I once wanted to be Michael Jackson. It was third grade, Thriller had just been released and I wore penny loafers with white socks to school. It is thus with great sadness that in today's post, I pay tribute to the King of Pop.
While much will be lamented over his music and his art, I hope to laud his marketing (surprised?).
By most accounts, Michael Jackson was either apathetic and aloof with regard to his business matters or he was an exceptionally shrewd businessman. There was little in between. Jackson faced any number of lawsuits for both personal and professional reasons. Most cases boiled down to the debate between ignorance and intellect.
Time will tell in the long run. His legacy will be the ultimate measure of his impact.
However, one point is difficult to debate: Michael Jackson created tremendous value.
The role of a business, as is well-documented, is to get and keep customers. And how do you do that? By creating value. Value is what generates followers, customers and revenue.
Michael Jackson was a value-creating machine. His voice, his music, his moves, his style and his art generated throngs of followers.
If the true measure of a business is how much value is created, MJ was the tops. Sure there was tremendous controversy, but what genius achieves 100% acceptance?
From a very young age--5 if you believe the record-label marketers, 8 if you believe the biographies--Michael has been a very public figure. Michael learned how to manipulate the media, how to draw attention to himself and how to stay top of mind for a very long time.
Michael, your presence will be sorely missed on this planet. But know that we thank you deeply for the value you created and we will do our best to play your music for generations.
Increase Your Referrals X 5 More
So you’ve already multiplied the number of referrals you get by five from my previous post, right? Perfect. Here are five more ways to increase your referrals:
1) Be Nice: simple enough. Without getting too metaphysical, understand that business works in karmic circles just like life. Nice guys don’t finish last when it comes to referral generation.
2) Give Referrals: being nice might not be good enough. You also have to give to receive. The more referrals you give, the more you will get. Networking groups like BNI and Le Tip have successfully leveraged this concept for decades. When you give a referral, something special happens. Not only do you look good, but the recipient of the referral will undoubtedly look for opportunities to return the favor.
3) Join and Participate in Local Organizations: this strategy is part of my recommendation to connect locally. Notice that I say “join and participate.” Joining isn’t enough. You must participate as well to generate referrals. Plug into your local Chamber of Commerce, Leads Groups, Associations and more. And don’t sit on the sidelines…get in there and play!
4) Create an Affiliate Program: generally conducted on-line to leverage technology, affiliate programs are an excellent source of referrals. Essentially you are paying commission-only salespeople to find customers for you. They post links to your website on their blog, website or emails. If a customer clicks through an affiliate link and purchases something on your site, the affiliate receives a percentage of the sale. Amazon has built a significant portion of their overall business with affiliates. This type of program can be done on a small or a large scale. Check out Commission Junction for more information.
5) Be Unique: if you are one of a kind, customers will find you. If you are unique, special and different there is nowhere else to turn. Since customers will not be able to find your product or service anywhere else, people will refer business your way easily and often.
Chew on these ideas for a bit. Generating referrals is not a daunting task, but it can be if you want to do all things all at once. Pick one or two ideas from today’s post or the previous post and focus on that intently. Master that, then tackle the next.
Even by mastering one, you will see your business move to the next level.
1) Be Nice: simple enough. Without getting too metaphysical, understand that business works in karmic circles just like life. Nice guys don’t finish last when it comes to referral generation.
2) Give Referrals: being nice might not be good enough. You also have to give to receive. The more referrals you give, the more you will get. Networking groups like BNI and Le Tip have successfully leveraged this concept for decades. When you give a referral, something special happens. Not only do you look good, but the recipient of the referral will undoubtedly look for opportunities to return the favor.
3) Join and Participate in Local Organizations: this strategy is part of my recommendation to connect locally. Notice that I say “join and participate.” Joining isn’t enough. You must participate as well to generate referrals. Plug into your local Chamber of Commerce, Leads Groups, Associations and more. And don’t sit on the sidelines…get in there and play!
4) Create an Affiliate Program: generally conducted on-line to leverage technology, affiliate programs are an excellent source of referrals. Essentially you are paying commission-only salespeople to find customers for you. They post links to your website on their blog, website or emails. If a customer clicks through an affiliate link and purchases something on your site, the affiliate receives a percentage of the sale. Amazon has built a significant portion of their overall business with affiliates. This type of program can be done on a small or a large scale. Check out Commission Junction for more information.
5) Be Unique: if you are one of a kind, customers will find you. If you are unique, special and different there is nowhere else to turn. Since customers will not be able to find your product or service anywhere else, people will refer business your way easily and often.
Chew on these ideas for a bit. Generating referrals is not a daunting task, but it can be if you want to do all things all at once. Pick one or two ideas from today’s post or the previous post and focus on that intently. Master that, then tackle the next.
Even by mastering one, you will see your business move to the next level.
Dr. Seuss = Sales Coach
When was the last time you read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss? For me, it was last night.
Dr. Seuss gets frequent play at storytime in my house. The rhyming and rhythm is great fun with the little ones and they love the drawings. "Horton Hears a Who" and "Cat in the Hat" are probably the favorite selections at the moment, but last night we tackled "Green Eggs and Ham."
As I was reading it, I couldn't help but think how persistent Sam-I-Am is. Sam-I-Am consistently offers his green eggs and ham to his counterpart only to be rejected and refused time after time. However, Sam-I-Am never loses his cool and continues to suggest endless ways and places to try green eggs and ham.
Ultimately Sam-I-Am wins out when he suggests that his friend try a taste: "You do not like them./So you say./Try them! Try them!/And you may./Try them and you may, I say." Despite the resistance, Sam-I-Am convinces his friend to taste the green eggs and ham. The result: the sale is closed and Sam-I-Am converts his friend's "NO" to a resounding "YES." Even better, his friend now becomes completely sold on green eggs and ham so much so that he wants to share it with others.
Dr. Seuss shows how persistence, suggestive selling and sticking with it can lead to "YES." Sam-I-Am might be too pushy for some tastes, but he certainly demonstrates that sales is a long term committment that requires finding just right combination to move from "NO" to "YES." And once you find that right combination, you create more and more customers that love your product or service.
You may have to suggest many options, you may have to ask more than once and you ultimately may need to give a little bit for free. But like Sam-I-Am, if you stick with it and don't take "NO" for an answer, you too can convert those naysayers into brand advocates.
Dr. Seuss gets frequent play at storytime in my house. The rhyming and rhythm is great fun with the little ones and they love the drawings. "Horton Hears a Who" and "Cat in the Hat" are probably the favorite selections at the moment, but last night we tackled "Green Eggs and Ham."
As I was reading it, I couldn't help but think how persistent Sam-I-Am is. Sam-I-Am consistently offers his green eggs and ham to his counterpart only to be rejected and refused time after time. However, Sam-I-Am never loses his cool and continues to suggest endless ways and places to try green eggs and ham.
Ultimately Sam-I-Am wins out when he suggests that his friend try a taste: "You do not like them./So you say./Try them! Try them!/And you may./Try them and you may, I say." Despite the resistance, Sam-I-Am convinces his friend to taste the green eggs and ham. The result: the sale is closed and Sam-I-Am converts his friend's "NO" to a resounding "YES." Even better, his friend now becomes completely sold on green eggs and ham so much so that he wants to share it with others.
Dr. Seuss shows how persistence, suggestive selling and sticking with it can lead to "YES." Sam-I-Am might be too pushy for some tastes, but he certainly demonstrates that sales is a long term committment that requires finding just right combination to move from "NO" to "YES." And once you find that right combination, you create more and more customers that love your product or service.
You may have to suggest many options, you may have to ask more than once and you ultimately may need to give a little bit for free. But like Sam-I-Am, if you stick with it and don't take "NO" for an answer, you too can convert those naysayers into brand advocates.
Increase Your Referrals X 5
Word-of-mouth is the most productive marketing. Referrals, for the most part, are cheap and very powerful. Assuming your customers have positive and flowery things to say about your product or service, they will do all the advertising for you at essentially no cost.
However, most business owners struggle to do two things with word-of-mouth: control it and scale it. Unlike other marketing channels, a business owner has little control over what people say. And since the marketing is delivered one-to-one, it is hard to build massive scale through word-of-mouth.
Or can you? Can a business owner both control word-of-mouth and build scale? Here are five ways to do just that. Not all ways will ensure total control and scalability. Nevertheless, these are tried and true tactics that will result in increased referrals:
1) Ask for Referrals: if you don’t ask for a referral, how are you going to get one? One might drop in your lap, but only on occasion. Be sure to ask your current customers, prospects and leads for referrals frequently. Even if you weren’t able to close a sale with one prospect, don’t go away totally empty. Ask the prospect for the names of other people or businesses that could use your service. Failing that, give the prospect a stack of your business cards and ask them to give them out to their colleagues.
2) Give Incentives: money talks. Make it known that you will pay for referrals. One client of mine offers 25% of her commission for referral that she closes. 25% is very generous. If you choose to incent referrals, make sure you deliver on your promise. Failing to pay when you’ve offered to do so, will destroy your reputation quickly.
3) Stay Top of Mind: if you are the first business people think of when your product/service is needed, referrals will line up. Achieving top of mind status requires a consistent, diligent and long term marketing plan. It’s not something you do overnight. Get out in front of everything and everyone and build your brand to stay top of mind.
4) Give Value for Free: the number one way I generate prospects and leads is through workshops and presentations. I generally give them for free. Free samples go a long way to establishing a brand and generating referrals. Think about something valuable you can give away and turn that into a referral. (Quick note: you might give away something for no money, but be sure to get something in return like contact information or additional referrals).
5) Do a Good Job: perhaps too obvious, but too many of my clients focus on the short term. Think long term to ensure that the quality you deliver to a one-time client is the same you would deliver to a long-time client. Simply doing a good job will increase your referrals exponentially.
Tune in for future posts because this is just scratching the surface on how to generate more referrals. Believe it or not, you can control word-of-mouth and you can build scale.
However, most business owners struggle to do two things with word-of-mouth: control it and scale it. Unlike other marketing channels, a business owner has little control over what people say. And since the marketing is delivered one-to-one, it is hard to build massive scale through word-of-mouth.
Or can you? Can a business owner both control word-of-mouth and build scale? Here are five ways to do just that. Not all ways will ensure total control and scalability. Nevertheless, these are tried and true tactics that will result in increased referrals:
1) Ask for Referrals: if you don’t ask for a referral, how are you going to get one? One might drop in your lap, but only on occasion. Be sure to ask your current customers, prospects and leads for referrals frequently. Even if you weren’t able to close a sale with one prospect, don’t go away totally empty. Ask the prospect for the names of other people or businesses that could use your service. Failing that, give the prospect a stack of your business cards and ask them to give them out to their colleagues.
2) Give Incentives: money talks. Make it known that you will pay for referrals. One client of mine offers 25% of her commission for referral that she closes. 25% is very generous. If you choose to incent referrals, make sure you deliver on your promise. Failing to pay when you’ve offered to do so, will destroy your reputation quickly.
3) Stay Top of Mind: if you are the first business people think of when your product/service is needed, referrals will line up. Achieving top of mind status requires a consistent, diligent and long term marketing plan. It’s not something you do overnight. Get out in front of everything and everyone and build your brand to stay top of mind.
4) Give Value for Free: the number one way I generate prospects and leads is through workshops and presentations. I generally give them for free. Free samples go a long way to establishing a brand and generating referrals. Think about something valuable you can give away and turn that into a referral. (Quick note: you might give away something for no money, but be sure to get something in return like contact information or additional referrals).
5) Do a Good Job: perhaps too obvious, but too many of my clients focus on the short term. Think long term to ensure that the quality you deliver to a one-time client is the same you would deliver to a long-time client. Simply doing a good job will increase your referrals exponentially.
Tune in for future posts because this is just scratching the surface on how to generate more referrals. Believe it or not, you can control word-of-mouth and you can build scale.
Never Tell Anyone What You Do
You know you've been there: you're surrounded by a handful of strangers, everyone has a drink or a small plate of hors d'oeuvres in their hands and the conversation goes stale. Someone meekly offers a comment about the weather or the local sports team, but there is not much else to talk about. Except: work.
“What do you do?” is generally the third or fourth question out of a person’s mouth upon a first encounter. It’s hard to avoid. Work occupies so much of our time, we are well-versed in the subject and we generally enjoy talking about things we know. It’s at this point that successful business owners turn new friends into customers.
How do they do it? There is no one simple answer. Generating new business person-to-person takes a balance of confidence and humility. That said, here are three steps to turn your cocktail party conversation into sales:
1) Never Tell Anyone What You Do: Wait a second, isn’t that counter to all marketing? Keep your work a secret? I work with a lot of self-employed business owners with no employees (aka “solopreneurs”). These people represent their business in its entirety. If they don’t tell people what they do, how will people find out? Good question, but the answer and the sales strategy encompasses more humility than self-importance. How many times have you been turned off by someone blabbing about what they do? It might be the easiest way to kill a sale.
Consider a situation in which you are introduced to someone new. In the right circumstances, the introducer might refer to your profession. They might even mention how great you are. Easy sale. This direct word-of-mouth is very powerful.
Or consider a situation in which you meet someone without an introduction. If you are able to focus the conversation on something other than your profession, the new friend will walk away thinking how insightful, deep and conversational you are. Next time you come across that person, the relationship is established. We all know people buy relationships, so once again, easy sale.
Now, when people ask you what you do, be prepared to deliver your pitch (see #3). Despite the catchy word “never”, don’t avoid telling people what you do. Just make sure the opportunity presents itself without you forcing it and you need to be prepared to answer.
2) Always Ask What Others Do: Instead of focusing on what you do, focus on what the other person does. Given the chance to talk about oneself, the other person will feel energized and confident. They will enjoy talking with you. Once the conversation turns and they ask you what you do, you will have an open ear and a willing listener. You’ve already created a new friend simply by listening and this person will genuinely listen to you. And when you have an active listener, they will remember you and your brand. Your business card will go in the rolodex, and not the trash.
Another bonus to listening to others speak about what they do is that it gives you the opportunity to see if your business can help them. If you do find someone that could use your product/service, ask pointed questions to identify their needs on the job. This is an extremely easy sale.
3) Refine Your Elevator Pitch: You will get asked “what do you do?” After all, even if you never tell anyone what you do, you cannot avoid the question. So if you don’t have a polished pitch, then get polishing. You must be able to concisely and succinctly communicate what you do or else your product/service will never resonate. Play around with some different pitches. Practice them often. Your pitch may evolve, but keep it as consistent as possible. Marketing is mostly repetition, so the more often you can say your message the more it will impact your audience. Focus your pitch on benefits. You should be able to communicate what you do and the benefit you provide in one or two sentences. This will take some time, but it really is the key to more sales.
Ultimately, if you have established a relationship with someone by following Steps 1 and 2, and you can easily communicate the benefit you provide outlined in Step 3, the sales will build. Your cocktail parties will turn into marketing events, networking will become fruitful and you will turn new friends into customers very easily.
“What do you do?” is generally the third or fourth question out of a person’s mouth upon a first encounter. It’s hard to avoid. Work occupies so much of our time, we are well-versed in the subject and we generally enjoy talking about things we know. It’s at this point that successful business owners turn new friends into customers.
How do they do it? There is no one simple answer. Generating new business person-to-person takes a balance of confidence and humility. That said, here are three steps to turn your cocktail party conversation into sales:
1) Never Tell Anyone What You Do: Wait a second, isn’t that counter to all marketing? Keep your work a secret? I work with a lot of self-employed business owners with no employees (aka “solopreneurs”). These people represent their business in its entirety. If they don’t tell people what they do, how will people find out? Good question, but the answer and the sales strategy encompasses more humility than self-importance. How many times have you been turned off by someone blabbing about what they do? It might be the easiest way to kill a sale.
Consider a situation in which you are introduced to someone new. In the right circumstances, the introducer might refer to your profession. They might even mention how great you are. Easy sale. This direct word-of-mouth is very powerful.
Or consider a situation in which you meet someone without an introduction. If you are able to focus the conversation on something other than your profession, the new friend will walk away thinking how insightful, deep and conversational you are. Next time you come across that person, the relationship is established. We all know people buy relationships, so once again, easy sale.
Now, when people ask you what you do, be prepared to deliver your pitch (see #3). Despite the catchy word “never”, don’t avoid telling people what you do. Just make sure the opportunity presents itself without you forcing it and you need to be prepared to answer.
2) Always Ask What Others Do: Instead of focusing on what you do, focus on what the other person does. Given the chance to talk about oneself, the other person will feel energized and confident. They will enjoy talking with you. Once the conversation turns and they ask you what you do, you will have an open ear and a willing listener. You’ve already created a new friend simply by listening and this person will genuinely listen to you. And when you have an active listener, they will remember you and your brand. Your business card will go in the rolodex, and not the trash.
Another bonus to listening to others speak about what they do is that it gives you the opportunity to see if your business can help them. If you do find someone that could use your product/service, ask pointed questions to identify their needs on the job. This is an extremely easy sale.
3) Refine Your Elevator Pitch: You will get asked “what do you do?” After all, even if you never tell anyone what you do, you cannot avoid the question. So if you don’t have a polished pitch, then get polishing. You must be able to concisely and succinctly communicate what you do or else your product/service will never resonate. Play around with some different pitches. Practice them often. Your pitch may evolve, but keep it as consistent as possible. Marketing is mostly repetition, so the more often you can say your message the more it will impact your audience. Focus your pitch on benefits. You should be able to communicate what you do and the benefit you provide in one or two sentences. This will take some time, but it really is the key to more sales.
Ultimately, if you have established a relationship with someone by following Steps 1 and 2, and you can easily communicate the benefit you provide outlined in Step 3, the sales will build. Your cocktail parties will turn into marketing events, networking will become fruitful and you will turn new friends into customers very easily.
Marketing: Both Art and Science
Marketing is truly unique in that it is both art and science. Very few professional disciplines can make this same claim.
Most business disciplines rely primarily on science. Accounting and Finance are mostly numbers. Successful Operations relies on the application of math and science. There is some artwork to Human Resources, but it is mostly the application of the science of human interaction. Even Strategy is something that is planned only after significant data crunching and investigation.
Outside of the business world, it seems that most professional disciplines are either art or science, but not both. Musicians, painters, performers and other artists understandably lean mostly upon art. Politicians, lawyers and civic officials are wise to use math and science, but their artistry is in relationships and negotiations. Medical professionals and researchers depend heavily on science for obvious reasons. Teachers might be the closest thing to marketers in that they must balance both art and science, but even the best teachers are communication artists.
But marketers? Marketers straddle the line between art and science. On one hand, a marketer must understand that s/he must create a new, unique and powerful message or image that will cut through the clutter of everyday life. This requires great artistry and great feel. Not everyone can create a “Purple Cow” as Seth Godin coined.
On the other hand, a marketer must grasp the math behind marketing. It is mostly a numbers game in that the more messages you broadcast, the more brand awareness you create. This number can be better understood when campaigns are measured, scientific principles are applied and decisions are made based on data. Without science, even the most artistic marketing campaign will not pervade the marketplace.
So make sure that your marketing is both art and science. Create messages and images that are appealing from an artistic perspective. Test those messages and images with scientific data gathering. Science can tell you a lot about the art and vice versa. Future decisions can then be made based on both numbers and feel. If a marketer has both data and instincts, success is not far.
In all, marketing genius is not so unique if the right balance is found between art and science. While not easy, it is very possible for both small and big businesses.
Most business disciplines rely primarily on science. Accounting and Finance are mostly numbers. Successful Operations relies on the application of math and science. There is some artwork to Human Resources, but it is mostly the application of the science of human interaction. Even Strategy is something that is planned only after significant data crunching and investigation.
Outside of the business world, it seems that most professional disciplines are either art or science, but not both. Musicians, painters, performers and other artists understandably lean mostly upon art. Politicians, lawyers and civic officials are wise to use math and science, but their artistry is in relationships and negotiations. Medical professionals and researchers depend heavily on science for obvious reasons. Teachers might be the closest thing to marketers in that they must balance both art and science, but even the best teachers are communication artists.
But marketers? Marketers straddle the line between art and science. On one hand, a marketer must understand that s/he must create a new, unique and powerful message or image that will cut through the clutter of everyday life. This requires great artistry and great feel. Not everyone can create a “Purple Cow” as Seth Godin coined.
On the other hand, a marketer must grasp the math behind marketing. It is mostly a numbers game in that the more messages you broadcast, the more brand awareness you create. This number can be better understood when campaigns are measured, scientific principles are applied and decisions are made based on data. Without science, even the most artistic marketing campaign will not pervade the marketplace.
So make sure that your marketing is both art and science. Create messages and images that are appealing from an artistic perspective. Test those messages and images with scientific data gathering. Science can tell you a lot about the art and vice versa. Future decisions can then be made based on both numbers and feel. If a marketer has both data and instincts, success is not far.
In all, marketing genius is not so unique if the right balance is found between art and science. While not easy, it is very possible for both small and big businesses.
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