k – Page 552 – client k

How CEO’s Deal With Failure

In David Silverman’s post
How Successful CEOs Respond to Failure,
he says
“Faced with failure,
they stayed in motion.
They quit the bad job,
they separated from investors they conflicted with,
they got up off the sidewalk
and went back to work.”

I deal with failure
by having multiple projects on the go.
Right now,
I have three stories submitted to publishers,
one story in edits,
one story in second draft,
and one story in first draft.

I also have what I call a failure plan.
For example:
If the three stories are not accepted,
(i.e. I fail)
I have a list of other publishers
to send them to.

I’m 38 years old
and have a long list of things I plan to accomplish.
I don’t have time to wallow in failure.
I fail, learn, and move on.

Critics Rarely Create

Seth Godin has a great post
on Trolls.
My favorite line in it is
“critics rarely create”

I had a release
last week.
I am very open
about loving feedback,
especially around ‘what to work on’ areas
(and ALL writers have areas to work on).

What I find interesting is the tone.
The feedback from published writers
was constructive yet very positive.
The feedback from unpublished writers
focused on the negative.
It was critical rather than constructive.

As with advice,
not all criticism is equal.
Listen to all of it
but weigh it
based on the source.

When To Say No

When you say no to a project
is almost as important
as how you say no.

If I want a healthy relationship
with the person pitching to me,
I always listen to her entire pitch.
I don’t cut her off
mid pitch
even if I know the project isn’t for me.
(That smacks of arrogance)

If the request/project is big/important
to her,
I’ll, at least, think about the offer
over night.
When I contact her
with my no,
I’ll drop some facts about the industry/project
that she didn’t include in the pitch.
This communicates that
I was seriously thinking about it.

I never say yes
when I really mean no.
In a documentary about Monty Python,
there was some bitterness
because,
after Graham Chapman’s death,
Michael Palin said yes
to another project
‘to be nice’
when really he had no intention
of ever reviving Monty Python.
This initial yes
wasted the others’ time and money.

So say no quickly
but not TOO quickly.

Saying No Graciously

Elisha asked
“What are the good ways to say no,
mostly for job and new venture opportunities
but keep something open for the future?”

My favorite is the reco.
I’ll say something like…
‘I’ve always wanted to work with you’
(hinting that I’m open for future gigs)
‘but I’m not the right person
to make this’ project/job/business ‘a success
and I DO want it to be successful.’
(i.e. our goals are the same
and that is why I’m refusing)

If I know of a suitable replacement,
I’ll add
‘I might know of someone
who has the skills you need,
can I have her call you?’
(This gives me a reason
to stay in contact.)

If I don’t,
I’ll say something like…
‘I can’t think of the perfect person right now
but would you like me
to think about it
and get back to you?’
(Again a reason to stay in contact)

This reply sends the message
that I’m honored by the request,
I want the requester to succeed
and I’m willing to do something
with no expectation of payment
to help with that success.

Could You Use That?

$ales Gravy
lists the 5 closing questions
you should be asking.

One of those is…

“Could you use that?”
(or a variation like
“How would you use that?”
“Would that work for you?”
“Would that be of benefit in your situation?”)

This question is asked
after you list a benefit.

Why do you do that?
Because it makes the benefit personal.
The prospect takes ownership of the benefit.

Tell your prospect
“Product XYZ will save you $1,000.
How would you use that?”
and
she will immediately spend the $1,000
in her mind.
Walking away from your product
will create loss.

Make it personal.
Create that connection.
Ask ‘Could you use that?’

Being Part Of A First

This weekend,
I’m at a writer’s retreat
with 5 up and coming romance authors.
All are published in eBook format.

It is an exciting format to be in
because each of us
are regularly involved
in readers’ first exposures to eBooks.

On Wednesday,
I walked a reader through the process.
The first eBook she read
was my short story Released.
My story will ALWAYS be her first eBook.
Forever.
It will always be associated with
her experience of the format.

When you hear you’re part
of a customer’s ‘first’
(first dentist appointment,
first business start up,
first job interview),
remember that you’ll be remembered forever.
Make it a pleasant memory.

The Best Time To Call

When should you make
that important sales call?

According to a new report
from InsideSales.com and MIT,
Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days
to call to make contact with a lead.
The worst day is Tuesday.

The best times are
8-9am and 4-5pm
to qualify a lead.

Does that mean
you work only two days a week
for 2 hours each day?

Of course not.
Better to call at a non optimal time
than not call at all.

But you could save
your most important calls
for then.

A Clean Desk, A Silent Room

When I work at home,
I work with the radio on.
I also have a cluttered desk
(the variety of stuff
helps with creativity).

When I make an important call,
however,
I turn off the radio
and I clear my desk of everything
except for what I need
for the call.

Why?

Because if I don’t,
I get distracted
while listening.
If I get distracted,
the other person knows
(if this happens while talking to my mother,
I get an almost immediate
‘are you listening to me?’,
my clients/prospects aren’t so obvious).
Not only that,
but I miss valuable information.

The Sales Hunter
has a great post on exactly this.

Spring/Summer 2010’s Hot Colors

Pantone has released their predictions
of the hot colors
for spring and summer 2010.

They are…

Aurora (yellow tinted with green)
Tomato puree (red)
Eucalyptus (like the plant)
Turquoise

The article also mentions
that America’s favorite color
is blue.

How to use these hot colors?
– In flexible product design
(as they will change)
– In marketing material
– Book covers

Connections in Book Publishing

Yesterday,
was the release of my 4th romance story
(for sale – I’ve released many freebies).

What I’ve learned over the last 15 months
is that connections sell books.
Connections in a number of ways.

The book must connect with readers.
There needs to be an emotional link
between the book and readers.
If I don’t cry when I re-read my story,
my readers won’t cry.
If they don’t cry,
they won’t love the book
enough to mention it to other readers.

The book must connect with other books.
Readers, especially female romance readers,
invest in worlds.
They want to get to know
the characters in that world.
ALL the characters.
I still get requests for the story
of the bad boy lawyer in my first novel.

The book must connect readers to other readers.
Romance writers do this
by incorporating inside information
into their books.
The jewelry store in the first book
belongs to the bad boy in the second book.
His name is not mentioned.
Only careful readers, true fans, picked it up.
When they pick this up,
they want to tell friends.
They can only do that
if the friends have read the book.

The eBook Test has a list of
11 axioms in publishing today.
Many of those axioms
are about connections.