What Were You Thinking Award Winner

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From time to time, I find myself shaking my head in disbelief at how incredibly indolent some people in business are.

So I’ve decided to create the “What Were You Thinking” award to recognize these people who inspire me with their ‘Bad Behavior’.

Today’s winner (LOSER!) is a contractor who worked on our home about two years ago.  Did good work, too.  Not long ago, a neighbor stopped by and asked, “Who did the work on your home?  We need to do the same thing at our house and wanted to know if you’d recommend your contractor.”

We were happy to oblige and gave our neighbor our contractor’s phone number.  Today, our neighbor stopped over.  “We wanted to let you know the guy you recommended . . . nice guy, but . . . he didn’t get back to us so . . . we’re going with a different company”.

That’s so wrong!  First, this contractor isn’t doing THAT good that he can afford to lose a piece of business that was put on the tee for him by us.  Second, at some level, it reflects badly on us.  And if asked, we’re not going to refer much less recommend this contractor to anyone else.  EVER!

KEY POINT:
Not Following-up with a Referral  . . . BURNS YOUR BRIDGES / SOURCES — Don’t Do It!

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Actions, Not Words

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You’ve heard the expression, “Actions speak louder than words”.  It’s very true.  Especially in marketing.

Recently, we had a little problem in our home.  We called a company for a ‘service’ call.  What an oxymoron!  The technician didn’t know what he was doing, was unfamiliar with the type and brand of appliance and spent the better part of an hour reading our ‘owner’s manual’ before telling us that he couldn’t help us.  (But the $187 charge for a ‘house call’ still applied!)

The second company sent someone who knew immediately what was causing our problem.  Within an hour the problem was fixed and the appliance running like new.  They also gave us a ‘New Client Package’.  It outlined their ‘satisfaction guarantee’ and invited us to contact the company president if we had any questions, comments or concerns.

The next day the company called to make sure the work was done correctly and we were happy.  A few days later, we got a nice letter from the technician and the company president thanking us for our business and reminding us that if we ever have a problem with an appliance, that it would their honor and pleasure to be of further service.  My wife and I were BLOWN AWAY.  Who does this anymore?  (sharp business owners!!)

What Actions can you use to communicate your value proposition and position your firm in a better light than your alleged competitors?

POINT:
Actions speak louder than words!

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Farming and Hunting

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Many, many years ago, humans were nomadic hunters who either ‘got lucky’ or, they ‘went hungry’.

Civilization took a huge step forward when we learned how to cultivate the land.  Hunting was exciting.  It was also risky.
Some starved to death.

Farming was less exciting.  But farmers ate well and fairly regularly.

Today, learning to cultivate relationships with your prospects, clients and Centers-of-Influence is a major key to generating a steady and recurring form of revenue opportunities for your business or practice.

KEY POINTS:
1.  DECIDE how many times someone is likely to need your kind of services over time
2.  DETERMINE what percentage of those purchases you’re likely to provide
3.  ASK yourself, “Do I feel good about that?”  If not, then . . .
4.  COMMIT to getting a bigger piece of that ‘pie’ than you’re getting now!

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Question 5: “Are You Likely To Refer?”

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“If a friend, colleague, family member, etc. asked you . . .
on a scale of  ‘1 – 10’ . . . HOW LIKELY are you to refer us?”

I used to ask, “Would you refer us?”.  The problem with that kind of question is that it leaves no room for shades of grey.

So I’m advising you to use a 1 -10 scale to identify someone’s degree of willingness to refer.  This allows your client to tell you, “Well, I’d say 6”.  That should then prompt you to ask the next question: “OK, what would I have to change . . . for you to say “10”?”

KEY POINT:
Going to your clients to learn, directly, WHY you are so remark-able . . . is a key to becoming more refer-able. Remember, this is about learning what it takes, on your part, to be worthy of being referred.  And, If you’re not quite ‘there’ yet, this will tell you how to get there soon!

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Are You in a Hurry?

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I was just reminded of how BUSY we all are.

A friend asked me to post / re-post on my facebook page about a great little audio on “How To Craft a Simple and Compelling Sales Message”.  I did.

Unfortunately, I almost immediately got a response back from another colleague on my facebook wall with a not-so-thinly veiled complaint that, “I’ve listened to this guy for 6 minutes and he STILL has not addressed the topic!”.

We live in an age of microwave mentality.  The internet has both expanded our horizons and contracted our patience.  Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, if you ignore this reality, it will cost you dearly in terms of your prospects’ attention, goodwill and revenues.

KEY POINT:
With online media, make your point . . . quickly, succinctly and effectively!

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Remark-ability and Refer-ability

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Testimonials vs. Referrals
Testimonials are endorsements that address ‘obstacles’ that can keep a prospective client from taking a ‘Next Step’ with you.  That’s why you collect and use testimonials –– to address obstacles to taking action by a prospect for your services.

Referrals are endorsements that position you as a PREFERRED PROVIDER of your services relative to other firms or providers in your field or marketing area. The referror’s endorsement of you makes selling your services much, much easier than if you meet prospects through other means.

Remark-ability is THE key to Refer-ability
In The Referral Machine™ — a program I offer, we contend that to be refer-able you must also be remark-able. Meaning?  People won’t refer TO you if they don’t think much OF you.

A Remark-able Experience is an Aligned Experience
When the experience you offer aligns with the expectations (or, exceeds them) of your Ideal Client, you have a competitive edge, marketing-wise.  So how do you learn what makes you remark-able?  ASK your clients.  Your best clients.  The ones who’ve already voted for you with their money.

In the next posts, I’ll show you precisely how to learn the basis of your remarkability (and, referability) by asking a few select questions of your best clients.  Stay tuned!

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Small World

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Yesterday, I attended a funeral of a very kind, sweet human being.  My aunt Alice.

Aunt Alice lived a good life and enjoyed it very well, too.  I shall miss my Aunt very much.

But I learned something very important.  I learned just how small the world really is, afterall.

At the wake, a friend of my cousin was present.  After we were introduced, I learned that she is married to an attorney who represented my own mother many years ago.  Small world.  I also learned she was the sister of a classmate of mine in high school.  Very small world.

KEY POINT:
In life and in business, the world is very connected.  It’s a very small world.  Or, as the Greeks say, ‘Micro Cosmos’.

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Coming and Going

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Many business owners tell me they feel they’re wasting their time, money and attention on people who are not giving back ‘in kind’

Can you relate?  Ever feel you’re wasting your attention and affection on prospects, clients and centers-of-influence who just aren’t making it worth your while to cultivate a relationship with them?

Two Keys to ‘Green Light’ relationships.

BUY . . .”Can someone BUY what you offer?”
REFER . . . “Can someone REFER others who can or will?”

If someone can not or will not buy from you or refer others to you (or, for you) . . . they don’t belong in your Client Development System.  Period.  Someone may be a wonderful human being in every way, but . . . if they can’t add to your key business outcomes, they don’t belong in your system.  And, if they aren’t ‘in’ your client development system, they won’t be wasting your time, money and energy . . . will they?

KEY POINT:
STOP chasing unqualified individuals and GO after people who can add to your business’ bottom line.

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Touching Base

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Following up after an initial contact is important.  Unfortunately, however you follow-up,  if you do it too often you may turn someone off.

If you do it too infrequently, you may be forgotten by someone with whom you’re seeking to build awareness and a preference for the brand called ‘YOU’.  Tough call, eh.

Dripping By Design . . . is the solution you may be seeking.  As the name implies, ‘dripping’ information on someone is designed to help you do the following:

1.  build / maintain awareness of you and your business,
2.  educate someone about the need for your services,
3.  position yourself competitively

I suggest having two kinds of ‘drip’ campaigns.  The first one is to acknowledge a new connection.  A simple follow-up note or email with a link to some content that is relevant to the person receiving it.  The second one is a periodic communication from you — perhaps a newsletter — that will serve to maintain awareness and build a preference for you and your brand of services.

KEY POINT:
An initial follow-up and an ongoing stay-in-touch communication campaign builds awareness and preference for your brand.

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Following Up

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Some studies suggest it may cost a firm 5  times more to acquire a new customer vs. re-selling / up-selling or cross-selling an existing customer or client.  If so, why do so many firms tend to chase after new leads rather than fully developing the existing relationships they already have?

I believe there are two (2) good explanations for this:

PERSPECTIVE . . . if you don’t recognize the value of cultivating a long-term relationship, you may not even think to cultivate an initial contact into a productive relationship — especially if your new contact isn’t ready to do business.

TIMING . . . most prospects probably don’t need or want what you do, at first.  They’re cooler, not hotter prospects.  In  time they may become ‘hot’, but most are not likely to seriously entertain doing business with you . . . today.

KEY POINT:
Following-up with prospects builds a preference for your brand, reflects a strategic perspective and overcomes the trap of  “Now or never” thinking.

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