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Trippin’

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Many of my clients come to me with preconceived notions about who they are and what their customers are looking for.  Sometimes they’re on the money, but that’s beside the point.  Being rigid and inflexible about being found on the ‘net can lead to a severe lack of business.

Say your pipes break at 3 AM.  Going old school, you grab the phone book, turn to those pages of a certain color, and look up Plumbers.  In this particular medium, everyone has agreed that the publisher will sort the listings for you, and they’ve all decided (randomly?) to sort in ascending alphabetical order.  So “A-Plus Plumbing” is listed before “Baker Family Plumbing,” which is listed before “Carruthers’ A#1 Pipe Service,” ad infinitum.  You go down the list in order (that is to say, in alphabetical order) and try the numbers.  The first one that answers gets your emergency business.  For almost a century, businesses have had an incentive to name themselves “AAAAA SomethingOrOther” because of this means of searching for a business contact.

On the web, in most of the search engines, you can plug in as much information or as little as you want and search.  In the above example, you want someone who does 24/7 emergency service, but your “search engine” forces you to read every single ad in alphabetical order.  The first company on the list to answer could be in another county, or specialize in something you don’t need.

On the ‘net, you can sort by percentage matched to your exact criteria.  But just like the paper model, what if the best person for the job simply has a small listing that says, “I’m here” – how do you find them during a search?

You need to put yourself in places where you’ll be tripped over.

Write articles about your profession, or about your hobbies.  Participate in on-line discussions and blogs.  Post pictures from industry conventions.  Get recommended by your fans, and cursed out by your competition.  Anything and everything!  Whatever you do, always always always include a link back to your main sales site.  When you’re tripped over, people who didn’t even know they wanted to business with you may become paying customers.

Here’s the secret: you need to place yourself and your company to be tripped over all over the place – not just the Internet!  Articles, books, discussion boards, charity fundraisers, political action groups. . . anywhere people interact and will see your name.

I hate selling

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Not only do I hate selling, I can be darned good at it, which makes it worse.

And in our culture, the entire sales process is a real turn-off for most people.  The US no longer has a wide spread “haggling” habit.  If I want it for the price marked, I’ll buy it.  Otherwise, forget it.  And if you try to actually sell something to the general public, they get cranky and resistant.

BUT. . .  we love to buy! For most of the world, shopping is not something they do to pass the time, like it is here in the States.  For most of the world, going shopping for goods and services is still a necessity, not a leisure activity.

So, if you depend on making sales for a living – and I can’t think of a single entrepreneur or small business that doesn’t – how do you get around this obstacle?  Especially if you, like me, hate to sell?

The answer is deceptively simple, and I’m working on a couple longer-form answers to that.  But in a nut shell: be a recognized expert, and people will flock to you, instead of you having to go knocking door to door.

What is a recognized expert?  And what does it take to become one?  That’s the long-form answer!  Stick around, and we’ll get to it.

Why Action?

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There are dozens, likely hundreds, of digital and printed periodicals offering advice to marketing and sales professionals.  What makes the Agile’ newsletters and email blasts different?

Action.

Marketing Action and Sales Action – the difference is in the name. We don’t just give you advice or news, we give you simple, step-by-step ways to apply a technique and then to measure it’s effectiveness.  I feel that you should never perform a marketing task – especially if it involves spending money – without some way of measuring it’s effectiveness.

I had a client once (note the word “once”) who insisted on running a TV commercial.  His entire ad budget was $2,000.  This was in the years before cable & satellite had taken over medium, and the local Big 3 were the only game in town.  I realize the story takes place a long time back, but the point is still valid – hang in there with me.

The affiliate charged him a production fee, and then charged him to run the commercial.  I seem to remember the station being able to come in under budget by about $50, since he was paying cash.  I got a call from the guy, excitedly asking me to watch the commercial and let him know what I thought.  The first spot aired during his favorite show – a drama that came on at 9 PM.  He was able to afford running the spot about half a dozen times, total.  As I remember, he picked two overnights, two local news spots and a morning news to go along with his one shot at prime-time glory.

He called all his friends, and made all his employees watch it in the office on VHS (I told you this was a while back).

Honestly, the TV sales person who sold him the spot did a decent job writing the commercial.  It included “what we do,” contact info, and a weak call to action, all in 30 seconds.  And it had my client smiling out at his adoring soon-to-be-fans.

I asked him if it had drawn in any new customers.

“I’m not sure.”

“Do you ask new customers how they found you?”

“No.  Why should I?”

Like I said, his entire budget was shot.  No more newspaper ads, no more fliers in the mail – not that quarter.  I found out later that his sales numbers didn’t really suffer though.  Mainly because he tracked them only on a haphazard basis, so he really didn’t know if sales increased or decreased.

The results of his. . . experiment are still measurable, though.  And if you’re happy with the action and the results, I can’t argue.  It wouldn’t be my choice for a small- or even medium-sized business.

  • Bank account reduced by $2,000.
  • Happiness increased by seeing himself on TV during his favorite show.
  • Profit/Loss: even (on a cosmic scale)

Never do anything, never spend any money, when you can’t measure the effects.

Customer satisfaction is pointless

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I’ve had a few restaurants as clients.  They’ll tell you that the last thing they are selling is food.  At best, they are selling a dining experience, complete with the fact that you don’t have to shop for the ingredients, prepare the food, cook it, or clean up afterward.

If I were hungry and I wanted to be satisfied, I’d drive through a fast food joint and stuff some kind of sandwich down my gullet.  My stomach stops rumbling and I am, for a while, satisfied.

I can’t  tell you what the sandwich tasted like and frankly, I don’t care.  At that point, I’m more interested in the fact that the food was fast, cheap and edible.  I have a minimum level of expectation, and if it meets the minimum, I’m satisfied.

Minimum = Satisfied.

Do you really want to strive to “satisfy” your customers/clients/patients?

And I’m not just talking about restaurants and food here. Every business should strive to astound – in a positive way – prospects and existing customers at every step during the process.  Before, during and after the sale, or even non-sale.

Sydney Barrows – yes, that Sydney Biddle Barrows of 1980’s infamy – has boiled down her business knowledge and become a “experience consultant.”  She’s good, she’s smart, and she’s funny. Every one should get a copy of her book: Uncensored Sales Strategies.  After the book convinces you, grab a copy of XXX Rated Sales Strategies she created with Dan Kennedy. Your bank account will be happier, and you’ll thank me for recommending her.

Getting my copy of Uncensored Sales Strategies signed

Customers should NOT be satisfied, but rather moved to the point that they become your most ardent sales reps.

5 hard lessons learned early

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My first real job, after selling fruits & nuts from a kiosk under a mall escalator, was doing inbound sales for a national industrial supply company.  We were known for carrying a wide array of electric motors.  In the employee manual, it stressed that we did not pick out motors for customers.  It was explained to me that this could open us up to law suits if we recommended the wrong one and a building burned down.

So I’m 18, and it’s my 2nd day on the job.  I field a call from one of the branch’s largest customers.  He asks me to pick out a motor for him and I say, “I’m sorry, we’re not allowed to do that.”

“Pardon me?”

“Yes, we’re not allowed to suggest motors for customers.  Our company doesn’t want to be responsible for getting you the wrong motor.”

“Oh, I see.  Well, thanks.  I’ll do a little more research and call back.”

Two weeks later, the manager – his face drained of blood – ran out of his office and dragged me in.  Once the door was slammed shut, he waved a letter under my nose.

“Holy shit, what are you trying to do?  Get me fired?”

Actually, there were two letters.  The one under my nose was from the customer.  It was written to the president of the company, and basically told him of the thousands of dollars they spent every year with our company.  If our staff- who were theoretically experts on electrical motors – couldn’t pick out one simple motor, they would have to move their business elsewhere.

The letter from the president said basically: “I pay you to hire people who make us money, not lose it.  If you can’t do that, I’ll find someone who can.”

Lessons learned:

  1. Can’t get the response you want?  Go directly to the top.  It works.
  2. Don’t know the answer to a question?  Can’t help someone? Admit it, and find someone who can give the answer or help.
  3. Customers aren’t always right, but they should always be happy.
  4. Mistakes are learning tools.  They’re only bad if the person who makes them doesn’t learn anything from the mistake, or the correction.
  5. Try to learn from the mistakes of others to minimize making your own.