If I have a niggle about one point, perhaps there are other points you can focus on… and hey how do you get past the issue of price “Why would I spend $5 – 6,000 if I can get one for $3-4,000?” simple, it’s like cars they do basically the same thing, some are perhaps better quality, some provide more status, you want quality and status, you pay… Here’s why (outline a benefit).

Oh and if you’re calling me in Australia but you have an American accent that sounds like you are in an overseas call centre and the line is crap, I am going to be suspect about you right from the start. Sure you get some points for being first on the phone after my email enquiry, but those points were soon lost.

I will probably buy, but from which company… let’s see who can sell to me the best. Sure price is not everything but a big difference in price gets me wondering and you need to be able to spell out how what you provide is better.

If your business is thinking of using a call centre to help with your leads, then do some CAREFUL research first.

“Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.” Dilbert.

So now I have had four calls from people wanting to set up an appointment – answer my questions – send me more info.

The first two – dodgy… American accents bad lines and hard to understand. ergh…

The second two, one female one male – the female asked great questions and provided good answers – the guy however ummed and arghhed a bit but got through the info, clarified a few points but still a bit average. He did suggest to check out the quality of the units I was after and to get lots of brand names and model numbers of the gear others were saying they would supply.

So who will I buy from… I will see if any other companies will ring today and compare the figures they say they will email me.

UPDATE!

Day one got me a bunch of calls from interested parties, day two fielded some more and day FIVE I had a guy on the phone who said “So, got your enquiry, what do you want….” FAIL… he prattled on about quality and said he would email me the material… price “can’t match the low priced stuff, but it’s crap anyway…” (Ok thanks for the feedback, and also thanks for giving me the brand names I should be looking for that made things easier).

My research showed some interesting info, the lady who had chatted so nicely, had good info, and asked good questions to establish my needs the best… well turns out the Co she works for gets slammed in forums all over the net… and what’s also worrying they have about three different business names they trade under!! A quick search of those found more issues… oh boy it just became a bigger minefield!

The upshot, I found another company who looks like they can do the ‘right things’, I just need to get them to respond to the email I sent two days back!

Remember… “Great service is it’s own reward” Elbert Hubbard

There were staff sitting and standing about texting or chatting on their phones, some CLEARLY bored out of their brains.

Dear Boss… Tell them not to do it please!

I was embarrassed for them and I was a spectator.

If you take a stall at a trade show, you are on show, the business is on show… Therefore make sure you do the right thing and present professionally and do it well.

Firstly, these people may have had no idea what to do when they got to the show, they may have been told to “Turn up and chat to people.”

Secondly, if you feel you must text or email people use a lap top or an i pad so you look like you are doing business, or don’t do it at all.

I fully appreciate it can be a hard task to be at a trade show and be attentive all day long, it really is a draining experience.

May I suggest.

These people need to have something to do,

• Set the situation up so they have appointments with people before the event, book some prospects to drop in and see what’s going on.
• Make it clear about the things they can and can not do while on the stand texting for more than 30 secs is a no no!
• Ensure you use a friendly branding expert to have creative ways to work with the people walking by the stand. It may be a giveaway you actively hand to the people, get the chance to chat to them and find out more, qualify them to see if they are a fit to what you have on offer, if they are then get their details and reward them with a better handout, this time with solid “remember us” branding on it.
• Perhaps involve the people in a survey.
• Consider other novel approaches to create interest. A juggler, a celebrity… make it so the people walking by want to stop, engage them, qualify and go form there.
• Just because a person is not a prospect now, does not mean they can’t change if they move companies or start a different business later on.

Simply put, having people just sitting or standing about mindlessly not engaged in “working the crowd” are a liability, not an asset. perceptions and image are often paramount to ensuring your business puts it’s best foot forward.

Oh and to finish, “To the man who was so rude as to ignore myself and my friend by looking straight past us once he had figured out we were of no use to him, think again. The scan tag telling you my line of business is only one of my business activities so you gave me a BAD impression of your business, so the very important question I wanted to ask you will wait for the next celebrity speaking bureau chief I meet.”

Are you kidding me? ……… NONE!

I believe I put it best when I wrote, ” … might as well hand out bulls-eyes imprinted with “Gangs Suck” for children to wear on their back.” Seriously, putting an anti-gang message on something for children to carry around or wear – is a bad, bad idea. The good news is, the discussion brought to light a couple of insights we as marketers should keep in mind in order to keep the government, advocacy and activist groups out of our business.

1) When we take advantage of marketing opportunities, we must also recognize our tremendous responsibility. While we may have responsibility to shareholders, bottom line and market share, we must also remember that we have a responsibility to our industry and to the publics that are affected by our marketing efforts.

2 )Place emphasis on message not product. In the example above, the question, “What product do we put an anti-gang message on?” is product focused. However, had the question been, “What do we want to accomplish?” the focus could have been placed on promoting good as opposed to gang-bashing.

In an effort to not paint bulls eyes on the backs of non-gang children, many of us agreed that before worrying about which products would be appropriate, that it would be best to first change the focus of the thinking. Instead of thinking anti-gang we felt that the focus should be more along the lines of pro education, pro safety, pro future, pro self esteem or something else that doesn’t threaten the gangs.

One line of thinking is be, “Want to keep kids from joining gangs? Give them something else to join.” Now you’ve got the seed of an idea that could make for a campaign that could involve parents, band and athletic boosters, the school, school clubs, businesses, scouting, 4-H, social and civic organizations … the entire community.

For marketers, the question is, “Want to keep consumers from buying from your competitors? Give them a reason to buy from you.” Give them something to belong to.

Finally, as a public service, I want to re-emphasize the responsibility we shoulder as marketers. To that end I share with you a thought I cannot shake since I first read, “What promotional products would be good to carry an anti-gang message for middle and high school kids?”

That neat, fun, do-dad with the wrong message on it … could get someone killed.

Have a nice day:)

Once aboard the ship, we could buy a soft drink card that yielded unlimited soft drinks while on board. We also received a 16oz tumbler emblazoned with the Coke(r) logo and a small Princess(r) Cruise logo. Coke had its name in front of 3000 travelers for 10 days playing an integral role in life aboard the ship. Good promotion, no question.

Now that I’m back home, however, there sits these four tumblers on my counter. I see the Coke and the Princess logo …. so what? I am motivated to do exactly …. nothing.

For starters, it would have cost no more to imprint a website on the tumbler and perhaps a message that said, “Visit (website) to continue your cruise experience.” Since the tumblers were shrink-wrapped, it wouldn’t have cost much more to add an interactive component to the mix. Perhaps an ultra-removeable sticker affixed, inserted inside or shrink-wrapped onto the tumbler. The sticker would say, “Affix this sticker to the inside of your suitcase to remind you to visit (website) at home when you unpack.” When people got home and unpacked, that sticker would remind them to visit the website.

Another thought would be to encourage people to take photos of themselves in ports of call holding their tumblers – and email them in. Once they send their photo in, they would have reason to check back on the website to see if their photo was up. And you know as soon as they see it, they would tell all their friends and family to go to the website and see it.

With a little more thought, Coke and Princess could have leveraged something that I had to purchase in the first place … to their benefit! No kidding. Think about that. I paid money for the tumbler and drink card, giving them the opportunity to market to me during the cruise and interactively after the cruise. Now that’s brilliant! But they didn’t take it far enough.

Instead, I have a tumbler that (yawn) passively reminds me of my vacation.

If you are in the midst of developing a promotional campaign, perhaps now you have a bit more to think about. Ask yourself, “Is simply having our logo on an item good enough?” “Can we do more? Can we go further?” “How much more will a call to action really cost us?” Seriously, a great idea can be no more than another thought away.

In a report released January 5, 2010 by The Conference Board based on a survey of 5000 U.S. households, only 45 percent of those surveyed said they are satisfied with their jobs. 55 percent are not satisfied with their jobs! According to Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of The Conference Board, “The downward trend in job satisfaction could spell trouble for the overall engagement of U.S. employees and ultimately employee productivity.”

What the report doesn’t tell us is WHY 55 percent of employees are dissatisfied. And while specific reasons for dissatisfaction vary by company, job and employee, I believe it can pretty much be summed up as a disconnect between those in the ivory tower and those in the trenches.

One of the best books I ever read on management and problem-solving is an 80 page book called, “I Know It When I See It” by John Guaspari. In the book, the Boss demoralized his employees by telling them that the key to increasing the quality of their product is to, “Try Harder! Do Better!” It had the same effect as unfunded government mandates – no one was given the information, tools or ability to accomplish the edict. What followed was employee frustration, job dissatisfaction and further loss of market share.

If your company is large enough, consider an undercover operation to include the top echelon. In disguise either shop your company or get a job with your company. See first-hand what affect your policies and directives are having on those who must deliver your product or service. In smaller companies, I encourage bosses and managers to get out of the back room. Run the cash register. Load some trucks. Ride and work the route. Stock some shelves.

The easiest dollar made is from a happy, repeat customer. But that’s a lot harder to achieve when employees’ are hampered by decisions based solely on numbers made by people sitting behind desks who are out of touch with reality.

It’s a great time for retailers, it’s all so busy.

Me, I’m after an item, and like to compare prices and hunt about for a good deal (so I’m a cheapskate at times, negotiating can be like that.)

I saunter about zipping through lines of shoppers going this way and that, slow fast, turn right, shoot down an aisle, negotiate another bunch of people… I get to my destination to be greeted on browsing with a pimply faced kid who asks, “Are you right?” I have a standard response to that, “I’m fine thanks” unless “narky” and I give them a serve of “Great question are you implying I’m otherwise wrong?…”

The other one they serve up is, “Can I help you?” perhaps it’s a better approach but I go for “I only want help if I’m drowning…” This generally stops them in their tracks.

If I was running a retail  type business I would sack INSTANTLY any staff member who said either of these.

For goodness sake, chat to me, get to the point and discover if I have a need or want, but spare me the pathetic lame approaches, say hi, after all I am human and may well spend enough to pay your wages this week, but put me off and your wages will go elsewhere very fast!

Folks, if you are in retail, teach your people so say hello, how are you, good morning etc. Then follow this with some pleasant banter that engages me more effectively. Then and only then can I let you through to be able to find out what I want.

For those of you who find this pedantic, lots of people are put off subconsciously by these initial approaches and will shop with their feet, going elsewhere in search of their needs. I will be amongst them.

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he’s lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, ‘Oh, oh! I’m in deep doo-doo now!’ Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, ‘Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?’

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. ‘Whew!’ says the leopard, ‘That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!’

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, ‘Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, ‘What am I going to do now?’, but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says ‘Where’s that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

The moral of this story….

Don’t mess with the old .. age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! Knowledge and wisdom only come with age and experience.

I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, perhaps some are just youthfully challenged!

Over time I have come to respect the wisdom of the more “mature” around us, and as I get older I hope I  can benefit more from my own wisdom and have the good sense to draw more on the wisdom of others.

In business it can seem like we know it all, (or we think we do) but the reality can be different. I guess the point being to know the difference and profit from it.

I list only publicly available events and have done for about 6-12 months now.

This weekend I got a nasty note “take down our events off your website or we will take legal action”… whoa lets not get too pushy now. So I sent back a note, apologies for not asking permission but hey can we now have permission?

Short answer no… Okay so I pull the events off and send back an apology for creating hassles.

1. There is no need to shout (offering legal action straight up is a bit much in my view) I hear you okay…

2. If the guy had said, “Hey Steve, thanks but no thanks, please remove within 24 hrs as it upsets our measurement systems etc, hope you understand…” I would have been more than happy to do so. Now it just gives me a chance to write another blog entry on communicating.

Ok… so it’s not a big deal but why should he “shout”, when a “chat” would do it just as elegantly and effectively.

Firstly people start off as suspects, they move to prospect next, then when they buy they become a customer.

So lets figure out the ‘suspect to prospect’ part and see if we can find ways to get them engaged enough to want to buy what you have.

Here are the three points.

1. You are not offering them what they want right now – In a shop, they might walk in to kill some time, or they might want something but they can’t see it right now…

2. Not offering them enough information for them to “sell themselves” on what you have to offer -You can have the best product or service in the world, but if the info is not there to support it how can they ‘process the information.’

3. They don’t want to talk to you, maybe they want to check things out a bit first – This can be a case of “I want to look first and see if it’s okay by my ‘standards’.”

That’s the three points, so lets pull it apart a little.

Okay so we are talking about the psychology of sales, or more correctly, pre sales. So what’s going through the persons head? Probably at a sub conscious level they have a need or want to be met and are “cruising” to find a solution. If they have no need or want, they may be open to an idea, if it fits with their values and beliefs.

So they may be on a search for an answer or could be open to an idea. If they are searching in a retail context for something they “want” they might be readily put off by a sales person that says “Can I help you”, the suspect does not make it to prospect. If on the other hand they have a strong need for something they might respond more positively to the “call for help”…

Lets go for the person that has no idea of what they want, a blank canvas… a person comes along and offers them a “Business opportunity” they may turn straight off. Why? well the idea does not appeal to their values and beliefs, the things they find important at a core level.

If however the sales person was to set things up so they were in alignment with the persons values and beliefs, they will probably have a much better chance of success.

An example… You have a business proposition, the economy is down and you have a sure fire way to assist them to get through it.  1. figure out what they want, $$, financial freedom, peace of mind they can get ahead, that sort of thing. 2. Give them info that shows the benefits of fitting to those needs. 3. Give them the chance to check it out a bit first, no hassle, no bother…

The challenge is to do it in ways that do not put them ‘offside’ in the process.

Thanks to Tom and the team at Skill Soft.

Here’s an example:

There is a woman with whom I’ve been attempting to establish a business relationship. We spoke over the course of a couple months at a monthly business expo. She expressed interest in my products and services and sent me her e-mail for some “ideas”

I followed up asking for a face to face or a phone conversation so I could get a better handle on her advertising and promotional needs, wants and desires. I called, left a message and e-mailed her. No response.

After seeing her again at the business expo, I wrote her a lengthy memo detailing some great, usable ideas. I hand delivered the memo to her in an envelope at the next business expo. Again, I followed up by e-mail and phone several times. No response.

Today, here name is in my e-mail in box. “Wow”, I thought as I opened the e-mail. “Wow” quickly became “ow”. I shook my head in disbelief. This woman, who can’t or won’t return my phone calls and e-mails, has the audacity to send me an impersonal, e-mail blast solicitation for a donation to her golf outing.

It’s not gonna happen.

I simply can’t get across that bridge she burned by not taking the time to, at the very least, tell me she’s not interested. Yes, by ignoring me she “told” me that. Bottom line is: Now she wants something from me and she’s not getting it.

Are you burning bridges by not responding to vendors? Are you burning bridges by being rude to people you deem as “unimportant”. If you want it to matter to me when it matters to you … treat me like I matter — even when I don’t.

This is the basis of effective networking — making people feel as though they matter … even if they don’t. Sometimes it’s as simple and easy as acknowledging them with a return phone call, a smile or a nod.

Burned business bridges emit no smell. On the other hand, those who burn bridges do.

First thing I noticed was that my Purchase Order (PO) number was wrong. The next thing I DIDN’T notice, was the fax number to which the supplier wanted me to fax the approval back. It was buried within 3 pages of blah, blah, blah … blah, blah, blah.

I faxed the proof back noting my approval. I also noted that my PO# was incorrect and what the correct number is. I then mentioned that they should consider putting the fax-back-to number right on the proof. Ya know, because it would make it easy for me.

The supplier wrote me the following reply:

Mr. Crooks.

When your PO came across our fax machine the numbers on it were hard to read. The Order Entry Department did the best they could considering what the fax looks like but, I assure you, I’ll change that one incorrect digit. I truly apologize for your inconvenience. I’ll forward your idea about a fax number being on the proof to the proper department.

In my opinion, the Order Entry Department DID NOT do the best they could. Their best would have been to call or e-mail me to verify the hard-to-read-information. So, if guessing is the best they can do … do I need to find someone with perhaps higher standards?

Look. You don’t have to be a genius to put a fax number on a form that you want a client to fax back to you. Nor does it take the wisdom of Solomon to verify information you can’t understand.

With regard to service, attention to detail and making life easy for your clients, before you tell someone, “That’s the best I can do” ask yourself, “Is that the best my competitor can do?” Find out before your client (ex-client) does.

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Welcome to the February 27, 2008 edition of Carnival of Australia.

 Thanks to all the contributors, some great stuff there, enjoy your reading! 

Elias presents The day we said “sorry”! posted at Ramblings of an Australian teacher, saying, “I hope I can still squeeze in the current carnival.” – Yes and No Elias! I think you wanted to be in last fornight’s carnival, but you are welcome in ours

John Crenshaw presents The Biggest Scam Your Bank Gets Away With Everyday posted at Truthful Lending dot Com, saying, “This little known scam accounts for a huge portion of fees paid to banks every year and is going on right under your nose. The worst part is, it’s completely legal.”

Micellaneous Mum presents Project book – introducing my Illustrator! posted at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum, saying, “The next installment in the series on how I’m going to publish my book this year.”

Business

D Robinson presents Diana Williams and Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs | Australian Women Online posted at Australian Women Online, saying, “This interview with Diana Williams is just one in a series of articles on successful women in business featured on Australian Women Online.”

Kathie Thomas presents Being Ready To Receive posted at soho-life.com, saying, “Helping clients to receive information.”

Leela Cosgrove presents How to Write a Professional Bio posted at Leela Cosgrove.

Leela Cosgrove presents The Seven Step Book Leveraging Program posted at Leela Cosgrove.

Michael Crooks presents Promotional Marketing Articles posted at Crooks Advertising Alliance, saying, “This article explains how salespeople can prevent children from sabotoging a sale.”

Martin Russell presents 5 Keys To Word of Mouth Marketing posted at Word of Mouth Marketing.

Dr. Gavin R. Putland presents Can you stop paying the mortgage and keep the house? posted at /etc/cron.whenever/, saying, “In America, thanks to reselling and repackaging of mortgage loans, the answer is often “Yes” because nobody can prove to whom you owe the money.”

Culture

bryce presents Tropfest Tumblings posted at a strangled duck, saying, “Tropfest was a great night with some great movies.”

Suzie Cheel presents There is a Fork In The Road: Which Path Will I Take? posted at The Abundance Highway, saying, “One morning walking on the beach I was fascinated how a tree branch thrown up by the tide was so beautifully positioned on the beach. For me, it was a fabulous image for a fork in the road. I knew then that one day I would find a saying or the words that would be just perfect to go with the picture.”

Michelle Sweeney presents My How Times Have Changes posted at Tonic Gifts.

Current Affairs

Dr. Gavin R. Putland presents Rationalizing stamp duty posted at Putland Uncensored.

Environment

Carole Fogarty presents Your Wealth Location for 2008: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE, saying, “Locate your prosperity and wealth energy for 2008 and then elementally enhance and energetically uplift to bring new opportunities into your life. This is a potent energy that given the right conditions will surprise you.”

jen presents Semantically driven: blogging about blogging, parenting and living in Australia. » True blue posted at Semantically driven, saying, “This is a bit about what I do to save and reuse water.”

Family

Carole Fogarty presents The ultimate guide for a calmer driving experience: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE, saying, “Ten practical and simple ways to ensure your car is not a metal container full of adult and children stress. Turn the calm dial up in your car now.”

Megan Bayliss presents Alleged sex predator masquerades as parent blogger posted at Imaginif…, saying, “What’s the time Mr Wolf? Time to take care because I have seen the avatar of an alleged child sexual abuser on many of your sites. Posing as a family blogger and all round decent human being is an easy thing to do…particularly when you want something. Be aware of who you are letting in the front door of your virtual home. Child protection is serious business. An investment in it nets returns beyond any current financial investment.”

PlanningQueen presents Ten things we should never say to kids. posted at Planning with Kids, saying, “A reminder to me as a parent about how I can impact my child through what I say to them.”

Food

Lightening presents Zucchini Lovefest posted at Lightening Online, saying, “Need some help using up those zucchini’s. Here’s a recipe or two for you to try.”

Gillian Polack presents Food History at the Royal Canberra Show – #1 posted at Gillian Polack, saying, “There’s a second article on bush foods, too. http://www.foodpast.com/food-history-at-the-royal-canberra-show-1-2/”

History

Romeo Vitelli presents Constance Kent posted at Providentia, saying, “Either a tragic victim or a brutal murderer (and maybe even Jack the Ripper). You make the call.”

Music

Duncan Macleod presents The Presets produce My People posted at Duncan’s Music Videos, saying, “Music video for My People, by Sydney electro pop duo The Presets, directed by Kris Moyes, younger brother of Kim Moyes. “I’m here with all of my people, locked up with all of my people. So let me hear you scream if you’re with me”"

Travel

Raymond presents Airline Credit Cards That Offer Free Miles posted at Money Blue Book.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of australia using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Anyway, the doctor examining my eyes, knowing I run an advertising agency, asked, “Michael, what can I do to improve customer service?”

I asked, “When your employees need to have their eyes examined or their glasses adjusted, you sort of fit them in somewhere during the day don’t you,”

“Well, sure,” she replied. “We just fit them in where we can. Just makes it easier. It’s an employee benefit.”

“Well,” I began, “If you really want to improve customer service, make your employees make an appointment like everyone else. Make them figure out how to get time off work to come in because you don’t have “after hours” appointments. Make them sit in your uncomfortable chairs that only serve to emphasize the fact that their appointment was supposed to have been 15 minutes ago. Let them listen to music they hate that is playing too loud. Make them look at magazines that are 9 months old. And let them sit in the waiting room and see how your receptionist, who has the personality of a tree stump, makes everyone who approaches her feel as though they are a huge interruption. At that point your employees may begin to develop some effective ideas on how to improve your customer service.”

She just stood there staring at me. I soon found out, in addition to the fact that the receptionist was her niece, that in her silence, she was merely calculating how much my critique of her business was going to cost me.

The money part doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the fact that she says I now need to come in weekly for a glaucoma test. The worst part? On my way out, I overheard her telling one of the tech’s, “We need to train the receptionist to run the “air gun” for Mr. Crooks’ weekly visits.”

Two lessons. First, being brutally forthright with clients, customers and prospects isn’t always the best way to go. A little “sugar-coating” goes a long way. Second, if you’re a business owner, don’t ask questions to which you don’t really want an honest answer.

Training to win/win
You and your staff should be trained to make the whole show win, then the customers can win too. A great position to get to and stay in.  For some the idea of training staff means showing them the bare basics of their job, but go a bit deeper and encourage thinking around the idea of Win/Win, when they get the idea the concept will probably become infectious.

• Find out more about win/win and how you might create some examples you can discuss with your team.
• Look for examples of win/win already at play in your business.
• Use the concept to develop a team get together every so often to ask about and pass on ideas in business development.

Getting all this together is a great way to cause the team to work effectively together and can build the business to a strong position where people feel valued. This will then pass on to the customers and cause them to feel valued as well, in the end that’s what we all want.