One of the marketing/sales concepts that I preach all the time is give a little first. If you want someone to give you their valuable time or attention, let alone their money — you give first. A free sample to let them taste what they can have for themselves.
Jill, as you'd guess, is a master at this technique.
In launching her sales conference (November 5-6, Mpls) geared specifically for women, Sales SheBang, she has put together an incredible Goody Bag, filled with free e-books on the art and science of selling, all written by Jill herself.
I'm no fool so I downloaded each and every e-book. Each one is an excellent primer on a different aspect of selling. Check out this grid of insights from one of Jill's e-books.
There's content for staff meeting or two right there!
In a recent e-mail exchange Jill said something that I think is very indicative of who she is as a person. She said, "I am in my "mentoring" years and willingly share what I have to help others in any way that I can."
On the surface, it makes sense. We want our customers to be satisfied. Measuring customer satisfaction has become an industry of its own, with recognizable names like JD Powers and other similar institutions in the forefront.
Tracking and understanding a customer’s attitude about a company or product can be very insightful. It gives the consumer a chance to vent or point out product performance issues or the opportunity to spotlight a good or not so good customer service system or employee. But what customer satisfaction does not indicate at all is what the consumer will do next time they’re faced with a buying opportunity.
Customer loyalty, on the other hand, is not based on opinion or attitude. It is a measure of commitment and is a much stronger indicator of future buying choices. It is also quantifiable. If one of your customers has been consistently buying a specific product or service every month for the past year and suddenly their buying pattern changes – their loyalty might well have been compromised.
Loyalty can be used for projecting future sales, what will be bought next and revenue estimates. For a small company, you probably just need to flip through your receivables to detect loyalty patterns. For larger companies, there are mathematical techniques that you can use with your accounting system to track, trend and nurture loyalty.
A good business wants to pay attention to both satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfaction will help you identify what is or isn’t working day to day. Loyalty can help you look ahead and more accurately know what your consumers will want and be able to devise strategies to hang onto those customers long term.
So of course, the question is….how do you create customer loyalty? Think of a business that you are absolutely loyal to. You'd rather fight than switch. What did they do/say to earn that depth of commitment from you?
And boy, look at what we've been able to do together!
Today is this blog's first blogiversary and so I've spent this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!
But without a doubt — the biggest thanks go to you. The people who come here to teach, talk, ask and share.
Anniversaries are, by their nature, about numbers. Technorati rankings, subscribers, etc are important but what I'm really proud of it are the numbers we've generated together this year.
There's not one thing on this list I could have done alone. I am so honored and grateful that you've been a part of it all.
Age of Conversation 103 authors Over 1,300 copies sold Over $10,000 raised for Variety, the Children's Charity
Conversations 446 conversations started 2,835 comments Many more to come!
So my friends….in the end, the conga line has gotten pretty long. And I couldn't be happier. Thank you for enriching the conversation. I hope you'll stick around for year #2!
Thank you to all commenters, including the following:
Having a teenager in the house means we watch some pretty interesting TV shows. A recent VH1 offering is called The Pick Up Artist. It features 8 lovable losers who have never had any luck with women and a Pick Up Artist named Mystery.
In the hour long show, Mystery teaches the guys some slick language and practiced "gambits" as he calls them. Then, the guys walk into a crowded bar and look for possible "targets." It doesn't matter who they are. Any woman will do.
The guys fumble through the gambits, trip over themselves in their eagerness to sell themselves to just about anyone….and in the end, usually leave the bar alone, tail tucked.
They're not there because they care about the women or even want to get to know them. They're just trying to score before the other guys do. It's about the win, not the person.
Pretty sleazy, isn't it?
I was feeling pretty high and mighty until I realized that what Mystery's teaching isn't all that different from how many companies approach marketing.
Use slick language
Have a practiced "gambit"
Identify a target
Run the gambit, hoping to score
It's not about the other person, it's about the score
It's an easy hole to fall into when you're trying to make this quarter's projected sales numbers or feeling the pressure of a CEO's scrutiny.
So before you dismiss Mystery and his pick up lines are you sure you're not a pick up artist too?
As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!
With their endorsement and encouragement, some of the most supportive people in my conga line are the other blogs that invite me to be one of their authors.
It started with Small Business Branding. To be invited to write about one of my core professional passions was such a thrill. Then, I was blown away when I was adding to the All-Star line-up at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. And closer to home, I get to help Iowa Businesses wrap their arms around marketing at IowaBiz.com. More recently, I was asked to be one of the inaugural bloggers in BrandingWire which of course, I quickly jumped at.
It's one thing to start your own blog. It was scary and fun but all along, I knew if I bombed…it was okay because it was just me. But, it's something all together different and remarkable to be considered good enough to write for someone else's. On all four blogs, I am surrounded by smart, talented pros who make me look good just by being in their midst. It's heady stuff and I'm grateful to write along side them.
My way of thanking those trusting editors? Just keep adding value to the conversation as best I can.
A couple days ago, I shared with you the first installment of Harry Beckwith’s 40 conclusions about what motivates people. I said, if you liked it I would share more. Well, you sure liked it (I knew you were smart!) so here’s a few more.
Remember, to sign up for Beckwith’s newsletter Invisible Ink (subscribe here) so you don’t miss any more of his observations.
Never take seriously what people say they think, because people are never sure. Trust only action.
The more similar two things appear, the more important their tiny differences. Accentuate the trivial.
Your most valuable salesperson is the person who answers your phones.
You must improve constantly, because people’s expectations rise constantly.
People don’t care how good you are. They care how good you can make them.
The best companies don’t make the fewest mistakes; they make the best corrections.
You cannot convince someone you have a superior product at a low price. Make up your mind.
We call them "premium prices" because a higher price represents insurance that your product will perform.
Despite all the warnings, all people judge books by their covers.
People hear what they see; you must communicate visually.
The more complex our society becomes, the more valuable your brand becomes.
So what do you think? Ring true for you? Had you forgotten some of these truths?
As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn’t get here alone!
Without a doubt, some of the warmest, most genuine people in my conga line are the bloggers I have met in person.
With each and every meeting, there is one absolute. Each blogger is exactly as I knew they would be. You cannot blog several days a week and hide your humanity.
I’ve made some very good friends since launching this blog. And many of them, like Gavin, I have yet to meet in person. But I know that every on-line relationship I have forged grows stronger once we’ve sat across from other another and shared laughter, stories and a little bit more of ourselves.
My way of thanking those smiling faces? Working on creating as many opportunities for face-to-face encounters as possible. There is no substitute for a genuine smile and a warm hug. That’s why I’m so excited about the Blogger Social. I hope to share a smile and a hug with many of you there.
As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn’t get here alone!
Without a doubt, one of the most prolific in my conga line is Gavin Heaton.
I don’t really remember how I first “met” the Servant of Chaos. I just know that I immediately was drawn to his way with words and ideas. His blog became one of my must reads.
Boy, were we clueless! What followed were 3 and a half months of constant communication, literally thousands of e-mails, a bazillion edits and design tweaks. Working through issues with 100+ authors is a little like herding cats. Wonderful creatures, each and every one. But not always on the same page.
Oh yeah, and we both had real jobs and families to tend to. Through it all, Gavin was like the calm after a storm. Always patient. Always willing to listen. Always looking for ways to make the project succeed and everyone involved to feel good about it.
About that time, Gavin’s blog hit 1,000 comments and ironically, the 1,000th commenter was me! I had the honor of being his guest blogger to commemorate the milestone.
On July 16th, we launched Age of Conversation and less than 2 months later, we have earned $10,000 for Variety the Children’s Charity. Do you have any idea how huge that is? How remarkable?
And how impossible it would have been without Gavin?
My way of thanking Gavin and our 101 co-authors? Doing it all over again next year as we try to top Age of Conversation’s success. And that is no small task! But…I’m glad to give it my all, along side my co-publisher and friend!
Special thanks as well to the Age of Conversation authors. Without them, Age would be an incredibly short book!
If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I believe Harry Beckwith to be a modern day prophet. Or at the very least, quite brilliant.
He does it in plain language that everyone can grasp and apply to their business.
In his most recent newsletter, Harry Beckwith's Invisible Ink (subscribe here) Harry talks about his fascination with what motivates people.
He goes on to say that he's come to 40 conclusions surround this question. I thought I'd share some of them with you. And maybe if you like them, I'll share a few more tomorrow.
Your biggest competitor is not a competitor; it's your prospect's indifference.
Your second-biggest competitor is not a competitor; it's your prospect's distrust.
Your biggest obstacle is whatever stereotype your prospect has formed about you and your industry.
Prospects decide in the first five seconds.
Prospects don't try to make the best choice. They try to make the most comfortable choice.
At heart, every prospect is risk-averse, and risks are always more vivid than rewards.
Beware of what you think you know or have experienced; memories fail people constantly.
For the same reason, beware of what others say they know or have experienced.
So what do you think? Ring true for you? Had you forgotten some of these truths?
As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!
Without a doubt, one of the most passionate dancers in my conga line is CK (Christina Kerley).
My blog was about 60 days old when my family headed out for our annual pilgrimage to Disney World. I decided to blog about it and created the Marketing Lessons from Walt series. CK saw the series and did what she did best — celebrated another blogger. In this case, the lucky blogger was me.
In her post, CK suggested I re-package the series as a downloadable PDF and if I did that, she'd don mouse ears to help me promote the PDF. And true to her word, she did. So many new eyes on the blog, so many doors opened. CK sets the example I try to live. Give just because you can.
I have felt her support and encouragement from our very first e-mail exchange. She is the real deal and she has played a huge role in my first year of blogging.
If you've joined in the conga line and notice that we move at a lively clip…you can credit that passionate pace to a woman whose heart is always focused on others first.
My way of thanking CK? I do my best to mirror the love and encouragement she shines onto others and hope she knows she inspires all of us to reach in and give a little more.
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