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Create Chaos, Change & Controversy! (...or at least chase after them)

Written by: Todd Youngblood

Article Overview: There's a new buzz-word making the rounds. Have you focused on the "trigger event" concept? Can you make it work for you?

Create Chaos, Change & Controversy! (...or at least chase after them)

The basic idea of a trigger event is pretty straightforward. It's something that puts decision makers, decision influencers and end users in a "something's going to change" mind set. It's something that happens at some point prior to a decision being made to buy your (or a competitor's) products and services. In fact, it's a lot like the idea of "cause and effect" that we all learned about in elementary school science class.

There is always some event (or more often chain of events kicked off by some "trigger event") that inevitably leads to a purchase decision. Here's a three-step process for taking advantage of this phenomenon:

• Research - Go back through a bunch (at least 15) of your most recent wins. What happened inside the customer's organization before you got involved? What happened to generate interest in and focus on your solution? What created urgency to move quickly? How was interest generated & who was it driven by? What external signals told you something had happened that would increase interest in your value proposition? Since it's unlikely you'll know the answer, you'll need to make a few customer calls to find out. (As an aside, think about how much you can enhance your reputation by demonstrating such a high level of interest in how the customer does business!)
• Search - Now that you know what to look for, hunt around your prospects for similar, lurking trigger events. They'll be there. Here's a short laundry list of examples: merger, acquisition, new executive named, somebody promoted, new technology, new location, re-location, reorganization of any kind, downsizing, new strategic initiative, new product, unanticipated crisis, layoffs, new funding... Bottom line, search for anything that will cause "stuff to flow downhill."
• Anticipate - I'll always remember the first time I got the advice to "anticipate" my customers' actions. I remember thinking, "great idea, but how do I actually do that?" The difference is research and search as described above. Those two items will arm you with a flurry of "What if..." and "How would you..." questions. What if demand for that new product really takes off? How would you be able to rapidly crank up your supply of raw materials? What if Bill ever got the production manager job? What would change around here if that happened? What if you just got started right now with making those modifications?

The whole idea behind these "anticipate" questions is to get the customer thinking; to get the customer to realize that you really are different; that you are out ahead of the pack, helping to prevent problems from happening in the first place.

Even if you can't get out in front of every customer situation, you'll be training your brain. You'll be hugely alert to those critical trigger events. You'll be positioning yourself as someone who can help customers avoid pain. You'll be better equipped to handle whatever crazy situation presents itself.

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Article Tags: bottom line, cause and effect, competitor, decision makers, elementary school science, end users, external signals, influencers, laundry list, layoffs, li li, line search, merger acquisition, new location, new technology, purchase decision, reorganization, science class, urgency, value proposition



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coffee it is... - I have to start the day with a Cup of 'bucks and then chase the rest of the day with water... In fact it's just about that time.
Quoting for Jobs - Hi Im just wondering how long you guys wait to chase a quote after its been submitted to a client? Ben
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Rich Schefren on Business Systems Video - Bigjim, 1. Create a systemized business 2. build accountability into your team 3. document your processes
Re: Getting Press Coverage - Thanks for those extra tips again Evan. Also don't forget the 'purple cow' theory. Create something truly awesome and unique and people will pay attention, including journalists. I have some off the wall stuff planned for 2010.


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