The biggest problem with cold calling is that there's almost 100% rejection rates already in place, waiting for you. This is because the person you're calling on, doesn't know you, doesn't care to know you, and you're mostly taking their time.
===============================================
But cold-calling works, has always worked and will always work, if you do the following:
===============================================
1) Get yourself ready.
2) Get your customer ready.
Getting yourself ready: Because cold-calling is rejection based, you can't count the number of hits, but rather the number of misses. So you need to prepare yourself to be rejected and collect rejection badges (as it were).
So if I were going to do fifty cold calls a day (via phone for
instance) then I'd WANT to score at least forty nine rejections.
Now this may sound super weird to you, because you're not calling to get rejected. But if you call to get accepted, you get rejected.
And then as you keep calling, your spirits go down.
But if you call to be 'rejected', now you're scoring points. So you're winning the game (in a weird way). The more rejections you get, the more points you score, and so with every rejection, you not only get smarter in the way you handle things, but you also get more cheerful.
===============================================
Nothing is worse that getting more and more drained as you make the next call.
===============================================
And you will get drained if your goal is to get a job/assignment etc. Because the chances of rejection are almost 100%. If you play the game of rejection, however, you can't lose and that's the crux of the issue. If you can't lose, you get more and more cheerful.
And suddenly someone says "yes" and you think, that can't be possible. But it's a yes.
And this is true because of a simple definition of sales: Sales is transfer of enthusiasm from one person to another.
===============================================
See that? Transfer of enthusiasm!
===============================================
If you're not 100% enthusiastic and cheerful, I can smell you a mile off. And I don't want to buy anything. I don't even care what you're selling. But if you're enthusiastic, then I'll give you a foot in the door.
That foot is all you need. So that's the first part of this whole "getting a job/assignment". You can't hope to win, because rejection is pre-loaded. So you make turn the game on its head. And count the rejections as "wins" and you can't lose.
===============================================
But isn't it counterproductive to go in expecting to lose?
===============================================
It's not as crazy as you think. No one is telling you to be an idiot and play the fool. Far from it. You're still going to be super-professional. But because you're in a completely unknown situation, you're going to be uptight. And when you're uptight, you don't relax (duh!)
Well, all of that comes across on the phone/in person. If on the other hand, you're relaxed (because you're there just to notch up another 'rejection') then you're more likely to be more enthusiastic in your tone and body language.
But that's only one side of the coin.
===============================================
The second part is where you prepare the client ===============================================
Now this depends on the methodology you use. If you're using the phone, you need to be extremely clear about:
1) Who you're going to speak to.
2) What you're going to say.
Most cold-calling will fall apart because the call goes to the wrong person. If it's the wrong person, or a person that can't take a decision, you're just wasting your time. So you need to know who you're calling on. And if they can take a decision. The question
is: what decision do they need to take? They just need to be able to say: Yes I will meet you. This is because it's unlikely that anyone will hire you based purely on a phone call.
===============================================
So the question is: What are you going to say?
===============================================
Most people will call in to clients and say: I want to meet you regarding (insert your profession here). And that's really boring.
Why would I be interested in what you do? I'm only interested in what's in it for me.
===============================================
Let me give you an example:
===============================================
In the year 2000, I just moved to New Zealand. I worked briefly in a web design company and then was made redundant . And so there I was, in a new country, with close to zero-contacts and now I've got my bum on a burner--no option but to find a way to pay the bills.
I was a professional cartoonist back then, and so I knew that the folks who I had to speak to were creative directors in advertising agencies. If the creative director wouldn't meet, I'd settle for the art director.
===============================================
Then I started calling for appointments.
===============================================
But what I'd say was more important. When I called the art director/creative director, I'd say this: "As an art director, you often have crazy deadlines for certain ads.
And sourcing the right photos, getting the shoot ready etc, can be a nightmare. I'm a cartoonist (a good one too) and I can show you how we've used cartoons in crazy deadline situations. And how ad agencies have used it without losing impact. When can we meet for 20 minutes? Is this week good? Or the second half of next week?
===============================================
So let's analyse the conversation:
===============================================
Analysis 1: I put forward an isolated problem. I wasn't trying to solve all their problems. Just ONE problem.
Analysis 2: I put forward a solution.
Analysis 3: I killed the objection: "How ad agencies have used it without losing impact".
Analysis 4: I offered a "case-study or social proof": I mentioned that ad-agencies had used us before.
Analysis 5: I made sure that the next step was in place: "This week or second-half of next week".
Analysis 6: I was very precise about the time: "20 minutes".
===============================================
So how does all of this prepare the client?
===============================================
It prepares the client, because they know that they're not going to get some hot air balloon showing up to waste their time. You've been so precise in your conversation, that they're expecting you to come in and spend precisely 16 minutes (yes, two minutes for the hello and two for the goodbye). They've given you a foot in the door. That's what you need.
===============================================
So prepare yourself.
===============================================
Then prepare your customer.
And go in eager to sell.
Or in other words: transfer your enthusiasm from one person to another.
Good luck, though frankly if you prepare, you won't be needing it at all.
S. Desouza
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Is it you or the economy?
In case you haven’t noticed, the economy is still hurting. And the universal cry of salespeople not making enough sales is, “IT’S THE ECONOMY!”
In a slump? Not making enough (or any) sales. Feel like you're unable to get out of the rut? Is it the economy, or is it YOU?
Maybe you're not in a big slump, but just can't seem to hit the quota numbers. Let's be kind and call it “sales under-achievement.”
Don't panic.
Don't press too hard.
Don't get down on yourself.
Don't get mad.
And above all - don't quit.
OK, OK, there’s a slowdown (a recession), but don’t be too quick to blame your lack of performance on “it” before you take a hard look at “you.” And take a closer look at “slump” before you blame “economy.”
Here are the prime causes of sales slumps:
Poor belief system. I don't believe that my company or product is the best. I don't think that I'm the best.
Poor work habits. Getting to work late, or barely “on time.” Not spending your time with people who can say “yes.”
Misperceptions that lead to sour grapes. I think my prices are too high, or my territory is bad.
Outside pressure. Caused by money problems, family problems, or personal problems.
Poor personal habits. Too much drink, too much food, or too much after hours play.
Boss giving crap instead of support. Someone who says, “You better do it,” instead of, “I know you can do it.”
Events that go against you. New salesperson passes you, someone else gets promoted and you knew it should have been you.
Customer cancels a big order. Weakening your personal belief or causing severe money problems - or both.
Competition cuts price and steals the order. This is the new reality of business.
Getting depressed. From any of the above.
When you're in a slump, you begin to press for orders instead of working your best game plan (which is: “sell to help the other person,” and let your sincerity of purpose shine through). When you have the pressure to sell, the prospect senses it, and backs off.
Then things get worse. You can't seem to sell at all, and begin to panic. Oh my gosh, I can't sell a thing, I'll get fired and miss my house payment. Aaaahhhhhh! False fear. Relax, you're better than that.
What causes a slump? You do. Therefore, you are the best (only) person too fix it.
Here's a prescription to help cure sick sales:
Study fundamentals - Usually what's wrong is not complicated. In fact, you probably know what's wrong. Your problem is that you think it's someone or something else's fault. Wrong. List two or three areas that need immediate care. Have the guts to take action.
Revisit your (or make a new) plan for success. Today.
List 5 things you could be doing to work smarter AND harder. Make a plan to work as smart as you think (or say) you are. Hard work can change your luck.
Change your presentation. Try a different approach. Take the customer’s perspective.
Talk to your five best customers. Ask them to evaluate your situation.
Get someone you respect to evaluate you presentation. Take them with you on sales calls. Get a coach.
Visit your mentor. And have a new plan to discuss when you get there.
Get to work an hour before everyone. Put in more productive time.
Stay away from pity parties. Don't make a slump worse by whining or hanging around a bunch of negits and underachievers.
Hang around positive, successful people. The best way to get to success.
Have some fun. Go to a comedy club. Do a little extra of what you like to do best (unless too much fun is the cause of your slump).
Spend 30 minutes a day (in the morning is best) reading about your positive attitude. Then listen to attitude CDs and sales CDs in the car ALL DAY.
Listen to your favorite song just before a presentation. Go in to your next call singing.
Take a day off. Chill out, take stock, make a plan, re-group, re-energize, and return with renewed determination and better energy.
Rearrange your office. Shake things up a little, make them look new.
Record your presentations live. Then listen in the car immediately afterwards. Take notes. Act to correct.
Video tape your presentation. Watch it with others who can give you constructive feedback.
Take the best salesperson you know out on calls with you for a day. Get a written evaluation after each call.
Take your boss with you on calls for a week. You'll get more feedback than you can handle, but it will help.
Avoid negative talk and negative people like the plague. Find people who will encourage you, not puke on you.
Become more valuable to your customers. Send a weekly value message by email to everyone (it can be the same message to all). Tweet a value message or inspirational message daily..
The best way to get out of the rut is keep the slump in perspective. Once you accept the fact that you can change it, you can begin to recover. Be cool - you're the greatest, if you think you are. Believe in the most important person in the world. You!
THINK ABOUT THIS: When a baseball player is in a batting slump, he’ll do anything to “change his luck.” Things from superstition (rabbits foot, not shaving, wearing the same underwear) to changing batting stance, to video watching, to extra coaching. But the one thing that usually breaks the slump is extra batting practice - to regain the groove.Fundamentals, baby.
They, like you, have the professional ability, but temporarily lost it. They, like you, need to revisit the raw fundamentals to regain lost talent.
J. Gitomer
In a slump? Not making enough (or any) sales. Feel like you're unable to get out of the rut? Is it the economy, or is it YOU?
Maybe you're not in a big slump, but just can't seem to hit the quota numbers. Let's be kind and call it “sales under-achievement.”
Don't panic.
Don't press too hard.
Don't get down on yourself.
Don't get mad.
And above all - don't quit.
OK, OK, there’s a slowdown (a recession), but don’t be too quick to blame your lack of performance on “it” before you take a hard look at “you.” And take a closer look at “slump” before you blame “economy.”
Here are the prime causes of sales slumps:
Poor belief system. I don't believe that my company or product is the best. I don't think that I'm the best.
Poor work habits. Getting to work late, or barely “on time.” Not spending your time with people who can say “yes.”
Misperceptions that lead to sour grapes. I think my prices are too high, or my territory is bad.
Outside pressure. Caused by money problems, family problems, or personal problems.
Poor personal habits. Too much drink, too much food, or too much after hours play.
Boss giving crap instead of support. Someone who says, “You better do it,” instead of, “I know you can do it.”
Events that go against you. New salesperson passes you, someone else gets promoted and you knew it should have been you.
Customer cancels a big order. Weakening your personal belief or causing severe money problems - or both.
Competition cuts price and steals the order. This is the new reality of business.
Getting depressed. From any of the above.
When you're in a slump, you begin to press for orders instead of working your best game plan (which is: “sell to help the other person,” and let your sincerity of purpose shine through). When you have the pressure to sell, the prospect senses it, and backs off.
Then things get worse. You can't seem to sell at all, and begin to panic. Oh my gosh, I can't sell a thing, I'll get fired and miss my house payment. Aaaahhhhhh! False fear. Relax, you're better than that.
What causes a slump? You do. Therefore, you are the best (only) person too fix it.
Here's a prescription to help cure sick sales:
Study fundamentals - Usually what's wrong is not complicated. In fact, you probably know what's wrong. Your problem is that you think it's someone or something else's fault. Wrong. List two or three areas that need immediate care. Have the guts to take action.
Revisit your (or make a new) plan for success. Today.
List 5 things you could be doing to work smarter AND harder. Make a plan to work as smart as you think (or say) you are. Hard work can change your luck.
Change your presentation. Try a different approach. Take the customer’s perspective.
Talk to your five best customers. Ask them to evaluate your situation.
Get someone you respect to evaluate you presentation. Take them with you on sales calls. Get a coach.
Visit your mentor. And have a new plan to discuss when you get there.
Get to work an hour before everyone. Put in more productive time.
Stay away from pity parties. Don't make a slump worse by whining or hanging around a bunch of negits and underachievers.
Hang around positive, successful people. The best way to get to success.
Have some fun. Go to a comedy club. Do a little extra of what you like to do best (unless too much fun is the cause of your slump).
Spend 30 minutes a day (in the morning is best) reading about your positive attitude. Then listen to attitude CDs and sales CDs in the car ALL DAY.
Listen to your favorite song just before a presentation. Go in to your next call singing.
Take a day off. Chill out, take stock, make a plan, re-group, re-energize, and return with renewed determination and better energy.
Rearrange your office. Shake things up a little, make them look new.
Record your presentations live. Then listen in the car immediately afterwards. Take notes. Act to correct.
Video tape your presentation. Watch it with others who can give you constructive feedback.
Take the best salesperson you know out on calls with you for a day. Get a written evaluation after each call.
Take your boss with you on calls for a week. You'll get more feedback than you can handle, but it will help.
Avoid negative talk and negative people like the plague. Find people who will encourage you, not puke on you.
Become more valuable to your customers. Send a weekly value message by email to everyone (it can be the same message to all). Tweet a value message or inspirational message daily..
The best way to get out of the rut is keep the slump in perspective. Once you accept the fact that you can change it, you can begin to recover. Be cool - you're the greatest, if you think you are. Believe in the most important person in the world. You!
THINK ABOUT THIS: When a baseball player is in a batting slump, he’ll do anything to “change his luck.” Things from superstition (rabbits foot, not shaving, wearing the same underwear) to changing batting stance, to video watching, to extra coaching. But the one thing that usually breaks the slump is extra batting practice - to regain the groove.Fundamentals, baby.
They, like you, have the professional ability, but temporarily lost it. They, like you, need to revisit the raw fundamentals to regain lost talent.
J. Gitomer
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Are You Waiting for Success?
"I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it." - Jonathan Winters
Are you waiting for success? Are you just hanging out until the big sale or deal whisks you off to success and achievement? Are you hoping for that unexpected windfall? Are you counting the days until your ship comes in with your future lifestyle with the rich and famous? If you are…. It is a long wait… In fact, many would be entrepreneurs waste their lives waiting for that winning lottery ticket.
The real question you have to ask yourself is, “Am I willing to go on ahead without success?” Are you? Are you truly willing to just push onward, through the muck and mire of the daily grind? Are you truly committed to go forward in the face of relentless rejection or the numerous naysayers? Can you survive the emotional rollercoaster and mental gymnastics of the journey to success?
Those who truly succeed in life and business are those who are willing to go on ahead. They go ahead with no promise of success, no guarantee of reward, no promise of praise – they simply go. And by so doing they often go where no one has gone before.
There is an art to “making it happen,” which usually includes a good dose of choosing to ignore distractions, negative people and even negative future prospects.
So if you find that success isn’t coming your way – go ahead and go on without it – and it will ultimately catch up to you!
Are you waiting for success? Are you just hanging out until the big sale or deal whisks you off to success and achievement? Are you hoping for that unexpected windfall? Are you counting the days until your ship comes in with your future lifestyle with the rich and famous? If you are…. It is a long wait… In fact, many would be entrepreneurs waste their lives waiting for that winning lottery ticket.
The real question you have to ask yourself is, “Am I willing to go on ahead without success?” Are you? Are you truly willing to just push onward, through the muck and mire of the daily grind? Are you truly committed to go forward in the face of relentless rejection or the numerous naysayers? Can you survive the emotional rollercoaster and mental gymnastics of the journey to success?
Those who truly succeed in life and business are those who are willing to go on ahead. They go ahead with no promise of success, no guarantee of reward, no promise of praise – they simply go. And by so doing they often go where no one has gone before.
There is an art to “making it happen,” which usually includes a good dose of choosing to ignore distractions, negative people and even negative future prospects.
So if you find that success isn’t coming your way – go ahead and go on without it – and it will ultimately catch up to you!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
First Impressions-Why You Should Care
We’ve all heard the expression: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Let’s take a look at what your prospects experience when they first make contact with your business.
When marketing, there are 3 ways a prospect can contact you: call you on the phone, travel to your location, or visit your website.
Have you ever called someone to inquire about a product or service and received a “less than enthusiastic” greeting? How did that make you feel? Worse yet, were you abandoned on hold? The most out-going, personable Team member in your organization should be answering the telephone. He/she should use the same initial greeting (scripted) and ask permission to place the caller on hold.
If you have a retail location or office, how does the facility look from the street? Is the building bright and clean? The parking lot—is it free of debris, the parking lines clearly striped and potholes patched? What about lighting, signage, and landscaping? Regular maintenance assures a consistent image. Once your guests are inside, pay particular attention to layout and appearance. In the food industry, 85% of the customer’s perception of cleanliness is the condition of the floor. What message is yours sending? Another area which leaves quite an impression is the restroom. Many of us have been “turned off” by filthy restrooms. Make sure yours are clean and properly stocked with soap, towels, etc. One more thing: How does the Team present itself? Are they similarly dressed (with logo apparel if appropriate)? What about name tags?
Here’s a tip—if you were suddenly informed that a TV film crew was on its way to interview you and feature your business, what would you change before they arrived?
When a prospect visits your website, how quickly does the page load? If it takes more than 10-15 seconds, many will not stick around to wait. Is the landing page easy to navigate and are the tabs clearly marked? Can a prospect find what he/she needs quickly without having to scroll down? When they fill out the “contact us” form, where does that inquiry go and who is responsible to respond? Make sure you have a process for timely response and appropriate responsibility assigned.
One last thing—if you have company vehicles, remember that they, too, convey an impression. Make sure they are clean, well-maintained, and most importantly, that the driver is well-mannered! Bad driving habits, cutting other drivers off, etc, will sabotage your good faith efforts.
All things being equal, people do business with those they know, like, and trust. Make sure your prospects like the first impression you make!
When marketing, there are 3 ways a prospect can contact you: call you on the phone, travel to your location, or visit your website.
Have you ever called someone to inquire about a product or service and received a “less than enthusiastic” greeting? How did that make you feel? Worse yet, were you abandoned on hold? The most out-going, personable Team member in your organization should be answering the telephone. He/she should use the same initial greeting (scripted) and ask permission to place the caller on hold.
If you have a retail location or office, how does the facility look from the street? Is the building bright and clean? The parking lot—is it free of debris, the parking lines clearly striped and potholes patched? What about lighting, signage, and landscaping? Regular maintenance assures a consistent image. Once your guests are inside, pay particular attention to layout and appearance. In the food industry, 85% of the customer’s perception of cleanliness is the condition of the floor. What message is yours sending? Another area which leaves quite an impression is the restroom. Many of us have been “turned off” by filthy restrooms. Make sure yours are clean and properly stocked with soap, towels, etc. One more thing: How does the Team present itself? Are they similarly dressed (with logo apparel if appropriate)? What about name tags?
Here’s a tip—if you were suddenly informed that a TV film crew was on its way to interview you and feature your business, what would you change before they arrived?
When a prospect visits your website, how quickly does the page load? If it takes more than 10-15 seconds, many will not stick around to wait. Is the landing page easy to navigate and are the tabs clearly marked? Can a prospect find what he/she needs quickly without having to scroll down? When they fill out the “contact us” form, where does that inquiry go and who is responsible to respond? Make sure you have a process for timely response and appropriate responsibility assigned.
One last thing—if you have company vehicles, remember that they, too, convey an impression. Make sure they are clean, well-maintained, and most importantly, that the driver is well-mannered! Bad driving habits, cutting other drivers off, etc, will sabotage your good faith efforts.
All things being equal, people do business with those they know, like, and trust. Make sure your prospects like the first impression you make!
Why Problem-Based Positioning is a Psychological Magnet
Are you struggling to create a memorable positioning statement for your marketing? Do you want to stand out from your competition, but the uniqueness of your business seems to elude you?
Here’s a sneaky, vital secret that turns conventional marketing psychology on its head. By changing your positioning statement, find out how to transform your weakest link into your strongest marketing tool ever.
Avis is Only Number 2…So, Why Go With Them…
Years ago, in the rental car market, Hertz was chugging along merrily, with Avis a distant second. With one Problem-Based USP, Avis closed the gap. Its catch phrase, "We’re No.2, We Try Harder," ignited the minds of the target audience like a rampaging bush fire. They turned a liability into an asset.
Southwest Airlines took to the skies with a similar message. We’re Smaller Than Everyone Else, it told us, while gently explaining why its service was dramatically better, as a direct consequence of their size. They also turned a liability into an asset.
In 2001, Harley Davidson proudly boasted how their CEO was 38th on the waiting list for the company's then, new V-Rod motorcycle. And they took pains to describe how each Harley was lovingly rolled off the plant. The waiting period, which normally would be perceived to be a negative, was turned into a publicity coup that burned a stamp of quality and uniqueness into the brains of every prospective Harley owner.
All of these companies took a cold, hard-nosed look at reality. The superlatives in their business had been taken. Instead they unearthed their USP, in what most people would consider a disadvantage of sorts.
Are You Doing What Sally Did…
Sally is one heck of a real estate agent. Barely six months into real estate, and she’s already forging a red-hot path into the top ten salespeople in the country. While her talents and persuasive powers are formidable, there’s a little something that puts her head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd.
That Little Something is a USP on Steroids…
If she chose to be unimaginative, Sally’s USP or tagline could have ended up as pretty run-of-the-mill. It could have ranged from a tacky, "Residential Properties for Every Budget," to utterly boring, "Getting Top Prices for Your Home." All of which would see her struggling to stand out, in a dog-eat-dog me-too marketplace. A goody-gum-drop USP would get her nowhere in a hurry. She needed a USP with rocket fuel in its tanks. Something that would reach out and demand your attention without hesitation.
“If You Sold Your Home in a Week or Less, You Probably Got Too Little…”
That’s the USP that Sally created. Can you see what I mean? Doesn’t that USP go for your jugular? Sally’s target audience is sellers, not buyers. If you just sold a house, wouldn’t you feel a twinge of regret? What if you were about to sell a house? Wouldn’t you be curious to find out just a little bit about what Sally does to lasso in a higher return? And wouldn’t you be just a little bit wary if the next real estate agent you met told you that she could sell your house in next to no time?
You’ve just witnessed the psychological power of the Problem-Based USP.
How to Create a Knockout USP for Your Business…
Let’s assume you’re in the wine selling business. To own real estate in a customer’s brain, you’d have to do battle with about a zillion other wines. Yet decades ago, Paul Masson cut through the clutter with a simple statement. We sell no wines before their time. With charming simplicity, they turned a negative waiting period into an exploitable advantage.
You too can turn your liabilities into assets. Stop screaming about how magnificent you are, and look for the apparent glitches in your business. Let’s just consider a few scenarios. Are you perceived to be too expensive, extremely slow, or maybe just too busy?
Consider when PsychoTactics.com launched their website and were faced with a similar dilemma. As human beings, we often disdain simplicity and common sense. The distillation process needed to simplify a concept into easy-to-munch bites is often just seen as common sense, and of no huge intrinsic value. Taking that liability into consideration, PsychoTactics.com created a USP concept that stressed the fact that everything was not just old, but at least 5000 years old. In fact, everything has already been tried and tested. That put them into a mould that was totally different from all the new-fangled marketing angles we hear about every day. The liability of common sense was turned into the asset of experience.
Best of all, it turned a problem into a winning USP concept.
The Primary Reason You Should Search for the Hiccups in Your Business…
Finding what makes you beneficially different is a notoriously difficult task. However, just about any client or potential buyer will very quickly identify your weaknesses and liabilities. If it’s a technical problem, you can fix it. If it’s a conceptual problem such as speed or price, it’s much harder to fix.
This, however, is the key to your success. The more you try to keep your weaknesses and liabilities under wraps, the more customers will uncover them. On the other hand, take a liability and turn it into an asset. Expose a problem to the harsh glare of the spotlight and transform your frog into a prince. This brave act will gain the instant admiration and support of your clients, while giving you a USP that others simply won’t have the guts to match.
Can You Make the Leap?
Creating a negative USP is a tricky, dangerous tactic, and one not to be taken lightly. "We're slow and proud of it!" is hardly a selling point, yet fulfills the requirements laid out in this article. However, if you’ve been struggling with your USP, as many companies do, this is a tactic that may work well for you—as it has with some of the companies above.
It’s time you tickled your customer’s brain with some sharply focused psychological marketing jujitsu. Find the weaknesses and liabilities in your business, carve them into a dynamic USP, and the attention your business has been craving for, will be yours forever more.
And that’s worth thinking about…
By P. Barton
Here’s a sneaky, vital secret that turns conventional marketing psychology on its head. By changing your positioning statement, find out how to transform your weakest link into your strongest marketing tool ever.
Avis is Only Number 2…So, Why Go With Them…
Years ago, in the rental car market, Hertz was chugging along merrily, with Avis a distant second. With one Problem-Based USP, Avis closed the gap. Its catch phrase, "We’re No.2, We Try Harder," ignited the minds of the target audience like a rampaging bush fire. They turned a liability into an asset.
Southwest Airlines took to the skies with a similar message. We’re Smaller Than Everyone Else, it told us, while gently explaining why its service was dramatically better, as a direct consequence of their size. They also turned a liability into an asset.
In 2001, Harley Davidson proudly boasted how their CEO was 38th on the waiting list for the company's then, new V-Rod motorcycle. And they took pains to describe how each Harley was lovingly rolled off the plant. The waiting period, which normally would be perceived to be a negative, was turned into a publicity coup that burned a stamp of quality and uniqueness into the brains of every prospective Harley owner.
All of these companies took a cold, hard-nosed look at reality. The superlatives in their business had been taken. Instead they unearthed their USP, in what most people would consider a disadvantage of sorts.
Are You Doing What Sally Did…
Sally is one heck of a real estate agent. Barely six months into real estate, and she’s already forging a red-hot path into the top ten salespeople in the country. While her talents and persuasive powers are formidable, there’s a little something that puts her head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd.
That Little Something is a USP on Steroids…
If she chose to be unimaginative, Sally’s USP or tagline could have ended up as pretty run-of-the-mill. It could have ranged from a tacky, "Residential Properties for Every Budget," to utterly boring, "Getting Top Prices for Your Home." All of which would see her struggling to stand out, in a dog-eat-dog me-too marketplace. A goody-gum-drop USP would get her nowhere in a hurry. She needed a USP with rocket fuel in its tanks. Something that would reach out and demand your attention without hesitation.
“If You Sold Your Home in a Week or Less, You Probably Got Too Little…”
That’s the USP that Sally created. Can you see what I mean? Doesn’t that USP go for your jugular? Sally’s target audience is sellers, not buyers. If you just sold a house, wouldn’t you feel a twinge of regret? What if you were about to sell a house? Wouldn’t you be curious to find out just a little bit about what Sally does to lasso in a higher return? And wouldn’t you be just a little bit wary if the next real estate agent you met told you that she could sell your house in next to no time?
You’ve just witnessed the psychological power of the Problem-Based USP.
How to Create a Knockout USP for Your Business…
Let’s assume you’re in the wine selling business. To own real estate in a customer’s brain, you’d have to do battle with about a zillion other wines. Yet decades ago, Paul Masson cut through the clutter with a simple statement. We sell no wines before their time. With charming simplicity, they turned a negative waiting period into an exploitable advantage.
You too can turn your liabilities into assets. Stop screaming about how magnificent you are, and look for the apparent glitches in your business. Let’s just consider a few scenarios. Are you perceived to be too expensive, extremely slow, or maybe just too busy?
Consider when PsychoTactics.com launched their website and were faced with a similar dilemma. As human beings, we often disdain simplicity and common sense. The distillation process needed to simplify a concept into easy-to-munch bites is often just seen as common sense, and of no huge intrinsic value. Taking that liability into consideration, PsychoTactics.com created a USP concept that stressed the fact that everything was not just old, but at least 5000 years old. In fact, everything has already been tried and tested. That put them into a mould that was totally different from all the new-fangled marketing angles we hear about every day. The liability of common sense was turned into the asset of experience.
Best of all, it turned a problem into a winning USP concept.
The Primary Reason You Should Search for the Hiccups in Your Business…
Finding what makes you beneficially different is a notoriously difficult task. However, just about any client or potential buyer will very quickly identify your weaknesses and liabilities. If it’s a technical problem, you can fix it. If it’s a conceptual problem such as speed or price, it’s much harder to fix.
This, however, is the key to your success. The more you try to keep your weaknesses and liabilities under wraps, the more customers will uncover them. On the other hand, take a liability and turn it into an asset. Expose a problem to the harsh glare of the spotlight and transform your frog into a prince. This brave act will gain the instant admiration and support of your clients, while giving you a USP that others simply won’t have the guts to match.
Can You Make the Leap?
Creating a negative USP is a tricky, dangerous tactic, and one not to be taken lightly. "We're slow and proud of it!" is hardly a selling point, yet fulfills the requirements laid out in this article. However, if you’ve been struggling with your USP, as many companies do, this is a tactic that may work well for you—as it has with some of the companies above.
It’s time you tickled your customer’s brain with some sharply focused psychological marketing jujitsu. Find the weaknesses and liabilities in your business, carve them into a dynamic USP, and the attention your business has been craving for, will be yours forever more.
And that’s worth thinking about…
By P. Barton
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Formula for Failure and Success
by Jim Rohn
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.
Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day? The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.
On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape any immediate consequences of our deeds.
If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!
Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices—choices that didn't seem to matter.
Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.
But we must become better educated than that!
If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.
Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.
Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.
Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.
But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.
One of the exciting things about the formula for success—a few simple disciplines practiced every day—is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.
The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence—not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.
Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day? The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.
On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape any immediate consequences of our deeds.
If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!
Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices—choices that didn't seem to matter.
Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.
But we must become better educated than that!
If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.
Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.
Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.
Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.
But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.
One of the exciting things about the formula for success—a few simple disciplines practiced every day—is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.
The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence—not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Images of Achievement
By D. Waitley
Are you aware of how the FBI trains its agents to spot counterfeit bills? The FBI schools agents by training them to see all of the characteristics of bills printed by the U.S. Treasury—they deal only with genuine money. An FBI agent learns to recognize authentic ones, fives, tens, twenties, fifties and hundred dollar notes until his or her appraisal of them becomes second nature. An agent studies a bill, both sides of it, until he or she learns every feature that makes it genuine legal tender.
That way, when FBI agents see counterfeit bills, they immediately recognize them as such. Their minds aren’t cluttered with what “might be wrong” or “what usually is left off” or “mistakes that are commonly made.” They know what they’re looking for. They are specialists in the real thing. False bills seem glaringly obvious to them.
If you allow yourself to think about the penalties of failure or all the things that could go wrong, you’re far more likely to infuse your performance with those penalties and mistakes. Continually tell yourself what to do. Don’t concentrate on what not to do.
The mind has a fascinating capability. What you think about most is generally what you do most readily. A mistake most people make is to set goals in negative terms. A tennis player may set a goal of not double-faulting a certain number of times during a match. An employee may set a goal of not being late so often. Goals to lose weight, not talk so loud and fast, and not get upset so often are goals framed in negative terms. We need to stay away from negative goal setting.
Understand this about the mind: A fear is a goal in reverse. The mind can’t focus on the reverse of an idea. The term double fault reminds the tennis player of the condition he or she wants to avoid. Being late reminds the employee of the problem, not the solution. When we think we need to lose weight, our minds store the self-image of being overweight. We need the image of the desired weight we want to attain, not the pounds of fat we want to discard. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate on not being upset.
It’s the same thing as saying, “Don’t make mistakes.” Or worse yet, to a tight rope walker, with no net, “Windy day, don’t fall!” The mind always moves you toward your current dominant thought.
We should say, “First serve in,” for the tennis player. “I’m a punctual, on-time person.” …. “I’m reaching my desired weight.” …. “I speak slowly, clearly and confidently.” …. “I remain calm and relaxed under pressure.” These are all positive goal statements, images of achievement, that pull us in the direction of the desired behavior rather than away from the undesired habit.
This week, stop looking at your life through the rearview mirror; instead, focus on where you want to go!
Are you aware of how the FBI trains its agents to spot counterfeit bills? The FBI schools agents by training them to see all of the characteristics of bills printed by the U.S. Treasury—they deal only with genuine money. An FBI agent learns to recognize authentic ones, fives, tens, twenties, fifties and hundred dollar notes until his or her appraisal of them becomes second nature. An agent studies a bill, both sides of it, until he or she learns every feature that makes it genuine legal tender.
That way, when FBI agents see counterfeit bills, they immediately recognize them as such. Their minds aren’t cluttered with what “might be wrong” or “what usually is left off” or “mistakes that are commonly made.” They know what they’re looking for. They are specialists in the real thing. False bills seem glaringly obvious to them.
If you allow yourself to think about the penalties of failure or all the things that could go wrong, you’re far more likely to infuse your performance with those penalties and mistakes. Continually tell yourself what to do. Don’t concentrate on what not to do.
The mind has a fascinating capability. What you think about most is generally what you do most readily. A mistake most people make is to set goals in negative terms. A tennis player may set a goal of not double-faulting a certain number of times during a match. An employee may set a goal of not being late so often. Goals to lose weight, not talk so loud and fast, and not get upset so often are goals framed in negative terms. We need to stay away from negative goal setting.
Understand this about the mind: A fear is a goal in reverse. The mind can’t focus on the reverse of an idea. The term double fault reminds the tennis player of the condition he or she wants to avoid. Being late reminds the employee of the problem, not the solution. When we think we need to lose weight, our minds store the self-image of being overweight. We need the image of the desired weight we want to attain, not the pounds of fat we want to discard. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate on not being upset.
It’s the same thing as saying, “Don’t make mistakes.” Or worse yet, to a tight rope walker, with no net, “Windy day, don’t fall!” The mind always moves you toward your current dominant thought.
We should say, “First serve in,” for the tennis player. “I’m a punctual, on-time person.” …. “I’m reaching my desired weight.” …. “I speak slowly, clearly and confidently.” …. “I remain calm and relaxed under pressure.” These are all positive goal statements, images of achievement, that pull us in the direction of the desired behavior rather than away from the undesired habit.
This week, stop looking at your life through the rearview mirror; instead, focus on where you want to go!
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