S&MM SoundOff

A truly amazing experience by Marketing Guru Scott Hornstein

I had a truly amazing experience the other day. I bought a new pair of running shoes and after I paid, the proprietor looked me in the eye, stuck out his hand and said, “Thank you. I appreciate your business. I hope to see you again.”

Astounding.

It seems that while new words are added to the English dictionary every year because of widespread use (e.g. from podcast, to dis) certain others may be candidates for deletion because of dis-use. Chief among them, "please" and "thank you." If sincerity were a criteria, these two words would most certainly be banished from the lexicon.

I recall one pilot program with a large computer manufacturer in which regional vice presidents called customers who had recently made purchases to say thank you, and ask if everything was running ok, in order to offset recent declines in customer satisfaction. Customers were stunned. Their response, once they recovered, was overwhelming.

Equally overwhelming is marketing’s purported commitment to the “customer relationship,” sans the basic building blocks of courtesy and respect. Perhaps customers should understand that in these days of ever quickening communications, "please" and "thank you" have become implicit. Not.

I am weary of reactive transactional behavior masquerading as customer-centricity. It is as blatantly phony as the air-kiss or the disingenuous “How are you today?" Last time I looked, I was the customer. If the reaction to my commerce is a lackadaisical shrug, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

So let me ask you – when was the last time you said thank you to a customer – any customer for any reason – and meant it?

(Thanks and) have a nice day.

Smart Charity

When is a donation more than a donation? When it’s a $31 billion donation.

If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard that Warren Buffett, the world’s second richest man, recently committed to donating 85 percent of his stock in Berkshire Hathaway to five charities, with most of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Unsurprisingly, even as a philanthropist, Buffet remains a savvy investor. As Daniel Gross at Slate points out, the donation is both generous and smart. Buffett is famous for making wise investments and not rearranging the companies he buys. The same is true here. Instead of starting his own charity, he’s saving on start-up and overhead costs by giving his money to an established organization. Rather than waste time figuring out where his money is most needed, he trusts the Gates Foundation to decide for him. And without micromanaging, Buffett also exerts some control over his gift by making sure that each installment of his donation is spent within a year. This ensures that his billions aren’t held up in low return bonds, but used immediately to help people.

A good business sense always comes out, even in charity. Check out this S&MM article to see smart selling in action.

Progressing to the Olden Days

As society becomes more progressive, those who are more “traditional” are becoming fewer and farther between.  More future-oriented people calls for future-oriented sales.  In a recent article called Futuresell: A Selling Guide for the 21st Century Salesperson, Roy E. Chitwood argued that clients are no longer falling for the smooth-talking, cajoling sales tactics of the past.  Rather, he says that the sales profession is at a crossroads. People today want a salesperson to be upfront and empathic, serving as an advisor to their clients. What?

It appears that the strategy for the next generation of sales is just traditional common sense.  People don’t want to be won over with fast-talking come-ons anymore?  They want personal follow-ups and a salesperson with honesty, integrity, and a heightened care of well-being for their client? Can I just say, “No, Duh?!” It's rather obvious to me that this more personable method would win over more clients than trickery.  It seems society is reverting back to the “good-old days” when people cared for each other, took pride in their work, and gave a little consideration.  For all our progressive thinking, the basic qualities are still valued most. Funny, isn’t it?

Yet, changing sales strategies and reverting back to the “older” trends can be hard.  Do you have what it takes to be in the sales world of tomorrow, or are you stuck in the past?  Take the Quiz for the 21st Century Salesperson to find out how you match up to the changing trends.

Thinking of how to take your customer service a step beyond? Read how one salesperson went The Extra Mile to help his client on S&MM.

Sales Maven Dave Stein on Sales Training

Have you thought much about sales training as an industry?

ESR estimates that:
·    There are 7.7 million salespeople in the U.S. (U.S. Census.)
·    Corporations spend an average of $625 per employee on internal and external sales training annually.
·    $4.8 - $5 billion is invested yearly on sales training, with more than half for internal programs.
·    Additionally, $500 million is spent on ancillary services to support sales performance, not including technology.

The market is extremely fragmented.
·    There is no clear leader. 
·    There are about 15 companies in the $5 to $25 million range, with a few larger.
·    There are a few dozen companies with revenues in the $1 – $5 million range.
·    There are hundreds of sole-proprietors.

Why?
·    Some providers are owned by individuals and expanding to $50 million is not worth the trouble. They remain where they are, neither growing or disappearing.
·    Providers are often selected based upon prior relationships where no evaluation is done.  For this reason, some providers that aren't doing the job are still getting business.
·    There are few barriers to entry. Hundreds of successful individual sales trainers will tell you that.

What does this mean to sales leaders?
·    Finding the right provider is tougher than ever.  Because mistakes are made, many companies switch providers regularly. Others have given up on outsourced training altogether.
·    It's getting harder to secure funding for sales development without a credible ROI, which is rare.
·    You might never have heard of the sales training company that's best for your situation.
·    As providers and customers learn how to project and realize measurable value from training, there will be a resurgence.

Read S&MM's take on effective training: Movin' 'Em Up, Through Effective Training

The Right Words

Looking for the right words to jump-start your ad campaign? Well, Business Week has a suggestion: avoid the terms quality, value, service, caring and integrity. Huh?

Since we all look for these values in a product or company, Business Week argues that those key words fail because they’re so obvious. That makes sense: For the discerning consumer, a product needs to be well made and a good deal before he even considers buying it. So, ad companies must go past the given to hook us in. And technology, like Google ads, makes targeting specific demographics easier than ever. Why use five bland words when you can use the right ones that appeal to your target audience?

Want more? See how Océ broke though the clutter in this Campaign Close-Up from our S&MM archives.

Daddy at Work

Ever since I was a child, I have been what you would call “Daddy’s little girl.”  Here are some interesting things my dad unknowingly taught me about the working world:

Respecting your elders is key to succeeding in any situation, not just business.  There will always be a level of seniority wherever you go, whether it is a professor at school, your boss, or your co-worker with greater tenure.  Everyone likes to have your respect, and knowing how to treat others is key when interacting.

Be "Mr. Fix-It" and don’t wait for others to solve your problems for you.  Take initiative and work hard.  No one cares as much about you and your issues as you do.  If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself.

But, at the same time take a lesson in pride and know when to ask for help.  It is not demeaning to admit you can’t do something.  Learn and ask lots of questions. Clients and co-workers would rather you speak up than stay silent and make a major mistake that could have otherwise been avoided. 

Don’t take the easy way out.  If you cut corners when repairing the roof, it will eventually collapse again.  Cutting corners is a sure-fire way to have something blow-up in your face later.  Hard work is an indication of good character that people admire, so do it right the first time and reap the rewards of a job well done now.

What lessons has your father taught you that help you to succeed at work? Click here to share your thoughts.

Our dad’s have it rough too. You can read about some working dad woes at SalesandMarketing.com. 

S&MM Soundoff wishes all dads a Happy Father’s Day.

What Would You Do?

Think you have all the answers? Prove it. Sales & Marketing Management magazine regularly poses a hypothetical management question to readers in our Closer section. Tell us what advice you'd give to solve this difficult—albeit fictitious—dilemma.

All responses must include a name, title, company, and location. The deadline is June 23, 2006. (Responses may be edited for length or clarity.) The winning response, as well as other contenders, will appear in our September issue. Good luck!

The scenario: Frank Hanson, the vice president of sales and marketing for Caesar Ltd., recently hired Mary Bartlett as a sales manager. Bartlett was a star seller at Caesar's larger, more successful competitor, Alpha Inc. Under her leadership, Alpha's eastern region grew about 30 percent annually over the past four years. By contrast, Caesar's eastern region had grown only about 10 percent annually during the same period.

When Hanson was able to woo Bartlett away from Alpha, he was over the moon. Bartlett was a stellar salesperson with industry connections, and came with an extensive contact list. And in her short tenure at Caesar so far, the eastern sales team has quickly come to respect her, and sales in the region have jumped 20 percent in the first two quarters.

But Hanson has learned that she might be too good to be true. Last week, while leaving a list of sales projections on Bartlett's desk, he saw Alpha letterhead peeking out from a pile of papers. Intrigued, Hanson took a closer look and realized it was Alpha's sales strategy, which included forecasts for the exact same region, marketing strategies, pricing, and a lot more. He was sure she'd used her former company's plans to produce her strong sales growth for the quarter.

Hanson is conflicted: Sales and morale within Caesar's eastern region are at an all-time high. But he knows there are ethical and legal implications of using a competitor's confidential information. However if Hanson confronts Bartlett about it, she might just leave, taking Caesar's confidential information elsewhere too, just as she had Alpha's.

Question: How should Hanson proceed? Should he forget the whole thing, and chalk it up to "all's fair in business"? Should he confront Bartlett despite the possible consequences? Or is there another solution? (Click here to submit you solution.)

Is the Internet Private?

I grew up on the Internet. I had my first chat when I was in seventh grade and I downloaded my first song in 10th. By now, I’m pretty much an online guru: I read about five blogs a day, I order most everything online, and feel more comfortable emailing my friends than calling them.

So this recent New York Times article on employers using networking Web sites like Facebook.com and MySpace as background checks for future employees gave me pause. On the one hand, as young adult and a member of Facebook, I believe that my private life should remain that: private. As long as it doesn’t affect my work, my bosses shouldn’t care if there is a picture of me drinking beer in college. I have no doubt that my bosses didn’t spend all of their college years in the library. It seems hypocritical for them to punish me, and employers to punish my peers, for having a digital camera around to catch the act.

But to be fair to HR heads everywhere, I look up old acquaintances from high school and summer camp on Facebook all the time. When I see pictures of them doing stupid things, I assume that these old friends are probably up to no good. After perusing Facebook, a nice kid from my homeroom class becomes some idiot who duct-tapes beer to his hands. In truth, the nice kid and the idiot are the same person, and would probably make a good employee. Unfortunately, these people may never get a chance to refute the judgments potential employers and I passed on their online persona.

Employers and hopeful employees share the responsibility when it comes to this issue. Job seekers shouldn’t publicly proclaim their love of drinking and drugs online. To be frank, a person who announces he loves drinking comes off like an idiot and a future alcoholic. But employers should also take pictures and information on semi-private Web sites in context. Finding out that a college senior drank beer at a party shouldn’t be a red flag; employers should remember their own college days.

For more on hiring, check out this story from our S&MM archives on defining talent.

Corporate Cauldrons

Once again we see the release of a Harry Potter book.  However, this book isn’t all about Harry’s adventures at Hogwarts, but his philosophical debut into the business world.

The book If Harry Potter Ran General Electric: Leadership Wisdom from the World of the Wizard is author Tom Morris’s latest work, according to "Harry Potter's qualities cast spell in business world" by Linda M. Castellitto, Special for USA TODAY. 

The Notre Dame philosophy professor, who previously wrote If Aristotle Ran General Motors and Philosophy for Dummies, digs into J.K. Rowling’s fantastical work for lessons in leadership.  The book mostly discusses Harry and his world, focusing on virtues such as courage, ethics, mentoring, and being a leader without a title. 

Although, simply from the title, I doubt that Morris is the next business guru, or even a reliable mentor for solving business dilemmas, it couldn’t hurt to have a read, and maybe better ourselves as a person and employee.  It’s funny to think that from a popular child-like story series we can extract the means for running Corporate America.  And yet, as laughable as it sounds, perhaps Morris makes some valid points.  If you look at the mission statements and core values of the business world, you’ll see that companies are likely to list the values of ethics, leadership, and accountability foremost, and seek the same traits in their employees.  It is these basic qualities that promote success, the qualities that we were first taught as children.

Maybe that is why the world has fallen in love with J.K. Rowling’s series. Perhaps the character of Harry Potter is whom we should all strive to be, both at work and after our 9 to 5 routine.  The magic to success may very well be finding the wizard in yourself.

EZ Pass for Business Travel

Frequent business travelers rejoice! Gone are the days of long lines at airport security checkpoints. A national rollout of the Transportation Security Administration's Registered Traveler program this month is the answer to our prayers. Or is it?

Airline passengers seeking to whiz past security will need to sign up for the registered traveler program, provide biometric information, and then pay an annual fee of $80 to $100. So far, a private company called Verified Identity Pass is the only provider in the expedited travel game.

I don't know about you, but I'm still on the fence about this service. Who wouldn't love to be able to skip the long lines at the airport? Not to mention the humbling public shoe removal we all go through to fly.

However, I'm more concerned that giving out my personal information could expose me to fraudulent activity, and that this new program may divert attention from key security issues. I'm not the only one who feels this way, The New York Times reported an airline trade association is seeking a boycott of the registered traveler program on the grounds that it would drain government resources.

For many executives, the long wait times that accompany business travel is just the nature of the beast. In S&MM's Business Travel survey (subscription required), we discovered airport security delays are a major concern for sales and marketing professionals who hit the road. So, tell us what you think. Is the registered traveler program a good idea?