Don't Worry About the Mule Going Blind -- Load the Wagon

Memorable, visual word pictures are stickier than ordinary words and phrases. You wouldn't generally mix mules, marketing and sales, but they have more in common than you think, when explaining the need for action vs. analysis.

Many companies make the mistake of ignoring marketing. Rather than spending some time analyzing the 4 P's (Product, Price, Promotion and Place (distribution)), they focus instead on selling. These are generally organizations led by sales-oriented owners or CEOs.

Just as many companies (or sales people) get paralyzed, obsessed with "getting the marketing right", prior to any meaningful selling effort. They meet, discuss, tune, hone, study, revise collateral, etc., in some cases letting the window of opportunity pass before someone picks up a phone or a briefcase and goes out calling on some customers.

Reminds me of a friend of mine, Joe Trotter, who was listening to a (then) young Sales Engineer recite the litany of things he needed to make sure of before asking a customer for an order. Joe looked at the guy and said, "George, I don't want you worrying about the mule going blind, I want you to load the wagon." A 20th-century rural southern variation, I think, on, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." (David Farragut, Battle of Mobile Bay, 1864).

There's a balance between analysis and action. If anything, according to Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, excellent organizations have "a bias for action." If in doubt, do something and see what happens as a result. Actually, that's a reasonable part of a good marketing strategy. Run some "trial balloon" ideas out in the hands of sales people and see how they work. Listen to what comes back and adjust the P's accordingly.

This is particularly true in today's instant publishing world. The Internet marketing side of your message can, of course, be changed at the speed of light as you discover more about what works and what doesn't. You can build soft-copy web collateral as fast as you can type. And then you can measure its effectiveness with a variety of e-marketing tools.

What about printed collateral? If I were a commercial printer, I'd be shaking in my boots. Gone is the value of an 8- or 12-page 4-color, saddle-stitched brochure. There's usually one page of those that goes obsolete about 2 weeks after several thousand get delivered.

You'll be much better served with a well-designed pocket folder with a place for your business card, and pockets for "dealer's choice" inserts. Those can be single-sided, 2-sided or a 2-sided, 2 panel foldover (4 pages) for something that really requires a lot of real estate to tell the story. Much more durable than 8 or 12 pages of locked-in content.

Easily fully customizable, too. Besides the core product sheets and company overview, you can have a set of customizable "shells" (header, footer, etc.) -- templates where you can print custom content on the fly, in quantities of 2 or 2,000. Take customer references, for example. Print those on a shell that looks just like the rest of the packet, but the references include only customers similar to the prospect's business, or close by in geography. Want to try a new service offering? Design it, write the copy, print it on a shell, and go see a dozen or so customers to see how it plays.

There's a balance between study and action. Generally, though, action is what gets orders. The key to good marketing and good marketing materials is the ability to move the message with the market, and have a good feedback loop on how the message is working.

So, if in doubt, don't worry about perfecting the product or the message, go see some customers. Or if you have a hesitant sales person (who may actually be a marketer in the wrong job), try, as we say in the South, 'splaining it a different way, "I don't want you worrying about the mule going blind, I want you to load the wagon." Even if they don't get it instantly, they'll remember it. They probably already think you're nuts, anyway.

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Terry Weaver


CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com

Don't Bury the Lead

If you want your written message to cut through the rest of the noise out there, start anything you write with the most important information, particularly anything you want the reader to do, as the lead sentence. Seems simple, but lots of good writers, not trained in journalism, do just the reverse.

Journalists call this "burying the lead" -- letting the most important parts of the story slip down too far into the body of the article. Many readers never get there, rendering the entire effort useless on everyone's behalf.

I learned this important lesson from a great book, Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. They refer to something well-known to journalists as the "inverted pyramid". Rather than building your article from facts, observations and rationale, ending with the main point, turn that upside down. Start with what's most important (the widest part of the pyramid) at the top, and then backfill from there, in decreasing order of importance.

Nowhere is this more true than in email. If you want someone to do something, put that request right in the first paragraph of the email. Then tell them all the reasons why they need to or what will happen if they don't. If you instead put that same request in the last sentence, you'll usually be disappointed by the result.

Interestingly, back when newspapers were printed from type set in hot lead, it was tricky to compose a page. Often editors needed to trim a sentence or two, and they always knew where to start -- at the end, where the least important information is supposed to be, if the writer is on his game.

Some say this started during the Civil War, when news reporters used military telegraphs to transmit their stories. Of course, that connection could go down at any time or an officer could bump them off the line. If you had to pick what got through, it would be the most important, wouldn't it?

This is such a cornerstone of journalism, it's become a staple of journalistic training. Here's a page from an online journalism program that fills in more blanks In fact, the entire Newswriting section of that site is worth your time.

As a technical writer by background, this has been hard for me -- I like to lay the groundwork, present the data, develop the idea and then bring home the conclusion. After reading Chip and Dan's book, the error of my ways became apparent, and I'm working on "inverted pyramid" thinking. I actually find myself sometimes writing the "old way", and then moving the ending paragraphs up to the beginning. Whatever works, I guess.

So, whether it's an email, a blog article or a newsletter, don't "bury the lead". Put it right up at the top and work down from there.

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Terry Weaver


CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com

Why Does Chief Executive Boards International Work?

If you haven't experienced it, you're missing a huge opportunity by discounting the value of a CEO Peer Group to yourself, your family and your business. I hear people say "I can't spare the time away from my business." or, "I'm not sure it will be worth the money" (variation: "I just can't spend the money right now

Members, on the other hand, would say, "Those are exactly the people who need CEBI the most -- people who wish they were making more money or had more free time to enjoy it." Why is that? It's because they've had the benefit of a Mastermind Group -- and not a group of just ordinary people, but a group made up of only CEOs and business owners.

As many readers know, Chief Executive Boards International works on the old Napoleon Hill Mastermind Group principle. Sometimes known as the "Wisdom of Crowds". Thousands of CEOs and business owners have benefited from CEBI groups over the years, saying things ranging from, "It's been a major factor in my success" to, "It saved my business."

Why is that? I've taken a look at why our Boards work so well, and here are some key success factors:

• We Question - A member was recently quoted as saying, "When you go to one of those meetings, you better have your act together." Members ask each other hard questions, constructively looking for the root causes of problems, not superficial symptoms.
  


• We Challenge -- Members challenge each other's assumptions and perspectives. Your employees can't do that. Most service providers won't (they want to keep your business). And people who don't own and run businesses just don't have the knowledge or experience to challenge you. It's amazing how Board members get each other to look at situations a different way, opening up a whole different set of possible solutions that they'd have never thought of on their own.
  


• We Engage -- Members actively provide ideas you would never have had on your own, referrals to expert sources of help you would never find on your own and accountability for action on your part.
  


• We Alert -- Amazingly, when I ask members at the end of a meeting to list the things they're taking away, many times it's an idea, suggestion or alert they got from another member's topic. They hear another member talking about a pothole they haven't even thought of falling into yet, and go away knowing "That's a problem I can avoid."

And finally, it is the combined experiences, knowledge and talents of the group that really make this work -- the synergy of not 1 or 2, but 6 or 8 other CEOs and business owners working together confidentially and collaboratively to help each other with opportunities, solutions and ideas far superior to those any of them could have individually discovered.

Fresh ideas drive successful businesses. What drives the fresh ideas? In the case of CEBI members, it's their Local and National Boards. We Share Ideas, and our members profit greatly as a result.

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Terry Weaver


CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com

Got Sales People Whining? Try SW5

As a career sales person, having made sales ranging from $8.95 books door-to-door in college to multi-million dollar capital projects, I believe I'm qualified to say this: Sales people whine. Selling is a tough job, with one of the highest fallout rates of any job in most companies. And since they're also people, the fact that the job is tough and they're human beings sometimes reduces otherwise tough-minded people to whiners.

How do you handle whining sales people? Commiseration isn't the answer. They chose this line of work, probably because they love the benefits of it -- lots of freedom of movement, higher-than-average income, extraordinary career opportunities and the adrenalin rush they get from doing a deal.

Here's a 5-step answer to get whining sales people back on track. Remember it as SW5:

1. Some Will -- Some percentage of the market needs and wants our product or service, and would happily buy it from us. Your job is to find those people.
   


2. Some Won't -- Some percentage of the market doesn't need or want our product, or if they did, would rather buy it from someone else. Your job is also to find, and then ignore those people -- don't waste your time on them.
   


3. So What? -- These are the facts of sales life -- some will, some won't. Figure out which is which right away.
   


4. Someone's Waiting -- There's someone out there right now that needs our product or service, but either doesn't know it exists or doesn't realize we provide it. Your job is to find those people, and the sooner the better. They're waiting to talk to you, unless a competitor shows up sooner.
   


5. Stop Whining -- Accept SW 1 through 4, and get on with it. You know what you need to be doing.

Any questions?

Not only is selling tough, but selecting and managing sales people is tough, as well. If you have a sales person who's wasting time whining instead of looking for those who will or won't buy from him, give him this 5-point outline of the job.

Providing them with an audience, a shoulder to cry on, and a reinforcement of their excuses isn't an answer. This is a time for "tough love". If that doesn't work, find another sales person.

Here's an article with some behavioral interviewing ideas that may help you select that next sales person: 5 Prospecting & Networking Tips for Sales Pros

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Terry Weaver


CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com

Where Have All the Sales Professionals Gone?

A friend and I were recently lamenting the scarcity of professional sales people in today's workforce. Unfortunately, Chief Executive Boards International member companies are no exception. Finding and developing professional sales people is one of the top 3 issues in most small and mid-size companies.

The big problem? The thing that separates the pros from the wannabes, I think, is successful prospecting. A professional sales person knows how to find prospects. The wannabes expect to be fed from some sort of "leads spigot" -- a pipe that endlessly serves up a plate of already-warm prospects. People who would probably buy from you whether you had a sales person or not. These whiners are expecting others (perhaps you) to prospect for them, and they just go out and scoop up the orders. These are not sales people -- they're "order takers". In my experience, over 70% of applicants for sales jobs have experience as order takers -- not as sales people. And perhaps they'll find another one of those gigs. If that's not what you need, look further.

If your own skill set includes effective prospecting, you may be able to teach that skill to another person. If you come by it naturally, it'll be harder -- you'll have to examine exactly what works for you, how you do it, and then train and coach them in that skill. If that's part of your plan, you may find this article useful: 5 Prospecting & Networking Tips for Sales Pros

Much better to address prospecting ability in the selection process -- during the initial interview with a sales candidate. You'll want to use some behavioral interviewing techniques to ferret this out with a candidate. Ask questions like:

• "Tell me about a time in your career where you just didn't have enough prospects to fill your pipeline." The candidate may "out" himself, saying something like, "Well, when I worked for ___, they just didn't give me enough leads, and I eventually had to leave."
  
  
• If the candidate actually can describe a real time (exactly when, where, for whom they were working, etc.) when that was the case, follow up with something like: "And what did you do about that?" "How did that work out?"
  
  
• Then ask them about another time when they had to generate their own leads. You're looking for a prior behavior that will predict how they'll be able (and willing) to prospect for you (not how they theoretically might generate their own leads).

Effective prospectors can be developed -- if they're willing to do a couple of things most people don't like to do. Those things include continuing to make contact with and get acquainted with strangers, and also listening to a lot of "no's" without taking them personally. That's why there aren't many pro sales people -- the average person just isn't willing to do the things the pros do to earn the freedom they have and the money they make.

You can develop your stable of prospectors through selection/deselection or through training and development. Just don't waste a lot of time on the latter unless you see major forward progress in the early going. Sales training is a huge industry for a reason -- there are a lot of people out there who can't sell and won't ever be able to sell but their employers just won't give up on them and go find someone who can.

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Terry Weaver


CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com

5 Prospecting & Networking Tips for Sales Pros

Prospecting and Networking are the skills that separate the pro salespeople from the wannabes.

A good friend of mine, John Tripoli, is a pro. John sells for Northwestern Mutual Life, in an industry that has one of the highest turnover rates of sales people. It's full commission, and if you can't learn to prospect, starvation forces you into another line of work. John surprised me the last time we met by having printed my LinkedIn contacts. Instead of the traditional referral request, "Who else do you know that might find my services useful?", John walked down through my LinkedIn contact list and asked about them by name. Sure enough, he spotted a mutual acquaintance that neither of us had previously considered a prospect for him.

John is also a full-time business networker. He shows up at places where his target audience is likely to gather. Rotary meetings. United Way events. He also has a full-time assistant whose primary responsibility is to keep John fully booked with appointments. John knows how to prospect, and he's built a great book of business in the 5 short years since he joined NML.

He's a professional sales person, who knows exactly what he's doing and why. His success is no accident. What sets John apart from the average sales person, I believe, are his well-developed skills of both prospecting and business networking. I asked him recently to share some of his thoughts on these topics, and here's what he had to say:

Prospecting:

1. "Prepare a feeder list of the people that you would like to meet (10 to 20 names). Ask a nominator to become a referral source to those people in an effort to become “referred” vs. making a cold call. Sources: Linkedin, professional associations, partners, etc…
2. "Be specific about the type of people you want to meet. You get what you ask for.
3. "Be willing to share and provide referrals in exchange. Teach people the process and they are not only more likely to feel comfortable in referring but also they'll provide better introductions.

Networking:

1. "I view this as a means of becoming credible in my community. My goal is to become present and then when I meet people to better understand their businesses, I'm asking, "How can I help, and how can I generate a potential “center of influence”? -- either as a client or referral source?" This must be done outside of the networking environment and one on one. Takes time, but is well worth the process.
2. "Network only in areas where you have a passion: Rotary, community boards, church groups, alumni associations, etc. Participation needs to be purposeful and sincere -- if not, you are not credible."

So, there you have it -- 5 good ideas to add to your prospecting and networking toolbox. Happy selling in 2010! Thanks again to John for helping out with this article

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Terry Weaver


CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com