All in Sales
Episode 20 of the podcast is now available and today’s episode focuses on the importance of standing your ground when working with a customer. We like to say that the customer is always right, but sometimes, a little tough love goes a long way, even if it puts us at commercial risk.
Those Marketing folks - what do they do?
Why do we need to hire another marketing person?
Is it really necessary to spend that on Marketing?
You see it time and time again - organizations have this funny relationship and view of Marketing.
We love the mystique that Apple has built around its business and think it’s entirely down to its products.
Episode 19 of the podcast is now available and this episode kicks off this month's focus on Sales and Marketing - subjects that are both loved and hated.
In case you haven’t guessed already, the title of this post is clickbait. It’s meant to draw you, the reader, in and make you read this post. And if I’ve done my job right, the post will expand on and explain the title in a useful and compelling way.
But of course, the internet being what it is (one that’s rewarded for clicks and hits), such titles get used to excess and don’t always deliver on their promise.
I rent cars pretty frequently when I travel, whether for work or for pleasure. When I do, the rental agency has me sign off on the various terms of the agreement.
Will there be any additional drivers? Did I want their insurance coverage or did I have my own? Did I want to take advantage of their fuel option or would I prefer to fill the tank myself prior to return? All pretty standard stuff.
But sometimes, that last question takes a little twist.
“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters." — Epictetus
I’ve been turning this quote over in my head for a long while now, and there’s something about it that resonates incredibly strongly with me.
The trouble is, I can’t quite figure out what.
Is it suggesting that if we are focused on becoming expert in a particular area, we mustn’t be afraid of appearing stupid or unknowledgeable i.e. that we’ve figured everything out already…
Episode 13 of the podcast is now available and today’s podcast wraps up this month’s focus on communications. In this episode, I talk about the secret to great communications - not saying anything.
In my last post, I talked about the importance of avoiding stasis in your strategy, that being comfortable with the middle ground is a straight path to irrelevance. Maybe not today, but certainly someday.
So a response - an active, progressive strategy to do something is absolutely essential. It’s essential to be on the front foot and proactively define a clear plan for continued success.
That doesn’t, however, have to mean going after the big boys head-to-head. It doesn’t necessarily mean trying to become THE market leader.
We tend to think of the middle ground as a safe space to be in. You’re not out on a limb at the bleeding edge, but you’re also not trailing the pack. There’s no bloodthirsty Coke versus Pepsi battle at play, but you’re also not spending your days fighting for survival.
It’s tempting to get comfortable there. You simply play your position, fight with other ‘middle of the road’ brands and focus on the ‘middle of the road’ customers
Episode 10 of the podcast is now available and this episode kicks off this month's focus on the art of Communication, a subject that's integral to our ability to succeed in just about anything we do.
Presentations and pitches are tricky things.
By definition, the goal is to sell something to someone. It could be to get a business idea funded, to get approval to move forward on a project or, to make a sale. In all cases, we’re trying to convince someone to part with something valuable (usually, but not always, money) in return for whatever it is we have to offer.
Epictetus’ words are easy to understand, but difficult to practice. Not surprising, given that it’s in our nature to be liked, to gain approval, to be considered valuable.
The problem is that when we accept these opinions, when we consider ourselves to be “important”, we think we’ve “arrived” and achieved some special end-state or level of wisdom.
A common question when I’m discussing what I do for a living is whether there’s much travel involved. My answer is always that, yes, there’s a moderate amount of travel involved.
Of course, the term “moderate” means different things to different people. There are those who feel being on the road once a month for a couple of days is a lot. And then there are folks( in consulting, for example) who get on a plane week in, week out, flying out on Monday AM and flying home Thursday or Friday PM.
The recent WeWork debacle is an incredible business story that MBA students will be dissecting and analyzing for years to come.
How could a company that was expecting one of the richest, most high profile IPOs of recent times now be on the verge of bankruptcy - in barely a couple of months?
It seemed to have all the ingredients you’d want - a flamboyant founder who would often walk around Manhattan barefoot, a lofty mission about elevating our consciousness, a truly differentiated product offering and marketing buzz that the most storied brands would kill for.
There are two types of people in the world: those who plan and those who don’t.
And there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that those who plan are more successful than those who don’t.
Of course, just because you plan, doesn’t mean everything will go your way. Reality has a funny way of doing things that don’t align with our best laid plans.
Perceptions are everything.
If someone believes something to be true, it almost doesn’t matter what the data says. The most reasoned arguments and the most robust set of facts will pale in comparison to their beliefs, values and worldview.
And as a marketer or salesperson reaching out to current and potential customers, it certainly doesn’t matter what you think. It only matters what they think, how they perceive the facts.
Our natural reflex, when we’re evaluating a market, is to think of competition as being a negative factor. If there is a plethora of companies already operating in a given space, fighting it out for share, our immediate assumption is that this market is “taken” or that adding another player into the mix is a dumb idea.
This might be the case, but then again, it might not.
In my last post, I talked about the importance of simplicity and authenticity in our messaging. Complex, obtuse and, worse, overly clever messaging does a disservice to the point we’re trying to make. And most of the time, it detracts from getting that point across.
Sometimes, though, this just seems impossible. We struggle with distilling the key takeaways or the so-whats. What keeps emerging is far longer and more involved than what feels right.
When it comes to communication, authenticity and simplicity are the two most important ingredients.
Whatever you’re trying to do - convince someone to buy something, change how they behave or join your team - it always pays to get straight to the point and be real about why your message is so important.
Very early on in my career, I went to meet a senior executive at one of the fastest growing entertainment companies in Asia.
At the time, I was a Marketing Executive in the Consumer Goods space and, while the work was interesting, I wanted to explore what else was out there, especially in this exciting new area that was taking Asia (I lived in Hong Kong at the time) by storm.
