Most businesses, tend to fall in love with their product or service, rather than falling in love with their clients. If you sell to small business this can hurt you!
The first sign that this is happening is a tendency among sales people to say to themselves; "What do I have to do to get this customer to buy?" With this attitude, there is a tendency to become manipulative and coercive or just plain boring as you spend time talking about yourself.
Neither of these approaches works well with strong minded entrepreneurs and business owners. No one wants to be manipulated or taken advantage of.
A more appealing approach is to make the business owner feel you care, that they are important to you and that their well being matters to you.
To accomplish this, suppliers have to review their purpose. If train your staff to believe your firms purpose is to contribute great value by giving them the results they are looking for rather than to simply take their money, you'll begin to see an interest transition in your customer relationships.
The objective is to enter every customer relationship with a commitment to leaving their customers better off than when they found them. This commitment changes the way you interact and the way you sell and often changes how you package what you sell.
This may seem a little soft, but typically companies that adopt this approach find That positive word of mouth spreads rapidly, clients are more loyal and sales are easier to close. Think of examples like Nordstrom, Ritz Carlton and four Seasons.
This does not have to be the domain of high end retailers and hotels, but can infuse every business.
If your product or service is of high quality and delivers on your promise, then it is likely that it is in your customers' best interest to buy more, because it will enhance their situation. Thus it makes sense to buy more because there will be a better pay-off.
One of the unexpected benefits of this strategy is that employees and managers are no longer ambivalent about what they do. They love what they do, because ant some level helping others is hard wired into most human beings. Their jobs become easier and your customers love them because they care so much. More importantly your customers will love you and your business because of what it stands for.
The key to your future riches in closing your prospects, is knowing their hot buttons. If you're a big business looking to work with smaller businesses and help them with specific aspects, you better know their lingo and be able to speak their language. You see the more you know not only about who your prospects are, but what's their emotional hot button, and what keeps them awake at night.
Here's a terrific exercise for you and the first big step to getting at their hot buttons. Take out a sheet of paper and start writing.
Think about who your top 10 clients are right now. Then I want you to answer these 5 questions about them:
1) What kinds of advertising do they respond to? Is it direct mail, phone calls, personal visits, irresistible offers, or maybe a combination of these.
2) What do they read and where do they get this stuff? You need to check out newsletters, consumer magazines, industry newspapers, trade publications, and community newspapers
3) What trade shows do they go to? Do they go to local community events, national conventions, state fairs, local consumer shows, etc.
4) How did your past clients hear about you? Was it word of mouth, a flyer, direct mail piece, telemarketing, internet, email or an ad stuffer
5) What clubs, groups or associations do they belong to? Write down any associations, clubs, business groups or networking groups they attend.
After you've answered these questions, I'd suggest you sign up and maybe attend some of these clubs, associations or trade shows. I'd even say you might want to subscribe to the publications and maybe even contribute to them with writing an article or placing and ad. When you immerse yourself in their world, a light bulb will go off, and you'll know how to appeal to them in a much more meaningful way. The more you know about your prospect and us it in your advertising, the more you will attract the right prospects and be able to close them.
Last month I gave you some ideas on keeping the verbal lines of communications open with your customers. As promised, this time I'll be covering some ideas on staying in touch in writing, a lost form of communication for some businesses. Whether electronic or paper, written communication is still one of the best ways to reach out and stay in touch with your customers. How you do so will determine many things, among them, the quality of the relationship you maintain with your customers.
We're All Human
The basis for solid business communication is the understanding that a critical element in the process is the human being. In her book, The Voice of Authority, Dianna Booher reminds us that, "New technology appears and disappears from the scene. The one constant is human interaction." When you add this important aspect to your communications, you create a more concrete bond with the customer. Relate to them as a person and you become more real to them, rather than just another company trying to win their business. This doesn't mean you drop all the professionalism and get so informal as to confuse your customer - it simply means adding a caring, human tone to your correspondence, one that an every day text message might miss.
Get Personal
Personalizing your written business communications has been shown to really add to the bottom line. InformationWeek conducted a study of 375 business managers and IT managers; of those that personalize all communications with their customers, 39% report a significant increase in their e-business revenue. There are similar studies in the paper world, but the reality is if you can reach the customer on a more personal level, they respond. And personalization isn't just about using someone's name; mailed letters, handwritten thank you's, even a brief note attached to an article you found - these are all smart ways of staying in touch with your customer in a more meaningful way and building a relationship centered on the customer and their needs.
Electronically Yours
While electronic communication might be one of the easier ways to stay in touch with your customers, it can also spell disaster if you do so too infrequently or not frequently enough. A key consideration needs to be the relevancy of your correspondence - are you keeping the customer at the center of your offer or are you bragging about your company? The latter will likely end you up in the trash. Electronic newsletters and offers must be something your customer can use and should be sent at least quarterly to stay top of mind with them. These pieces need to be concise and mindful that your customer is running a small business; they might not have much time to read a long piece. Provide links for them to get more information and always give them a way to opt out of your mailing. If you're having a sale, make it easy for them to order and leave out the gimmicks - that goes double for rebates. Small businesses don't want to sift through the ins and outs of an offer. What's the best way to determine how often to send offers or information electronically? Ask your customer!
Communicating with your customer is the building block for establishing a lasting relationship with them. Be there throughout the sales cycle and long past, keeping them up to date and aware of changes, great deals and ideas that will help them continue to thrive. Doing this makes you a resource for them and creates a repeat customer for you.
In a comment posted to my last entry, a reader noted that so many "stories are the same". That is so very true, even with rock stars- one more boy from south central LA; one more girl from Topeka, Kansas; one more aged star launching a comeback tour. There isn't story we haven't heard before. I often wonder how many iTunes tracks can actually be sold from singer-songwriters singing soft, halting guitar ballads about love and loneliness. Apparently, the answer is a staggering amount.
There are two very similar reasons. First, people want to hear it. They have an emotional connection to it. They like to hear something that reminds them of their youth, their passion, or their softer side. It reminds them of a part of themselves. Second, there will always be young males and females making the music, because there will always be youth, heartache, and beauty. People will sing about. And because everyone experiences those things, at least some of us will listen to it. See reason number one.
Small business has the same connection with most Americans. It is the American way. Everyone either has done it or would like to do it one day, if only... It is about taking risk, seeking independence, and taking care of your life. When they tell their story to the average American, they get quiet looks of admiration and respect. They are accustomed to this position in life, despite where it has actually gotten them on the totem pole. They have fought the good fight or are still fighting it.
A small business owner may have a similar story to the one you heard yesterday. The fact is that their story has subtle differences from the other. Those differences indicate the most important struggles that the business owner overcame. Despite the similarity of today's story to yesterday's story, that story is very real. It impacted the business owner in dynamic ways and changed who they are. Listen carefully: it IS who they are. A story like that has soul, funk, a bass line and a harmony. It might sound like last year's hit, but it is this year's hit, and more importantly, it is your potential customer's hit. Until you recognize and revere that story, the story of a rock-star, small-business owner, you will never be truly effective at selling to small business. You'll just get lucky sometimes.
If you want to build a relationship with a small business owner, take the time to hear their story. They always love to tell it. If they don't offer it, look around, it is probably on the walls of the small front office. Ask questions about pictures and awards you see. Be impressed. You should be. And then ask the big Hollywood question, "What gave you the idea for this business? How did you get started? Could you tell me how you got this GREAT idea?" Then sit down and let them tell you a story. When they are done, recognize their accomplishments (that they are, indeed, a rock star) and note how impressed you are that they got to this point.
If you have the time in your sales cycle, spend your entire first call listening to the story. Then say "Whoops! Look at the time! I have to go! Mind if I come back next week?" Without even pitching your pitch. I guarantee that when you return next week, they will look at you with more open eyes. They may even ask to hear your story!
In the last two posts on the effectiveness of referral marketing and on building a small business referral network, I made mention that referral marketing is the most effective strategy to selling to small business and that building a referral network is more of a function of personalities than job titles. Today, I wanted to provide some brief comments on finding the "right" connectors into the small business world.
At the risk of embarrassing the host of this blog, and to reiterate last month's post, Evan Carmichael is a Connector to the small business world. However, Evan is not a member of the Big Three (defined last month as an accountant, lawyer and banker). Evan is a connector because of his personality and not something he puts on his resume.
I met Evan through cosmic accident; as I recall, he was on an advisory board for an organization I was a member of which had taken my annual membership dues and not provided me any service. Evan was the poor soul who fielded my complaint. In a round about way, bad customer service was the impetus for our initial meeting.
As my brief story indicates, finding Connectors is more of happen-stance than by design. There are no databases of Connectors (and one would be leery of anyone who advertised to their world they were connected). You cannot buy a list of Connectors in North America. You cannot join a group of Connectors (they probably know each another anyway so forming a group would be redundant). Instead, you will most likely meet them through some other contact rather than finding them yourself. They are Connectors after all- eventually, they will know someone who knows someone that knows you. As Woody Allen says, 90% of life is just showing up.
Most good salespeople I know end up meeting a Connector because they socialize a lot. In order words, Connectors are found more by chance than strategy. If this conclusion is not extremely analytical, it is because the basis of human interaction is by nature emotional and good people end up finding other good people by circumstance and accident rather than by some strategic and conscious decision.
We tend to downplay the human aspect of business but, in a world where choice has become nearly unlimited, it is this facet which truly binds people together in commercial enterprise. For example, Warren Buffet could donate his multi-billionaire empire to hundred of charitable foundations but chose Bill Gates'. It is not because Gates knows how to sell software. Instead, Buffet and Gates are bridge partners, share common world-views and are friends.
To continue this thread of un-analytical thinking, Connectors help "nice people" get ahead. Thus even if one were, by strategy, end up meeting a Connector, it is not conclusive that a Connector would be your champion to the small business world. I am by no means a Connector but I will champion someone who I feel is a good human being and will make a difference. I am sure most of you would do the same. With a Connector, such championing would be increased a hundred times what I could remotely provide.
At the end of the day, Connectors help you for the same reason that a client buys from you: you articulate a client problem you can solve and you are a trusting individual. Thus, connecting your way to small business sales comes down to the fundamental basis of why anyone would want to buy from you in the first place: will you help your clients in an honest and trusting manner? Can you build a long-lasting and trusting relationship?
If you can, the Connectors will find you. They are Connectors after all.
Before you start belting out Led Zeppelin, consider the meaning of the statement and how far reaching it can be. If you're a big business trying to reach small businesses, how well you communicate with your prospects will determine whether or not they become an actual client. A survey performed recently by Public Agenda (a nonprofit research are of the Pew Charitable Trusts) indicates a staggering 94% of respondents consider reaching a company voicemail system, versus a human voice, "extremely frustrating." It seems the bigger the company, the further removed they are from their clients. Big business has spent enormous amounts of money building elaborate communication systems and this could be the kiss of death as you prospect for new small business clients. So what steps can you take to bridge the chat gap with your small business prospects? In the first of this two-part series, I'll outline some key communications ideas you can implement to keep in close touch with your clients, both prospective and active.
Can You Hear Me Now?
For the most part, voicemail sounded like a great idea. In use since about 1975, many in corporate America looked at it as a way to trim costs and presumably lead callers where they needed to go. It seemed like the perfect answer when layoffs and "down-sizing" became a common part of the business vernacular. Today, most will agree it's maybe done more harm than good when it comes to keeping in touch with clients. Be honest, how many times have you got stuck in "voicemail hell", just hoping someone, anyone would pick up your call and get you the help you needed? My guess is everyone has had this experience, but what's important to glean here is this: the further away from your customer you are, the more accessible you need to be. Let me say this again for the people in the cheap seats - the further away from your customer you are, the more accessible you need to be. This means if you're doing business remotely with your customer, you need to give them access to you by any means possible. Why? Because whether you want to admit it or not, it's fairly likely your customer is being pursued by a local vendor or ten; someone who drops by, makes calls, returns calls, and pays attention to them. Almost sounds like a romance, right? It sort of is.
Get Closer, Really, It's Okay
One way to stay in better contact with your customers is simply to give them every method possible for getting in touch with you. It's important to have this personal contact with your client, it builds rapport, trust and a relationship they come to rely on. Once you do this, though, you must be committed to this one critical credo: be accessible no matter what. If your customers contact you by phone, try to answer it and if you can't, make certain you have a great voicemail message that is current and lets them know when they can expect your return call…and make sure you call back, even if it's just to confirm the call and let them know you'll get the answer they seek. The goal really is to prevent them from going to voicemail or worse, from missing you altogether and never leaving a message.
Virtually Yours
Being a major advocate of answering calls whenever you can, I know there are times when it's nearly impossible; you might actually be in a meeting with another client or you're in flight. Whatever the reason, there is another way to give your client the attention they need and the human contact they crave - enter the Virtual Office Assistant (VOA). This is not an entirely new concept; it's more of an updated version of an "answering service." Your VOA can answer your calls in live-time, transfer to you or someone else in your organization, and even offer answers to typical questions some callers might have, such as pricing or providing a fax number. This solution is fully customizable and offers your client a human point of contact first, with the second option of voicemail, only if necessary. Google "virtual office" or "virtual assistant" to learn more.
There are many great and innovative ways to communicate with your clients, but the one thing it all boils down to is the connection they have with you, the human being. By offering your clients multiple ways to stay in touch with you, you're telling them they're important to you and you want to serve them. As they continue to grow their small business, you will become the resource they keep as their secret weapon.
Check back for the second part of this series where I'll be covering written communication ideas for connecting with your clients.
In a former life, I was in the music industry. I met the right star at the right time, and my entrepreneurial spirit did the rest. I was a part of an innovative group that developed new versions retro grass roots marketing and distribution. We dabbled in internet distribution before most people knew what the internet was. We had some star power behind us and we had a lot of fun!
To the public, the star is everything. In the industry, the star is simply the leading edge marketing tool. They are the story and the talent that leads consumers to products. Talent is important; the star has to have a great media presence, a great voice, inherent performance compulsions, and a moderate ability to think on their feet. Talent in one area is not hard to find. Talent in all areas is in abundance in every major city. But talent with a great story is rare. These are the stars. They sell products.
I was fortunate to work with one of the best star stories of the last decade. I first met this star before her 20th birthday. She lived in her van, and sang nights at a coffeehouses and bars. She was fortunate enough to get a spot in a San Diego club and was surrounded by some leading talent of the early nineties. She studied them and learned from them. There were more talented people around her, but she was the one to receive a big contract. She had one of the biggest debut albums of all time, with a number of subsequent albums.
There are many aspects to her story that can illustrate the points that I am getting to, but I'll just share one. I attribute a single reason this songwriter became a star. While all the very talented musicians around her spent their time between and after sets, hanging out back stage and drinking (among other things), the teenage girl did something different. She met her fans and really talked to them. She told her story at every show. She positioned herself at the exit and shook every patron's hand. She asked people if they liked her music. She asked people to come back and see her. One of those hands she shook was an executive from Atlantic Records. They came back to see her, and brought a contract.
This is my first contribution to this blog. They are a few analogies I will draw from this story over the next months. The basics are these: Every small business owner is a rock star. Every small owner has a story and some degree of talent. Every small business owner wants you to know their story, not just their "music". Later we'll talk about how every small business owner only wants to sing and tell their story, just like a rock star. If you are going to sell to a rock star, you must understand these things. Finally, we'll talk about how to take this and shape into a sales strategy. We'll talk about how to convince a rock star that you are the best agent. And if you are still reading, we'll talk about how to get a rock star to sell product.
EvanCarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies. Evan also runs a series of successful Mastermind Groups in Toronto for entrepreneurs.
Guest Contributor: Michael Hepworth
