Trust is the Strongest Link for Consultants

Posted on 2016/06/04 by Jerry Fletcher

“At least once a year I look at how I’m marketing my own practice,” I said

“This year I looked at all the ways to link suspects, contacts, prospects and such to my digital assets.”

Gail, our resident writer who is always looking for the facts, sounding like a TV cop asked, “So what social media did you put on the list?”

“Well,” Rick offered, “I’ll bet he picked on the usual suspects—Linked In, Facebook and Twitter and maybe a little bit of old-fashioned direct mail since he ran operations in my direct marketing agency for a while.”

“That’s good as far as it goes,” I replied. “I looked at Instagram, too.”

Bubba snorted. The branding Buddha dripped southern disdain as he said “Instagram– isn’t that the chile of Facebook from the wrong side of the sheets?”

Gail snickered and said, “Kind of, but it’s closer to the photo album the Momma wanted to share.”

“In any case,” I said, “you have to have a business page on Facebook in order to put ads on it and you use Facebook tools to build the ads.”

Chris, our young Digital Director for a training outfit said, “What you decided to do with each of them is what is important. Is it possible you’re about to take the plunge into ubiquity?”

Bubba drawled, “You getting’ uppity boy? I know there’s some new blown theory about being ‘present everywhere’ in the digital world. Tha’s why some brands are so well known. And it has more to do with all kinds of media than just the on-line stuff.”

“You’re right again my cracker friend,” I said. “I ran some tests on-line. You remember that old data that linked awareness to preference? Well the tests showed the rule of thumb is true. The difference is you can get the results a lot quicker.”

Chris asked, “Did the numbers work out the same?”

“It’s too early to tell on the longer term items but from Awareness to Preference to Trial is pretty much the same,” I replied. “This is really more about human nature than media. Just because we have more ways of reaching people doesn’t change the way people operate. The better they know you the more they trust you. If they trust you they respond.

What it does do is force you to look at broadening your approach slightly and to be present enough in any media you use to generate the critical awareness that leads to success down line. It means you have to be very cognizant of your brand across all the media and make sure that all the things you do are linked.”

The Takeaway:

Digital advertising response goes through the same phases as non-digital…just a little faster.

Human response based on trust is what to monitor if you want to make money…not the media.

Your brand is the linchpin of all your promotions. Link everything to it.

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, The Consultant’s Communication Consultant, is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

How to Outsource Your Digital Marketing so That Dog Will Hunt

Posted on 2016/05/14 by Jerry Fletcher

Tony asked me how to resolve a problem for one of his clients. He told me that the client, located here in the upper left corner of the USA was considering “outsourcing his marketing to an outfit in Texas.” He was concerned that there was “more wishful thinking than common sense in play.”

“That depends,” said Rob who we’ve taken to calling Bubba, the branding Buddha. “If the folks that will work with him know his industry and can provide the right kind of content it could be a marriage made in heaven but just because they claim to be experts don’t make it so. My dog sleeps in the garage. That don’t make him a truck.”

Kate snickered and said, “Well put Bubba. I run into this when I get asked to train young sales people. They don’t know what they don’t know and so they claim to know everything. Trouble is, in today’s world they may know quite a bit about digital approaches to customers and have all the lingo at the ready but they don’t completely understand how to connect and go from there to make a sale.”

Rick nodded and then quietly added, “Most of them have not won their spurs in direct marketing and that is all digital marketing is. They have confused knowledge of the medium with understanding messages that work. Their idea of an offer is how long it’s free.”

“That’s all well and good,” I said, “but how do I help Mike with his friend?”

Gail, our veteran writer answered, “Tell him to quit messing around with tactics and start with strategy. You remember that start-up software outfit you told us about? (Cardsmith) That’s an easy way to lay out a strategy and then the tactics for a year-long campaign.”

Chris agreed and added, “As the digital marketing guy in my company I put the plan together with my staff using white boards and sticky notes. It is the same idea but the nice thing about Cardsmith is that you can share it easily even if you’re in different places. The major thing you have to do, regardless of how you do your planning, is to start with an objective, then build a strategy to get you there and then detail all the tasks to make it happen.”

Rick said, “When you are planning,the ability to move things around is really handy as well as the ability to show how things are connected. But I will guarantee you that it is a lot easier staying on plan today in the digital world because you have all the analytics to really determine what is going on, BUT you still have to assign dates to get implementations done and you need to agree up front on what metrics will be considered key.”

“All that is wonderful,” said Gail, “but I keep thinking about Bubba’s dog. If the people you outsource to are experts in digital marketing that is one thing. Do they know how to convince your customers to buy? Do they understand how that channel of distribution deals with their customers? Have they ever gone along on sales calls?

Kate cheered. “Right on sister! She continued, “the worst situation is when you have inexperienced people in both the marketing and sales positions. Knowing their level of capability can make all the difference.”

I said, “I told Tony that his buddy should look into spending a little money up front with a Marketing strategist so that objectives, strategy and tactics could be structured with relevant time lines and metrics so that the money spent would be worthwhile.”

The Takeaways:

Start with a real objective (that management agrees with)

Assess the ability of the people that will do the work on the basis of their knowledge and understanding of your business as well as their digital marketing skills.

Base agreements on specific metrics and timeframes that are sales related (your objective is to make money, not impressions.)

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, The Consultant’s Communication Consultant, is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Marketing and Sales All in One

Posted on 2016/04/23 by Jerry Fletcher

30-Second Marketing for Consultants Part 3

Henry, a guest at the lunch time gathering, asked, “If you’re a one man band like most beginning consultants what is the difference between marketing and sales. Isn’t it all one?”

“In a way it is,” said Kate. ”That was hard for me to understand early on when I was setting up my sales consultancy. When you’re out there on the front lines it’s not easy to see how marketing can do anything to help you. Let’s face it, most sales people keep telling whoever is doing their marketing to just get them some qualified leads to close. When you’re the one doing the marketing and the selling it tends to give you a different viewpoint.”

The problem is the crossover.

“The problem is the crossover,” Henry said. “I don’t know when I’m selling and when I’m marketing.”

Our writer/editor Gail said, “The difference is pretty simple. Marketing is in mass. Sales is one on one.”

“Okay, I can see that,” said Henry, “but the words required seem to be different while they are the same.”

Gail asked, “What do you mean?”

“Everybody says that you need to talk about delivering a benefit. That’s the way to get them to come to you,” Henry replied.

Media, Message and Magnetism

I’d brought Henry to this meeting with the marketing lunch bunch so I figured I’d better wade in. “Henry,” I said, “don’t confuse trying to write copy for an ad versus a brochure or a web site with developing a sales pitch.

Media—If the information you are presenting is paid for by you it is marketing and needs to be treated as such. That is true whether it is an ad, brochure, website or skywriting. Yes, benefits should be stated.

Message—If you are not meeting someone in person, it is marketing and needs copy that positions the product or service in words and pictures. You need to convince and/or persuade by using text and graphics that are easily understood by the suspect, prospect or client.

Magnetism—comes as you learn how to speak in the language of your suspect, prospect or ideal client. Speak to them in person. Listen. Hear and use their words to describe what you do. Listen as they tell you the problem they have and describe it in their terms. Pay close attention to what they say about how a solution to their problem would look, taste and feel to them.

Here’s an example of the difference:

Positioning Line: Clock Thermostat

Ad headline: Live warm, sleep cool and wake up saving money.

30-Second Marketing:

Hook: I help you save money while you’re sleeping

Hold: You know how some people set the thermostat back when they go to bed to save money but have to get up to a cold house in the morning?

Pitch: What we do is hook the thermostat to a clock so you set it once and it automatically cools things down at night then automatically starts heating the house in the morning so it is warm when you get up.

Close: It’s available in a battery operated version with all the instructions you need to hook it up yourself in minutes.

Henry said, “Thanks. That helps.”

The Takeaway:

The concepts that convince for any product or service must be expressed in both print and conversation. Only conversation is interactive and can be modified on the fly.

The words that persuade can (and should) be pulled from the ideal client’s lexicon.

How and when they are used are dictated by whether you are marketing or selling.

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

Mission, Position and the Customer Journey

Posted on 2016/04/15 by Jerry Fletcher

30-Second Marketing for Consultants Part 2

Chris said, “So 30-Second Marketing has four parts: Hook ’em, Hold ‘em, Pitch ‘em and Close ‘em.

Y’all can take that to the bank, youngster,” drawled Rob. “And when a Georgia Boy lays that on you it is certain true, no doubt.”

“The problem,” said Chris is I’m not really clear on how it is different from a Mission or a Position.”

“Foah starters it’s got more movin parts. It’s like the difference ‘tween flinging a beastie into the briar patch and roundin’ up the hounds to go huntin come sunset.”

Rick asked, “Fletch, since you originated 30-Second Marketing (See Part 1) would you please translate what the southern fried branding Buddha just scrambled?”

Mission versus Position versus 30-second Marketing

“Sure,” I replied. “A Mission is for all the folks that need to trust a firm, product or service. A Position is a way to quickly tell suspects, prospects, customers and clients why they should put you first. Usually those will be words in print and there is no opportunity for interaction.

30-Second marketing is about a conversation rather than one of those brief summaries intended to make you memorable in as few words as possible. It encourages interaction.”

Gail, the copywriter and editor in our midst, piped up, “30-Second Marketing is a conversation, not a commercial. You need to invest significantly more time and imagination in crafting your answers than you might think.”

The Path to Purchase (Customer Journey)

Rob’s honey-warm voice slid in. He said, “My friend Gail is tryin’ to sugar coat the fact that it will take a good bit o’ skull sweat to get it right. Moah importantly, you need to get to know your prospect real well. You need to know where he or she is on the Path to Purchase and what is important to ‘em at that point. Don’t matter if it is one person, a couple or a committee, you got to get inside their heads.”

Gail said, “I like that description Bubba. Usually it’s what people call the Customer Journey but Path to Purchase is a lot more direct way to put it. And from my experience I believe that would be easier for folks that aren’t communications pros to understand.”

“I agree,” I said. It took me quite a bit of time to explain the customer journey to some clients the other day. And even when they got it there was difficulty in getting to the level of detail that can influence buying decisions. Something as simple as knowing that a new company was formed by execs from the leading company in the field can make huge difference. Sometimes, the simple revelation of how you access one of the features of a product can close the sale.

The Takeaways:

Mission and Position are print reminders to make you, your product or service memorable.

The Path to Purchase is the steps your customer/client goes through in order to make the decision to buy.

The more intimately you understand the Path to Purchase the more compelling you can be in every phase of the sale…including 30-Second Marketing.

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, The Consultant’s Communication Consultant, is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Consultant Trust Floats

Posted on 2016/03/12 by Jerry Fletcher

“Any of y’all have somebody contact you several years after you pitched ‘em and they turned you down?” asked Bubba, Georgia’s answer to branding’s high court.

Rob, even though we call him Bubba is sharp. When he asks a question like that in this group you know there’s something he is really curious about.

As the rest of our crew settled in I responded, “Why do you ask?”

It takes time to get to trust.

“I had lunch the other day with someone I knew had worked with other marketing and sales consultants.” Said Rob with only a hint of drawl. “I listened when he told me why he wanted to talk to me now after this many years. I pointed out that he had hired someone after we last talked and that fellow had exited stage left a few months later and that I knew at least two other consultants that he was familiar with that could and had given him good advice.”

Kate, took a sip of water and said, “So you asked him why me?”

“Precisely, Madam Sales,” said Rob. “George’s ansuh threw me. He started back when we’d met before.”

George, the prospect said, “Back then I couldn’t see any reason to have a branding consultant. I figured that a marketing consultant would handle that as part of his or her job. I assumed that branding was sort of an automatic thing…get the right logo and tag line and you’re done! I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

Our direct marketing expert Rick observed, “This George sounds like a really bright guy and one that leaves his ego at the door. Seems like he’d be a good client.”

Prospect knowledge in your area of expertise leads to trust.

Thas probably true said Bubba but what I learned by listening to his whole story is why I brought it up today. The more I thought about it the more I kept comin’ back to how Fletch is always goin’ on about Trust being the be all and end all ‘specially for consultants. It ‘minded me of that Yankee fella Thoreau who said that “Time is the stream that I go a fishing in’ The way George described how he came back ‘round to me is just the same. It was a matter of time and his knowledge about marketing and communications growing.”

George said, “I quickly found out that my perceptions about branding were way out of line. I figured out that branding was a real problem for us but I still kept going to general consultants to help me solve the problem. It didn’t work. One wanted to make me the spokesperson/hero of the organization. Another couldn’t comprehend that even though each of our divisions had to stand on its own sales results it is still one company.”

Rick pointed out, “So your prospect moved from someone that didn’t know what he didn’t know to figuring out what his company’s problem was and then started bangin’ around trying to find the expertise he needed to solve the problem.”

“Right,” said Bubba.

So how did he come to pick you?” asked Kate.

Prospects need time to understand why they should trust you.

“It‘s that fishin’ thing. I just keep my bobber in the water waitin’ for a tug on it. Meanwhile down there just like a fish risin” to the bait George was slowly but surely headin’ back my way. He started asking some of the folks he had confidence in who he should talk to ‘bout his problem. A number of them mentioned me. And then he saw me doing a presentation that he said showed him I was an expert. So he called me.”

Kate said, “And now all you have to do is help him get to know and like you.”

“I musta done that,” said Rob. “He asked me for a proposal.”

The Marketing Takeaway

Getting clients is all about trust. To get them to come to you, you must:

Stay consistent
Establish your expertise
Assure that others refer you
Be willing to educate if they want to learn
Get to know them

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, The Consultant’s Consultant, is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Kick-ass Case History

Posted on 2016/02/13 by Jerry Fletcher

“For starters,” I said to Nina, “don’t call it that.”

Gail, the wordsmith in our midst agreed. She said, “I like your term Success Story a lot better.” (Video: How to get the data you need for a Kick-ass Case History https://youtu.be/UcvpMkBynYk)

“But, sometimes things aren’t successful,” said Chris. “In my digital retail marketing operation we often try things that just don’t work at all.”

“But that, young pup, is just findin’ out that you’re barkin’ up the wrong tree,” said Rob our southern fried Brand Guru. “Indeed,” he went on, “in my book that is a success.”(Get the PDF of the Kick-ass Case History form)

Rick raised his voice to be heard over a crash of dishes from the kitchen and said, “Most people think that a case history has to be only about what works but I’ve always found the most valuable experiences are the ones that teach you what doesn’t. Selling direct, like I do, has always been a laboratory. That’s why we test before putting up big bucks. What I’m trying to say is that keeping good solid info every time out of the chute is the only way to really know.”

“If you’re selling, like I do every day, the marketing and sales train wrecks are sometimes the best to convince a buyer,” said Kate. “Being able to give somebody hard data on an approach that didn’t work makes it a lot easier to get them to sign off on one that does. The other thing it does is it gives you a reason to walk away from a prospect if you know they are going to fail or to suggest a test that could make both you and them look good.”

Nina, our luncheon guest, looked around the table wide-eyed and said, “All I really wanted was to put some information on my website that tells people what I’ve been able to accomplish with my clients. It seems like there is a whole lot more to this than I thought. “

“You betcha, sweet pea,” drawled Rob. Most of us have been advising professionals and particularly consultants long enough to know that you need to look at keepin’ track of every engagement and assignment in a way that allows you to use all the information later.” (Video: How to present a Kick-ass Success Story in print) https://youtu.be/KM_lH2Eqrqo )

“All assignments and engagements,” I emphasized. Here’s a rough list of the ones I think you should keep track of:

Client Prospecting
Referral Approaches
Proposal based engagements
Assignments based on a retainer agreement
Projects awarded for previous experience
Engagements that require training or retraining of client staff
Situations that require you, the client or both to stretch

“So you’re saying to keep track of it whether it is business development, business as usual or business with a twist,” said Kate.

“Well put,” I responded. “Early on having a simple form that you fill out helps get you organized to do it. Later, you may pick and choose which of the jobs you take on to do a full write up on but it never hurts to have the information.” Kick Ass Case History Capture Form

Nina asked, “So what is on the form?” (PDF of form)

“All the usual client ID stuff, the kind of project, start and end date, situation, objective, starting data, ending data,” I said.

Rob said, “I like to keep a file with the form. You don’t want to forget any branding data that you might want when you report on it. That could be things like a logo or photos of the client and the client’s business or products. And if graphics are important it is a good idea to have before and after stuff.”

“Words, too,” added Gail. “When you change Mission or Position or Value Proposition it is a good idea to have both the before and after. Other word oriented items I like to include are testimonials. If I’m working with multiple levels than I try to get them from each. And I always like to get them to include the numeric changes in their statements.”

“Don’t overlook video,” said Chris. “If you can get a video that demonstrates what you do or just the client talking about what you’ve done for them you have a winner. What our studies show is that video seems to be the most convincing way to get a point across these days. “Video: One way to do a Kick-ass Video Success Story https://youtu.be/KPCU79FgXvE)

Kate looked over her glasses at Nina and said, “All that hard data is good. But remember we’re dealing with human beings here. There is a great deal of emotion wrapped up in what we do. Change isn’t easy. Transformation is what we are really doing. People are scared of it. They shy away from it. And then when the work we do kicks in they become proud of it. Don’t forget to capture that emotional content and the newfound strength you help provide. “

“You keep a file like that and you’ll be able to build a powerful Success Story to publish on the ones that work. You keep the data on the ones that don’t and make that into a Case History by adding one thing: your investigations in to why the anticipated results didn’t happen.”

The Takeaway

To build a Kick-ass Success Story you need to capture the information on every major project or engagement or assignment. Keep a file that doesn’t rely on memory to help you gather the data and materials you need. Then express it in a way that lets people “get it” in whatever medium you are using to present it .

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. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Brand ain’t digital

Posted on 2016/01/23 by Jerry Fletcher

“…when in danger, when in doubt, run in circles scream and shout,” Bubba was saying as I joined the lunch bunch.

I didn’t have to ask.

He went on, “There’s a lot of folks runnin’ around in circles out there ‘bout branding in a digital world. They keep on worryin’ about how to be proactive with their new techie tribe. The way they carry on you would think there were never challenges to maintaining a brand before!”

Gail asked, “What are they afraid of Rob?”

“They don’t know what they don’t know. Their whole world is wrapped up in a perceived digital dialogue.

Brand ain’t digital!

Brand is the relationship an individual has with a product or service. The sum of all the relationships of all those folks is the brand. That takes into account that some folks don’t have a clue as to who you are, and what you do, and could care less right up to somebody who believes y’all are the breath of life.

Digital doesn’t change that. Brand is still all about establishing trusting relationships. The digerati are just becoming aware of how fragile brand can be.

Everything you do, every communication you have with a client or prospect impacts their viewpoint about your brand. Regardless of where they are in the buying cycle the relationship is ultimately based on trust.

If’n you’re looking for a simple way to put it—Trust is not about words it’s about actions. So is brand. What you do is always more important then what you say. Theah’s some big words that supposedly are the foundation. Credibility is at the heart of it surrounded by authenticity, integrity and consistency.

But for a simple southern boy like me I put it this way:

First I got to believe you. Don’t make no never mind if I’m buyin’, just kickin tires or just tripped and slud into your web site.
Second, you got to be real. Don’t go makin’ promises you can’t keep. I know perfection is a mighty good thing to aim for but my target may not be what y’all are aimin’ at.
Be honest. Don’t get wrapped around an axle tryin’ to be somethin’ for everybody. There’s gotta be some slack and most folks will give you a little credit, specially if you tell the truth.
Stay constant. When you start fiddlin’ with trying to satisfy the whole world you’re gonna run into a problem. Like my Granny used to say…ain’t no way you can love everybody and you can’t expect them all to be friends with you. Best you can hope for is that most of them trust you. Do your darndest to get to that.”

The Takeaway:

Brand is a matter of trust. Getting to trust means I have to believe in you, your product or service. Maintaining that trust requires you and all who represent you to be real, honest and constant. Keep your promises.

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. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Thanksgiving Trust

Posted on 2015/11/21 by Jerry Fletcher

Last night I met with a group I had been a member of for several years. It was a reunion of sorts. All of us had come to know each other rather well in the years we met regularly but business and living crowded in and the glue that held the group together slowly vanished.

I was first to arrive and staked out a place in the lounge with seating for the expected 8 people.

Suzie arrived next. We did the usual “how’s things,” and settled into wait for the others. I told her I was struggling with what to write about in a pre-Thanksgiving blog.

She asked, “What are you thankful for?”

I told her about my family and friends plans for Thanksgiving… a daughter winging her way cross country to the upper left corner and a couple I first started celebrating the holiday with to satisfy my ex’s desire to have a bigger gathering when her family was scattered across the USA.

As each of the others came in I asked, “What are you thankful for?”

All of them, in one way or another said family and friends and the renewal of their ties that happens around this special meal.

In the light of a suicidal terrorist attack in Paris and in Mali in just the last few days preceded by the bombing of a Russian passenger plane I find it hard to ponder what we might do to change the dreams of those that kill instead of rejoicing in life.

Family, Friends, Tribe, Religion, Nation, World seems to be the hierarchical order of the emotions that drive homo sapiens.

Family is not always a positive space. Somehow, Mother Nature allows us the wonder of children that turn into teenagers. Then somewhere in their early twenties they discover that their parents are not the dolts they thought them to be. But in some cases trust fails and that void just widens.

Friends come and go. Friendship appears to be dependent on both sides being willing to compromise, learn from the other and respect the other’s differences. The foundation is trust.

Tribes, unless you are Native American, tend to be a matter of where you grow up seasoned by race, intelligence, income and raw courage. But then again, the simple wearing of a selected color can make you part of the in group or the out group. Trust is between individuals. It is never uniform.

Religion is a tricky one. I have friends that are Agnostic, Hindu, Jewish, Mormon, six different kinds of Christian, Zoroastrian and several, like most of humanity, still searching. But no one close to me is a follower of Islam. That, I trust, I can fix.

Nation is becoming less and more of a defining difference. It is less so for the first generation or one that is backed into a corner by tribalization. It is more so if assimilation occurs. It comes down to not allowing things that get in the way of friendship, the trinkets that separate tribes and the suspicions that surround religions to get in the way of the trust that is basic to human nature.

It is one world. There is no argument with that. The argument is over who is to be in charge. I trust we can work that out.

The Takeaway:

The only way forward, in my view, is to stop asking someone else to trust the stranger. You can do that as an individual but you can’t do it as a tribe or a religion or a nation. You can only do it as an individual. Find a way you can do it. Help your friends do it. Keep it personal.

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. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Prisoner of Expectations

Posted on 2015/11/14 by Jerry Fletcher

“I was listening as a client spoke about Succession Planning. Somewhere along the way he used the phrase Prisoner of Expectations and my mind went chasing that idea through the myriad of myths people have about all things marketing.”

Rick said, You mean like thinking that brand is more important than sales, right?”

“You’re right my direct marketing friend,” I responded. “That assumption is at the heart of so many expectations that people have of their marketing that are so wrong! Brand is something you have to allow to happen instead of trying to control it.

That’s why it is nearly impossible to put a number on it.

Rob, our southern-fried band guru arrived and jumped right in saying, “But you can measure it. You have to spend the money to learn the basic level of awareness and preference as well as sales to satisfy Rick and repeat to really nail it down.”

Jim, the lunch guest who had triggered my maunderings asked, “Can you explain that?”

Rob, who all of us call Bubba turned on his Georgia charm and said, “You betcha. Research folks believe you can figure out how powerful a brand y’all have by showing people your logo along with the competitions. Tha’s why lots of folks think a logo is a brand. Taint.

“The measures you can get that way break down like this:” he said indicating his points with raised fingers:

Awareness—that’s the percentage of folks asked that can identify your “brand” and what it is all about from nothin’ more than your logotype.
Preference—what share of the folks that can identify you and your competitors say they pick you first in a buying situation.
Acquisition—that’s when it gets harder ‘cause you’re dealin’ with actual sales versus the competition but if you keep good records even ‘little guys’ can use this measure.
Satisfaction comes next. Most marketer don’t want to admit that not everyone likes their product or service even when they buy and use it.
Repeat— Another way to figure out where you really stand is lots easier in today’s on-line purchase world if you’re price, delivery included, is still the best easily available.
Referral—is the final measure in reality. Y’all can get an idea about this by asking everyone that considers your product or service who told them about you.

Gail, the veteran advertising copy writer said, “If you run ads in national and sometimes regional magazines you can sometimes get Bubba’s first two from readership studies they do. B2B and B2C are pretty much the same except lower prices mean faster answers and acquisition is replaced with trial but it is pretty much the same game.”

“And,” I said, “the rule of thumb I learned long ago and far away is that the percentage drops by 20% each step of the way. In other words if 100 folks were aware than only 80 would Prefer my brand and then only 64 would actually buy. Of those, 51 would be satisfied 41 would buy again and of those just 33 would refer me.”

“Don’t forget,” Bubba said, just about nobody ever gets 100% awareness. Best ever I saw was barely north of 90%.

The Takeaway:

You can measure brand but generally only when it becomes a regional or nationally known product or service. A high awareness score is terrific but Preference, Acquisition (sales), Satisfaction, Repeat and Referral are always lower than Awareness. Always.

For the little guy, the better measure is found in knowing how your sales stack up against repeat and referral which you can easily develop from your B2B sales records

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. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Customer DisService

Posted on 2015/11/07 by Jerry Fletcher

“Look out,” Rick warned the others, “he’s on a rant.”

Gail, the calm presence that is the wordsmith in the group asked, “What is it this time?”

Kate looked over her glasses leaned in and said, “Every time he goes to the bank lately he comes out snarling and snarky. First it was the lines and then it was being asked for identification. Who knows what it was this time?”

Rob, last as usual, sat down and without asking looked at Fletch and asked, “So what’s the burr under your saddle today?”

“Customer DisService,” I said.

“Theahs a lot of that going around,” Rob allowed in his familiar southern drawl.

“I went to the bank just before coming to lunch and once again the line was 6 people deep and there was only one teller. Of course there were three managers discussing their coming weekend over in a cubicle. And when I finally got to the counter the teller asked me for identification even though I was making a deposit into my account with a pre-printed deposit slip and not taking cash! I commented that there was no way I could walk away from this transaction with any cash so the ID thing was ridiculous. Then she told me that tellers are now required by the bank to check the ID of people making cash deposits!

Banks are absolutely the worst in my view. The turnover since the old manager left this branch has been 100%. All the professionalism is gone. Folks my age talk about it in line. It is pretty bad when the bank doesn’t trust its own customers”

“So why don’t you change banks?” Chris asked.

“Because I hear it is just as bad everywhere else.”

“You have no idea,” said Chris. Friend of mine bought a soup deli franchise and now he’s working twice as many hours. Every time he thinks he’s got the staff and shift leaders nailed down one of them just doesn’t show up so he has to fill in. He tells me it happens all the time. Makes me sure I don’t want to have employees if I go back to running my own business.”

Rick waved both hands in the air to get our attention and said, “My experience last week gets the prize.

I went to a national department store and picked out a jacket and a couple shirts just for knocking around. I got in line at a checkout. There were only two people in front of me. 25 minutes later I was still waiting. Two other business men behind me had dumped selections on the counter and said they couldn’t wait around for the clerk. In that 25 minutes only one other clerk had come to help. Finally, a young lady said she could help the next in line. As I passed the counter I muttered that it was about damn time. The original clerk started berating me. You know I’m a mild mannered guy but he really ticked me off. I dropped the coat and shirts on the counter and told him my comments were made for obvious reasons and that his ineptitude had resulted in over $1000 in sales being lost by the store.

I went back to the office and wrote a letter to the President of the company. A few days later, the President called me. No, I would not tell him the name of the employee and no I didn’t want anything other than to let him know he had a problem out here in the hinterlands. If the clerk had simply acknowledged the people in line and stopped using the sell them a credit card script and doing everything by the book, the sales would not have been lost.

Today, I got call from the store manager. After we got through the fact that I would not name the individual we had a conversation about what the store manager’s job is like. It is the same as Chris was talking about. Employees seem to have no sense of their importance in how customers see the company. They just aren’t trained to think about service. Instead they are given scripts and told they must do things one way regardless of the situation. That’s not his choice. It is a corporate mandate“

Bubba, the branding Guru cleared his throat and said, “Now y’all know why it is so hard to keep a positive brand differential. The more locations and the more people you have the more chances there are for Customer Dis Service to happen especially if you push employees to do everything by the book.”

The Takeaway:

Service perceived as good is a matter of trust. Banks apparently don’t trust customers. Corporations obviously lack trust in employees ability to think and adapt to the situation.

DisService might be cured in your organization by getting to trust with customers, staff and yourself.

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. Sign up for the blog and other publications at: www.JerryFletcher.com/Profit.html

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

Jerry Fletcher's Secrets of Small Business Marketing

How to build your business, your brand and a life of joy…on and off-line.

Category Archives: Trust

Trust is the Strongest Link for Consultants

How to Outsource Your Digital Marketing so That Dog Will Hunt

Marketing and Sales All in One

30-Second Marketing for Consultants Part 3

Mission, Position and the Customer Journey

30-Second Marketing for Consultants Part 2

Mission versus Position versus 30-second Marketing

The Path to Purchase (Customer Journey)

The Takeaways:

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

Consultant Trust Floats

It takes time to get to trust.

Prospect knowledge in your area of expertise leads to trust.

Prospects need time to understand why they should trust you.

The Marketing Takeaway

Getting clients is all about trust. To get them to come to you, you must:

Stay consistent

Establish your expertise

Assure that others refer you

Be willing to educate if they want to learn

Get to know them

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

Kick-ass Case History

Brand ain’t digital

Thanksgiving Trust

Prisoner of Expectations

Customer DisService