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Marketing Personal Development

Here’s what sucks about stock photos on your website…

Do you leverage stock photos on your website?

Read on to see why that sucks.

As a speaker, author and expert-based business owner, your website is the magical nerve center of your online presence. 

It’s the top level that all other areas of your digital footprint leads to.

When you drive them to your hub, you want to greet them with all things YOU. 

And it starts with your image content. 

When people view your portraits, they’re looking to subconsciously answer three main questions: 

  • Is this person approachable?
  • Will I get along with this person?
  • Can this person be trusted?

If you only post stock photography on your website, you’re impeding the qualification process of those who would otherwise be ideal clients for you to serve. 

This impedance creates doubt in the minds of those who visit your site and have them look for alternatives rather than contact you directly. 

Why create that doubt when you can simply invest in an image content portfolio created specifically for you?

Some people argue that it’s hard to capture certain types of image content and it’s just easier to buy something already done. 

Sure, I can buy that it’s hard to capture certain types of image content based on the types of audiences you serve…

…but does that mean your brain is broken and can’t think of creative alternatives that involve you in them?

There’s ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat.

For example, if you need photos of a boardroom meeting and your clients typically have you sign confidentiality agreements, then book a co-working space boardroom and have 3-5 of your friends show up for 30 minutes in their boardroom uniform best and instruct your photographer capture a wide variety of images:

  • You leading a discussion
  • Someone giving a presentation with slides
  • Attendees taking notes
  • Someone typing on a laptop
  • Shaking hands
  • People grouped together in discussion

This is a very generalized list, but you get the point. 

How many stock photos of the above scenarios have you seen floating around the internet? How easy would it be to simply capture images that you have full rights to and can do whatever you want with?

In collaboration with my clients, we’ve contrived a wide variety of lifestyle scenarios, including the above boardroom scenario, in order to get customized lifestyle portraits that they can use for their websites, including:

  • Webinars
  • Keynotes
  • Workshops
  • One-on-one consultations
  • Working on technology
  • Brainstorming ideas/mind mapping
  • Day-to-day activities

Some have argued to me that it’s cheaper to purchase stock images than to hire a photographer for a branded lifestyle portrait session.

Here’s my two cents on that.

Depending on where you purchase the stock photos – Getty, Pond 5, Adobe, etc. –  the pricing might be considerably cheaper than a portrait photography session. 

But here’s the catch.

That photo isn’t exclusively for you – it’s for everyone else who purchases rights to it. Do you want to run the risk of posting a photo that 20 other people are also using? Specifically, people who also operate in a similar space of expertise?

In that case, buy the exclusive rights, you say?

Have you seen how much it costs to garner exclusive rights for one photo? If you have more than a handful of stock images on your site, that strategy becomes cost prohibitive.

At the end of the day, all roads point to you investing in an image content portfolio that has a wide variety of branded lifestyle portraits and other image content that uniquely illustrates who you are, who you serve, and why you do what you do. 

Your website is too important a marketing asset to be littered with images that can be found all over the internet. 

There is only one you, and you need to be front and center on your website!

If you would like to learn more about image content portfolios and the relationship between visual content and the written word, I invite you to subscribe to my blog, where I also share other storytelling strategies that help to create a memorable and referable online presence.

Ready to skip the reading and get down to work?

Are you ready to delete all the stock images on your website and start fresh with your own branded lifestyle portraits?

Let’s have a chat and see if we’re a good fit to work together on this.

 

John DeMato is a NYC branded lifestyle portrait photographer and storytelling strategist who serves speakers, authors, coaches and high-level entrepreneurs across the country. His 50+ page e-book, S.H.A.R.E. M.A.G.I.C.A.L. I.D.E.A.S., lays out the how, what and why behind creating a memorable and referable online presence – sign up to get your FREE copy today.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

“You Need to Stop Stupid Bad Decisions Now” – Negotiation Insight

“Bad decisions can lead to bad outcomes. Stupid decisions can make bad outcomes worse.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)

 

Click here to get the book!

“You Need to Stop Stupid Bad Decisions Now”

He had a crucial meeting at 9 a.m. the following day. It was with his company’s largest client. Many months had gone into the preparation of what would be the biggest deal the company had ever had. And everyone was counting on him to land that big deal.

So why do you think he allowed his so-called friends to talk him into going out the night before the big meeting? He knew what was at stake the next morning. They asked him to have just one drink. One drink turned into two, and two turned into nine. Finally, being inebriated, he said to his friends, I must go. I must be ready for that big meeting tomorrow. By the time he got home and went to sleep, it was 2:47 a.m. When he awoke, it was 11:09 a.m. He missed the meeting. He also lost what had up until then been a good career – because he got fired!

Has anything like that ever happened to you? Your so-called friends, instead of supporting you, distracted you from a goal. Maybe it wasn’t to the degree of what occurred in the story. In that case, the decision to go out the night before the big meeting wasn’t just a wrong decision – it was stupid! More than likely, you’ve made stupid decisions too. So why do you allow that to happen? There are several reasons. The following are some of them and how to protect yourself from falling prey.

 

Friends Versus Associates:

Be careful with whom you surround yourself. And don’t associate with people that work against your goals. Understand the value of real friends. They help protect you from harm. And they support your ambitions.

Associates, on the other hand, are people that may be close to you – but they’re usually individuals that care more about their self-interest than yours. They may not share your goals or outlook that you possess.

Here’s the catch, friends can lead you into bad decisions. If they do so once, you may consider forgiving them. If they do so frequently, move them out of the friend category. And ultimately you might consider moving them out of your life.

Whatever label you assign to those that are friends versus associates, be mindful of who you let into the friend category. Those individuals will have a more significant impact on your life.

 

Strong And Discipline:

There is a strength of mind and a mind that’s disciplined. You more than likely possess either depending on what you’re contemplating. But when confronted with decisions of significance, you need to combine those two forces.

When you know you have a lot riding on the outcome of a decision, consider the consequences of not being able to perform at your best. If that doesn’t prove to be substantial enough leverage, think what you might lose. Most people have a greater fear of loss than they do for the power of additional gain.

To ascend to higher heights, you must possess an attitude that states, no one will stop you. Then, commit to yourself to stop making stupid decisions. Once fortified by that belief, you’ll become empowered. That’s when you’ll possess the ability to achieve more consistently. That’ll also be the time when you stop making stupid bad decisions … and everything will be right with the world.

 

What does this have to do with negotiations?

 

Everyone makes bad decisions sometimes. It may be due to erroneous information, fear of not wanting to confront a situation boldly, or misperceiving the severity of it. Regardless of the reason, when you know you can avoid turning a bad mistake into a stupid one, don’t turn it into one.

In a negotiation, the more time you spend in it, the higher the chance to make bad decisions. Most negotiators want to see a bargaining session to its conclusion. That leaves them vulnerable to turning a wrong decision into a stupid one.

First, be alert to how you’re making decisions when you negotiate. If you feel pressure leading the choices you make, view that as a warning signal. It’ll be the alarm that alerts you to the possible doorway opening that leads to worse decisions.

 

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

#Decision #Negotiate #Negotiator #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams #Success

 

 

Categories
Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Operations Sales Skills Women In Business

“For Greater Success Women Need To Be Better Negotiators” – Negotiation Tip of the Week

“Success can be seen in degrees – but only to the degree that you observe it.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)

 

Click here to get the book!

“For Greater Success, Women Need To Be Better Negotiators”

 

People that negotiate better than others tend to have greater success in life. That’s true to a point. Because, if a man and a woman have equal skills as a negotiator, in general, women tend to get the shorter outcome. For that reason, women need to be even better negotiators.

 

… I asked what challenges she has when negotiating. She said, “none – I never have anything to negotiate.” After I probed by saying, never? She, replied, “I took my brother once to help me negotiate the purchase of my car. I figured the dealer would take advantage of a woman alone. But my brother wasn’t any good. He just said yes to everything the dealer said. He didn’t know anything about negotiations. I might as well be alone.”

 

Negotiation Awareness:

Most people don’t realize when they’re negotiating. Negotiation occurs when you’re attempting to achieve an outcome. Anytime you’re trying to get someone to embrace your beliefs – you’re negotiating. Some consider that influencing. But in reality, it’s a negotiation.

As you’re most likely aware, my motto is, “You’re always negotiating.” That means, even when you’re engaged in the influence process, you’ve most likely had prior interactions that shape how you address someone. Those previous interactions were negotiations. You exchanged in the give-and-take process that’s influencing how you currently interact with someone of likemindedness or appearance.

That’s important for women to remember when they’re negotiating. If they possess a shackled mindset, they’ll be less efficient when negotiating. Instead, women must look at the situation and think, I’m free to be who I am. My past is not my present. And I will not allow old thoughts that hindered my progress from slowing me down. I will become stronger and move more boldly towards my future. Then, learn more about how to become a better negotiator.

 

Know Your Assets:

There were several factors about negotiations that the lady I was speaking with didn’t recognize.

  • She didn’t recognize that she’s continuously negotiating. That means being aware of where one action will lead and how it will impact the next step. Planning your steps will give you insights into what you’ll need as you engage them.

 

  • Since she thought she never negotiated, there were no contingency plans for situations she might encounter. Always plan how you’ll act and react before entering into situations. Women should consider how their gender might cause others to treat them. The more import the outcome, the more one should plan.

 

  • Her brother was an asset. His presence gave her unforeseen leverage. But since she didn’t know how to use it, she forewent that advantage. Sometimes, having the right person with you in a negotiation adds value to your effort. As a woman, consider how you might employ seen and unseen leverage in your negotiations.

 

  • When negotiating in what might be an awkward situation, consider allies to enlist to strengthen your position. Look for those that have skills that will offset those of the other negotiator.

 

Know Your Negotiation Counterpart:

  • Negotiators have different styles of negotiating. And some have differing thoughts about negotiating against women. To understand the type of negotiator you’re dealing with understand their mind.

 

  • Women have built-in advantages in most societies. And that’s their gender. In general, most men don’t think women can negotiate effectively. A woman can make that ill-thought a man’s peril. And that’s the hidden advantage. Women can take advantage of men’s perception by luring male counterparts into negotiation traps. Then, she can spring it before he realizes he’s trapped.

 

  • Some women are relieved when they negotiate against another woman. Don’t fall prey to this thought. As a woman, it can be tougher negotiating with some women than some men. Some women believe they have to be tough to be respected. And they won’t cut you slack because you’re the same gender.

 

Mock Negotiations:

Before engaging in what might be a tough negotiation, practice. Do so in mock negotiations. Everyone can benefit from them. But women can gain more enormous benefits by practicing with male counterparts that might act like those that she’ll face at the negotiation table.

Never discount the value of practicing. And never neglect the importance of mock negotiations. They can simulate real-life reality before it becomes that.

 

Conclusion:

The lady with whom I spoke had a commonality with other women about negotiations. Some either fail to even recognize with they’re negotiating, or they ratchet down their negotiation efforts out of fear. In either case, they shortchange themselves. They also forgo opportunities that could bring benefits for those that are dearest.

The question becomes, as a woman, is being a better negotiator worth the effort that it’ll take to become more successful? Others are depending on you! Commit today to enhance your negotiation skills … and everything will be right with the world.

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

  

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

#women #success #mistakes #Negotiate #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #Negotiator #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #BodyLanguageExpert #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams #success

 

 

Categories
Marketing Personal Development

What fires have you put out recently? Share them through your online content.

Looking for something to write about for online content?

Talk about the fires you’ve put out this month, for starters…

Regardless of what area of expertise in which you specialize, you undoubtedly have had to deal with unexpected left turns when it comes to your client work. 

While these speed bumps and hindrances are undoubtedly a pain in the ass with which to deal, you’ve handled it in the best way possible to satisfy your clients. 

The bad news is that you never know when these roadblocks will present themselves.

The good news is that you can leverage the entire experience in content that will deeply resonate with those that you serve.

I’ve devoted a good portion of my blog and social content to describe the various ways in which I’ve helped clients overcome emotional roadblocks, logistical hiccups and day-of-shoot shenanigans that could’ve ultimately affected the success of the session.

Ultimately, it only represented a small blip on the radar once we addressed the issue and moved past it.

Why?

It alerts clients of the type of service and experience that they should expect when they work with me.

At the end of the day, everything I write is not about me, it’s about my clients.

And sharing how you put out fires is a huge component to that puzzle because we all know that smooth sailing with respect to client work is rarely how things work out. 

Potential clients want a sense of how you handle yourself in those moments

Why?

When they read your content, they’re relating it directly to themselves. 

Let them know how you will take care of them should something unsuspected arise in the work you do with them.

Since we’re talking about putting out fires, let’s get some of them on paper for you right now.

Putting Out Fires — Idea Nugget Exercise

I want you to identify one client you’ve had over the past month where the road got a little rocky and answer the following questions. 

Don’t rush – take a couple minutes: 

  • What was the 5-alarm fire that popped up during your client work?
  • How did your client react to it?
  • How did you react to it?
  • How did you resolve the issue? 

Once you’re done, combine the answers together, tighten up the English, make sure the story is relatable to those in your audience and, suddenly, you have the raw materials needed to create a social post or blog article staring right back at you!

Then, the next question is how do you visually punctuate this story, whether its an image for your social post or a thumbnail for your blog entry.

The first question is whether or not you want to identify the client specifically. 

If so:

  • Do you have a photo with the client? 
  • A selfie? 
  • Screengrab of you two talking via a web conferencing app such as Zoom? 
  • A photo taken together at an event?

If you don’t want to identify the client and speak in general terms – I do this ALL the time – then:

  • Do you have a lifestyle portrait of you working with a client where you can’t make out their faces? 
  • On a Zoom call on your laptop? 
  • On the phone speaking with a client? 
  • A dramatic photo of you thinking to yourself that creates a sentiment of reflection and rumination?

There are a myriad ways you can visually punctuate a story like this. 

The key is that you first identify the specific fire you put out and write it down, and the image choice will inevitably follow based on your objective with the post and whether or not you want to identify the client specifically.

When you share content like this, you’re providing your audience of potential clients the opportunity to realize that whatever comes up while working with you, they’re in good hands and you know exactly how to take care of them.

That goes a long way in establishing a deeper connection, rapport and ultimately, trust, with those you serve.

Similar to this idea nugget-inducing article, I share a variety of storytelling strategies in my blog. If you’d like to receive them directly in your inbox to read at your leisure, then subscribe to my 

blog – I’ll throw in a free gift once you sign up, cause you know, I care, 🙂

If you’re looking for more personalized work to help you sort out your online content creation strategy, I can help you with that, as well. 

Set up a call with me and let’s see if we’re a fit to work together and how I can help you with your points of friction in this area.

 

John DeMato is a NYC branded lifestyle portrait photographer and storytelling strategist who serves speakers, authors, coaches and high-level entrepreneurs across the country. His 50+ page e-book, S.H.A.R.E. M.A.G.I.C.A.L. I.D.E.A.S., lays out the how, what and why behind creating a memorable and referable online presence – sign up to get your FREE copy today.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

“What Stops You The Most From Being Amazingly Successful” – Negotiation Insight

“Your potential for greater success stops when you give up at your weakest point.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)

 

 

Click here to get the book!

“What Stops You The Most From Being Amazingly Successful”

Are there times when you feel you’re at the gate of success only to find that it’s locked? And you don’t have the key. You believe you’re so close and still so far away. Even worse, do you become frustrated or dissatisfied because you don’t perceive any success at all? Does that cause dismay, despair, or even depression in you?

If so, don’t disband your dissatisfaction factor. There’s nothing wrong with those emotions. If you never have such sensations, you’ll never be as successful as you could become. The reason is, you’d be settling for mediocrity. You would not be demanding more from yourself. You’d be breathing, but you wouldn’t be alive. You’d be a member of the walking dead waiting for your burial time.

Thus, those feelings of dismay, despair, or depression are self-signals summoning you to dig deeper within yourself to find the drive that’ll take you higher. Listen to that desire. It’s your hidden source of motivation that will spur you to greater heights.

 

Understanding Frustration:

As we go through life, we prepare for what we wish to become – obtain – possess. The more preparation we put into such endeavors, the sooner we expect to receive rewards for our efforts. When they don’t occur according to our timeframe, we become burdened with anxieties. And that can begin the downward spiral of the opposite goal we seek.

Stop the madness! Allowing yourself to become mentally disabled, due to your perception of slow progress, doesn’t enhance your growth. It only slows an otherwise quicker pace at which you could advance. And that’s a dilemma you don’t need. In essence, you won’t improve faster because you’ll be preventing yourself from doing so.

 

Mindset Shift:

So why do we allow ourselves to fall prey to the traps that lead to immobility? We work hard and do what’s expected to advance. And instead of having a wealth of advancement rushing to take us onto new heights, we appear disabled by the painstaking drip of slow or no perceived progress.

When besieged by the thought of slow or no progress in your life, take time to rest mentally. You may be in a state of mental overload. That state will not allow you to see the preverbal forest for the trees. Clear your mental clutter. Think about the time when you were most successful. Consider what you did to get to that point. There’ll be lessons embedded in that reflection. Thus, you can replicate what you did to become successful in the past. You may have to alter some of those past steps. But there’ll be footprints that can lead you back to a successful path. Success always leaves footprints.

You can continue doing what you’re doing, and you’ll continue receiving the same outcomes that you’ve been receiving. Or, you can commit to alter your thinking and begin to become more successful. Either way, the choice is yours. Choose wisely … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

Sometimes you can have the best plans entering into a negotiation and quickly discover that you have to abandon them. That can be due to any set of variables. You misplanned due to your misperception of what was most at stake. You misunderstood the intent of the other negotiator. Or, you became sidetracked by an act of God that you had no control over. Regardless of the reason, if you allow yourself to become frustrated, you’ll begin to lose your mental composure. And when that occurs, you’ve started to lose the negotiation.

In a negotiation, focus on your goals. Instead of becoming frustrated, become fortified. Do so by allowing yourself the mental time and space to reflect on your next actions. It’s better to call a time out than to be placed in a position of being out of time and making a bad deal. If you never act out of haste, you’ll be less likely to make hasty actions. Never forget that hasty actions can cause you to be less successful.

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

 

#Success #Negotiate #Negotiator #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams

 

 

 

Categories
Marketing Personal Development

The benefits of joining a professional association

Want to be discovered by those you serve?

Discover them by joining their groups and associations.

I never felt so naked in my life. 

I kept repeating that sentence to myself, as well as relaying it to anyone who asked, “how’s your Influence experience going?”

Influence is the big daddy conference held annually for the National Speakers Association, and I attended this year’s installment in Denver – not as a photographer, but as a participant.

To give you a little perspective, this was the first time ever that I’ve attended a conference without a camera or the intention of working behind a lens.

Ever.

And yeah, it was uncomfortable. 

To the point that I made that known to all of my colleagues from the local NYC Chapter when they checked-in with me in between breakout sessions or lunch. 

But, I’m not bringing this up to further shine a light on my shyness – that’s an obnoxiously long conversation for another day!

Despite how weird and uncomfortable I felt walking the halls without my camera, I knew I was in the right place talking to the right people for several reasons.

First of all, speakers and authors are my people.

Not just because they’re the group I serve with my specialized attention behind a camera.

But because they’re amazing artists with skills that I respect and admire.

I am inspired by people who tell stories – impactful, entertaining, thought-provoking and game-changing stories- for a living. 

And I was surrounded by these storytellers for 4 days, soaking in a wide variety of conversations.

Now, some people might say, “well, I follow these people on social media. I already learn what I need from what I read there.”

Sure, you can learn a lot while listening to conversations on social media, no doubt about that.

But, when you’re face-to-face with someone over the course of a couple of days, a certain level of rapport and connection happens that simply cannot happen over a computer. 

You’re sharing an experience together in person, which opens up the honesty floodgates a little wider than engaging a blog article or social media post.

Conversations with fellow association attendees affords you a variety of benefits.

Benefit #1 – intelligence-gathering mission

Although I am not a professional speaker, I attended a bunch of breakout sessions for professional speakers and trainers.

Rather than apply this information to my business specifically, I can use the keywords, phrases and other speaker-centric jargon in my content that I share with speakers, authors, and other expert-based businesses. 

The idea is that if I leverage the verbiage used by the top speakers in the industry, it will help create visibility for my own services because the messages will resonate more deeply. 

In addition to the actual language being used, I also took a laundry list of notes related to other aspects of the business of professional speaking:

  • What other revenue streams do they look to create
  • What marketing strategies and tactics to employ to help raise their speaker fees
  • What types of technology to use to help improve their keynotes

These and many other topics were covered during the conference. 

This type of information is invaluable to me because I now have a unique opportunity to talk about how my services can help them solve these particular challenges.

Benefit #2 – Understand the different levels of clients

While at Influence, I immediately noticed that not every speaker is starring on the same playing field. 

Now, I didn’t need to hop on a plane to find that out.

But, when you’re in conversation with a young speaker starting out and, 5 minutes later, chatting with a CSP, I’m able to quickly understand how some of my services are best tailored for certain levels of clients. 

And more importantly, how to tailor the messaging to attract those types of clients to that specific service and session.

Benefit #3 – Deeper connections with people you already know

While building relationships online is an important aspect of your online presence, the goal is to get those relationships off-line and happening in real life. 

This fact was never more evident than when I was at the conference. 

As I mentioned earlier, I had my challenges initiating conversations with new people and shared this openly with colleagues that I knew. 

To my surprise, they reciprocated their own feelings by sharing with me their own anxieties, frustrations and overwhelm.  

These are extremely successful keynotes, and through these conversations, I realized that no matter what level you achieve, fear, regret, imposter syndrome, and doubt are real emotions that need to be dealt with over and over again. 

I was shocked at some of the stories I heard but was extremely appreciative because they opened themselves up to me in a way that would have never happened had we started an email chain or direct message banter. 

It’s through these revealing, yet cathartic, conversations that strengthened the relationships I have with these speakers, and I feel like the professional relationship has graduated to a more personal one. 

At the end of the day, I aim to work only with professionals that I would consider to be my friends, so, this is precisely why I was thankful for having the opportunity to be in this position. 

When you’re looking to build an expert-based business that serves a specific niche, you need to go where they hang out – digitally and in real life. 

Although the investment can be steep, the benefits are magical.

After all, what’s it worth to your business to engage a room full of your ideal clients face-to-face?

 

John DeMato is a NYC branded lifestyle portrait photographer and storytelling strategist who serves speakers, authors, coaches and high-level entrepreneurs across the country. His 50+ page e-book, S.H.A.R.E. M.A.G.I.C.A.L. I.D.E.A.S., lays out the how, what and why behind creating a memorable and referable online presence – sign up to get your FREE copy today.

Categories
Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries Investing Marketing Skills Technology

Disruptor Watch — How Disruptors Can Learn From Their Forebears

In today’s economic landscape, many companies look to be the “disruptor” instead of the “disrupted.” They want to identify a new niche in their industries or solve a problem people are unaware of, introducing next-gen technology and unprecedented business methods.

However, with every disruptive tech company, there are obvious caveats and pitfalls to note, and it behooves would-be entrepreneurs and innovators to observe and learn from both the successes and the mistakes of their recent forebears.

Disruptive Photo Technology 

Focal Media Group is the creator and producer of the StyleShoots photography machine. StyleShoots puts more power in the hands of major fashion retailers and the creative agencies they work with. Essentially, the machine automates much of the work associated with photo editing, such as basic Photoshopping. Its interface is extremely user-friendly, enabling someone with very little photography experience to create consistent, high-quality imagery, allowing major fashion retailers and brands to cut down on production costs and time to market. For creative agencies, StyleShoots turns around quality content much quicker than before, freeing agencies up to compete for more business and putting them ahead of their competition.

While this technology could have wide applications in the photography world, fashion product photography is already seeking to carve out a niche for itself before expanding. By relegating itself to the world of fashion product photography, Focal Media Group has already gained a slew of high-profile brands as clients, such as Macy’s, Triumph, Forever 21, Zalando, Woolworths, and Scotch & Soda. It has also sold StyleShoots machines to major creative agencies, such as Pure Red and Undefeated Creative.

However, it would still behoove the Focal Media Group to pay attention to its recent forebears and to take close note of their respective successes and shortcomings. Here are some things Focal Media Group should be willing to address:

Lowering the Barrier of Entry

While the StyleShoots machine is being adopted by major fashion retailers, very few people in the industry are aware of the savings and added revenue it could provide. This means Focal Media Group could stand to use both social and traditional media to expand its marketing campaign in order to create awareness. If the only thing preventing a product from turning its target industry upside down is awareness, a solid marketing campaign will prove invaluable, as other recent successes have discovered.

Learning from Airbnb

I’ve written extensively about companies like Airbnb — how they’ve disrupted their respective industries and succeeded at creating enormous, widely acclaimed brands and user experiences. However, these organizations have succeeded hugely in some areas of business and failed spectacularly in others.

Let’s look at how a company like Focal Media Group can benefit from paying attention to what Airbnb’s been doing these past few years.

In the documentary Design Disruptors, Airbnb Head of Experience Design Katie Dill provides insight into what makes the company so effective from a design standpoint. Essentially, Airbnb leverages design and aesthetics to facilitate a better overall user experience, which has clearly proved successful.

In Design Disruptors, Dill explains that the design team is not a “design” team but an “experience” team, considering everything a user explores in Airbnb’s platform as an overarching brand experience. Airbnb includes its community in its experience design processes, effectively touting design as a means to create a more comprehensive, friendlier, and beautiful user experience, which is key to the success of any startup.

Focal Media Group would do well to focus on creating a user experience that makes prospective clients feel at ease, like they can easily operate the StyleShoots machine or teach their colleagues how to use it. The experience should also explicitly illustrate how brands, retailers, and agencies stand to benefit from using StyleShoots and its related products for their photography.

Pay attention to what people are saying about you in real-time. Pay closer attention to both the quality of your product, user experience, and how you can keep it as high as possible. If you have an amazing product and a friendly, inviting user experience with an easy-to-use interface, you likely won’t have to worry about a PR blowback or unhappy customers.

Focal Media Group and its StyleShoots machine is only one pertinent example out of thousands of startups seeking to disrupt their respective industries. But if you’re a company on the verge of disrupting a major industry, you would do well to observe your more successful and noteworthy predecessors, to mark both their successes and their failures to better your own company and more effectively facilitate the disruption you seek to implement.

Categories
Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Operations Sales Skills Women In Business

“How To Think Quickly In A Scary Crisis” – Negotiation Insight

“A scary crisis can create stress. Thinking quickly can avert it.” – Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)

  

 

Click here to get the book!

“How To Think Quickly In A Scary Crisis”

“The first thought I had was, am I going to die?” Those were the words a lady recounted to her friend. She was referring to a scary situation she feared would become a #crisis. It happened when she was at a bank and two men walked in. They hollered, “this is a stick-up!”

Hopefully, you’ve never had such an experience. But if one were to occur, what would you do? I know that depends on the specific situation and circumstances. But what do you think your initial thoughts might be? If you’re considering that, you’re doing what you should do to confront a potential crisis – prepare for it ahead of time.

This article will help you think about how to prepare for such occurrences if one should befall you.

 

Thinking Ahead:

When you’re threatened, your body goes into a fight or flight response. During that time, you make snap judgments about the action you’ll take. Upon hindsight, those actions may not be rational.

In a potential crisis, to limit irrational actions consider how you might act/react before entering them. You might note exit doors, hiding places, and resources that can aid you. Some of the resources might be other people that share your plight. Be strategic in your thoughts and planning.

The more prepared you are for a crisis, the better your response will be. And that could turn out to be a lifesaver.

 

Fight, Flight, Freeze:

When you’re threatened, you begin an evaluation process to assess the threat and the best course of action to take. The problem is, the clock doesn’t stop ticking during that time. You can’t call a timeout. And the situation could escalate during your deliberations.

Most people are aware of the fight or flight response. It occurs when we become fearful. But there’s another possible response to consider. It’s called the freeze response. It’s somewhat like the ‘shelter in place’ command. During that time, you limit your movement. That’s an attempt to lessen attention to yourself. It’ll limit your possible exposure and harm. Note the differences between the ‘shelter in place’ and freeze response. In the latter, you make no movement at all.

Never overlook the potential usage of the freeze response. It’s another tool that could be your lifesaver. Plan for the possibility of its use. If you know through calculations when it might be most applicable, you’ll be more flexible in the actions you adopt … and everything will be right with the world.

 

What does this have to do with negotiations?

 

Very seldom does a negotiation escape some form of crisis. They may be small or large depending on what’s at stake. But nevertheless, if they create trauma for you or the other negotiator, you’ll seek a plausible solution to them. Thus, during your planning stage of the negotiation, consider the actions you’ll adopt to confront troublesome situations. You should also consider what might cause them to escalate and how you’ll defuse them.

A crisis in a negotiation usually evolves over time – it doesn’t happen suddenly. Therefore, you can see it coming. When you sense a crisis is gathering strength, address it with a prepared action. That action might consist of the fight, flight, or freeze response. That means you’d dig in your heels (fight), choose to end the negotiation – or call a timeout (flight or freeze), or do nothing (freeze). You’d adopt a ‘freeze state’ to see what the other negotiator might do from that point.

In any negotiation, the options you adopt to address situations determine the flow and outcome of the negotiation. A crisis is the greatest threat to a successful negotiation outcome. It can derail a negotiation. Thus, the better prepared you are to address it, the greater control you’ll have over and during the negotiation.

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

#Crisis #Negotiate #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams

 

 

Categories
Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

“Great Negotiators Know How To Ask Good and Better Questions“ – Negotiation Tip of the Week

 

“Questions are the gateway to knowledge. Good questions light the path to that gateway.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)

Click here to get the book!

“Great Negotiators Know How To Ask Good and Better Questions“

 

Some negotiators believe, there’s no such thing as a bad question. They believe all questions solicit additional information – information that you wouldn’t receive if the question went unasked. I don’t think that’s true!

Some questions weaken your negotiation position. They project a lack of perceived foresight. And they can allow openings for the other negotiator to take control. But you can turn some weak questions into better ones that benefit your negotiation position.

If you’re somewhat confused right now, how do you feel about your confusion? Do you possess a desire to discover more on this topic? Do you have some other need? That’s the power of questions. They can control the thoughts of the other negotiator and put you in a power position. Questions can also lead to the other negotiator pulling away from you. Thus, you must know how and when to use them.

This article delivers insights about when and how to ask better questions to improve your negotiation position.

Bad/Good Questions:

A bad question is made worse by its timing. That can decrease the perception of your persona and make you appear weak. But what might appear to be a bad question posed with proper timing can gain a wealth of information. That would turn it into a good question.

When asking questions such as, how can I help you? Or, what can I do to assist – you display a lack of knowledge about the needs of the person you’re soliciting?

Nevertheless, there is a place for questions that may appear to be weak or lack specificity. You’d use them when they enhance the planned persona you wish to project. In such times, you’d use the mentioned questions as tools of positioning. Questions such as, how can I help you will cast a broader net. It will gain a deeper insight into the information you’re seeking.

Better Questions:

Better questions solicit better information. And they heightened your sense of control as a negotiator. Such questions …

  • Use what-if scenarios. What-if scenarios explore the realm of possibility. They don’t commit you to action unless the scenario is agreed on by all parties. Example – what if we lowered your cost and shipped the items early, could we close the deal today? If the other negotiator was in agreement, you’d have a deal. If she wasn’t, you will have gained insight into her negotiation position. Either way, you’ve gained valuable information.

 

  • Challenge existing norms. When challenging popular beliefs, you’ll attract attention. Depending on how your questions are received you’ll become more influential. You might be placed in a position of having to defend your position, too. So, consider the types of questions you’ll use to challenge popular norms and how they’ll position you in the negotiation.

 

  • Can’t be answered quickly. When asking questions that someone can’t readily answer, they go into thought mode. Depending on the environment, you can throw them a lifeline by answering the question yourself. Or, you can let them flounder. By allowing them to flounder, you allow others to view their lack of knowledge. That will decrease their perceived expertise. By saving them, they’re spared from floundering. That will ingratiate them to you.

 

Assumptive Questions:

Assumptive questions allow you to be perceived as possibly knowing more than you do. You can use them to test the other negotiator’s position or offer. To do so, make a statement that infers you have secret information. You can also make the statement sound like a question. Example – “You’ve given larger discounts in the past, correct?” After that, be very attuned to the response per the inflection in the voice and mannerisms displayed. Look for signs of agreement, lies, or doubt. If you sense either, probe deeper.

The questions asked determines the information that’s received. And the timing of those questions detracts from or enhances that information. To increase your ability to gather quality information in your negotiations, ask good timely questions that lead to better answers … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#Questions #Negotiate #Process #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #Negotiator #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #BodyLanguageExpert #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams

 

 

 

Categories
Investing Management Marketing Personal Development Sales

The Seven “Power Components” of Elite Funnel Management

Companies must excel in managing their sales funnel at all levels, from salesperson self-diagnosis, to sales management one-on-ones, to executive funnel reviews. Funnel management is key to understanding the health of any business.  Ultimately, high-performing sales organizations are great funnel management organizations.

In this article, I’ll go over some of the principles I share with my clients. We build a regular cadence around the aspects below.

  • Some indicate sales behavior gaps. That is, the areas below identify gaps in how sellers manage their businesses, and point sales managers to productive coaching conversations.
  • Some indicate dysfunctional management behavior.  Yes, some problems come about because management puts inappropriate incentives in place.

1.    Does the Funnel Reflect Your Business?

Your process probably doesn’t reflect your business if it’s the process that came with your CRM “out of the box”. Instead, take the time to make your funnel yours, instead of your CRM vendor’s.

Does your funnel reflect how your customers buy, and align your sales process to that?Simple process steps or full-on playbooks which incorporate all selling resources and roles are all fine, depending on your business, but:

One simple guideline: build your process around your typical customer journey. Remember, as process detail builds, make sure nothing clouds the view of your customer’s buying process.

2.    Does Your Funnel Give Full Visibility?

Basically, if a seller spends time on an opportunity, it should appear on the funnel. Sellers can’t work effectively “maintaining two sets of books”, especially when one is in their heads.  Worse, companies can’t resource properly.

Unfortunately, dysfunctional incentives often drive lack of visibility. Sellers sandbag when management harangues indiscriminately on early stage deals. Sellers logically avoid busywork when documentation/data entry burden on early stage deals is excessive (as judged by the sales person). Leaders, if you want full visibility, you need to welcome it…and minimize the pain of disclosure.

  • For example, I recently worked with a sales force whose standard operating procedure was to “enter-into-CRM-when-won”. The company’s close rate was 90+%, but opportunities appeared in the CRM minutes to days before being won (actual sales cycle could be 5 quarters). As a manufacturing company, lead times stretched because operations had no advance notice, and couldn’t order materials. While sales people hated dealing with long lead times, they obviously hated dysfunctional funnel conversations even more.

3.    Is There Enough Business In Your Funnel? 

The bigger the funnel, the better, right? Unfortunately, this area spawns unintended consequences.  Some sales leaders gravitate toward oversized funnels. Predictably, mere minutes after an edict for 3x or 5x the sales goal goes out, sales people begin entering “manager repellant” deals into their funnels. Then, everyone from sellers to managers, CRM admins, executives, operations leaders, etc. gets sucked into the extra work of touching, monitoring and handling hundreds of “dead man walking” opportunities. While a funnel must contain sufficient volume of opportunities to retire sales goal, “multiples” aren’t fixed, but depend on individual seller ratios, seasonality, fit, industry, and more.

Whenever I work with clients on “funnel sufficiency”, we combine volume with quality scoring for fit/winnability. Removing low-probability opportunities from the funnel increases predictability.  More importantly, clients de-resource time-wasting opportunities, reallocating effort more productively.

Bottom line: put only good deals into your funnel.  If there aren’t enough of those, the cure isn’t adding garbage opportunities.

4.    Is the Funnel a Healthy Shape?

One level deeper than overall funnel sufficiency is volume at each stage.  I refer to this as funnel shape.  A healthy funnel is shaped like…well…a funnel.  A variety of selling behavior problems show up simply by examining volume in each stage.  For instance, if a seller’s funnel is dominated by top-of-funnel deals (with almost no opportunities in the middle and late stages), that seller is either a new rep or might have a hard time qualifying opportunities.  Similarly, different deformations signal a need for a helpful coaching interaction.  These conversations are targeted; guided by the funnel shape.  Even better, coaching interventions occur in time to rescue opportunities…and sales careers.

5.     Are Opportunities Progressing Well?

By itself, how quickly opportunities progress is an indicator of winnability.  “Time kills all deals” is a truism.  Once funnel stages corresponding to a customer’s buying processare identified and incorporated in your system, we develop an expected time for each stage.  CRM systems can easily measure time-in-stage, which doesn’t have to trigger panic, but should trigger an alert to sales people and front-line managers to diagnose the reason for the holdup.

The metrics-savvy manager could deduce that a higher number of sales stages might yield shorter stage durations, and thus a faster trouble indicator.  Maybe; it depends on a couple things.  1) The precision of defined customer actions for advancing to the following stage; poor definitions lead to lots of false triggering, which causes everyone to ignore alarms.  2) Your sales team’s willingness to put up with the workload of more frequent updates; the more detail a CRM asks for, the less accurate the CRM tends to be.

6.    Can You Immediately See Opportunity Quality? 

What would you think about a funnel view that shows deal size and expected close date, but also displays quality/fit/winnability?  Your view of your business would go from a flat, two-dimensional representation to a full-depth view.  You would have greater confidence and could make better decisions, couldn’t you? This is true for the salesperson looking at their own business all the way to the CEO preparing for an investor call.

In my practice, I see a good-better-best continuum of opportunity quality:

  • Basic level: Stages are assigned a standard win probablility, perhaps validated historically. Alternately, sellers can override standard probabilities, using personal estimates (or some overall guidelines).
  • High Level: when sales stages incorporate customer actions (item 5 above), zombie deals (no customer buying activity happening, but opportunities keep walking along) are excluded. Additionally, opportunities get scored with criteria specific to the business and customer fit.
  • Elite Level: Sales forces quantify customer-perceived value throughout an opportunity pursuit. When incorporated into the opportunity scoring system above, sellers and executives alike have a direct line-of-sight into the customer’s case for change and preference for the seller’s solution. Forecasts with this level of customer insight are highly reliable. Won-lost reviews are precision events. This also builds a foundation for profitable, win-win pricing.

7.    Does the Funnel Show a Desirable Business Mix?

Does the funnel show healthy prospecting and early qualification activity? Looking at new opportunity entries, is there enough, and is initial qualification activity taking place?  Are quality value conversations taking place from the outset?  That is, is value quantified early and widely?

Is the right emphasis given to large opportunities? Big numbers attract disproportionate resources. Is there a solid value assessment in place to justify those resources?  When appropriate, is there a co-created customer “plan-to-go-live” (the customer-centric twin of the “win plan”) in place?

Are stuck deals – those languishing too long in a given stage — identified in timely manner and are interventions compelling?  Looking at customer-perceived value assessments gives insight into the customer motivation/internal case for change.

Is the right product-mix represented?  If not, is a seller gravitating toward a certain kind of business, leaving other opportunities untended?  This could point to a product training issue, a misaligned incentives issue, or a seller issue.  Figure out which and intervene accordingly.

Rinse. Repeat. Have Regular Cadence

None of these guidelines matter if they stay on the shelf.  Hold your leaders accountable for a regular cadence.  Make it a priority.  Incentivize cadence properly and track it, because sales leaders aren’t any different than anyone else.

I hope this helps.  Contact me or ask questions below if I can add any more detail.  If you’d like to go into more detail on your specific situation, reach out.

To your success!