Yikes! Glad it wasn't something fragile!

I received this package at my mailbox the other day.  It looked like it had been dropped out of a truck in the rain and run over a couple of times.  Fortunately, the book contained in the package was relatively unharmed.

But you’ll be pleased to know that this isn’t a rant against the fact that the US Postal Service mangled my package; I actually used to be a mail carrier, and I know these things happen from time to time.  No big deal.

What bothered me, though, was the wrapping that the package in question arrived in.  It had what I can only assume is the USPS version of an apology printed on it.  Here, have a look:

Oh, I see...the mangled package was MY fault!

If you want to read the full text of the “apology”, click on the picture and you’ll get to see an enlarged version…then come back here for the rest of the story.

Did you catch that?  The “apology” starts off nicely enough, then immediately shifts into explaining why, in reality, it wasn’t really their fault.  After all, they reason, they handle an awful lot of mail.  They even managed to make me feel a little guilty about irresponsible packaging and the damage my offending package might have caused to their machinery and other pieces of mail.  Then I remembered: I had nothing to do with the packaging.  I was the recipient, an innocent victim of mail mutilation.

It isn’t just the Postal Service that tries this kind of maneuvering to avoid responsibility for their actions, though.  Think of all the times you’ve had a company rep or a customer service agent make you feel responsible for the poor service that they were delivering.

So here’s the question: are you doing the same thing to your clients?  Stop and think about that for a minute.  Have you ever, in an effort to avoid responsibility for a problem, spun it around so the customer was the bad guy?  It’s tempting, isn’t it?

There’s a problem with that kind of thinking, though: the customer knows it’s not his/her fault, and will resent you making that implication.  Think of the damage that causes to your relationships with your customers.  Instead, why not just offer a sincere apology and fix the problem?

Or don’t.  It’s up to you.  Just know that blaming your customers for problems with your service will eventually lead to a different kind of problem: no customers.  That is, unless you’re the US Postal Service…

I’m a few chapters into “Changing the Conversation” by Gary Klaben, who was kind enough to contribute a guest post here yesterday (full disclosure: yes, they did send me a free copy of the book).

The book is great so far, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it, but this paragraph caught my eye and made me want to write a quick post:

“We want a relationship.  A relationship that begins with a conversation well-grounded in authority and trust.  A conversation that is about us.  A conversation that leads to a tailored solution based on our specific needs.  That adds value.  That fulfills a purpose.  We want to be convincingly yet gently pulled to a decision.”

Think about your own experiences as a customer; isn’t that exactly how you want to be treated?  Let me ask you this, though: when was the last time you actually were treated that way?  Chances are pretty good that it stands out in your memory because it doesn’t happen very often.

In fact, we’re so used to the opposite happening that we’ve almost become numb to it.  I find myself almost daily pretending like I’m listening to a salesperson who’s trying to pitch me on some new thing.

It’s a sad state of affairs; I could totally be missing out on the greatest thing ever created, but because the conversation is all about the product and not about me, I tune out.  So do you.  And here’s the really scary part if you’re in sales: so do all the people you’re calling on.

It’s time to take Gary’s advice and start changing the conversations you have with your prospects and clients.  Like I’ve said a thousand times before, stop talking about your product and start talking about what matters: the person on the other side of the table.

Those who understand that and make those changes sooner rather than later will be the salespeople of the future; those who don’t will be practicing their pitches to each other in the bread line.

A lot of people responded to a post I wrote last week about marketing like a douchebag.  The post was written in response to an e-mail I received from someone who wanted me to come to a “herd building day” at an upcoming seminar he’s hosting.

While much of the feedback I received was in the form of objections to the use of the “d-word”, there were a couple of questions that jumped out at me that I wanted to take a few minutes to address.  WARNING: the aforementioned “d-word” might pop up a couple of times in this post, so I’ll get that one out of the way first.

Question: Why did you describe the offending info-marketer as a “douchebag”? Answer: First of all, it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s an information marketer.  I have no problem with information marketers, especially since I consider myself to be one…or at least I’m testing the waters.  What I object to, and what inspired the name-calling, is bad information marketing practices.  More on that later.  The reason I used the word “douchebag” is that’s the only one I could think of that captured the visceral reaction I’d had to the email I’d received.  I spent a good two minutes trying to find another word that captured the feeling.  I couldn’t.  Moving on.

Question: What is a “herd building day”?  Answer: I have no idea.  I tried to figure it out, but the page that the email linked to had very little information about what the event actually entails.  Maybe you can figure it out.  I’m not going to dignify the page with a link; just google “herd building day” (with the quotes); it’ll be the link right under the post from this blog.

I’m going to make an assumption, though: based on previous communication from this particular marketer, I would guess that a “herd building day” is designed to teach you how to create a group of people who will buy stuff from you, regardless of whether it has any real value to them, because you’ll know the magic formula for crafting your “marketing message”.  Seriously.  This is the kind of stuff this guy teaches.  Of course, it could also be an inside joke referring to the fact that the people who sign up for the class are demonstrating the very herd behavior they’re hoping to learn how to create in others.  Pretty sick, eh?

Question: Why do you object to the use of the word “herd”?  Isn’t that just another way of saying “tribe”?  Answer: Only if you’re a douchebag.  I object to the idea of referring to your clients as a “herd” because a “herd” is a group of mindless animals, doing whatever they’re told to do, following wherever the leader goes.  A tribe, on the other hand, is a group of folks who share a common vision and are working together to achieve it.  There may be a leader, but if his head gets too big or he starts to milk the tribe for everything it’s worth, the tribe can kick the leader out or defect to a new tribe.  Herds don’t do that, because herds don’t think; they blindly follow.

Question: How can I be an effective marketer without being a douchebag?  Don’t I have to know how to manipulate people to make them buy?  Answer: It’s pretty simple, really: start by respecting your clients.  If you do, you’ll be more likely to create and market products that they want to buy, and you won’t have to manipulate them.  The basis of bad marketing is that it assumes that, no matter what the product is or whether or not it has any real value, people will buy it if you have a great “marketing message”.

Forget that.  No matter what these guys tell you, it’s total BS.  Do you really want to sell people stuff that’s going to be useless to them or, worse, is going to piss them off when they realize that you have their money and all they have to show for it is a bunch of crap?  If not, take the time to ask around and find out what kind of products your ideal customers want to buy.  Of course, that assumes you know who your ideal customers are.  If you don’t, start here.

If you start from a place of humility and are willing to ask how you can best serve your clients, you’re likelihood of success is greatly increased.  Figure out how to create a product that will change the lives of your clients in a positive way, and they’ll beat a path to your door to buy it.

I love the moxie of a small company in a small town in Northern California who looks at a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and says “Yeah…we can fix that.”

That’s exactly what Mobius Technologies, of Lincoln, CA, has done, and they didn’t stop there.  When Mobius realized that it was going to take too long to get through the bureaucracy and red tape required to get their product approved for use in the cleanup, they set about using social media tools like YouTube and Facebook to recruit a volunteer army and encouraged them to spread the message.

And while I think the powers that be at Mobius Technologies are making a huge mistake by not engaging with bloggers to help them spread their message (it seems they don’t consider bloggers to be “true” media outlets), I can’t argue with the results they’re getting.  Have a look at this video from the local ABC affiliate in Sacramento.

Mobius is starting to get some traction, and I applaud the work they’re doing.  More than that, though, I applaud the way they’re going about it.  Here are some valuable lessons other small business owners and entrepreneurs can learn from the example of Mobius Technologies:

The kind of ingenuity and innovation Mobius Technologies is demonstrating is impressive.  They’re a great example of how vision and determination can lead a small business to the forefront of an effort to solve a global problem.

It’s examples like this that make me believe the future is bright for small businesses, especially the ones who can bring an “A game” like the one Mobius Technologies is playing.  Congratulations, guys!

I wanted to share something I came across last week that I believe demonstrates a lot of the principles that this blog is all about.  Have a look at this video, but don’t form an opinion just yet: 

The reason I asked you not to form an opinion just yet is that I’d like for you to get a little more information before you get too excited and start demanding that this product be used in the Gulf oil spill.  I don’t want you guys and gals to start acting like a “herd”!  I do, however, want for this product and Mobius’ claims to get some media attention so that the product can be vetted for use in the cleanup efforts.

So why am I sharing the video, then?

First, I’m intrigued by the claims made about the product.  Coming from a background in the petroleum industry, I’d say at first blush that this looks like a viable solution to the cleanup problem.  Since Mobius Technologies is local to where I live, I’m going to try to arrange an on-site demo and see for myself.  I’ll bring along a camera to record the demo, and I’ll share that video here once it’s done.

Second, I love the fact that this company is taking a proactive, no-holds-barred approach to getting the word out about their product.  I initially came across this video on a friend’s Facebook profile.  I shared it on my wall, and Mobius immediately engaged with me to find out whether I was willing to help them spread the word about MPU.  They’ve been hitting the social media networks hard (without being annoying or spammy), and their efforts are paying off with local press coverage.  If they keep up the effort, you’ll see this product getting national media attention in no time.

Third, I’m sharing this video with you because I think it’s an excellent demonstration of the power of small business to solve global problems.  How amazing would it be if it really turns out that a small company that recycles polyurethane foam (the stuff that’s in your seat cusions and sofas) can clean up one of the worst man-made disasters in history?  I’d say pretty amazing.  This is entrepreneurial ingenuity at it’s best.

So, what can you do to help?  Well, if you’re so inclined, you can click here to have a look at the “Champion Kit” that Mobius has put together to make it easy for you to share their story with your networks.  At the very least, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter and check out their YouTube channel.  Learn as much as you can about the product, maybe request a sample and try it for yourself, then decide for yourself whether you’d like to help spread the story of how a small business is helping to solve a big problem.

I received an email today from a well-known information marketer (who I have the misfortune to share surnames with) inviting me to join him at a “Herd Building Day” at an upcoming seminar he’s putting on.  I’m sorry, but something about the title of that program just screamed “Come on out…you can learn to be a douchebag like me!” when I read it.

“Herd Building Day”?  Seriously?  I have a question: are they going to teach me how to build a “herd”, or am I going to become part of the “herd” that they’re building?  My guess is the latter.  But wait, there’s more: if I’m one of the first 800 to sign up, I get a super-razzoo discount AND they’ll let me to be part of the “herd” day for free!  Please.  Spare.  Me.

I’ve had my suspicions about this particular marketer before.  The worst was when I received a series of “invitations” to a previous event that became progressively more abusive the closer the event got, eventually culminating in an email that seemed to question my intelligence, pleading with me to pay up and attend the seminar so I could be smart like them.  I wish I would have saved that email, since it was about the closest thing to a perfect example of how to market like a jackass I’ve ever seen.  Instead, I let it get under my skin and deleted it.  Oh well…I’m sure there will be another.

So, back to “Herd Building Day”.  Can you think of a more insulting way to refer to your clients than calling them your “herd”?  I can’t, and I’ve been trying to think of something for the past 20 minutes.  Maybe your “mindless zombie pack”?  No: I think I’d actually rather be a zombie than part of your “herd”.  At least if I was a zombie, I could still come after you to eat your brain.

Let me be perfectly clear: I’m not one of those people who hates sales and marketing.  In fact, I’m a big fan of sales and marketing.  Ask anyone who knows me: sales and marketing is what I do, it’s what I live, eat, sleep and breathe.  I just like to see it done right.  When someone refers to “building a herd” of customers, it turns my stomach.  After all, what do you do with a “herd”?  You milk it for all it’s worth, right?  Does that sound like marketing done right to you?

You know the part of this invitation that bothers me most, though?  The fact that there’s a better than average chance that the seminar is gong to sell out.  Why?  Because there are plenty of people who would love nothing more than to build a herd that they can milk for everything it’s worth.  There are people who are more than happy to fall for the appeal of a shortcut to success.  They’ll line up, cash or credit card in hand, for the opportunity to learn how to make a quick buck off the gullibility of the “herd”.

What they don’t realize, though, is that they are the “herd”.

Do me a huge favor: don’t be like them.  Accept and commit to the fact that lasting success comes to those who follow a course of demonstrating, on a daily basis, that they have the best interest of their customers at heart.  Wouldn’t you rather do that than be part of the “herd”?

Apparently May was ‘launch a new coaching program online’ month. Launch guru Dave Navarro wrote about some negative reactions to the flurry of program launches which left some folks feeling assaulted. Dave shares some thoughts from his side of the table; he’s the expert and I’ll stay out of that.

Instead, I’ll get into this: would everybody please stop looking for a magic process, and understand that it’s all about outcomes?

We all want a machine where we drop in $20 bills and crank a handle that turns them into $100 bills. It doesn’t exist. There is no machine to make money in sales. Selling is not about processes.

Yes folks, you read that right: selling ain’t about process.

I know, you’ve read about NEADs, and the steps you go through and in what order and you know you’re supposed to have systems in place.

Here’s the secret: each of those is an outcome, not a process. Following the process without focusing on the right outcome is worthless. Focus on the outcome, and the right process for this single instance will become self-evident.

Sure, you should know what your client is doing now. That’s an outcome; you knowing what they’re doing now. It’s not a process. As long as you ethically and effectively gather this information, it doesn’t matter what ‘process’ you use.

What do they enjoy about the current solution? Yup; it’s an outcome.

What do they want to alter? Again, outcome, not process. But great googlymooglies; what would happen if you found this out before you found out what they enjoy? Is the process broken? Nonsense!

Your desired outcome is to know whether they have a need which you can fill, and whether you and they feel you’re the right one to fill it.

And it does not matter one whit what process you use to reach that outcome, as long as you do it within ethical and reasonable bounds. It will, however, be infinitely more successful if the process you choose in each individual case is comfortable for you and the folks you’re dealing with.

That’s also why copying someone else’s ‘process’ (like all those launch folks have done) or, in fact, why blindly repeating your own process, is short-sighted and lazy.

That’s not a recipe for success in sales.

**This post brought to you by Joel D Canfield, Business Heretic

The folks over at Bloggertone have a great vision: they want to bring together bloggers who write about topics related to small business so that entrepreneurs and business owners can have a single source for valuable information about sales, finance, marketing, management and a host of other topics.  They’re off to a great start; since they launched in October of 2009, they’ve added 50 talented business bloggers to the family, and they’re growing by the day.

As a way to introduce themselves to a larger audience, they’ve been running a business blogging contest in collaboration with BizSugar, the bookmarking site for business-related articles on the web.  The contest is called Sugartone, and you can read a little more about it by clicking here.

Being the blogging-junkie that I am, I couldn’t resist the call to write a guest post for the contest.  You can read that post by clicking here.  I hope you enjoy reading the post as much as I enjoyed writing it; it touches on a topic that will be familiar to regular readers of this blog. 

And if you do enjoy it, maybe you could leave a comment and/or vote for the post?  That’d be the bees knees!

Thanks again for reading!

In the last post, we talked about the importance of being a humble HERO.  Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to observe the effects of humility in your sales day.  So let’s move on to the next characteristic on the list of HERO traits: ethical behavior.

Should we call out the Myth Busters or the folks at Coast to Coast AM?  After all, there’s no such thing as an ethical salesperson, right?  Wouldn’t you expect to see something like that in the same room as Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster?  Strange as it might sound, I want to assure you that there are, in fact, a lot of ethical salespeople out there; we’re doing our best to make sure there are many more.

How can I say that, though, when most of us have been manipulated by a salesperson into buying something we didn’t really want or need, followed almost immediately by feelings of “buyer’s remorse”?  What about all of the people feeling this pain right now as they see their mortgage payments double, all because an unethical mortgage salesperson talked them into buying a product that really wasn’t right for them?  Unfortunate as these encounters are, I’d like to think they are the exception, not the rule.  They just happen to stick in our memories for a lot longer than the good experiences we’ve had.  So how can you be sure you are an ethical salesperson, a true HERO of the economy?

First, understand that being ethical means doing the right thing for your customer, always.  No questions, no hesitation.  You just do the right thing.  This can be difficult at times, especially when the right thing to do is to not sell your product to the customer in front of you.  Being ethical means having the courage to say “You know, I really don’t think this a good fit for your situation” and to refer them to someone else, even a competitor, who can help.  The reward, though, is immense.  Not only will you sleep better at night, you’ll probably also get great referral business from that person.

Second, you have to remember that, contrary to popular belief, ethics are not situational.  Your ethics are decided upon by you ahead of time, and you stick by them under all circumstances and conditions.  There are, of course, going to be times when someone points out a flaw in your reasoning and you make an adjustment in your beliefs; that’s called flexibility and it makes you a better business person.  For the most part, though, your ethics are going to be pretty solid.  They have to be.

This is why having a mission statement for your business is a good idea.  Your mission statement is the constitution for your business.  It is the law that you abide by, whether you like it in a particular situation or not.  If you haven’t already taken the time to create a mission statement for your business, do it now.  While you’re at it, create one for your personal life, as well.  You won’t believe the power this one simple act will produce.  This will become the code you’ll abide by from here forward.

If you want to really be a HERO of the economy, just operate by one simple rule: always do what’s best for your customer.   If you can adopt that simple code of ethics, you will be part of the solution.

After reading yesterday’s post, “What Is HERO Selling?“, my friend Skip Anderson asked the question, “Why is being humble important?”  That’s a great question, and I’ll attempt to provide a satisfactory answer in today’s post.  After you read it, let me know what you think by leaving your comments below.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you deal with a HERO salesperson is that he or she is humble.  Actually, you won’t so much notice the humility as you will notice the lack of it’s opposite: arrogance.  While many of the salespeople you are used to dealing with are, for the most part, arrogant know-it-alls, the HERO is noticeably different.  How, though, is being  humble an advantage in your sales career?

Well, think about that arrogant salesperson for a moment.  How do you, as a consumer, feel when someone shows up at your door to show you a “better way” of doing things using their product or service, then implies that if you don’t buy TODAY, you’re an idiot?  It puts you off a little, doesn’t it?  After all, you were doing just fine before this so-and-so showed up, and you’re pretty sure you’ll continue to do okay without him and his widget.  So then, here’s the question: how do your customers feel when you insist that your product or service is a “better way” of doing things in their business?

You get the point.  Implying, let alone saying outright, that you know better than your customer is a sure-fire way to get their hackles up.  This isn’t to say that your product or service isn’t a better solution for the customer’s need.  You just can’t say that it is.  You have to lead your prospects to arrive at that conclusion on their own.  How do you, the HERO, do that?

Easy: you ask.  That’s right: if you want to demonstrate that you are humble, just ask a lot of questions.  Asking questions demonstrates to your prospect or customer that you trust them to know how to run their business and that you acknowledge that you’ve got something to learn from them.  Let them do the instructing and you take the role of student.  How does this help you sell your product?

By allowing your customer to do the talking, you are going to learn a great deal about them and their business.  You’ll learn what they like and dislike.  You’ll learn about what other solutions they’ve tried in the past, as well as why they are currently using the product they are.  You’ll learn what they like about that product, as well as what they’d like to see improved.  All of that information is what you’ll then use to build a solution that truly fits the prospect’s need.

Does this approach involve more work than trying to “pitch” your pre-packaged solution?  You bet it does!  Then again, nobody said being a HERO was going to be easy!