Category Archives: Sales

Testimonials Need A Touch Of Fear

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It bothered me that Janet’s new testimonial was as ho hum as they come, at least to me. So I showed it to Rick.

Conderned ManRick read it through and said, “I can’t fault the way the author spells out the facts that changed due to Janet’s coaching skills but even with all that it seems like every testimonial I’ve ever seen for a management consultant. It says she walks on water but that is hard to believe.”

“Why not?” asked Chris.

“Age, experience and one of the lessons I learned when I was earning my spurs.”

“Spurs?” Chris said.

 Rick replied, “It’s a figure of speech in the Direct Marketing space. What I learned when I was a little younger than Chris is that testimonials can really help close a sale but only if they are human and the testimonial can help get a prospect over what is keeping them from making a decision to do what you want them to do.”

I asked, “Can you give me an example?”

“Fletch,” he said, I’ll give you one from your own web site.”

You could have seen the lump in my throat as I said, “Okay, fire away.”

Rick said, “On the 30-Second Marketing page of the consulting section of your website there’s a testimonial from Jim Grew. It says:

“When he proposed that I answer the question, ‘What do you do?’ with:
I’m the Business Defogger & Accelerator.
I thought he was nuts. 

And then I tried it.
Everybody gets it.
Nobody forgets it.
Colleagues want to know how I came up with it.
I tell them to talk to Jerry.”

Notice how it goes from ‘I thought he was nuts to nobody forgets it.’ And then on top of that adds the last bit about colleagues?

The essence of the testimonial could have been ‘Colleagues want to know how I came up with my tagline.’

But he added his concern. See the difference?”

Gail said, “So you’re advocating that a concern or problem the testifier has with the person or the process they are lauding should be part of the testimonial, right?”

“Exactly,” said Rick. “A testimonial is more than icing on the cake. It can overcome an objection as well as help convince or persuade the prospect to take a step or two further in making a purchase. It’s why every diet product you’ve ever seen uses before and after photos and when it is on video the former Mr. Obesity says something like ‘I tried all kinds of things but this simple solution is the one that finally worked for me.’

The Takeaway: Put a concern or objection on the front end of a testimonial. Overcoming it makes the testimonial more powerful.

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and the unruly mob of business development professionals he consorts with. They discuss marketing that works from solopreneur to enterprise level. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

 

The Eternal Opposite

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Kate asked, “Are you just naturally contrary or do you do it on purpose?”

I began, “Sales experts like you are always telling me that…”

The Eternal OppositeBubba, our peach of a branding expert interrupted me as he arrived and slid into an open seat . He said, “Y’all should know by now he’s just naturally cantankerous but there is usually a reason and most often it is because he smells money. He’s looking at things that way agin I’ll bet.”

Chris took a sip of his tea and said, “So why don’t we let him defend himself if he can.”

“Challenge accepted,” I said. “I was telling Gail about a client that was bemoaning the fact that a survey from Aspect Software found that one-third of consumers would rather clean a toilet than talk on a phone with a customer service representative. She was overwrought about her customer service department. All I really did was point out the other side of that equation. Two thirds were happy talking to a CSR on the phone.

The problem is that humans are gated to see the danger and run from it. That’s okay if it’s a rattler or a hungry tiger but statistics and analytics are for sorting out the good the bad and the ugly rather than a reason to put on your track shoes.

You have to look behind the numbers.

Reporters and marketers are always backing the hearse up to the door. That doesn’t mean there is dead body inside.

Gail piped up, “So you’re advising us to look at all the percentages or both sides of the survey, right?”

“No,” I said. “I’m saying you should not only look at all of it but think about how you can use the data to your benefit. Some examples:

  • One up Kate’s alley—in 2015 CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Survey of 1000 firms worldwide reported that 37% of companies had implemented a sales collaboration/networking system such as Chatter, Jam, Jive, and Yammer. Less than 35% reported noticeable impact. That tells me that 65% are in need of some help in making it work. Whether she goes direct to the companies or gets a contract to do the job for one of the software firms there is money to be made.
  • Any of you ever hear of Optor? No? But I’ll bet you’ve heard of Occupy Wall Street. The occupiers got our attention  branding themselves ‘the 99%.’ The movement was an abysmal failure. Everyone lost interest.

Optor, on the other hand succeeded. They overthrew the Milosevic government in Serbia. They focused everything on their mission. People joined them over time seeing that dedication and the slow but sure progress. They became the definition of a positive feedback loop.

Optor operated like a start-up company rather than a protest group. They wrote a manual that has been picked up and used in the Georgian Republic, the Ukraine, Egypt and other parts of the Middle East.

The lesson for me is that to succeed you need a vision and a mission not just a slogan.

  • One more. According to the 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Facebook is the most used Social media for B2C companies while Linked In is the one B2B companies prefer. No surprise there. What is surprising is the role Twitter plays in both and the fact that it is nearly twice as heavily used in the B2B space. No, I haven’t figured that one out yet.”

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and the unruly mob of business development professionals he consorts with. They discuss marketing that works from solopreneur to enterprise level. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

 

 

 

 

Speak to Me!

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Jean asked, “Should I hire a receptionist or a phone answering service?”

“What did you tell her?” said Gail.

“It depends.” Speak to Me!

“Hold on theah, Slippery, thas your answer to just about anything it seems to me,” said Rob, our loveable branding behemoth from the peach state. “Just what does it depend on if you please?”

Kate jumped in before I could say word. She said, “I can tell you what he’s going to say, Bubba, because I’ve had this discussion with him a couple years ago. I can’t swear to the statistics but he made a pretty good case for having a human on the phone, particularly for a small business like mine. As I recall

  • Somewhere north of 75% of all callers that get an answering machine hang up.
  • Nine out of ten customers that get a machine in business hours think you are too small to do business with.
  • About two thirds of people will immediately call a competitor if a human doesn’t answer.

I said, “You didn’t tell them the most important reason to have someone answering the phone…you can’t afford to miss a call, especially if you look at the average value of your proposals.”

Chris pointed out, “You didn’t really answer Jean’s question: Should she hire a receptionist or an answering service?”

“True,” I responded. “A start-up should definitely look at hiring an answering service. Later, when they can hire a receptionist, assuming there are other clerical activities that person can perform you should look at keeping the answering service on.”

“Wait a minute,” Chris said. “Did you say keep them on?”

“Yes,” I said. “the fact is that if you operate like Kate and a number of consultants I’ve worked with, you will have people calling in anywhere up to three hours ahead or behind the local time zone you operate in because you work with clients or prospects across the USA. In addition, if you are connected on multiple continents you need to worry about what day it is as well as what time.

Over 85% of the times someone might call are outside the time a receptionist is in the office! The beauty of an answering service, a good one, is that you can get coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On top of that, if you need to gather data for a form or other information a good service can handle it. There are even services that can set telephone appointments for you when someone calls in.

I did a little on-line research to be sure I gave Jean today’s facts. The numbers Kate quoted are still true. Here are a couple others I found that make it a good idea to work with a telephone answering service that is human:

  • 80% of callers that get a machine will not call back (and that percentage is increasing).
  • 73% of callers answered by a human will not call a competitor (but you have less than two minutes to have someone knowledgeable on the line to handle their questions or arrange for someone to call them back).
  • A study from the UK indicated that a human answering every call could increase sales by 25%.

So I believe that it is a worthwhile experiment to try using a human based answering service and carefully monitoring the change in acquisition of new business and retention of current business. The probabilities are: up to a 25% increase in acquisition and assuring between 60 and 70% retention.”

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and the unruly mob of business development professionals he consorts with. They discuss marketing that works from solopreneur to enterprise level. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

 

 

 

A Number Is A Fact On Your Way To Trust

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Readers like numbers because they believe the numbers represent facts,” Rick, our Digital Director said.

Numbers and Trust

“And facts will get you to Trust,” I responded.

We were sitting on the deck. I was sipping an iced tea.

Rick took a sip of his Pale Ale and went on, “But it depends on how you use ‘em.
Here’s five ways I think are really important:

1. Numbers are specific. Saying you have 3 models from 7 different brands says you have selection better than saying you have ‘superb selection’. More Trust. Less confusion.

2. Numbers are quick. I just flat get ‘em without having to think about it if I use the numbers In 2 for 1 versus the words, the story is much easier to see and comprehend. More Trust. Less calculation.

3. Numbers are easy to test. Changing from a word to a number in a headline or subject line or a teaser on an envelope can be done quickly and easily and you won’t believe the lift sometimes. And price testing. It is so easy on line. More Trust. Definitive answers.

4. Numbers enhance believability. Say you make a robot with a placement accuracy of 2 nanometers and a .002/second cycle rate. You and I do not completely understand those number but the engineers that need the machine will want to know more. More Trust. Personalized data.

5. Numbers adjust to demographics. In pricing, the numbers you use can skew how a product is perceived. Look at the difference in a price of $10 versus one of $10.00 where the cents are included. The higher the price, the more the high-end buyer wants to see the cents as well as the dollars. More Trust. Specific prices.

People believe you can’t shade meanings with numbers so they trust them more than words.”

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and an unruly mob of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

Why Tech is Wonky

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Gail slammed her purse down and said, “I tell you all I am sick and tired of just getting to understand a piece of software and they up and change it!

Interface frustration“Now what?” said Chris, our digital director.

“My assistant simply clicked yes to an upgrade on the blog software and it went all wonky. There is no way to edit new posts on it now,“ Gail replied. She continued, “I write and I edit and I always review the post before we publish it. Fat chance at the moment.”

“Thas not the only thing goin’ on at the moment said Rob, the Georgia peach of branding. I understand that the new Google change is driving people that understand this SEO thing kinda crazy, too.”

“You’ve got a point Bubba,” I chimed in. “But not everything is worse because of changes. I upgraded to a new I-phone and I have to tell you the interface is a whole lot easier to use. But I still think they should give you some sort of instructions with the darn things. Those of us that haven’t grown up using them to take photos and e-mail them plus push those apps around could use some help. Besides, I’ve got big thumbs.”

Kate our sales specialist smiled and asked, “Can I join this pity party?”

“Jump in,” said Bubba.

“The thing that gets me is how different all the contact managers I run into are,” Kate continued. “They’ve been around since the 90s and you would think that how to make them easy to use would have been figured out by now. Every time I go into a company to tune up their sales operations it seems like I’m dealing with a new way of doing the same thing. It starts with trying to upload a list of contacts and goes downhill from there.”

“I can tell you part of the problem,” said Rick who runs a world class direct marketing operation. “A lot of software is written by folks in new companies. They try to make theirs look and operate differently from the competition. There is no previous version to narrow their approach and there is no best practices to look at. On top of that they are engineers who seldom if ever try to think like an end user. The result is that we users have to adapt continually to the bizarre solutions they come up with.”

“All y’all got that right. Every time I get told about an upgrade I know I’m gonna be outa kilter for a while, said Bubba.

“The thing is,” I said, “there’s a whole science to this stuff that nobody ever seems to look at. It’s called User Interface Design. It all comes down to the fact that users just want to be able to solve their problem quickly and easily in the same way from software to software. They want engineers to stop thinking they are creative geniuses and start building stuff that is easy to use.”

You and me and all of us should think about that as we develop our trainings and products. If we stop reinventing the wheel we might get there faster.

The Takeaway:

Truly great user interfaces are the ones that are engineered to stay out of the way.

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and an unruly mob of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

 

Go Where They Ain’t

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“Go where they ain’t,” said Rob, the southern fried branding guru we lovingly call Bubba. Stand out from he crowd

Chris asked, “That is your great business development advice?”

“Yassuh,” said Bubba around a dinner roll slathered with butter. I’ll give you examples from every part of marketing ‘cause that is advice you can take to the bank.”

“Okay,“ I said, “if we use the seven P’s model of Marketing I’ll just set them up one at a time. Is that okay with you?”

“Bring it on, Watson” said Bubba, “and if any of y’all want to jump in, feel free.

“Prospect Viewpoint,’ I said, “out of all the people out there who buys or will buy your product or service and what do they think, feel and believe about it?”

Rick, our direct marketing expert said, “Let me take this one. If you really analyze both the demographics and the psychographics of buyers you’ll find that they have more than one reason for buying. Yes, one will be prevalent but reasons two and three are often just as viable as number one. You go where they ain’t by orienting your creative to one of those other reasons.

“Profitable Niche is next. I said when he finished. A niche is a way to minimize competition with a focused portion of a market that requires a product or service that is outside the mainstream either in the need it meets or the design of the product or service. “

Gail, the copywriter volunteered, “you know how the whole world is now into mobile? Well I have seen that work out really well for two industries not known for it. Our vet’s practice is all house calls. And our computer guy lately seems to live in our spare bedroom/home office.”

Kate asked, “Are the virus’s attacking again?”

“Don’t get her started.” Rick said.

“Positioning is the third item,” I said. It is how you differentiate yourself or your product or service.

Bubba cleared his throat and said, “I figure I oughta take this one ‘cause everybody confuses it with brand and names and logos and taglines and you name it. Positioning is how you tell people quickly and succinctly how our product or service is unique. The classic examples are: The Uncola for Seven Up or We try harder for Avis or when it absolutely positively has get there over night for Federal Express. All or part of it may appear in a tagline. It can be a product name. It will, overtime, be part of the brand.”

“Persona is next, I see it as the heart of any business, the operational strategies. It is a core of trust wrapped round by Product, Price and Passage (distribution) encased in your name. Any one of the key elements can take you where they ain’t. For instance: The Chronotherm (the world’s first automatic setback thermostat). Or how about a fixed price to get a Pilot’s license or to integrate reporting software into your corporate systems. Consider a vending machine in orthodontist offices to dispense the most common items used. TWo of those I helped put in place and they are killer!

“Promotion Anybody”

Chris said, “I’ll take it. The internet has changed things but mostly just added another channel. The easiest way to go where they ain’t is to use direct mail. Use has declined so it stands out. Yes, it costs more than e-mail but used in combination with on-line activities it can increase acquisition geometrically.

“Performance is next, I said, “this is the way you, your company product or service interface with the client/customer/user.”

Kate, our sales doyenne said, “Got it. Have humans answer the phone. Actually help people find a competing product. Provide content that actually helps. Listen to your sales force when they tell you what people are saying about you and competitive products. Make it easy to opt out. Basically just treat people the way you’d like to be treated.

“Perception is the last one,” I said. “Bubba will you do the honors since Brand is your baby?”

“Sho’ nuff. Brand is the sum total of all the ways you or your company, product or service wind up on folks’ radar. What you want to have happen is for folks tell others Look what Mama gimme!”

The Takeaway:

Be different. You can do it with a name, a product, a distribution channel, pricing, delivery, after sale support, positioning, finding a niche. The better you understand your customer/client/user, the easier it will be.

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and an unruly mob of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

 

 

Personal Touch Breakthrough

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“Once again a blast from the past takes over!” I said as I slid into my seat for lunch with the rowdy crew of business developers I’ve become the Watson for.

Personal phone calls build digital businessGail, our copywriter par excellence took a sip of iced tea and replied, “Can we assume that this has something to do with your choice of a topic for the day?”

Kate, the sales consultant sneered, “Yes, do tell. We’re all atwitter.”

Rob, who we call Bubba because he hails from Georgia, said, “Y’all are a cranky bunch today. Give the man a chance to ‘splain himself afore you go flingin’ him into the briar patch.”

“Thanks Bubba,” I said. “You know how we all get those heavy duty pitches from guys trying to sell us on line sales and SEO  expertise and products and you name it? Well I look at some of it but this last video really threw me. Usually these guys are all about on-line and they’re as personable as a loan shark looking for a past due account.”

Chris, the Digital Director said, “Whoa. Not every on-line business is that way. The truth is you have to offer some value or you will soon be out of business. You know that. You helped me when I was doing my entrepreneur thing.”

“My point is,” I said, “that because about midway through a video presentation that had some good stuff in it I was astonished when three of the experts being interviewed talked about how they experimented with personal touch in their on line businesses. What they tried was:

  • Hand written thank you notes to everyone that signed up for a free trial for an App. That more than doubled the conversion from trial to paid membership.
  • Personalized 30 second videos maintained that increase but cut the time needed per touch from five minutes to a minute or two.
  • A one-to-one text e-mail that is not generated by an auto responder started a dialogue that allowed a merchant to discover things about how his product/service is received and used. It proved to be a huge value for the next version.
  • You can use You Tube to put up an unlisted video. Then you send a link to the customer. They never forget.
  • You can overcome cart abandonment using the telephone. If you use a two-step sales approach (Contact info entered separately from Credit card) you can easily see who leaves without buying. Once a day or so, simply call those folks and have a conversation with them. You don’t sell, you just listen to the problem they have and let them know how your product can help them. This approach generates 12% to 30% additional sales.

Rick, our direct Marketing guy who really understands process said, “Let me sum up:

The Takeaway:

Customers do not want to be treated like numbers. They want to connect with a human being that understands their problem, relates to it and is really interested in them as a person. That pays off in increased sales.”

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and an unruly mob of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

 

 

Visually Shameless Networking

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Visually Shameless Networking“So how was the conference?” Kate asked as I slid into the booth.

“I noticed something that was subtle but important,” I responded.

Rob grinned and said, “Wait for it y’all.”

I continued, “The best networkers also tend to be the best dressed or the least concerned about standing out from the crowd. In a room with over 200 of the top consultants in the country in attendance a dozen or so were just flat visually shameless.”

Gail asked, “so were they well-dressed or over-exposed?”

“It was subtly sophisticated in some cases, colorfully shocking in some but never overtly sensual. One guy was wearing a day glow orange sweater. Another wore an obviously expensive merino wool and silk ensemble. The women that stood out through color, quality and just looking comfortable in tailored outfits that ranged from suits to office casual.

The thing is that I identified those folks the first day and made it a point to meet them. On the last day of the conference they were the ones that led the table discussions after lunch.”

Chris said, “So if I’m at trade show or conference I should look successful.”

“That’s right,” said Kate, “but I’d extend that to any time you may be meeting prospects. And I would say it goes beyond the clothes. You should have a relatively new phone, an elegant folio for taking notes and carry a pen that is a cut way above the one you got from the local printer.”

Rick said, “I’ll take that a little further. So many people today really miss the boat because they try networking on line instead of in person. That is their first mistake. But more importantly they just take a selfie and throw it up on the social networks never considering the consequences. If your profile photo on LinkedIn is a low-res-looking-off-into-the-distance-wearing-a-T-shirt you have told me that at best you don’t care what I think and at worst that you really don’t want to begin a relationship with me.”

Gail added, “Visuals, especially quality ones, crack through the clutter. I saw some research on this the other day. Apparently:

  • Your brain processes visual data over 60,000 times faster than text
  • Visuals or videos on landing pages get conversion rates over 80% better that all text.
  • Posts with visuals are good for over 90% more views than those without.”

The Takeaway:

Rob said: “So if you want to be in high cotton you need to be the vision of success as your prospects see it. That means that you dress the part and you use visuals in your on-line persona that are a class act. All of them. One mistake can cost you.”

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and secretary of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

3 Automated Marketing Assumptions You Cannot afford

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Marketing automation 3 woesKate’s phone announced a new text message as our sales consultant took her seat.

“So help me if I could get my hands on this guy I’d throttle him,” she said.

Bubba, the branding Bhudda, said “What’s stuck in your craw?”

“Assumptions,” she replied. “I’m ticked off about the bad assumptions made by you automated marketing proponents. You give sales a bad name because you refuse to engage!”

Chris, the digital director said, “Kate, engagement is what it is all about. The more we engage the less sales people have to do to make the sale.”

“I can’t agree” I said. “I’m with Kate on this one. You know I believe in Automagic Marketing but that comes with one piece of advice most of the automated marketing doesn’t seem to take into account yet.”

Gail asked, “What’s that?”

“The world has changed,’ I said. “The customer controls how they access your information and how they move from problem to solution but most importantly they don’t like you thinking otherwise.”

“You got that right,” said Kate. “This Twit is a perfect example. I responded to his assistant’s request for some information as they wanted me to write some articles for them. One of the items I had to fill in on the form was my Cell phone number. They told me I had to respond to a text message immediately to finish the process. I couldn’t get the message because I wasn’t carrying the phone. People assume that because they have cell coverage where they are that it is the same way everywhere. Here in the west you can drive for four hours in some places and never find a signal!”

“That,” I said, “is costly assumption number 1: There is cell phone coverage and therefore sms everywhere and all my actions should be mobile oriented.”

“I’ve got one,” said Gail. “Have you ever noticed how the stuff you’re getting in your e-mail is so obviously oriented to someone that is not you and they don’t seem to want to learn about you? I try to get as much knowledge about the prospect as I can when I’m writing content pretty much what the folks sending out this stuff are doing. But I also know that other people have different needs wants, desires and knowledge levels about what I’m selling. I try to always give them options on how to learn more and how to get the information.”

“So I hear you saying that costly assumption number 2 is: Every customer journey is the same so only one path of information is required even though customization is easier than ever.”

“Hear, hear,” said Rick. In my direct marketing business it is difficult to get clients to shift their thinking from the behavior they believe prospects should exhibit with what is actual. Many times they are more concerned with click through rates button color and cart abandonment than how many people actually entered their funnel. As an example, some insist that all transactions must be on line.”

“That’s crazy, “said Chris. “I learned early on that some purchases require a telephone discussion with someone knowledgeable in the products or services. You have to have someone that can hear what the prospect is saying and respond in a way that moves the sale forward. Customization is part of it but the sales person still has to connect.”

Kate said, “I couldn’t have said it better.”

“That,” I said, “brings us to costly assumption number 3: With automated marketing, all the sales person has to do is take the order.”

The Takeaway

  • Automation is good.
  • Automation with customization can be great
  • Automation with customization and real connection is unbeatable

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and secretary of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

3 Secrets to Linked In Success

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Linked In SecretsAs I sat down, Kate, the sales doyen was saying, “It is amazing what you can do with Linked In! I use it to research companies and prospects and build my perceived expertise and all sorts of things.”

Rick asked, “Care to share?”

“Allow me my direct marketing friend,” I said. “I’m always curious about how folks use social media tools. I wrote a primer for my clients on Linked In mostly about how to get started. Here are the three things I said were essential:

  1. Build a great Profile that includes your key words and start adding connections.
  2. Select some groups and participate.
  3. Research people, companies and prospects you find interesting and follow them.

Kate clapped her hands and said, “Way to go for the basics, big guy. Anybody have advice on the profile part first?”

Chris, who makes his living as a Digital Marketing Master, said, ”Remember that anyone searching you on linked In has one of two attention spans:

  • As long as gnat in a windstorm if they are scanning
  • As long as it takes to read it all if they really want to know about you… the kind of research I’ll bet Kate does.”

Branding Guru Rob (who we all call Bubba) piped up, “So you’d best ‘member to give folks a reason why to learn more with the words right behind your name.

“Good point Bubba,” said Kate. “I’m going to read that piece that Fletch wrote for the profile part. What about the part they call interests on linked In?”

Gail said, “I’m a writer, I like to know what they are calling things so I opened it up on my laptop. Under interests it has: Companies, Groups, Pulse and Education.

“Let’s stick with groups,” said Rick. “Do I want to go with peers or prospects? Do I even have to choose one or the other?”

“Kate,” I said, “let me take that one. I say both. If you do only peers it can wind up like you’re talking to yourself but you do need to know what is going on in your profession. Prospect groups can give you insight into what they want from people like you and whether or not they have problems you can solve… for a fee.”

“I agree,” said Kate. “The only way to determine which groups to join is to look at them. Look at the number of posts and comments and frequency to decide which ones merit your attention. Then get involved. You can set notifications from for every discussion to daily or weekly summaries.

Gail asked, “What about research?”

“Pull up my profile,” Kate responded. Notice that there are entries in just about every category they provide. Notice, too that the words sales, sales consulting, sales training and other sales references occur throughout. (Sign up to get your copy of the Networking Ninja Beginner’s Guide to Linked In.)

That gets people to come to me. But when you are looking for information you can use  just type the search term into the search box at the top of the page. A person’s name or a company name is where I usually start. Once you get to a person’s profile you’ll be able to learn more than you ever thought possible. Where they went to school, how they got to their current position, even how you might be connected.

Every person I know uses it slightly differently but there is no longer an excuse for walking into meeting with an executive knowing nothing about them.

The Takeaway
Have a complete profile that is consistent with your website, your other social media profiles and causes people to want to contact you.  Engage with the kinds of people that can keep you informed about your profession and may need your services. Be proactive. Look into those that express an interest and build the relationship.

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and secretary of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com