The Sales Experiment

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How to be a ‘recommended resource’

You  must do business the way you want to be recommended.

—Paul Rand (paraphrased from Social Media Marketing Podcast with Michael Stelzner)

I’m almost done listening through about 5 months of Social Media Examiner’s podcast. Thankfully, I did not give up as I just came to this gem from mid-November 2014 where Michael Stelzner interviews Paul Rand, author of the book Highly Recommended.

There was about a Chuckwagon Platter full of meat in the show, but one idea sticks out: Do you do business in such a way that your clients would recommend you in the way you want to be recommended?

In other words, if you wrote out the perfect referral script for your clients, would it accurately reflect who you are and what you do?

That’s a tough one. It’s a tough one for me. Do I meet that litmus test every time?

It’s a powerful question and one that, according to Rand, needs to be asked not only of the sales and marketing team, but of the whole organization.

  • Does every layer of the organization – the service, operations, sales, marketing, and executive management teams – reflect the message we want our clients to send to our future clients?
  • Does every step of all of our processes, from initial prospect engagement to delivery of services to ongoing support, reflect the message we want our clients to send to our future clients?

Are we giving people what we want them to tell people that we give as a provider of goods and services?

How Can You Know If You Are a Resource Worthy of Being Recommended?

The first step is to define the standard. Would you be able to give your client a script for recommending you? Do you have a clear value proposition as an organization and as an individual sales professional?

The second step is to make sure that this value proposition – that it is something clients actually need (even if they don’t realize they need it).

The third step is to honestly evaluate whether you deliver the value you claim to deliver.

The fourth step is to coach your clients as firmly, yet gently as you can, how to recommend you (and to confirm that they’ve been receiving the value).

What do you think?

Are you building your business, your practice, your goods and services, in a way that you will be recommended for what you want to be recommended for?

How can you get there?

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(Links to amazon.com are always affiliate links).

 

 

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Tactics, Strategies, and Effectiveness

I’ve spent the last few days catching up on Michael Stelzner’s Social Media Marketing Podcast. The podcast is a wealth of information on digital media’s most effective tactics and strategies (if they are used wisely and surgically, of course).

Today, I listened, specifically, to the podcast with Zach King, a filmmaker who has used his talents to conquer the new world of Vine video.

Mr. King said something that stuck out (paraphrased): “If your target audience isn’t on Vine [i.e. the younger demographic], then perhaps you shouldn’t be on Vine. It’s not smart to try to be on every social media platform.” (something like that)

The message is this: Use the tactics and strategies that increase effectiveness as it relates to your goals.

Only use the marketing platforms that drive your business forward. 

Experiment? Yes.

Commit full resources to all of them? No.

Sales and New Marketing Both Suffer from the Shiny Object Syndrome

Every new sales book that comes out touts itself (or convinces reviewers to tout it) as the greatest new development in sales since whatever the other most recent sales movement was.

The same holds true for marketing.

We get nudged off of a consistent course by grasping at the next thing that sounds like it’ll hold a silver bullet.

The newsflash is this: there is no such thing as a silver bullet. You might find a little fortune or favor here and there, but there is no silver bullet.

Be Honest About What Is Effective

As they say in recovery, the first thing one must do is admit there is a problem.

In sales and marketing, the first thing one must admit is which activities produce the most compelling results.  You’d think we’d be happy about finding the one thing, and we’d be uber-disciplined about doing the one or two things that generate the most results.

The problem is that the one or two things require the most sweat. The activities that move the dial nearly always cost us. They take time. They take focus. They take courage.

What strategies and tactics are the most effective in your work?

Are you doing them?

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By the way, Zach King’s Vine channel (or account or whatever) is ridiculously cool. Here’s a fun example:

 

 

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Learn One (and only one) Thing at a Time

The problem with this Dan Miller Challenge that I’ve taken up is that part of the premise is to pick a new action item everyday based on what I read and listen to.

Therefore, I’m often doing something different everyday. Sometimes, these items build on each other. Other times they are completely different.

I’m sticking with this plan for the next 5 months, but I’m realizing the importance of sticking to one main project or skill, even if the

Do you struggle with trying to learn and do too many things at once? 

A couple weeks ago, I read about the importance of finding opportunities to present in front of groups, associations, and other organizations.

I emailed a couple organizations, and lo and behold, I got an opportunity. October 30th.

While I love reading and listening to all kinds of content, this upcoming presentation has become my focus.

I’m filtering all content through my desire to create value for those at the conference.

If you’re like I am and love to read this book, listen to that podcast, watch that series of Youtube videos, then you can relate to my version of adult ADD learning.

In order to make strides in any one area, though, you and I must learn to choose the most pressing piece of learning and focus on that one thing before bouncing to other things.

Just in time learning

Smart Passive Income’s Pat Flynn and Internet Business Mastery’s Jeremy Frandsen and Jason Van Orden introduced me to this idea of ‘just in time learning’.

Just in time learning is a practice whereby you focus solely on learning what you need to learn to achieve the next step in a current project.

For instance, for me right now, I’m focused on the presentation I have to give. My first job is to understand the best method planning and preparing my talk. Therefore, I’ve read a few blog posts and listened to a couple podcasts all around structuring my research, outlining, and pruning of my talk. When I get to the point where I need to create slides, then I’ll focus on that type of content.

Jumping from one thing to another, even within one project, slows down progress.

I get so tempted to try my hand at graphic design by creating slides, but first, I must focus on figuring out the one point I hope the audience walks away with.

Then I will focus on developing the supporting points and how to weave data and stories into the talk.

After that (and only after that), will I study the how-tos and worry about the slides.

Right now, every bit of content that I consume is around public speaking. But I’m drilling down deeper toward specific learning around the step I’m in at the moment.

How to practice just in time learning

Most of us don’t have the luxury of spending tons of time on one project at a time. Our day jobs are filled with a bunch of different people with whom we have a variety of relationships (bosses, colleagues, clients, direct reports).

We might have to stay sharp in a variety of areas.

That said, you and I should also be selective.

What’s one skill we know that would best move our work forward?

If you’re in sales, perhaps it’s learning the age-old practice of cold calling.

If you’re in customer service, perhaps it’s learning how to be more engaging with difficult customers.

If you’re a web designer, perhaps it’s learning a new CMS because WordPress is so 2013.

Pick the one thing and focus on it as much as possible until that one thing is either accomplished or deeply learned.

Write that one thing out on a piece of paper or create a file for it or a note in Evernote.

And get to work. Google it. Youtube it. Buy a book. Go to the library.

Figure that one thing out first before moving on.

I think we would all benefit from that type of focus.

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How about you? Do you practice this type of approach to learning, especially for your work? 

(Leave an answer in the comments)

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Listening for today:

What the Speak Podcast – with Bryan Kelly: I binge-listened to about 5 episodes of this podcast during my commutes today. Michael Hyatt, Nancy Duarte, Chris Brogan, Jeff Goins, and Ken Davis all taught me a little more about public speaking, from preparation to presentation. (By the way, all the sudden these podcasts stopped in July. I’m hoping all is okay!)

SPI 087 : Why You Belong on Stage – Pat’s “Braindump” of Public Speaking and Presentation Tips – with Pat Flynn: This podcast is a wonderful overview of public speaking, especially for newbies like myself.

 

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