOU ORDER.
3. YOU WILL WASTE FREIGHT IF YOU ORDER FEWER THAN THREE. And you’ll get less crap. Wait, why is that bad again? Do you people really need more crap?

You’re only getting one bag, no matter what. The order quantity you select is the number of crappy items we’ll put in your bag. Select THREE. Later, you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of taunting the surprisingly large number of less observant Wooters who ordered less than THREE.
As usual, we promise nothing about the quality or the desirability of these bags or their contents, except to promise that their quality will be low and their desirability will be non-existent. The best quantity you could possibly order would be ZERO.

THE HOLY CRAP COMMANDMENTS v2.0:
I. Thou shalt expect nothing beyond one bag of some kind and your chosen quantity of crappy items (which should be THREE).
II. Thou shalt not whine and complain when some people’s crap turns out to be nicer than yours.
III. Thou shalt take a moment to consider whether you might be better off just not buying this crap.
IV. Thou shalt not order just one crap and blame it on anything but your own inattention.
V. To paraphrase Stephen Stills, shalt thou not get the crap you want, want the crap you get.
The crap will be shipped via SmartPost, the crappiest shipping method available to us.

So you saw what they did there right?

First of all its woot.com, they have built a reputation with their customers that they are unique, they are not for everyone, and they are perfectly happy with that.

But look at how the marketing department addressed this problem (because honestly selling a bag of crap is exactly that).They didn't see the problem of selling the bag of crap, they only saw a problem of how many items can they convince someone to buy. So they just starting closing the sale right in the description.

Wow. What a great concept! They got this internet thing down perfectly.

Here's why.

• I went to the website with the idea that I more than likely would buy something if it was cheap.

• A $1 is cheap and really $3 bucks isn't much more, so yeah. Sign me up, I'll take 3.

• So rather than trying to sell me, the moved in for the kill right away, and just closing the sale by telling me I need to make sure there is 3 in quantity of the order. And if I don't put a 3 in the quantity I am stupid and getting taken advantage of.

Wait. I am not stupid, I know that I can order 3. I'll show them, I will put 4 in the quantity and press checkout!
Rats! Its already sold out. Now I really want one! Hang on. One what? One bag of crap that someone else just bought? Yup. Now I feel left out.


Here's an idea for you...
When was the last time you prematurely went for the jugular right away with a sale? I work with salespeople everyday, and every day I see them being very timid about closing the sale.

Stop being timid!

Go in for the kill, worst case scenario they will say NO. But in that 'No' your going to find out a key hurdle you needed to overcome a while ago. So now you can start addressing it.

Now, I wouldn't advise you to tell your customers you think they are stupid. But you should know that people don't like to feel stupid. So perhaps we should point out how smart other companies have been because they bought your product.

So what have we learned.
If you have a great reputation you can sell crap in a bag. Check that, you can sell out of crap in a bag.And we need to take a page from woot's book and start closing the sale sooner. They went in for the kill on a bag of crap--and sold out. If they can sell out of crap, why can't we sell the out of the best product in the world?

Technorati Tags: Advertising Creativity Positioning Sales Tools woot.com great copy inspiration

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The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website!

There's a widget on your blog!

I spent 5 minutes tonight with iTunes and added an iTunes widget to my blog.

Why?

Because its great sales and marketing on Apple's part. And doesn't everyone care what music I listen to?

Hmm. Maybe not.

But it looks neat right?






So then its more about the viral marketing part. Apple hopes that you will come to my blog, like my music, click on the widget and buy some music from the iTunes store. Ok, I will buy that.

But I think it has more to do with the bottle water theory. You have heard that before right? People don't buy bottle water for the water, they buy it for the 'coolness factor' of being seen drinking bottle water.

Well then let's go with that in our kudos to Apple and their new widget. They increased my coolness factor by making this blog just a bit better looking, and my social status as someone who buys his music from the iTunes store. So as you read through some postings feel free to take a moment to admire my new widget.

Its cool. And I am cool for having it. Aren't you jealous?

Here is an idea for you....
With Apple's new widget they are definitely upping the exposure of iTunes to the few non-iPod owners. (Honestly I only know 1 person that doesn't have an iPod.) But in doing so they made it fun to do and increased my brand loyalty. So when was the last time you gave someone a reason to "tattoo" your brand? Sure we don't all sell music and movies, some of us sell a bit less interesting things like test assessments. But allowing your customers access to fun webpages to create a widget with your logo is a perfect way to bring viral marketing in through the front door.

So what is your idea to increase brand awareness?

Technorati Tags: Branding Creativity Product Placement iTunes Widget

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The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website!

I am reading labels again

I like the trend I am seeing in marketing copy for products today. Gone are days of boring promises that a product will do this or that.

That's old school.

New school today is all about the story.

Yesterday, while out for a ride on my bike I stopped for some fuel. Both for myself and my bike. As I perused the cooler filled with energy drinks and the usual gatorade type-super-carbo sports drinks. I came across Vitamin Water. It looked so un-pretentious in its simple two color label-as opposed to the flash and glam that seem to be the norm for sports drinks. So I picked it up. And on the back was story.

"in soccer (excuse us mexico, spain, and italy, we mean 'futbol'), there isn't a more exciting moment than when the announcer screams 'goooooooooal' (yelling 'oooffffsiddde' never quite caught on).

with that said, we added b vitamins and guarana to give you an extra kick (pun intended). so now when your watching soccer, playing soccer, coaching soccer, driving kids to soccer or doing anything that starts with 'socc' and ends with 'er', you too can have the energy of a raving lunatic to yell 'goooooooooal.'"

Now I don't listen to too much futbol as an American, but I know what they are talking about. And the few times I have listened to futbol its quite exciting when a goal is scored.

So for $1.69 + tax I got an exciting little vignet in my head to think about as I passed the two minutes it took to drink my Vitamin water. Perfect. In the 84 words they carefully placed on the bottle only 12 actually spoke to its benefit! And did so in a beautiful way.

Do I know what guarana is? Nope. I am just glad that someone does and they tell me it gives me a kick.
Works for me.
I don't need the encyclopedia version-just the Cliff notes version will be fine. And if you frame it in a good story so that I can remember it- all the better. Now every time I see guarana as an ingredient I will think kick.

And while I am thinking about places to find inspirational copy. I have to point out woot.com. It's a great little site that only offers one item for sale everyday. That's it, just one item. And when it sells out you can check tomorrow for a new item. But more importantly, its the copy that sells the items. Depending on the day, it can be anything form a cooking set to flash drive. But one constant is the story they tell you, the story that makes you want to buy the product.

Here's an Idea for you

Telling a story isn't a new idea. Fables have been around for years (remember Aesop). And the idea that consumers need to be told a story isn't a new idea either (Seth Godin-the modern day Aesop brought it to my attention). But in a time of ever increasing sales goals, and demanding margins what ever happened to the story?
I suggest you start telling more stories with your product. That way consumers like me can pass the story on to our friends-and on to their friends- and so on. By giving me (the consumer) a story, I feel more connected to the product and thus more likely to recommend the product.

So next time you stumped for good copy. Run out to the store and pick up a bottle of Vitamin Water and go Woot.com. In nothing short of a few minutes you will be revitalized and inspired to write good copy. And you might get a great deal on a universal notebook dock, or maybe t-shirt.

Technorati Tags: Creativity Branding Packaging Aesop Seth Godin Vitamin Water Woot.com creative copy

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The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website!

One call, one person

A while back I pointed out a phone call I had with American Express and the positive experience I had.
The best part of the conversation I had that day was it revolved around one person solving all my problems.
I have more good news. That great virus is spreading into other companies. It should really be no surprise that my local bank can do exactly what American Express did. Really it speaks more to the level of customer service from American Express when they provided me that level of customer service. But the other day I called my local bank to update my address. The person that picked up the phone changed my address, answered my question, and promised to send me more information that I was requesting.

One person-solving all my problems-what a great idea! But...

That shouldn't be all that great, if you think about it. The problem is that we (as customers) have become so accustomed to hitting the phone tree maze that we really take it for granted.

What a shame.

Here's an idea for you...
When was the last time you called in to your customer service department? How many times were you transferred to different people to solve simple problems. I would advocate that everyone in customer service take a page from Apple. Think of how it should work, and make that the standard. Don't look at how everyone else does their customer service, think of the ideal experience and replicate it 500 times (or more) a day.

Just because everyone else has massive phone trees doesn't mean you should. Sometimes its the simplest of measures that will make your customers the happiest. Happy customers always equal buying customers.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service Relationship Building

I Rock!

In my daily perusing of blogs, I read this entry from the 'Catch up Lady'.
Her blog is a must read.

Anyway in her post she mentioned a snafu in Technorati that listed every blog as #1. Being the pessimist I am I just had to check to see if I had propelled up the ranks.

Sure enough. I am number #1!

I am going to soak this up. Thanks for pointing it out Catch up Lady!

Technorati Tags: Technorati Catch Up Lady

The problem with bill

Earlier this week I was in a financial meeting where our new financial system was unveiled for fiscal year 2008.

Our accountant proudly stood up and proclaimed.

"Starting in 2008 we will bill our clients daily."

Dead silence.

"... and are our clients happy about this?" asked my marketing counterpart (we have two divisions-long story).

"Well, I don't know. But they always pay their bill." the accountant sheepishly replied.

And so began a long debate with marketing and accounting as to when we should bill our clients. To the point that I finally stood up and said...

"Why don't we ask them?"

It may seem like a no-brainer. But it was a question that no one was asking. I wondered why we would spend all of our money trying to land clients if only to tell them how we were going to do business with them! I mean honestly. We get them in the door, wooing them every step of the way. Then once we decide to go beyond dating and actually make this relationship go, we suddenly lay down the law and dictate the relationship.

WOW. That was a scary moment for me.


Here's an idea for you.

If your in sales or marketing you know that customer satisfaction is your main priority. But everything shouldn't be on your terms.
Take billing for example.
Would it be easier to increase business just by having flexible billing?
Why not let your customers speak out--have them take a survey.

There are dozens of free online surveys available.
- www.freeonlinesurveys.com
-www.surveymonkey.com

My point is that its really simple to avoid the bill problem and not that expensive to increase sales. Changing your billing cycle to land more customers--seems like a no-brainer for me.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service Accounting Billing your clients Survey monkey free online surveys

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The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website!

Revolutionaries and Kool-aid

Today is Friday June 29th. The day that Steve Jobs revolutionized the wireless world. Admittedly I drink the Apple kool-aid, I have a Macbook Pro (that I am proud to say births all my posts) and 3 iPods, well 4 if you count the one that tragically fell from my motorcycle while speeding down the highway.
She didn't make it. RIP-nano, you will be missed.

So back to Steve and the iPhone. Today, he not only revolutionized the wireless world. But he got people to pay $600 for a cell phone. Unheard of I tell you, completely un-heard-of!

How did he do it? Advertising aside, I want you to watch this video from Cnet, which shows the opening at the New York store.

Apple employees outside, lined up, clapping! It was a premiere, you felt good about buying a phone and spending $600! (I will be buying mine in the next couple months, my cash flow isn't where I would like it to be).

But when I do, I will think back to today. The day that the Apple team, made their customers feel good about spending money with them.

The Selling Point:
Apple believed that the product they where making would revolutionize the industry... and the jury is still out. But they made each and every customer feel important and a VIP for getting one. They had their WHOLE team on board. And while I wasn't in New York to buy an iPhone, when I buy mine in 3 months I bet I will leave with that same enthusiasm. Even though there won't be employees outside cheering my purchase.

So my question to you is this: When was the last time you had customers leaving feeling the same way the new iPhone customers were feeling? When was the last time you cheered to do business with a client? Was it just another client, or did you give them the red carpet treatment?

And when will someone please write a book about the psychology of selling that Apple has employed since the return of Steve Jobs?

Technorati Tags: Apple iPhone Customer Service

In over your head

Ever interview for a job that didn't think you would get?

I have. And oh, I have made some mistakes.

But you learn and move on.

My first (and biggest) mistake was I lacked a WOW factor. I wasn't prepared for the questions, I hadn't done my homework on the company. I did nothing to wow them.

What does all this have to do with selling?

EVERYTHING.

If you sell, you are interviewing everyday. Before you walk into a clients office, your research their pains, know the challenges they face, and how YOU can fix it.

Selling can make you interview great. Interviewing can make your selling great.

The Selling Point:
If your a great salesperson there is no job you can't attain, I firmly believe that. I interviewed candidates today that lacked a wow factor. They were great salespeople, but they lacked the leave behind, that nugget of knowledge that made me remember them. They needed to go back to interviewing school. If I couldn't remember them, how could their customer remember them? If you sales are slumping go out on an interview or two. Your going to either find a weakness in your sales pitch or a new company to work for. Either outcome will be a positive for you.
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The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website!

Technorati Tags: Creativity Motivation Differentiation Interviewing

A Marketer's responsibility

Just because we can, doesn't mean we should. Yesterday, on yahoo sports, I read that they were selling tickets to the right field and filling the seats! The catch? All you can eat at the stadium, dogs, nachos, soda--it's a free-for-all in the right field.

This is all an attempt to increase game attendance and fill the typically empty right field. I am calling it 'The gut appeal'.

What an easy way out. I can just see the headline in a year or two 'Dodger fans: the fattest on earth'.

I highly doubt the reason people were not attending the games was the price of the food. If I had to solve this problem I would give fans a reason to attend and buy tickets in a certain section.

I would make it unique to increase the experience of the game and not their waistline.

Let fans in those seats experience a different side of the game, have players enter on their side of the stadium, make them available for autographs to only ticket holders in those seats.

The Point?
It's easy to temporarily drive up sales or attendance by motivating your base with gluttony, but you have a greater responsibility. When those fans go to the game, they'll say they go for the food, not the love of the game. They don't go because they are brand loyal, they go for the freebie. When people buy your brand do they buy for the discount? Or do they buy because they are loyal to your brand?

Technorati Tags: Advertising Customer Service Positioning Dodger Dog Yahoo Sports

Toilet water

That is how I expressed the quality of leads I saw coming in from our sales staff after they attended trade shows.

Specifically I said "If you want me to keep giving you toilet water in Salesforce.com I can, but lets try something different."

Sales people hate different. We like to keep doing the same thing we have always been doing but we expect better results.

Different means change, scratch that different means work.

The culprit was those instant scan machines we all love to buy at trade shows. In the past we purchased one for every trade show that offered them. We loved them! And why not, they gave us tons on names at the swipe of the card! How easy was that? TOO EASY! I say, too easy.

When the leads got back to the office, many if not most were only mildly interested in our product. In fact, in the year prior we only closed one deal from a trade show that we had used a card scanner. ONE! That is horrible.

---------------------------------So I drew a line in the sand.---------------------------

"We are going to try it my way." I said. "For this next (major) trade show you don't get a scanner."
I saw them begin to light the torches and gather pitchforks, but I stood firm.
Instead you get lead pads to have the customer write their name down, or you could do it for them. On the back I want information about the discussion you had and their needs.

I don't care how many you come back with, but make sure the ones you come back with were meaningful conversations.

A hush came over the room.

You mean we aren't being graded on whether we come back with a lot of leads?

That is exactly what I am saying.

If you wanted a bunch of leads, I could save us a ton of money by not sending you, the booth and putting you up in hotel by simply buying the conference registration list. A few hundred bucks, and we could ding them via email, direct mail, whatever. But what would that get us? Nothing. I would rather have someone (who knows what their organization needs) stop by and have a conversation with us. That is where the value of the trade show pays for itself. It is that conversation that makes it invaluable that we attend the trade show, we have to open up the lines of communication.

The Selling Point:
In my organization trades shows get a bad rap.
Upper level management has a hard time wrapping their head around the ROI factor, to be honest I think they view it as a vacation for the sales staff. And I am going go out on a limb and say that your organization is the same way.
Which is too bad.
Think of how much money it would cost to send your sales people out on 50 calls around the country. Now deduct how much it cost you to send them to this ONE trade show and have 50 conversations. This is how much you are saving by sending sales people to a trade show.
But sending is only the first part.
Give them parameters to work by, number of conversations they should be having. Not number of leads they came back with.
Conversations are key to starting a friendship with a customer. You don't just call someone up and ask to be their friend. You both identify how your needs can help each other.

Technorati Tags: Trade Shows Relationsip Builiding Things that bug me Lead Generation

Friends first, customers second.

The ebook is here!

Friends first, customers second--the approaches I use for every sale, every time.

Click here to download it for FREE from my website! And you can (if you like) make a donation, but its not required.

It is required is that you blog, email, and share this with your friends and colleagues. And while you are at add me as a friend on myspace.

tags technorati : Branding Sales Tools Free ebook Mike Gerholdt

Mark your calendar

May 21st, a FREE eBook for everyone that is in sales.




In the meantime check out my new site that will house the eBook.

http://mikegerholdt.googlepages.com

Technorati Tags: Sales tools Free sales eBook

It's about the customer experience

Plain and simple. You can sum up all the Mac ads as "What's in it for the customer?" That's it plain and simple. It is not about the computer how fast it is, you may be lead to believe that in some of the ads but it all boils down to one mantra: what is the customer experience.
Customers rate their experience with a company the moment they walk in, or in this case turn on. Apple knows that and they sell you on the experience of owning a computer. And for those of us that are Mac owners we know that they deliver on that promise with a great user experience.

So my question to you is: When was the last time you took a look at your product from the customer standpoint? How easy is to purchase your product? And the toughest one of all, how hard is it to be a customer with you? Look for those answers, you may be surprised.

Handshake and a hello!

Remember not too long ago I got a mailer from Mr. Movies addressed to Resident?

I do.

And I really didn't care for it because they didn't know my name.

But this last week I was impressed. No wait. I was blown over.

To be fair, as of Monday April 30th I wasn't the biggest fan of the Hilton Family Hotels. They lost my reservation in Dallas and in New Orleans they put me in a smoking room. Which for those of us non-smokers is like sleeping in a bar. The list is probably longer of things that have happened to me but I just quit counting.

But they won me back. Yes, after all that I would recommend a Hilton and its not for the new Be Hospitable campaign, which is cool I must say.

They did it with a simple handshake and a hello. Just that easy.

Well actually not just that easy, you see it took an entire staff's dedication to customer service. This last week while staying at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans and hosting a conference every member of the staff remembered my name. At least five or six times a day hotel staff would come and check on our status of the conference rooms, lights, equipment, and everything else. And every time they would remember my name.

Every time!

Oh, but the nay-sayers would have you believe that its because we were they hosting a conference. Sure, that could have been it. If we were the only ones in the hotel having a conference. But the Sugar Bowl commitee was there with convention, a large pharmaceutical manufacturer was there with a sales convention, and well you get the point. No this was dedication on the staff's part to customer service pure and simple. To be fair they did move me out of that smoking room, but after having some time to think about the whole experience it was the handshake and a hello that really put them in my good graces.

The Selling Point:

So this wasn't just meant to be a great plug for the Hilton Riverside New Orleans, but if you are down there... No it's not that, this is intended to remind you that the simplest of gestures can win your customers back. Even those that are hardcore against you. Some may take more than just a handshake and a hello, but it can be done.

Take the first step today do one small gesture to win, keep, and turn all of your customers into champions for your product.

What is the first thing you will do?

Technorati Tags: New Orleans Hilton Hotels Mr.Movies Be Hospitable Customer Service Relationship Building

Give'em a hand!

By no means these hands are idle, but it's not until the last five seconds that we learn its a beer commercial, until then your eyes are glued to the screen as hands morph and change to the beat. At the end we are even rewarded with a microsite www.guinnesshands.com.
When you visit the site I was surprised to see it was all about the filmmaker and not the beer. In fact you can even produce your own "hands" film.

So this weekend have a Guinness and tell your friends.

And one other thing, is it just me or did we get flipped the bird?

Put your customers to work

By all means this isn't a new concept, but in a meeting a few days ago it was scoffed at when I mentioned it.

The concept I proposed was putting our customers to work for us, making them the evangelists for our new program.

Not really something my company embraced.

In fact they were far from it. Too bad really, because your best customers can be better than some of your salespeople. They already have the trust, rapport, and correct message for the audience they speak to. But lets get into that another time. Or read this great blog by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba.

So for the sake of argument let's say that my company (or yours) embraced the idea. How easy would you make it to spread the word for them? Would you do anything at all? And more importantly, what would you do for them?

Fortunately for us we can turn to our political candidates for the answers. Yup, the candidates are now doing a fantastic job of recruiting every supporter to help spread the word. This last Sunday (Earth Day) I attended a rally in Iowa City for Barack Obama. Later that night, I went to his website to see what else I could learn. His site is a case study in using word of mouth and social networking for recruitment. You can set up a personal profile, find other supporters in your area, blog to other members, and watch videos.

What does this all sound like?

Hmm.

Maybe myspace, blogger, and youtube all wrapped into one. Of course he has links to profiles on all the social networking sites, but the best part is its one stop shopping. Everything I need is located in one location, and the best part is that it is user friendly, even for those a little less web-saavy.

The Selling Point:
Whether or not you are actively engaged in making your customers do work for you, some of them have the ability to move mountains. But they can only do so if they are properly equipped. So why not start today by setting up a page so they can watch videos of customer testimonies, you could have youtube host it. Make it easy for them to set up a members or customers area to find other companies looking for the same solution that you provide. And give them the tools to post everything they find to a blog or social profile. Chances are your customers outnumber your salespeople, why not properly equip them to spread the word?

Who knows they may be motivated to do this...

Technorati Tags: Creativity Lead Generation Sales Tools Church of the Customer Ben McConnell Barack Obama Word of Mouth Advertising

Cactus gets it!

More on how I found this later, but more importantly Cactus, an advertising agency out of Denver Colorado, gets it!

What's "it"?

They don't try to just make the sale, they try to make a friend. They know if they do this successfully the business will grow and there will be a greater chance for repeat business.

Keep this in mind the next time you are in contact with your customer and ask yourself: am I trying to make a friend or make a sale?

Kudos Cactus for posting this right on your website for all to see. This is one of the best mission statements I have read.

Technorati Tags: Advertising Branding Creativity Cactus Denver Colorado Mission Statement

Be unexpected.

Scott reminds us the importance of a great customer greeting. They know what to expect when they walk into a store or pick up the phone and already have a pre-programmed answer for you.

But what if you catch them off guard?

Read his post: From greet to great.

And remember the customer experience is everything that touches the customer.

Technorati Tags: Differentiation Retail Sales Tools Scott Ginsberg

Customer Service climatology

I realize that this is probably my third or fourth post about Blockbuster, but like I said when someone does it right they deserve praise.

I am sure we have all been there, a busy retail store crowded with customers, and lacking in customer service. For some reason, I don't know why, corporations seem to think the best way to save money is to cut the number of employees. And for some reason its always at the busiest times that they seem to be short on help.

Last Friday night I walked into Blockbuster video, it was busy weekend and the store was packed. Yet while I was walking around, I was asked three times if I need any help.

Three times, thats a lot!

When I got to the check out, not only did they have all the registers fully staffed, but someone was helping a customer sign up for Blockbuster Total Access. This is customer service!

The Selling Point:
The next time you rank your company's customer service don't look to a Tuesday night, or times when your slow. Check your customer service levels when you are maxed out on customers, only then will you get a true sense of the areas you are weak and the areas you are strong.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service Blockbuster

What's the Ask?

Anytime I submit a piece of marketing materials for approval from my boss, I get one question.

What is the ask?

To him if it is not apparent why we should spend the money on something he wants to know what we will get in terms of ROI.

Fair enough and sometimes the answer requires a long winded explanation.

Today I got an email from Nike featuring the famous "Thank you" ad that Nike ran in the Sunday Edition of the New York Times, as well as banner ads around the city. Read more about it here.

So my question to Nike and to you is, what is the ask?

• Increase awareness on an already controversial issue that can somehow translate into shoe sales?
• Improve brand identity by showing support for a school you are already affiliated with?
• Or was it to merely show your company has a social conscience and able to keep up with current events?

I know if I had to try and describe to my boss what "the ask" was on this campaign I would be at a loss for words. Call me old fashion but I am a call to action guy and it would be a bit difficult to track an increase in shoe sales (or decrease for that matter) back to this ad.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Technorati Tags: Creativity Branding Nike thank you ad