Be Honest … Be Real … Be Rewarded!

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This year, we’ve had work done on our home.  A number of contractors have ‘graced’ the property.  Landscapers, irrigation specialists, hardwood floor experts, painters, etc.  My wife Joyce said, “We’ve seen more contractors this year than when the house was being built”.  I agree.  It does seem that way.

Candor is Attractive
On a scale of 1 – 10, where 10 is high, our contractors have, for the most part, fallen into the “6 – 8” range. They’ve been ‘above average’ in their expertise and the ‘experience’ we’ve had with them.  But three people have earned a ’10’ from us. Why?  “Candor”

“Pardon, Your Foundation is Showing . . . And You’ve Got Cracks!”
Each of our ‘Top 3’ people were completely transparent with us. What impressed us was their candor about work someone in their company had done . . . incorrectly.

Disclosure is Disarming and . . . Charming
As hard as it is to acknowledge a mistake, it reveals character and integrity when you do. Showing your imperfections makes you human and builds your credibility with clients. It’s also the first step in recovering and restoring the goodwill that’s ‘at risk’ if you don’t.

KEY POINT:
Admitting your mistakes . . . makes you more attractive . . . to prospects and clients

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The 3 M Marketing Formula

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Think of ‘Sticky Notes’ and you probably think of the “3 M” corporation where that office staple was first invented.  But today’s post is not about yellow notepads.  Instead, the 3 M’s of this post serve as reminders of what is truly a basic and highly effective marketing formula . . .

M . . . Market 
Effective marketing requires that you know who you’re seeking and who, in this day and age of social media, might be seeking you!  More marketing is flawed from the beginning because there’s no clarity about WHO you’re seeking to attract — at least at first.

M . . . Message 
Regardless of the medium you use, effective communication always involves a message that resonates with the market member you’re seeking to attract.  Generally, this means speaking more about the issues that concern your prospect and less about the features and benefits of your service.

M . . . Movement
Assuming your message captures the attention — and interest — of the person/s you’re seeking to attract to you, you must invite ACTION!  In fact, it’s called a ‘Call To Action’ for just that reason. This means an offer of some kind.  And in the case of a service, your best offer involves useful information in exchange for someone’s permission to begin a cultivating conversation so you can become the ‘preferred provider’ you want to be.

KEY POINT:
Marketing can be complex or simple.  Just remember the “3M” approach and you’ll keep it simple and . . . highly effective, too.

 

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Elevator Speech? Give it UP!

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Next to ‘public speaking’, what’s the next big ‘fear’ of most businesspeople?  If you guessed, “Answering the question, “So, what do you do . . . hmmm?”

Lately, I’ve grown weary of the ‘cute ‘n creative’ responses businesspeople tend to give.  Nothing wrong with ‘Elevator Speeches’.  But often, nothing very unique about them, either.

Cut To The Chase . . . But Engage, Too
Here’s a refreshing alternative.  State what you do as succinctly as possible but include a follow-up question that engages the other person’s mind and, hopefully, invites them to have a conversation with you as a result.

“I _______ for a living . . . Let me ask you a question . . .”
For example, “I repair foreign cars for a living . . .”  Then, ask a question that invites further conversation, “Let me ask you a question, do you own a foreign car?”  They’ll either say, “Yes” or “No”.  Either way, you have an opportunity!

(No) “Very common. A lot of people don’t.  And I bet you’d never consider owning one in the future either, right?”  “Oh, really?  Gee, why do you say that?”.

(Yes) “Congratulations. They’re not for everyone.  Tell me . . . in your opinion, what’s the best and the worst thing about owning a foreign car?”

Either way, you are providing the other person with a way to:

1) know something about you that was previously UN-known to them, and
2) use that ‘new’ information to help them have a meaningful conversation with you

This will produce much better results than a cute statement that leaves people wondering what it is you ‘really’ do and, more important, what you’d like them to do with you . . . next!

KEY POINT:
Be short and direct . . . and always ask an engaging question as well 

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Service that Makes Me Smile!

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I don’t usually tout some company or person.  The implications are often misunderstood or taken to be an endorsement beyond what was intended.  But today, my first day back online and with power since early Sunday morning, I had a great experience with a Matthew Smith over at BigContacts.com.

I’m publishing my note to Bob Walton, Founder of the company because I hope it helps him and BigContacts.com.  But I really hope it enlightens you, my readers, about what ‘good service’ looks like and what it does for all the parties involved — the consumer, the company and the brand.  Enjoy:

To:  Bob Walton, Founder / BigContacts.com

I just had a great call with a Matthew Smith of your organization.  I had to recognize him as a super ‘Brand Ambassador’ for your company.  You’re very fortunate to have him making contact with people like me . . . a prospect for your organization.

Matthew’s responses to my questions were forthright, accurate and helpful.  But mostly, his attitude was most definitely customer-centric.  In a world where service is a lost art and a forgotten element of differentiation . . . Matthew Smith did you really, really proud today.  

I will be working more diligently to ‘test’ your system (kudos on your thoughtful website and design — most impressive, too!) and intend to reach a decision this week.  Not that it should make a difference, but if the other system I’m considering is ‘as good’ as your system, I will go with BigContacts because they don’t have Matthew Smith working for them.  

I may not have the good fortune to reconnect with Matthew again, but the fact that your management was smart enough to have him working for you in the first place tells me that you make ‘good decisions’ and that . . . is what makes all the difference in the world to a consumer like me.

Thank you . . . after surviving a couple of days without electricity, running water and limited ability to move around after our encounter with Hurricane Irene, speaking with Matthew was a true pleasure and a most thankful experience in the wake of a couple of really not-so-fun days of bad weather and no power.

Cordially,

Bill

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Social Media: Curation and Conversation

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CURATION
Nick Unsworth, a local social media expert, speaks of content ‘curation’.  This means finding and sharing ‘refined’ information your desired audience wants to know about.

This could be as simple as creating a tweet on Twitter that references an article you know your people will find useful and . . . likely to share with their networks.  That’s just one way to grow your awareness and attraction factor considerably; there are many other options and that’s why being clear about your goals is so important to using social media effectively and efficiently.

CONVERSATION
Look, it’s called ‘social’ media for a reason!  Traditional marketing (i.e. advertising) was, necessarily, a one-way rather than a two-way conversation with prospects. Social media invites you to engage in a ‘dialog’ or ‘conversation’ with your prospects, clients and centers-of-influence.  And social media is perfect for that.

A blog not only invites people to engage in the conversation with you, it also provides the basis for helping interested people to find you in the first place!

KEY POINT:
Quality content invites and sustains an ongoing conversation!

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Social Media: Intentions and Content

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INTENTIONS
Social media requires setting goals for using it to support your business objectives.

Because using social media is easy, it’s a two-edged sword.  Yes, it’s easy to open an account on facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. and ‘get started’.  At the same time, the options of what you can do vs. what you must do to achieve your goals for using social media is not as easily discerned or taken. In general, social media can help you to build awareness of your business, attract traffic to your website, grow you followers and (lest we forget)

CONTENT
Unlike traditional marketing media that was a one-way communication, ‘social’ media is more of a two-way dialog.  And what makes you / your business attractive and interesting?  Relevant content — information that the people you seek to attract to you and keep with you will find useful enough to achieve your goals.

KEY POINT:
Effective use of social media requires GOALS for using it and attractive CONTENT whenever you do, too

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WHAT and WHO . . . You Choose!

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Being crystal clear about WHAT your business does and WHO you serve is a key factor in your ability to attract the interest and response of people who could do business with you.

Typically, that’s not common in businesses.  Consider how often you meet someone who tells you what they do and you’re still clueless about what they do and whether you (or someone you know) might benefit from their services.

A business is in one of 4 ‘Clarity Categories’ based on the mission and market it serves.

ZORBA — this firm is completely unclear about what it does and who might care.  When Zorba The Greek’s new boss asked, “What do you do, Zorba?”  Zorba replied, “Hey Boss Man I have 2 hands and 2 feet.  They do whatever they like.  Who am I to choose?”.  Unfortunately, a ‘Zorba’ business is a muddled business and suffers because of it. (Hope you don’t see yourself in this cataegory!)

MISSIONARY — this firm has ‘seen the light’ and is really clear about why it exists — it’s mission is well defined.  Problem is, the firm’s leaders haven’t identified the groups of people who would most likely understand, value and embrace the firm’s mission or ‘beneficial difference’.  A ‘Missionary’ business feels good about why it exists but without clarity on the market segments it can serve profitably, it hurts financially.

Tomorrow . . . we’ll touch on the remaining two:  the Mercenary and the Marketeer

KEY POINT:
Clarity in your MISSION and MARKET . . . is a beautiful thing

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Creating Your WOW Factor

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I don’t often tout a product.  Today’s an exception. 

I found a really cool little online service this week.  ContactMe. This cloud-based service makes it easy for people who find you online to contact you and it helps you manage your follow-up with them, as well.  Very nice little app — Check it out on the right side of the page!

I also found another service called “Notebook“.

This little app organizes all kinds of information that I find on websites, in emails, Word documents, etc. in a way that’s very intuitive and extremely easy to use.

Where’s The WOW Factor?
These apps exist because they solve problems. Period. And these apps are . . . FUN!

“Easy and Fun” Beats “Difficult and Complicated”
I’ve given up far more sophisticated CRM software because ‘hard-to-learn’ or ‘difficult to use’ is going to LOSE . . . every time.

Form and Function (Should!) Go Together 
Both these apps are GOOD LOOKING,  INTUITIVE and SIMPLE.  That’s not easy!   It takes a lot of thought to create something you can use easily and effectively without thinking about it.

Attitude
In the ContactMe blog there’s a post where they introduced an innovative change in their service.  They wrote, “You Asked.  We Listened.  We Delivered”.  That reflects their attitude of CARING for the relationships that make their business successful.  Do that for your business.  It is a beautiful thing to see.

KEY POINT:
Demonstrating you CARE about what matters to your client . . . is a competitive edge 

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Your PERSONAL Brand

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Peter Montoya is the author of a book called, “The Brand Called YOU“.  Peter’s a very insightful person who understands that, as a service provider, what people buy before anything else is . . . your brand.

Makes sense.  Afterall, it’s the first thing a prospective client learns about you — often even before they meet you in-person.

Prospects, clients and centers-of-influence use the brand called ‘YOU’ to help them identify you and your business from your competitors.  How?  By triggering an association of ideas, thoughts and feelings that your brand represents or suggests.  Your challenge is to ensure those associations reflect what you want and not . . . something else.

Your Personal Brand:

  • triggers . . . an association of thoughts and feelings people have about you
  • reflects . . . the cumulative effect of all the contacts people have with you over time
  • prepares . . . people about what to expect / not expect about working with you
  • occurs . . . by design or by accident and that . . . is always YOUR choice

KEY POINT:
Your brand . . . is a key factor in shaping expectations of key people for your business

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Marketing Tune-Up, Anyone?

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From time to time we all benefit from a little bit of ‘wisdom’ from people who know what they’re talking about . . . if you agree, this might just be your lucky day!

“Thanks” to our friends at Hubspot for this beautiful slideshow of marketing wisdom!

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