It’s All About Price?
August 11, 2010 by Ed McLaughlin
“All that my customers care about is price.”
Be honest – have you ever said those words? If so, I’ve got news:
You’re right.
But do you know why?
It’s because you haven’t really given customers much else to care about in the first place.
Present Like Steve Jobs
February 24, 2010 by Ed McLaughlin
The purpose of a presentation is to change minds. Yet this won’t happen if the presenter uses PowerPoint or Keynote to hide behind a wall of bullets and graphs. Of course, that doesn’t mean people still won’t try.
If you want to improve your presentation skills, there is no one better to study than Apple CEO Steve Jobs. His keynotes captivate audiences – and you can learn to do the same. Communications coach Carmine Gallo breaks down his methods in the video below.
Here is a summary of the Jobs presentation approach:
- Create a headline that sets the theme. Make sure that it is clear and consistent throughout your presentation.
- Provide an outline. Then open and close each section with a clear transition. This makes it easy for others to follow what you’re saying.
- Generate enthusiasm. Nothing is worse than a listless presenter. Remember, great communicators don’t transfer words – they transfer emotion.
- Make numbers meaningful. You should back up your points with numbers, and those numbers should be expressed in context.
- Make it visual. Limit bullet points and text. The more data you put into each slide, the more likely it is the audience members will start checking their PDAs.
- Create a memorable moment. Identify this ahead of time, then spend your presentation building up to it. Jobs is known for keeping audiences in suspense waiting for his “one more thing” – a traditional joke he makes before announcing the next big thing at the end of his keynotes.
- Rehearse. No one – not even Steve Jobs – can pull off an intricate presentation with video clips and demonstrations without hours of rehearsal. If people are willing to invest time listening to you, then you ought to be willing to spend the time necessary to create a polished presentation.
Improve Your Follow-Up
February 10, 2010 by Ed McLaughlin
Most businesses look at follow-up as something that’s easy. Wait until someone shows interest in your product, then call or email in an effort to push the sales cycle along. But that’s a call about you, not them.
There is another kind of follow-up that seems hard, but really isn’t. And since it takes place in moments other than when a sale is on the line, it’s much more powerful.
I’m not talking about generic thank you emails or satisfaction surveys. They’re boring, and do nothing to create customer loyalty or referrals. What I mean is someone from the company connects with the customer in meaningful way.
Let’s use an easy example: high-end restaurants. People aren’t dining out as much these days, and those that do are typically buying cheaper wine and ordering fewer courses. To lure customers in, many restaurants now offer value menus or run promotions. Fine. But the only time they follow-up with a customer is when confirming a reservation.
What if they decided to follow-up with patrons in a simple but unconventional* way? Someone from the restaurant could call to ask how dinner was the night before. Or the wait staff could send handwritten thank you cards to their customers. And if those doing the follow-up are empowered to resolve problems, than you’re much closer to establishing an emotional connection with your customers than you were before.
This small act is inexpensive, and chances are it will do more to generate repeat business and referrals than advertising ever will.
*This is unconventional for a restaurant, which is why it might work. The point here is that you need to figure out what is unconventional for your business and act on that.
How to Lose Customers (and Employees)
November 13, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
How many people work for your company? If more than a handful, chances are that you have a few policies. And the odds are just as good that one or more of these policies have irked a customer or two.
I run into these policies all of the time. So do you. But yesterday, one annoyed me so much I felt compelled to write about it.
For the record, I’m on my honeymoon. Which means that if a merchant wants to upset me, they have to work very, very hard to do it.
National Car Rental pulled it off.
The experience went smoothly at first. The night before, I reserved a car. When I got the agency the next day, a car was waiting. I provided the National agent with my driver license, as did my new bride. Fine. Then I handed her my VISA debit card for payment, and it all went downhill from there.
She looked at the card as though I had just given her foreign currency. “Um, you need a major credit card to pay for this car today.”
Here’s the thing – my new bride and I have a few policies of our own. For instance, we don’t use credit cards anymore. When it comes to paying for goods and services, the first thing out of our wallet is a debit card. The second is cash. There is no third option – if we can’t pay with the first two, we don’t make the purchase.
So I politely told the representative that I wanted to pay using the debit card.
“You’re both visiting here?” We nodded yes. “Well, then I can accept a debit card if you provide me with the confirmation number of your return flight.”
This, of course, made no sense. So I asked for an explanation.
“It’s company policy.”
“I don’t understand,” I replied. “If I pay you in advance for all charges, it shouldn’t matter if I use a credit card or not.”
She looked at us for a moment, and then just said, “I’m sorry, but that’s our policy.”
“Why don’t you explain the policy to me so that I understand it?”
The problem was, she couldn’t. And that’s the point of this post.
Let’s go back to the “no credit card” policy that my wife and I have. Why do we do this? Simple – we want to take care of our money, and that process starts with spending less than we earn. Eliminating credit card usage helps to ensure that we do exactly that. In short, our policy is easy to understand, and we can communicate it to anyone that asks us about it.
Not so with the National representative. Which was hardly her fault. After additional probing, I found out that the owner of that particular location instituted the policy with no explanation. She was just the messenger, and was frustrated with her inability to communicate the mandated rule.
So here’s the obvious idea. It’s fine if you have a policy, provided that you:
- Stop and actually think about what the policy means to you and your customers (in other words, it must be fair)
- Make certain that you and your employees can explain it to customers
Otherwise, the only thing the policy will result in is lost customers. That is, if you’re lucky. Because bad or poorly communicated policies might cause you to lose employees as well. After all, in all likelihood they are just as frustrated as the customer. I saw proof of this the other day. At one point during the discussion, my wife turned to me and said, “you know, I really don’t like this company.”
Not missing a beat, the National agent said, “Neither do I.”
Perspective…
October 7, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
…is one of the most important elements of success. Yet it is rarely talked about.
Consider the following fable:
There was once a farmer who had a strong, hard-working horse. This horse could plough fields all day and carry heavy loads. The farmer’s neighbors, who did not have such a prized animal, often said to him, “You’re so lucky to have that horse.”
The farmer, going about his work, simply replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”
One day, his horse ran away. The farmer’s neighbors said to him, “This is such bad news. You’re so unlucky that your horse ran away.” The man just said, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Not long afterwards, the farmer’s horse came back with ten mares, all strong, fit and healthy. The farmer’s neighbors gasped and said, “You’re so lucky to now have 11 strong horses to work on your farm!”
The farmer simply replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Unexpectedly, one of the horses kicked the man’s only son, breaking both his legs.
When the farmer’s neighbors heard this, they said, “This is such bad news! You are so unlucky.” The farmer just said, “Maybe, maybe not.”
The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer’s son was spared, since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted.
The farmer’s neighbors, whose sons had all been drafted into the terrible war, cried out to the farmer, “Oh, you are so lucky that your son did not have to go to war!”
The farmer, while hugging his son, simply replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Why do so many people tend to think that when a particular event occurs, there should a universal reaction to that event?
Change in life and business is constant. Some people get this; many do not. From my perspective, the path to winning starts with how you frame the problems thrown your way.
Persuasion & Surprise
October 6, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
Sooner or later, you’ll need to persuade someone to take action they may not have taken before. To hire someone with an unusual background, buy a product they’ve never used, or embrace a new idea.
One approach is to play it safe. Outline features and benefits. Put together a PowerPoint with fancy charts and bullet points. Maybe even use a scare tactic or two.
The safe approach assumes that people make decisions logically. Here’s the problem – decisions are made emotionally and justified logically. So if you want someone to do something they haven’t done before, you need to persuade them in a way that hasn’t been done before either.
The video below was the sales pitch used to sell The Muppet Show. Note: this was done in the early 1970′s, long before the existence of the easy-to-use editing programs we have today. Which means that this 2 1/2 minute video took a lot of time and creativity to make. I doubt that it felt like the safe way to persuade CBS to pick up the show.
But I’ll bet you it surprised them. And surprise is a great lubricant to “yes.”
[Update: the video was recently removed from You Tube. Regardless, hopefully the point is clear - sometimes the safe approach is riskiest one to take.]
The Sales Pitch, Take 2
September 25, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
A lot of people think that sales are intentional. I will sell this product to that person.
So what happens? A salesperson naturally thinks he or she must take action, that they have to do something to someone.
They almost always start by making a pitch. They pitch while making cold calls, at networking events, and during industry conferences.
For the most part, no one likes being on the receiving end of a pitch. It bothers us. Ever wonder why?
Probably because it feels intentional. A pitch is about self-promotion, not about the prospect. Which means that the salesperson is acting a lot like, well, human spam.
Which turns most sales encounters into little more than a big game.
Here’s a potential solution: slow down. Stop trying to pitch your products and services at the first impression. Earn the right to your prospect’s business, over time, bit by bit.
How? Easy – all you need to do is shift your thinking. Sure, you can take action – but instead focus on doing things “for” people, not “to” them. Share your knowledge. Share your network. Most importantly, share your compassion – there are countless ways you can help your prospect’s cause.
No, this won’t provide immediate results. But if you persevere, you’ll find that sales are more predictable and sustainable than you ever thought possible. And in all likelihood you won’t ever have to pitch again.
The Sales Pitch, Take 1
September 24, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
I listen to sales pitches all the time. This one, though, was a bit different.
“Do you speak English?”
The man who approached me looked familiar, but I couldn’t place his face. “Do I speak English?” I asked. I didn’t try to hide the fact that I was annoyed.
He threw up his hands. “I’m sorry sir, I meant no disrespect.”
This display triggered my memory. I not only knew him, I knew his routine as well. He was going to ask me for money.
“What do you want? I’m in a hurry.”
He pointed down the street. “My car broke down a few blocks from here. Could I borrow the money for public transportation?”
I looked at him and laughed. “Sorry, I can’t help you. Besides, we’ve had this conversation already.”
“Huh?”
I pointed in the other direction. “It was down that way – four blocks from here. Different day, same sales pitch.”
He looked at me for a moment, then nodded. “Oh – well, have a nice day.” And off he went, presumably in search of another prospect.
What does this have to do with you and your business? Everything. In reality, this man’s approach isn’t much different than what most companies do today. From cold calls to networking events, salespeople spend most of their time “pitching” others on their products and services. And if they are willing to do this 150 – 200 times, chances are that they’ll make a sale or two.
What a waste. There are two problems here:
- If you sell one person out of 150, you’ve alienated the other 149 people forever. Not good.
- The people you most want to do business with won’t respond to this approach.
If pitching people is the only sales tool you’ve got, it’s time get some new tools.
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