Three Letter Words

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We’re all familiar with the euphemism “four letter words.”  There seem to be a lot of those in our vocabulary.  But there are a small handful of three letter words that should be in your every day business repertoire.  I’d like to go over three of them with you now.

I have one client who runs a restaurant.  We were talking about increasing his business without having to spend a lot of money.  I told him it was easy, and told him about the first word.  He was doubtful – the word was so simple, so direct.  No trickery, no smoke and mirrors.  I didn’t even have the decency to charge him for the wisdom.  He said he’d think about it and get back to me.

A couple weeks later, my wife and I were in his restaurant for dinner when the owner came out to greet a couple of the tables.  He turned to approach one of the tables and saw me.  His face turned bright red.  He turned to face his customers.

“Is your dinner all right?  Anything you need?”

“Everything’s excellent,” they said.

“In that case. . .”  The owner cleared his throat.  “In that case, please join us again soon and consider bringing along some friends.”  The owner scurried off for the safety of his kitchen, while the couple resumed their conversation.

The restaurateur called me a few days later.  “It worked!” he yelled.  “That couple came in the next night, and brought two other couples with them.  One of those couples has already been back!”

The first word you need to internalize and use as a Recognized Expert is “ASK.”  People wonder why I spell it in all caps.  I used to tell them it stood for “Acquire Specialized Knowledge” or some such, but the real reason is this: it’s a damned important word!  In this case, the owner ASKed his patrons if they were happy with their experience at his establishment.  Then he ASKed them to return, and bring more business with them.  They did.

We all want to find the perfect client who buys often, and purchases high-profit-margin goods and services.  How do you find out what else they want to buy from us?  ASK.  No special tricks are needed.  Just call or email – or better, ask them in person.  “What can we offer you that we currently don’t?  What would make you refer us to your friends?”

ASKing is especially important when it comes to sales.  A lot of people are afraid to ask for the sale.  True, you may get denied, but then you can ASK follow-up questions to find out why.

On the heels of ASK comes our second word.  Once you get feedback to your question, you must ACT on that information in order to effect a change.  Even if the only ACT is to tell the person who made a suggestion that you considered their suggestion, but aren’t implementing it right now, you need to ACT.

Imagine you run a carpet cleaning business.  You ASK a client what you could offer them in addition to cleaning services.  “Well, how about some environmentally friendly cleaning products I can use between professional cleanings?”  Now you need to ACT on that suggestion, sourcing the best eco-friendly products and adding them to your sales presentation.

If you remember to ASK and ACT, you’re well on your way to becoming our third three letter word: a Recognized Expert PRO.

“I Can’t Do That!”

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In addition to running Agile’ I also teach and train traditional Okinawan goju-ryu karate.  We were working on board breaking a couple nights ago when I had a student tell me, “I can’t do that!”  And sure enough, she couldn’t.

Later, I heard her say to another student, “Well, I know you have to run 5 miles to become a black belt, so I’m never going to be one.”

When it comes to being a marketing consultant, my clients shouldn’t be hiring me to be their buddy.  They should have the attitude that I’m a kind of trainer, one who kicks their butts until they and their business is in fighting shape.  They want change for the better, and I’m there to make sure it happens.  Any type of change is painful – or at least, it’s not painless.  If you want a magic wand to wave and have more customers who spend gobs more cash, while letting you sleep in, then I’m sorry but I never attended Hogwarts or any other wizarding academy.  I can help you gain better clients, and let you do less work, but it’s not going to happen with a wand.

Just running a business requires effort.  To change it and make it better requires that you do something different as well.  It’s scary.  But if you don’t believe in you, why the hell should I?

I can tell you from experience that if you say, “I can’t do this,” then there’s almost nothing I or anyone else can say or do to force you to achieve whatever goal it is.  Change requires the self-discipline to carry on working through pain of some level.  The pain, once we go through it, is usually a lot less than we thought it was going to be.  But in order to accomplish the changes, you need to believe in yourself.  No one is ever going to be invested in your success the way you are.

If you believe “I can’t do this” or, “This isn’t going to work,” then you’re probably right.  I can help you work towards your potential, and I may believe in you, but until you believe in you, nothing’s going to happen.

Educate, Then Sell

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Years ago, I had an unusual interaction with a sales person.  It was winter, about 7:30 PM so it was already dark.  My house is set back away from the road, and my driveway is over a 10th of a mile long.  Not expecting any one, my outdoor lights were out.

I’m in my office when suddenly there’s a loud, frantic banging at my door.  Remembering that there had been a bad accident on the road in front of my house only a couple weeks before, I ran down the stairs full of dread and threw open the door.

Standing there was a gentleman in parka and gloves, grinning and pointing to a large picture.

“What?  Can I help you?”

He continued to grin, pointing to the pic and nodding at it.  Obviously no-one was hurt.  My anxiety level started to drop.

“It’s a picture.”

“Yep,” he said.  “It’s an aerial picture.”

“Uh huh.”

“Of your house.  I’m selling it.”

“I’m not buying it.”

His happy demeanor instantly turned to anger-tinged sadness.

“Jeez man, you don’t have to be so rude about it!”

I was dumbfounded.  I didn’t think I’d been rude at all.  I didn’t visit his house in the dark, pound on the door like there was someone on fire, and then expect him to automatically buy what I was holding in my hand.

“Good luck elsewhere.  Have a nice night.”  I shut the door, shaking my head.

It’s true – a picture is worth a thousand words.  And I suppose when you’re selling one, the prospect should recognize it’s worth instantly.  But even when you’re looking to sell something you think of as basic and self-explanitory, it’s always a good idea to educate your prospects.  I know I’ve used this example before, but look at the places in your local mall food court giving away samples on a toothpick.  You’re hungry, it’s food, buy it!  But the sample is the most basic form of education: “This is what it’s like.”

Providing any type of education prior to a sales attempt allows you to separate the merely bored from actual prospects.  It also provides the prospect with a better understanding of your product or service, and how it relates to their lives right now.  Delivering educational information about your product or service also allows you to build a story around the pitch, and involve yourself and the prospect in the story.

“Hi, I’m Joe.  Earlier this year, I went up in a two-seat plane with my pal Dave.  You should see how clean and green everything looks from just a few hundred feet in the air!  We were flying over your neighborhood when I began snapping pictures of some of the houses.  Once I saw how nicely they came out, I knew I had to offer the owners of those houses the opportunity to share the experience of seeing their property from the air.”

Five sentences to build that story and offer some education, as well as pre-frame the sale.  Now he can begin asking the sales questions.  The whole thing could take less than a minute.

Your Book As A Business Card

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We have a number of clients who have published books, or put out instructional DVDs.  Some of them have had a hard time grasping the fact that these products are not, in and of themselves, a profit generator.  Rather, they are like keys that unlock doors to bigger and more lucrative sales.  They should be given away like business cards.

Yes, I understand that one book – or DVD or CD or any similar product – costs a lot more than a business card.  Even if you get the books or disks at wholesale.  Just as you shouldn’t walk down the street passing out business cards to all and sundry, you need to be selective in giving out your Proof of Expertise.

Forget about selling this item.  You need to selectively hand them out to individuals who can help you book speaking or training gigs.  This is where the money is going to come from.  Any incidental sales of this item are a bonus.

The product that is your Proof of Expertise is exactly that – proof that you have something to say, can present it in a socially viable medium, and are capable of carrying out a difficult procedure (the conception, completion, production and distribution of the Proof) from beginning to end.

Even in today’s market of self-published ebooks, where there’s little to no cost for creation, production or distribution, very few authors can make even a poor living off the sales of their products.  Selling 25,000 copies in a year and earning a profit of $2 per copy only nets you $50k, and that’s before taxes and expenses.  By selling a training session to a room full of attendees, you could earn that much in a weekend.

Once you have your Proof product, put your effort into using it as a key to unlock sales via personal presentations.

Agile’ Marketing is looking for a small non-profit or charity to help.

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As part of this year’s “Christmas in July” program, Agile’ would like to lend it’s services, pro bono, to one small charity or non-profit organization that is looking to grow and increase their influence.  We will donate up to $5,000 worth of service before December 31st, 2013 to a start-up or existing organization.  If you are associated with a charity or NPO, or if you know someone who is, please pass this along to the founder or board.  Any organization, anywhere in the US, is elligible to apply for this donation, using the following criteria.

  1.  The organization must be small – under $50,000 income for the last year
  2.  The organization must be located in one of the 50 United States
  3.  The organization must have a clear, focussed cause it is supporting

To apply for this donation, the organization must submit a letter of need by Friday, August 2nd, 2013.  The letter – no more than 500 words, please – should be sent via email, either in the body of the letter or as a PDF attachment.  Please include the following information –

  • Name of the NPO or charity
  • Date founded
  • Applicant’s name & relationship to organization
  • Contact info including address, phone & web site (if any)
  • A description of the organization, it’s history and purpose
  • A description of past and current marketing efforts
  • Listing of past goals and income (up to 5 years)
  • Organization goals – at least for next year (and up to 5 years)
  • Any specific problems or opportunities

Agile’ will choose a recipient from all submissions received.  Services provided may include any/all of the following –

  • Strategic planning
  • Goal setting
  • Proposal writing
  • Marketing plan
  • Promotional plan
  • Web & Social Media presence
  • Systems creation & implementation
  • Creation/distribution of media releases
  • Promotional organization

We look forward to hearing from you!