S&MM SoundOff

Competing Against the Big Guys

When a company is a fraction the size of its competitors, it can be a little intimidating, but not hopeless. We work with companies in the dental industry, which has consolidated significantly in the last few years. The result is that small companies are finding that instead of selling against similar companies, they are now up against Goliaths. What’s a David to do?

Start by looking for ways to level the playing field. For example, you can’t possibly compete with the advertising budgets of large competitors; so don’t try. Rather than throwing money away on ads that will get lost in the competitive stampede, look for alternatives, especially those where your company and its products can get equal billing with your competitors. Whenever you can stage your product in a way that is comparable to the larger competitor’s product, you have made it comparable in the eyes of your potential customers.

Here are some strategies:

Please! A Reprieve from Death by PowerPoint

By Nick de Cent

Who would have thought that the humble business presentation would become mainstream news around the world?

But that’s just what’s happened thanks to a new Australian study. At last, scientific research confirms what long-suffering audiences already knew and presentations experts have been trying to tell us: the standard way PowerPoint is used can kill a presentation stone dead.

Academics from Australia’s University of New South Wales have revealed that the far-too-common practice of repeating your spoken presentation with the same words as bullet points on-screen actually makes it harder for the audience to learn and retain the information. Since PowerPoint is typically used in this way, the "use of the PowerPoint presentation has been a disaster," says Professor John Sweller, an education professor at the university.

The researchers found that the human brain processes information better when presented in verbal or printed form but not when delivered in both forms at the same time. Presenters who use a list of bullet points on a slide and then go through them verbally, would actually be better off if the audience ignored either the slide or the talk.

Widgets, Blidgets and Gadgets

Life online feels more and more like The Matrix with so many tools and programs that monitor and report on our every move. Or what our customers do….

Now that’s something we’d like to know more about—what are my customers doing on my Web site? Could be a simple question for Google Analytics, but more likely, it is that you need and want them to engage with your site, your products and services, and you, the sales person. Let’s be real—that can be super tough.

Enter the world of widgets—mini-applications that do something useful and practical to get your customer engaged. Chunks of code you can embed on your Web site as well as other Web site (as in viral marketing, if people grab your widget and post it places). YouTube is a great example of widget leverage —users can embed their videos into almost any website using widgets. Microsoft calls them gadgets—see Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/114/fast-talk-ahari.html. The goal of a widget is to let people get a taste for your services or products in a fun and easy way. Wikipedia has a decent entry on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_widget. I have a range of widgets, or extensions, or add-ons for my Firefox browser. One I really like is a search engine optimization tool that analyzes traffic stats and displays them on each site you search—SEO for Firefox http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html.

Here are some places to explore different widgets:

Networking's Hidden Benefits

 By Edgar Valdmanis

Many salespeople are aware of the power of networking in opening doors to potential clients. Some, like me, are members of referral organisations like Business Network International (www.bni.com) or similar forums. This works wonderfully, but I am amazed that many see networking as a direct sales tool only and forget that their network can also fill other purposes.

I work for the Norwegian Computer Society. Annually we arrange well over 70 day-long seminars across the full range of IT and IT usage. The majority of participants come, sit down, listen, have a coffee-break, listen again, have lunch, listen again, have a second coffee-break, listen and then go home. During breaks they prefer to cling to colleagues or others they know from before. Should they meet a stranger they do little in the way of networking, no exchange of business-cards or anything. Apparently they don’t realise that all the others are there for the same purpose, and have the same challenges.

Another One Bites the Dust

DAMN, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I was sitting in on a VC pitch and the presenter had a great story to tell. Great story. She could have knocked everyone’s socks off.
        And what happened? Same old thing. A compelling story buried under too much other information that either needed to come later in the presentation (instead of dominating the first 20 minutes) or could have been left out (or left to questions afterwards).
        There was terrific potential for dramatic, visceral images (and related commentary) to explain this offering. Images that would have stirred all but the coldest hearts. And what did we get? Some weak graphics, some confusing charts strewn with numbers, and a lot of self-aggrandizing statements.
        So — once again — the people on the receiving end had to work harder to decide if there really was a viable offering, one that would captivate the market. And it may be that the ultimate path for this firm is too uncertain anyway, and thus maybe a killer presentation wouldn’t have —
        NO. It DOES have a lot of potential. It has a GREAT story to take to the market. And this company may yet get there. But the founder could have made the process much easier for all considered (especially for herself) if she had made the story of her offering come alive.

Why didn’t she?
Who knows? Maybe she (and countless like her) are following an outdated formula? Maybe she thinks that merely mentioning the idea and showing one example is enough? There could be lots of reasons. (I wasn’t there as her advisor, so I don’t know what went into it.)

What can YOU do?
Find the one thing that matters most about your offering — the one thing, not three or six or twenty. Tell that story from the beginning. No, show that story from the beginning. Don’t rely on logic to make your case, and don’t presume that others will “get it” just because you do.
        Make it easy for them to understand why your offering is so necessary, and express it with images that will stay with your audience long after your presentation is over. That’s how you make your story come alive — then frankly, my dear, they will give a damn.

[You can find more on this and related subjects at The YouBlog — practical ideas on presentations, persuasion, selling, and communications.]

Will Workplace Security Affect Hiring?

 

Reading news reports of the Virginia Tech shooting, I’m reminded of an ongoing argument that I have with my friend Steven Gaskin, an executive protection specialist (the new moniker for the profession formerly known as bodyguard). He has been telling me for the past five years that he thinks the ability of companies to keep employees safe will become a factor in terms of recruitment and retention—in all industries, not just those with “dangerous jobs” such as construction or police work. He thinks prospects will start asking: “What are my salary and benefits? And will I be safe when I come to work?” While I did take his opinion to heart, I always responded with these two caveats:

1.             People don’t want to hear about the measures you take to keep them safe. That actually makes them feel more vulnerable.
2.             Some workplaces are just safe—they’re not a target for terrorism, and they’re located in a peaceful, crime-free area.

With the amount of workplace violence our nation has seen in the last few weeks, however, I’m beginning to think his forecast could come true soon. First, there was the shooting at Atlanta’s CNN Center. Then, the shootings at a suburban Detroit office building, in a suburb that does not share Detroit’s high crime rate, and last week the massacre at Virgina Tech, where at least two professors were murdered on the job.

Selling's Gone Celebrity in the UK

For a nation that would not so long ago rather have cut off its collective right arm than admit to being involved in sales, the UK has gone selling and business mad. Reality television has seen to that.

British TV viewers are fascinated by the antics of the contestants on the UK version of NBC’s The Apprentice, which kicked off its third series recently, with seven out of the 16 assorted spivs, back-stabbers, consultants and chancers who started the show, also admitting to making their living in sales before signing on as Apprentices. Not that they are a particularly good advertisement for professional selling or business in general: chosen as much for their potential to generate Big Brother-style fireworks, the group represents a heady mix of ambition, self-belief and incompetence. 

BBC’s The Apprentice has spawned a whole host of copycat and spin-off productions. Badger or Bust airs next month on Sky One: former Apprentice runner-up Ruth Badger attempts to turn some of Britain’s most struggling sales teams into winners. Never one to ignore a cliché, the TV producers have her visiting a different "classic sales business each week, such as a double glazing company and an estate agents (realtor), the Badger swiftly gets to the heart of the problem and wastes no time telling the boss where they’ve gone wrong and how to fix it—if she fails, her reputation and their jobs are at stake."

Differentiating Yourself From The Competition

By Mary Donato (President, Applied Principles)

Many studies have been done on what buyers value in their relationships with suppliers. Most of these studies have similar conclusions: buyers value good communication, someone they can trust and salespeople who respect their time.  Unfortunately, the studies find that these key attributes are not consistently used by most salespeople.

Although there are many skills that can lead to a relationship built on trust, here are a few tips for client meetings that can help you jumpstart that successful relationship:

1. Before a client meeting, establish an agenda so everyone knows what will be discussed.  Allow the client to provide input and to be part of the agenda-building process.  It’s always a good idea to ensure everyone understands the objectives. It also shows the client that you respect his time.

2. As you finish your meeting, summarize the key points, and follow up with an e-mail. This minimizes any confusion and shows that you’re smart and reliable, which helps build trust.

3.  If you’re walking away with action items, be sure to follow-up by e-mail or phone when completed. Surprisingly, many buyers say only half of the sales reps actually confirm that action items have been addressed. Prompt follow-up, even if there’s a problem in addressing an issue, is another critical step in earning customer trust.

If you’re already doing these three activities consistently, you’re probably enjoying great relationships with your clients.  If not, now is the time to differentiate yourself.

Earth for Sale...Any Takers?

How do you sell a virtual product? Especially when the product is all around you—namely the environment? I recently chatted with my friend Lena of Ride Wise in Somerset County, N.J., who has that very challenge before her.

Lena says that much like any salesperson, she has to cold call companies to try and sell her product—which is commuting in an environmentally friendly way. Her job is to inform companies about how they can lessen their environmental impact—and maybe get a tax break—by encouraging employees to find sometimes alternate means to work every day, whether by  carpool, biking or mass transit.

It amazed me when she told me some companies are simply not interested when she calls. Some businesses, she said, can't pursue these opportunities without going through massive red tape at headquarters. Others think she has an angle other than the environment. But since her organization is funded through the Federal Highway Act, she can assure you she doesn't.

Even when companies are less than receptive (a challenge all salespeople face), Lena is proud of the work she does and knows her efforts don't just make a difference on Earth Day, but every day.

So in honor of "The Day After Earth Day," think about your commute. You don't need to live in Somerset County, N.J., to consider alternate transportation. And truth be told, while sometimes that alternate means isn't a viable solution, examining the possibilities couldn't hurt. After all, you don't want to hurt the sticker price on Lena's virtual product—Planet Earth. 

CRM: What Do Customers Want?

Customer relationship management has been around for decades but many companies still are struggling with its application. It took a step backward about five years ago when company CEOs decided to get involved and embrace it as a potentially winning strategy. But if you really want to find out what customers need and want, you start developing a program with the people who really talk to the customers: sales, customer service, distribution, warehouse and shipping. 

When I started my sales career with 3M Company decades ago, a session in our initial training was to be sure we understood how to "paint word-pictures" for each customer so that customers would see themselves enjoying the use of the product. Being a rookie, I asked, "Well, how will I know what they're interested in?"

Good question.