Run Through the Tape to Achieve Your Goals

We are fast approaching the time of the year where things really start to get exciting for most businesses. Whether you are making a mad dash to close out the 2010 calendar year strong, or starting your planning cycle for 2011, one thing all business owners should have in common - you better be running!

To stay ahead of the pack, you must have a solid game plan and execute to perfection. Much like the runner, your objective should always be to run through the tape (not to the tape) to achieve your goals and thus improve your odds of winning.

Whether you are gearing up for a strong end of year push or setting the table for 2011, here are five things to consider.

1. Finish what you started in 2010, so you can get off to a fast start in the New Year ahead.
2. Prioritize new projects and initiatives to improve ROI and maximize business results.
3. Decommission things that aren't working to conserve resources and eliminate the clutter.
4. Remember it's okay to hit the restart button to help get major projects back on track.
5. Stay focused and positive about your plans, goals and the outlook for your business.

Don't attempt to add a bunch of new projects for 2010 that will dilute your resources and focus. This is the time of the year to execute and delivery results, not add more to the list of “To Dos”! Similarly for 2011, try to limit your initial plans to 5-6 major initiatives and then expand as you go along, so you don't get winded early in the race.

Dedicate the time required to fully develop your future plans and “stretch” goals, so your line of sight is beyond the finish line and your initial targets.  And finally, make sure to work on your Top 3 list of priorities every day before moving on to other things. This holds true for anytime during the plan year.

Running through the tape to achieve your goals is about staying ahead of the competition and adjusting your vision beyond the immediate horizon to the possibilities that lie ahead.

Best of luck to your future success - keep running!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Who's Responsible for Sales?

If you are a solo entrepreneur the answer to this question is obvious – you are. However, if you’re a business owner or business leader with numerous employees the answer may not be so straightforward. But it should be.

The short answer is EVERYBODY!!! 

Whether you are a small business of one or a large corporation with 100,000+ employees, everybody is directly or indirectly responsible for driving or supporting sales in some manner, regardless of their job title. Unfortunately, this fact can get lost on many companies and employees alike.

So, how do you ensure that your employees fully recognize how their job performance directly contributes to the realization of sales goals?

Fundamentally, it starts with accountability and the goal setting process. The business plans for every area of the company should have objectives and metrics tied to the key areas that directly or indirectly affect customers and ultimately sales results, such as:

1. Customer acquisition and retention,
2. Sales and revenue growth,
3. Customer service,
4. Quality, and
5. Operational effectiveness.

Next, clarity is essential. It’s not enough to establish goals and metrics at the company or department level. Employees also need to be tuned in to how these goals align with their specific job responsibilities, and how their performance impacts customers and sales. Tying part of employee compensation directly to sales and revenue results places further emphasis on the importance of everyone’s role in supporting customers and sales.

Finally, fostering a culture that reinforces the belief that “everybody is responsible for sales” will keep the focus and combined energy of the company on taking care of the customer, delivering value and improving sales results.

When everybody takes ownership and feels responsible for sales – everyone wins!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Is FREE Still a Great Marketing Tool?

Is FREE still a great marketing and promotional tool or has it lost its luster? I have to admit, I’m on the fence on this one, and could really use some feedback from you.

Back in the “old days” it was a foregone conclusion that price = value. However, we all know market conditions have shifted drastically as a result of e-commerce and more aggressive global competition, to the extent that it is hard to recognize a good value when you see one today, particularly when shopping online.

On the Internet, FREE has become the adoptive buzz word for most everything. There are free reports, free e-books, free white papers, etc. Some of the industry’s most recognized experts on information products will tell you to give away as much as 75% – 80% of your content and then charge for the rest at a high premium price. This model makes absolutely no economic sense to me!

SO WHAT AM I MISSING HERE?

If everything is FREE on the Web, then who is making any money and how are they doing it? Or, if you are giving away 75% – 80% of the content for free to entice me to buy your book, training videos, or attend a seminar/workshop series, etc., what is my motivation to pay the BIG BUCKS for the other stuff when I already have all these FREE items available to me without obligation? The larger questions here are the obvious ones … does all this free stuff really have any true value? And, am I overcharging the consumer for the fee-based items to recover the lost gross profits from all of the freebies?

(PET PEEVE #1): To determine their value upfront, here’s my first test of free items such as e-books and other information products. I will download the content and then run it through spell checker. If the document contains numerous spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, guess where it will go? And, you’ve lost me as a potential buyer. Why would I pay for your fee-based products and services when your FREE stuff is crap? It doesn’t take much extra effort to fix the spelling, grammar, etc. problems before you make your free content available to the consumer, so take the time to do it right the first time.

(PET PEEVE #2): Now, here’s my biggie. You’ve made me an offer of a free e-book, free report, etc. However, in order to obtain the free item(s), I have to plow through a lengthy 7-8 page sales letter to get to the offer. Not going to happen! As an online consumer, I have the attention span of a 3-year old and the patience to match, so net it out for me. Tell me in 1-2 pages or less what the offer is, what I have to do to get it and how I get my free stuff. (The only people I’ve ever spoken with who like these exhaustive 7-8 page sales letter diatribes are the people who create them – consumers hate them, so stop it!).

OK, I’m done with the rant, now back on topic. From a marketing perspective all this noise about free tends to diminish the value of online products and services, and creates an illusion on the part of the online consumer that everything should be free. As a result, this false illusion can limit take rates on a lot of the valuable information products and services that are fee-based. So, how do you correct the perception and make FREE a more effective (and profitable) marketing and promotional tool for your business?

Richard Kittrell, founder and CEO of Power of the Pride Training Systems http://www.powerofthepridetraining.com/ has a great suggestion to help you better position your “free” offer. If you are marketing and promoting an e-book or book, rather than offering a free report, etc., offer the buyer the first chapter or two for free. This keeps the focus on your primary offer, and allows the buyer to make a more informed purchase decision. (Similar to the try it, buy it approach).

My preference is to position “free” on the back-end of the sale in the form of an upsell, cross sell, value bundle, discount on the next order, etc. This will help you to establish a stronger customer – supplier relationship based upon the value of your initial offer, and then you can provide those customers with the post-sale incentives to promote any add-on or future sales to keep them coming back for more.

That’s my two cents. Would welcome your comments and thoughts on how you have used the concept of FREE to successfully market and promote your products and services.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Selling Beyond the Bid Process

Developing a bid response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the private or public sectors is time consuming, resource intensive and in most cases the end result will be a "no sale" unless you are the incumbent, or have established a strong business relationship with the decision-makers in advance.

If you did not write or help the client develop the bid requirements, your chances of winning are less than 20%. Why? Most bids, either directly or indirectly are biased toward another vendor's products or services. Oftentimes, the incumbent plays a significant role in developing the bid specifications, or it is a bias on the part of the client's internal team toward a particular solution that influences the bid specifications and the final outcome.

So, how do you increase your odds of winning when you are in a loss position before you even start to formulate a proposal response? The most effective way to improve your win rates in bid situations is to change the ground rules and sell beyond the bid process.

First, you should know that the vast majority of RFP's are shopping lists that seldom track with the client's true business requirements. In order for you to increase your chances of winning, it's important to meet with the decision-makers and bid team separately (outside of the bidder's conference) to determine the true underlying business requirements, priorities and to identify any potential biases. This will enable you to tailor your bid response to the client's specific business needs, once a determination has been made to move forward with the response.

Next, understand the motivation behind the bid. In the public sector a formal bid may be a mandatory requirement. Many government entities, for example, require that a minimum of three bids be sourced and evaluated prior to vendor selection. However, in the private sector RFP's are generally driven by a level of dissatisfaction with the current vendor, or someone's desire to assess the broader market for enhanced capabilities or extended services to address the company's future business needs. Regardless, it's important for you to know what (and who) is driving the decision to shop the market before attempting to develop a bid response.

Once you have determined the client's business requirements, hot buttons, decision criteria and biases, you can then decide how (or if) you want to proceed. Power Base Selling, written by Jim Holden, is a great resource for salespeople to help them transform their approach to selling, particularly in highly competitive bid situations. Before moving forward with a bid or proposal response, the Power Base Selling methodology requires that you answer these critical questions:

1. Do I have an opportunity?
2. Should I compete?
3. Can I win?

If the answer is "no" to any of these questions, it is time to abort and no bid, unless of course a no bid response would materially limit your ability to sell other products and services to the client in the future.
If the answer to all three questions is "yes" and the decision is to move forward, then get creative by developing a solution that uniquely positions you as the front runner when it is time for the client to make a decision. Think about incorporating other elements not covered in the scope of the bid - i.e. additional services, value bundles, upgrades, etc. into your response as another way to differentiate your bid response and reinforce that you did your homework to understand the client's specific business needs. Create an "Other Considerations" addendum to your proposal to highlight these enhanced capabilities and/or future requirements you identified in meetings with the decision-makers and bid team.

Throughout the bid and selection process it is important for you to stay in touch with the client decision-makers and bid team so they are fully briefed on the critical attributes of your solution that distinguish you from the competition. Staying in touch with the decision-makers and the bid team will also help you keep abreast of any changes to the bid requirements, selection criteria or decision parameters, while strengthening your key business relationships within the client's hierarchy.

Selling beyond the bid process is all about finding creative ways to help you favorably influence the outcome of the decision and improve your odds of winning the business. So, don't allow the bid process itself to hinder your ability to deliver a solution that will ultimately exceed the client's expectations and differentiate you from the competition.

Good luck and good selling!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Are You the 'World Wide Wes' of Your Industry?

A couple weeks ago I happened to tune into the Mike and Mike in the Morning show on ESPN Radio while in route to a networking breakfast. Jalen Rose, retired NBA basketball player and sports commentator was a guest on the show to discuss where LeBron James will end up if he decides to opt out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But that was not the most interesting segment of the show to me. The most interesting part of the program was when the conversation shifted to William Wesley (a.k.a. World Wide Wes) and the influence he could have on the decision regarding LeBron James' basketball future. I'm a big NBA basketball fan, but have to admit I had never heard of Mr. Wesley and neither had the radio show co-host Mike Golic, much to his chagrin, as he would discover a little later in the broadcast.

As I learned during the conversation, Mr. Wesley is widely touted as one of the most prominent figures in the sports and entertainment industry today, and received the nickname 'World Wide Wes' from Jalen Rose several years ago. I later discovered a 2007 GQ magazine article about Mr. Wesley titled "Is This the Most Powerful Man in Sports? That said, In the NBA, all roads lead to one man, whom you've probably never heard of: William Wesley - a.k.a. World Wide Wes - the most connected, most discreet, most influential man on and off the court ..."

Mr. Wesley hails from New Jersey and Mike Golic played professional football right down the road with the Philadelphia Eagles (1987-1992). As the conversation about World Wide Wes continued Mr. Golic said, "If this guy is so influential, how come I've never heard of him and I played football in Philadelphia for five years?" World Wide Wes was listening to the program and almost on cue; he sent a text message to Jalen Rose during the live broadcast. His message said, "Tell Mike Golic that I was with Jerome Brown, a close friend of Mr. Golic and former Philadelphia Eagles star, and we picked him up at the airport when he first came to Philadelphia."

World Wide Wes was able to recall the restaurant they ate at some 20+ years ago, what Mike Golic ordered for dinner, and that he liked extra sauce on his ribs. Needless to say, Golic was stunned, but could still recall little about the dinner meeting with Mr. Wesley or World Wide Wes himself. Mr. Wesley declined to join the trio live on the radio show when asked, which only added to his aura as one of the most connected, discreet and influential people in sports today.

So, are you the World Wide Wes of your industry? Do you have his keen ability to not only connect with the Michael Jordan's and Jay-Z's of your world on a close personal level, but also work behind the scenes with key people within your industry to help drive decisions and affect change? Besides his incredible recall abilities, Mr. Wesley appears to have an extraordinary capacity for building strong relationships with people at all levels within his industry and the influence to bring them together to make things happen.

In business as in everything else in life, making a difference isn't necessarily about titles, power and authority, it's about helping people get what they want. And it's about connecting them to people who can facilitate those types of "win-win" scenarios. You don't have to be the Chairman of the Board, or World Wide Wes to make a difference, just be there to provide guidance and support to those who could use your help the most.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

How to Turn Your Rolodex into Cash

One of my pet peeves is the use of a Rolodex. In many cases they are not utilized effectively as an important business development tool. And in the modern era, the Rolodex has been reduced to little more than an electronic repository for business cards.

Note: For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a Rolodex is a rotating file device used to share business contact information. However, to clarify for this article I consider the Rolodex, business card file and Contacts list interchangeably to mean the same thing.

For years in the corporate world, I listened to executives talk about their "who's who" list of contacts and the size of their Rolodex, like this somehow made them more important. However, when it came to helping a sales team member with an executive introduction, closing a sale or resolving a customer problem, their Rolodex of business contacts was rarely of any value in helping move things along.

Several years ago, I met with a Director of Business Development candidate who began the interview by telling me that he had a Rolodex of over 2,000 businesses. I said that's great ... now tell me how many of those businesses you could call right now, get an appointment in the next week and close a sale in the next 30 days if you were offered the position?

You get my point. Your Rolodex is of no value unless it helps you grow your business and make money. So, how do you turn your Rolodex into cash? Here are a few things I would recommend for starters.

1. Purge your existing Rolodex of all business contacts that are not active. This will help you to narrow your focus and put more emphasis on those current relationships that are vital to your business growth.
2. Don't add new contacts to your Contacts list until you have developed a positive business relationship with that person. I would underscore the word positive - no energy vampires allowed!
3. Limit your business contacts to 3 or 4 specific areas - i.e. clients, partners, suppliers and "other". This will help you to prioritize and eliminate the clutter.
4. Establish group categories in Outlook, as an example, to make it easier for you to access and retrieve business contact lists by category designation, as needed.
5. Retain the remaining business cards you have accumulated for later use - i.e. newsletters, prospect mailings, etc., but keep them separated from your active Rolodex contacts.

Much the same as networking, developing an effective Rolodex or Contacts list you can turn into cash is about building relationships, not stockpiling business cards. Your prospect database, email and vendor lists are more appropriate placeholders for this additional stored information.

Constructing your Rolodex in this manner will help you to put more emphasis on the customer, partner and supplier relationships that are integral to your future success, while turning your Rolodex into cash today.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

8 Tips to Put Fun Back Into Your Work(place)

In the business world, we are notorious for putting fun last on our list of priorities and as a result, never getting to it. We're so busy during the year trying to meet our sales, revenue, expense, quality and customer satisfaction goals that we don't schedule time to have fun. That needs to change.

Are you having fun yet? If not, here are some things to consider in order to put fun back into your work(place).

1. Put fun first on your list of priorities, and the rest will fall into place.
2. Laugh more. Laughter can be a great medicine for what ails you and your workplace.
3. Be spontaneous with recognition, praise and a simple "thank you".
4. Schedule fun-based activities with employees, customers and suppliers.
5. Find your inner child. Let others see the humorous side of your personality.
6. Live with the 3E's - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
7. Take mental health breaks and/or extended lunches to refresh and re-energize.
8. Keep things in perspective. Your work is a means to an end, not the end!

Regardless of where you are in your career, if you're not having fun - what's the point?  Life is too short to not enjoy what you are doing, so find a way to put fun back into your work or do something else.

The continuing negative trends in business as a result of downsizing, restructuring and the financial markets meltdown have taken a huge toll on the workplace, and the workforce tasked with doing more with less. We need to find ways to reduce stress, improve productivity, and keep our morale and energy levels up.

Putting fun back into the work is a great place to start. So, what are you doing to put fun back into your work(place)?


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll