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Category: Marketing

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Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Operations Sales Skills Women In Business

Thank You for Your Patience

“Patience can be a virtue; it can also be an enslaver. Know the difference to avoid entrapment.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

How many times have you heard the words, “thank you for your patience”? To a degree, there are times when such words become frustrating. You hear over the intercom, “you’re flight’s been delayed”, thank you for your patience. The train is 33 minutes behind schedule. Thank you for your patience.

In most situations when such words are uttered, thank you for your patience, you’re in a captive position. You can’t do anything but wait. So, why do you think such announcements are made? Do you think there’s a hidden message implied?

Sometimes, the attempt is to keep you calm and feeling like the offending party is sorry for the dilemma they’ve caused. They’re soliciting empathy to soften you to the plight you find yourself in. In other times, they’re genuinely sorry.

So, what can you do to pushback on such psychological ploys? In some cases, you can say, I appreciate the sincerity of your statement, can you please do ‘x’? In this case, ‘x’ is something that you might want due to the inconvenience you find yourself in. That request is nothing more than a test to assess their sincerity.

Depending on the circumstances, you might be surprised at what you’re granted. The point is, words are used to influence emotions. In this case, they could be used to assuage the hostile feelings that may be swirling in you due to the circumstances. To allay those feelings and test your negotiation skills, ask the other party to show through action how sorry they are. You can request anything that pleases you. I’ve done it by asking for a penny. The request got a laugh, which made the situation more tenable. It changed the outlook I had and that of the other party.

When you find yourself in a position of helplessness, due to situations that you perceive to be out of your hands, take actions to control them. You’ll be amazed at how well you feel … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations? 

In a negotiation, the words, ‘thank you for your patience’ can be a way to subdue a request for concessions, or slow the negotiation process down. It can also suggest genuine sincerity for an indiscreet remark or action. The point is, you need to understand the real meaning of someone’s conveyance to assess the purveyor’s true intent. Without validation, you could misperceive that intent, which can cause the negotiation to take an unexpected turn.

First, consider the mindset you possess; your current state of mind will influence your perspective. Next, consider the person with whom you’re negotiating. Has she displayed an ill temper throughout the negotiation, or a demeanor that’s been non-threatening, passive, and one of conciliation?  Take into account what has occurred prior to that point; the closer you are to a point of exasperation, the less likely you are to being in an understanding mindset. That means if you’ve been riled throughout the negotiation, or at a point that’s not too distant, you’ll be more likely to seek retribution and less likely to offer forgiveness.

Always be mindful of the intent of the other negotiator. It’s through that understanding that you’ll gain insight into the real person with whom you’re negotiating.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

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/

#patience, #Success #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #liars #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #negotiaton

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Leadership Marketing Personal Development Sales

Brains Behind the Best and Worst Marketing Campaigns of 2018

Some people think there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but in the world of PR, getting your message right the first time is crucial. If you take it too far and the message doesn’t resonate with your audience, your business and reputation could be on the line. Adversely, if you do something right, you could gain a lot more customers, garner more social network interactions, and even see a rapid increase in sales. This week on my brain health and memory improvement site brainhackers.com, we compiled a list of some of the Best & Worst PR/Marketing Campaigns from this past year.

Here is the latest post from my very talented staff member: 

http://brainhackers.com/brains-behind-the-best-worst-marketing-campaigns-of-2018/

 

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

How to Win More Negotiations by Using Power Right

“The perception of power is based on how it’s used. Use it right, and you’re perceived as being powerful. Use it wrong and you’re perceived as being weak.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

What does power look like in negotiations? Is it encompassed in the outcome (i.e. he who obtains the most is more powerful)? Is it encapsulated within the flow of the negotiation, or does it stem from another source? You can win more negotiations by using power right, but first, you must know how and when to deploy your power. Thus, your assessment of how to present the presence of power should be based on the negotiator type that you’re negotiating with.

Lead or Led

Power in a negotiation may take the form of the person that’s leading or the person that’s led. In the former situation, a false pretense can be assumed because he assumes he’s in the lead. That can lend itself to a false sense of bravado, which might cause one to expose his hand.

On the other hand, some people prefer to be led in a negotiation. Of the four personality types of negotiators (i.e. Hard/Closed, Hard/Open, Easy/Closed, Easy/Open) the ‘Easy/Open’ negotiator type is the one most susceptible to being led.

Hard/Closed

The most combative of the negotiator types will be the ‘hard/closed’ negotiator. His mental perspective is, ‘the only way I can win is if you lose.’ Thus, he’ll fight you for every gain you acquire and be very reluctant to make concessions unless he receives something in return. Just as an aside, some negotiators will adopt this posture to assess your response. That means this style of negotiation is not his preferred manner to negotiate. You can gain insight into the validity of his attempts by adopting the same demeanor, making a small concession and seeing how he responds or challenging him per his demeanor. In either case, don’t engage too deeply until you’ve gained enough of an assessment to know definitively what he’s up to.

Hard/Open

This negotiator type will not be as rigid as the ‘hard/closed’ type, but she may be close. She won’t be as gruff. Her demeanor will be one of allowing you the hope of acquiring more of what you seek if you go along with her plans.

With this type, go slow. Allow her to lead you to gain insight into her plans. Again, make small concessions when appropriate and request concessions to determine how amenable she might be to a give and take process. Don’t attempt to be heavy-handed with her. If you do, she may stiffen and become the ‘hard/closed’ type.

Easy/Closed

The ‘easy’ type of negotiators are the most amenable types to negotiate with. While the ‘easy/closed’ type will be the most difficult between the two, she will still be more open than the ‘closed’ types.

With this type of negotiator, adopt a power position; this is to let her know that you recognize the power you possess in the negotiation. Don’t pose it as an outright threat. Instead, position it as the silent stick that can be employed if the carrot doesn’t work.

Easy/Open

This is the easiest type to negotiate with. He will be amenable to following your lead. Be sure not to spook him. If he feels safe in the negotiation, he’ll follow your lead without question; he’ll even do so to his detriment. But he wants things to appear fair, so be aware of this trait in him. The best power to employ is the appearance of no power. Let him think he’s in the lead and you can lead him from behind.

When using power in a negotiation, the way you employ it based on the negotiator type will impact the success you have with it. By knowing when and how to employ your power, you’ll be in a more powerful position throughout the negotiation … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

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/

#win #Power #Negotiator #Business #Management #SmallBusiness #Money #Negotiating #combat #negotiatingwithabully #bully #bullies #bullying #Negotiations #PersonalDevelopment #HandlingObjections #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #NegotiationPsychology

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

Do You Suffer from the Illusion of Success?

“Success has many suitors. Are you prepared to be embraced by success?” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Exactly what is a success? You hear people talking about success but seldom do they speak about what it means to be successful. Some people may see what they consider to be a bum laying on a grate and deem him as lacking success. Is that true? Might that individual be so happy with where he is in life that he would consider himself to be successful?

The meaning of success can only be determined by you! And, it’s very important that you define what that means. Its meaning will shift throughout your life but unless you define it at every stage of its change, you’ll miss the opportunity to define its meaning for your future.

When you define what success means to you, you’re defining your future. You’re setting psychological neurons into motion within your own brain to acquire the goals that will determine the degree of success you’ve achieved at some point in the future. That will determine the actions you engage in, the friends you associate with, the job or business activities you indulge in, etc. When you define what success means for you, you set a road map of how you’ll reach the weigh stations along the path to success.

So, don’t create the illusion of success by a lack of its definition. Instead, determine what it’s related to as it relates to the person you wish to be in the future. The better you define what success is to you, the greater the chance you’ll have at creating a plan to become successful. There will be illusions along success’ path but they won’t create the distraction that they would have produced had you not defined its meaning. Plus, you’ll be in a better mental place to banish any illusions that would present themselves as a ghostly harbinger to distract you from your path. That will reduce the angst and stress that you would have placed upon yourself.

Once you acquire the insight to determine what success means for you, you’ll be more mindful of the actions that lead to greater success … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations? 

You should never enter a negotiation without having defined what a successful outcome is. You should also define what a less than stellar outcome will look like. Even if you must exit a negotiation prior to its end, you can still view it as a success. It could be viewed as such when considering the time you might have wasted in an endless loop that was going nowhere.

During your strategy planning stage of your negotiation, highlight what a successful outcome will look like and mean to you. Make sure you assess what you think it will mean and look like for your negotiation counterpart too. With a picture of the meaning of success for both of you, you’ll have a greater understanding of how he’s feeling if it starts to slip from him. That, in turn, will allow you to use the illusion of success to keep him on that path or reward him by giving the presence of success back to him. Regardless of your choice, you’ll be in a stronger negotiation position, and that’s something that every negotiator seeks.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

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/

#Illusion, #Success #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #liars #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Leadership Marketing Skills

DIY Personal Branding

It was great to be in New York last week and meet so many in the C-Suite Network and other Advisors!

It’s hard to cover everything in such a short amount of time, so I want to write down some tips that you can all use in your personal branding efforts.

I’ve done a lot of work in my own personal branding as I mentioned up on the stage. It’s really been a learning experience figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and what really fits my personal brand. I am always evolving in that sense of what I will add, change, etc. Also, I am constantly balancing what to put under the company brand, what is under the Mari Anne Vanella brand, and what is part of both.

I mentioned LinkedIn a number of times, and that’s because that is a digital office workspace that YOU control. Think of years back, you would go into someone’s office and look around and get a feel for who they are, today that happens on calls many times….so that physical office that told you so much about prospects has moved online in many cases. Is your online office saying what you want people to know? Even other thought leaders that have pretty robust websites, blogs, etc. still have a healthy LinkedIn profile. That’s because LinkedIn has SEO value, it will be one of the first things (if not the first) that come up when people search for you… And they WILL search for you if they are considering working with you.

When I first started my company, the idea of personal branding was still pretty unheard of. But with the physical office space moving to the digital office space it’s opened a lot of opportunities for professionals to get their name out there. In 2000, working remotely and having a distributed team was an odd business model, but over the years I have closed millions of dollars of business with organizations I have not met in person. What they discover about The Vanella Group, Inc. and me personally helps them make those decisions.

I realize there are people that are reluctant to do a lot on LinkedIn, or they think it’s not important. I can say with a lot of confidence that if you invest the time in creating a solid profile on there it will get the message out that YOU want out there. If there is a lot of white space when prospects are looking for what you do, they mentally fill in the blanks with things they assume, i.e. you are not on top of modern trends, you are not knowledgeable of common digital practices, etc.  Part of the training I do for teams include using LinkedIn to get up to speed quickly on who you are about to have a meeting with. It will accelerate your prospects feeling good about you when they can get to know you online.

If there is nothing to see online, they might think that you’re a late adopter and you haven’t gotten on the digital wagon of maintaining an online presence. If they are really pushing an online presence, you may get ruled-out without ever knowing it because they think it isn’t an area you work in. In today’s digital world, that’s not that great of a message to send out.

If you are online but don’t update your digital presence, what do people discover? Do you still have your last job on there as your current job, that also sends a weird message. If you are a consultant promoting a business and your last job is what they see when they look you up, your consulting business looks more like “unemployed.”

I also see LinkedIn as a place to show some generosity. I tend to find it strange to see people working at a company in a leadership role for a number of years, and no one took the time to write a solid endorsement for them….or visa versa. It puts out a message that could be construed as not having a lot of loyalty or influence. That may not always be the case, but when I see people that freely give praise to their team and their team and other colleagues taking time to share their positive experiences, it says something about them. I have never met anyone that has or has given a lot of recommendations to be a cold person.  It is a great way to give back to people that helped you get where you are. Is there anyone you can do that for?

What are some things that you can do right now?

Think of what your brand is. Is it modern? Is it edgy? What is unique? What do you do that no one else does? What part of the solution you bring is special? Put it on paper so you can mentally organize it. Name it something even….productize your solution.

Do you have a unique process you bring? I mentioned on the stage that I know no one does what my company does, and I built out a strong methodology around it. I own the Telesales 2.0® mark. I designed it to be different.

The value of doing this is twofold because it’s a methodology that is unique to my company and differentiates our solution, and it’s also something that I created that adds to my personal brand.

What have YOU created that you can package into something unique that YOU own?

A challenge I see with services related companies is trying to be all things to all people and having a cloudy message. It’s a good exercise to distill those top areas that you are solving into a 1-3 areas and those other auxiliary types of things that you do save for live conversations. That may not always apply, but if you can narrow it to something very concise, it is worth considering.

Another important thing is to stay current and educate yourself. I mentioned on the stage how I keep Google alerts for myself, my company, but I also do that for topics and industry trends. I put the Internet to work for me so is delivering to me the content that I want to consume. I run across a lot of great content that I wouldn’t have discovered through the regular channels, so it’s a great way to identify sources as well. I can also see where others are using dated methods, are running into obstacles, and it helps me better define my deliverables.

Keeping your accomplishments current is also another important factor in how you brand yourself.  I’ve seen people that put minor accomplishments from 20 years ago in their bio that could be weakening their brand. What you did in 1992 is likely not super relevant to what is happening in 2019.  If you go too far back without a solid recent list of output, you run the risk of looking stale. I believe a lot of people that complain of ageism also put out aging messaging about themselves…not that it doesn’t exist, but why put something out there that causes more harm that good?

Something I see from time to time is a company with a pretty good website, but they don’t put their management team on it and we don’t really know who’s behind the curtain. Today’s buyers are astute, especially in executive-level services, and they want to know who you are and what you do. I would even recommend working with a content consultant or somebody that can help you to have a consistency across your website, your bio, your LinkedIn profile, Twitter, etc. Me personally, I spend zero time promoting anything professional on Facebook because my prospects just aren’t there, that goes with Instagram too.

I tend to avoid heated topics outside of my industry because it only would serve to alienate prospects. I do however engage in discussions about related topics that are flat out against what I know to be true. When I see people promoting the “cold calling is dead” message, I will gladly jump into that discussion. People do take calls, they don’t take bad calls…99% of the calls they get are bad calls. So that is another thing to think of, how will you engage in topics where there are differing opinions. Or will you step outside of your industry space and engage in other discussions too?

Another thing to consider is what you want to be discovered vs. what you don’t. I don’t want to impact my SEO results with things that are unrelated. I have an equestrian site that I don’t put my name on because I don’t want to have all this stuff come up that impacts my main business results.  People that know me know I adore my animals, I share photos on Twitter, etc. But one thing I don’t want is to have my potential clients of The Vanella Group, Inc. searching for B2B telemarketing and finding dressage and costume demo content.

There’s much more I could comment on, it’s a big topic and one you have to periodically stop and assess what needs to be changed. Please connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or feel free to email or call me.

Have an excellent week!

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

How to Use One Secret Trick of Good Negotiators

“To obtain more, ask for more. And, know when to ask.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

There’s one secret trick that good negotiators use that allows them to obtain more from every negotiation they’re in. Do you know what it is?

Good negotiators ask for more than they expect to receive. But wait, there’s more! It’s not just that they ask for more, it’s the way they ask, and the timing that allows them to get more.

Characteristics of Questioner:

The way you make a request should be in part, based on the character of the person you’re asking. Some people are brisk (i.e. get to the point), others are more sociable (i.e. let’s take our time). Thus, it would not behoove you to pose the same type of request to the people possessing the characteristics mentioned. If you did, your request might be met by one and not the other, or neither of them, due to the way you posed the question. In either case, you’d be gambling on the outcome. Posing the right question in the manner that’s more receptive to the characteristics of the person to whom you’re asking a question enhances that outcome.

Verbiage Use:

“Can you …”, “Will you …”, “I need …”, “I want …” are forms of openings to a question that will psychologically appeal to different personality types. To maximize the probability of obtaining what you seek, mimic the verbiage used by the person you’re seeking the outcome from. If you observe that she predominantly uses, “can you help me” when requesting assistance, use that phrase on her. It will have an echoing effect on her; that means, the words will sound like something she’s heard before. That’ll be true to her because they will be the words that she uses. That will place her in a mindset to grant your request more readily.

Setup and Timing:

The one main advantage you have over the other person is the fact that you know you’re going to make a request. The timing of when you do will impact the probability of a successful outcome. To enhance that outcome, consider probing by asking questions that aren’t as direct as the one you plan to use (e.g. What do you think about …?). Be careful not to give too much insight about your real intent. If you do, you might be weakening your efforts.

Another tactic you can utilize is to make a request that’s significantly more than what you’re seeking. Then, by comparison, the smaller request won’t appear to be as large.

Situational and Positional Power:

Along with timing, consider when you have situational or positional power. You have situational power when you’re in a situation where you’re perceived by others as being powerful (i.e. police officer with red lights flashing). Positional power stems from the position you hold at the time when you’re perceived as being in control (i.e. boss over subordinate).

During such times, you’ll be able to make requests with an enhanced probability of having them granted.

Asking for more in any negotiation will always enhance the probability that you’ll obtain more. But you must know how to properly execute your requests to enhance that probability. Using the insights above will do just that for you … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

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/

#Trick #Negotiator #Business #Management #SmallBusiness #Money #Negotiating #combat #negotiatingwithabully #bully #bullies #bullying #Negotiations #PersonalDevelopment #HandlingObjections #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #NegotiationPsychology

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Best Practices Body Language Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

‘Body Language Hands’ – How to Immediately Win More Negotiations

“People use their hands to add meaning to their words. To capture more of their meaning, listen to their hands.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Do you observe the body language of someone’s hands when you’re negotiating? To win more negotiations, you should listen to their hands! Hands convey a lot of hidden information in a negotiation.

There’s so much information conveyed by the way someone uses their hands. People use them to show appreciation by clapping. They display their hands to exhibit displeasure in other ways (i.e. sitting on their hands).  They also use their hands when speaking? Hands give insight into the thought process that someone has. As someone is speaking, their hands add or detract from the message they’re delivering; you do the same when you’re conveying information, too.

When there’s a difference between someone’s words and their body language, pay more attention to their body language. It will disclose someone’s intent more than their words. Consider the following lightly when conversing with someone. Consider it more strongly when you’re negotiating.

Hands close to the body:

The closer someone has their hands to their body, the more guarded are their thoughts. You’ll see this display when someone senses perceived threats to their well-being. Their hands are in that position to protect themselves from perceived indifference.

If you see this in a negotiation, it may behoove you to put the other negotiator at ease. Based on what caused him to display his guarded gesture, you may have to address that point before you can induce the comfort you seek to invoke in him.

Hands with interlocking fingers :

When you observe a negotiator in this position, he could be displaying a demeanor that states that he’s not open to your offer, suggestion, or counteroffer. To confirm your observance, consider questioning him about the meaning of his display (e.g. I noticed you have your hands closed and your fingers locked. That usually means that someone (use ‘someone’ to avoid ‘you’ – the latter may make him defensive) is not open to something that has occurred. Is anything wrong?). Then, note his response. If he unlaces his fingers and opens his hands, while saying everything is okay, ask him to proceed. Two things will have happened. One, you will have altered his body language, which will entice him to become more mentally receptive to you and your offers. Two, you will have given him the lead in the negotiation. Based on what he does with it, he’ll give insight about what caused the initial display that you brought into question. And, he’ll give vision to what he’d like to discuss. That will highlight what’s important to him.

Hands pushed away palms out:

Take special note of this gesture because it indicates that the originator wants no part of what caused him to display the gesture. You can note future discernment by the degree that he forces this gesture outward. Also, be aware of this gesture when the other negotiator voices his assertion that he’s in agreement with you. In this case, his body language belies his true feelings. Believe that more than his words.

There are other hand gestures that give insight into a negotiator’s thought process. We’ll leave those to discuss at another time. For now, note the signals mentioned above. In so doing, you’ll be more perceptive. That will assist you in winning more negotiations … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

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/

#Negotiator #Business #Management #SmallBusiness #Money #Negotiating #combat #negotiatingwithabully #bully #bullies #bullying #Negotiations #PersonalDevelopment #HandlingObjections #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #NegotiationPsychology

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Best Practices Economics Entrepreneurship Industries Marketing Personal Development Sales Technology

How Technology Changed the Billion-Dollar Ad Game

The advertising industry has had a long and successful history. It has been a very big business, especially for brands like Procter & Gamble, which topped AdAge.com’s list of the world’s five largest advertisers with $10.5 billion in advertising spending.

For decades, the personal care company kept its products front and center in the minds of consumers – on TV, in print and eventually online. The formula was simple: P&G would spend a huge amount on advertising and loyal customers would respond by buying its products.

That is no longer the case. Technology has changed the ad game for P&G – and not in a good way.

Brief Timeline of Advertising Game-Changers

So if your company is like P&G, what should you do? Start with a fresh look at how much technology and advertising have changed over the last 30 years.

As you look at this timeline, pay attention to how technology worked for – or against – advertisers throughout recent history. Then, use my Hard Trends Methodology to predict what’s next.

1990s – Hundreds of cable channels and the Internet launched, and advertisers jumped to buy space wherever their audiences would be.

Early 2000s – TiVo was one of the first disruptors to these seemingly endless advertising avenues. For the first time, consumers had power over when they got their content and began to skip the ads.

2001 – Next came iPods, which could play downloaded media while consumers were on the go.

2004 – Amazon.com launched as a virtual bookstore and began laying the groundwork for online retailers

2006 – Social media pioneer Facebook opened the News Feed, in which anybody – and any brand – could self-publish content. Facebook ads, for which advertisers once again had to “pay to play,” wouldn’t come until later.

2007 – Netflix went from DVD to streaming and never looked back. Consumers could now also choose what to watch, whenever they wanted to.

Also in 2007 – Smartphones came on the scene, allowing consumers to carry all types of media in their hands. The ad industry had to go mobile – often in addition to going traditional. Though it wasn’t easy to navigate at first, by 2015 mobile ad spending would top $28 billion.

2008 – Spotify started running on advertising dollars initially, but also offered premium, ad-free packages to consumers at nominal prices.

2009 – In the late 2000s, YouTube began allowing pre-roll ads; advertisers were once again able to recapture a very captive audience.

2012 – Facebook purchased Instagram. It would be five years before the $1 billion gamble would pay off, but in the meantime, real people became the faces of brands. The newest media-buying currency was the influence of the crafty, hip or carpool moms who had become spokespeople.

2015 – Amazon.com hit a milestone as it accounted for at least half of all e-commerce growth. Many experts attributed sales success to the debut of the company’s one-click ordering.

2018 and beyond – Not only is data-driven advertising becoming more popular, it’s expected in today’s “show me you know me” consumer culture.

If you use my Hard Trends Methodology to look ahead to the future of advertising, you’ll be able to anticipate that the next decade will move even faster. Even more devices are likely to be developed, and they will ultimately be connected to each other as an integral part of our lives.

Now is the time to learn to anticipate the next wave of technology. Start with my book, The Anticipatory Organization, which is fittingly available with one-click ordering on Amazon.com right now.

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Best Practices Marketing Personal Development Sales

An Insight from the Queen of the Customer Visit

A respected friend gave me a great insight a few days ago about her role in organizing customer visits…you know, when a large prospective customer comes to the factory/headquarters to perform detailed investigation of one or more critical issues.  She was renowned for arranging high-impact presentations…when she got the right inputs.

My friend was in charge of scheduling and all local arrangements once a visit request came in.  She described one of her major challenges:  when a salesperson requested a visit without a plan.  A visit is a significant investment for both buyer and seller, and needs to create maximum impact.   Frustratingly, my friend was hamstrung without understanding what issues were significant – especially any key issues being weighed by that customer.

Then she dropped the Insight Bombshell.

Key insight:  it was only low-performing salespeople who said “just wow them” or words to that effect. By contrast, high performers consistently articulated what had to happen during the visit, what issues to emphasize, and what “success” would look like with each attendee. Sadly, the low performers put the company in the position of trying to arrange an impactful meeting without any charter.

Typically, sales at this company involved a variety of technical issues (mechanical and electrical), aesthetic/design considerations, flexibility, durability, and more.  Capabilities available exceeded time to cover them.  Great salespeople knew what value they needed to show, and made it a point to focus everyone’s attention on impactful, leverageable differentiation.  They set aside any differentiation not relevant to the selling situation at hand.

Does this sound familiar in your business? How often do you demo without a differentiation plan?  Do you ever place trial systems without a definition of success or without a clear idea of what the trial customer is trying to learn?  Bottom line, do you know what knowledge and perception gaps you must try to fill?  If not, do you think you might be one of those “just wow them” sellers?

Don’t waste opportunities

Even ignoring the expense and time investment of the typical “plant visit”, you need to learn from this insight. Don’t waste scarce demo specialists, even on a virtual demo. Point subject matter experts at critical value gaps beforehand.  Perhaps most critically, your selling time is precious; spending it on non- or marginally impactful differentiators is two mistakes in one:

  1. You are wasting selling time on issues that don’t move a deal.
  2. You are distracting attention away from deal-moving differentiation when you dilute it in low-priority information.

The second point comes directly from consumer choice research:  If you dribble critical value into a stream of irrelevant product (or service) promotion, you’re asking your customer to play “Where’s Waldo” with your value.  Unfortunately, customers would rather just go somewhere else (a competitor?) to obtain a useful (to them) stream of key value points.

This is why “show up and throw up” sales calls are so harmful.  Discover specifically where you can show value to a customer via customer-focused interaction, then demonstrate those specific value creators that connect to the customer-perceived value gap.

Takeaways:

Here’s what high performing sales people do:

  1. Discover value gaps first – before sharing anything about your solution.
  2. Share your differentiated way(s) of addressing those value gaps. Use experts and customer visits to address gaps, not merely to spray them with features and benefits.
  3. “Yada yada” (de-emphasize) areas where you have parity with other solutions. Just make sure that those personas responsible for confirming basic functionality are satisfied– separately if at all possible.
  4. Make sure the customer has connected your differentiation to their value gaps.
  5. Walk your customer through a thought experiment that causes them to envision all primary and ancillary outcomes of closing the value gap….in as much detail as possible.

Discuss below, or reach out to me to discuss how you and/or your salesforce can have those kinds of highly impactful interactions.

To your success!

Categories
Best Practices Marketing Personal Development

What Kind of Editor Do You Need?

Some writers, those who have just begun the process, know that they need editors. Others, who have a little more experience, may question that need. “I know how to spell and punctuate,” they say. “I have good grammar skills.”

Editing, though, involves much more. Think about your home and car. How much of the work needed for maintenance and repair do you do yourself? For how much do you hire professionals?

An editor, in any of the categories I describe below, has a professional ability to make your  manuscript shine.

To simplify these descriptions, I’m taking the example of a nonfiction book, although these forms of editing can also apply to fiction, blog posts, marketing materials, and other forms of writing.

At What Stage is Your Project?

 Have you ever started this kind of project before?

  • Do you have an idea you want to develop?
  • Do you have a rough draft?
  • Have you finished a manuscript?
  • Do you feel stuck at any stage of the writing?

Developmental Editor

In the early stages of a writing project, consider a developmental editor to lend structure or organization. Say, for example, that you want to share the lessons you’ve learned in building a business. Maybe you can’t decide whether to have the lessons unfold in within the context of telling your life story (autobiography) or to tuck the autobiographical elements within the format of each lesson.

A developmental editor can help you make these decisions and also break your information into individual elements so that they can be best organized.

This kind of editor may work with you from the beginning to the end of the project.

Content Editor

This editor will evaluate your manuscript and make suggestions for changes that can be minor or major. This may involve fine-tuning the smoothness of flow from one topic to the next. If you’ve inadvertently repeated a story in Chapter 11 that you told in Chapter 2, the content editor should catch that. He or she gives your book a macroscopic (looking at the larger aspects) polish.

Line Editor

This editor provides the microscopic polish. She or he looks for clichés, poor pacing, run-on or overly long sentences, overuse of passive voice, incorrect word usage, and other errors. This kind of editing may include grammar and punctuation.

Copyediting and Proofreading

From my viewpoint, most of the differences between these forms of editing are too minor to be noted. This editor works on punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

A proofreader has an additional role worth mentioning. For a print publication, proofreaders check the overall appearance of the pages before printing, looking for unintentional space, missing titles, mis-numbered pages, and related issues. If they see typos and other errors, they will mark them for correction.

You  may end up needing all of these professionals in the course of your publishing journey in order to ensure that your book is as good as it can be.

One well-qualified editor can provide more than one type of editing.

The editor will save you from embarrassing typos, improve your work, and make you shine.

Pat Iyer is one of the original 100 C Suite Network Advisors and is an editor and ghostwriter. Contact her through her website, www.patiyer.com