Violent Pushback Is Successful

One of the things
we’ve learned
from the pandemic thus far
is…
loud and violent pushback
results in success.

Governments know
thousands,
likely millions,
of people
will die
because they dropped
COVID precautions.

Yet they dropped those precautions
anyway
because they were tired of dealing with
the loud and violent
minority
who seem to want
everyone around them
to die.

What this means is…
this tactic
of being loud and violent
will be used again.

Because it works.

It will be used against us,
business builders.
It will be used
against our partners.
It will be used
against our prospects/customers.

Expect your customer service team
to be verbally and perhaps physically
abused
in the future.

Decide NOW
how you will deal with that.

Put a plan in place.

In Case Of Shortages…

With everything happening
in the world –
climate change disasters,
COVID,
other sh*t
– we are likely
to temporarily run out
of some of our products
now
or
in the future.

We won’t be able to
supply our products
to our faithful,
hard won
customers.

When that happens,
there will be bitter feelings.
Customers are loyal to us.
They expect us
to be there for them.

These customers will also
have to find replacement products.

The replacement products
could be purchased from the competition.
We could lose these customers
forever.

OR

The replacement products
could be purchased from us.

Maybe, for example,
we don’t have any
of the yellow product
but we have plenty of units
of the red product.
They are exactly the same
except for their color.

Or we don’t have the regular product
but we have the organic product
at roughly the same price.

Suggestion substitutions
on your website.
Perhaps mention them
on packaging.

Supply the replacement products.

Subscription Models And Supply

I love the concept
of Amazon’s Subscribe And Save
service.

We sign up to buy
often used products
and they are sent to us
monthly.
We don’t have to think
about buying these items.
We set it up once
and can forget about it.

Except Amazon
rarely has the items
in stock.

50% of my monthly order
isn’t available
this month.

Last month, 30%
of my regular monthly order
wasn’t available.
Those unavailable products
were different
than the products
unavailable this month.

I have to rush to find
and buy alternatives to them.
And that’s d*mn irritating.

It is easier
and more reliable
to simply buy
multiples of the items
we need
once
and store them
in our homes.

Don’t offer a subscription service
of products/services
unless you can secure
their supply.

Your Sales Meal Leftovers

A loved one
is a skilled, in demand salesperson.
He almost ALWAYS has
a lunch or dinner
with a prospect or client.

Yesterday, he had three dinners.
Yep, three.
He was expected to order a meal
at each dinner.

Eating with people
is a bonding activity.

And he was expected to order a ‘good’ meal
so the clients and prospects
felt free to order
‘good’ meals also.

That extravagance makes them happy
and happy people buy products/services.

My loved one couldn’t finish his meals.
He wasn’t that hungry.
And he was making conversation
most of the time.
He didn’t have time to eat.

So he asked the servers
to pack his meals to go.
(Not wasting food
sends the signal
he won’t waste
his clients’ resources.)

My loved one made jokes
about how he’ll be hungry later.
The clients/prospects laughed.
Everyone was happy.

When he left the restaurant,
and he had a moment alone,
he gave the meals
to the homeless.

That made more people
happy.

Take the leftovers
from your breakfast/lunch/dinner meetings
with clients/prospects.

Use them
to make someone’s world
a bit better.

The Speakers You Seek

A salesperson loved one
was attending a conference
with his clients.

He had enough clients
to warrant special workshops.

He was given a list of speakers
to choose from.

He was surprised
to get all his top picks,
the best,
he believes,
people in each topic
he wanted covered.

All his top picks
were women and/or
people of color.

The white male speakers
with less experience
and less skill
had ‘sold out.’

The other speakers,
although they were better qualified,
still had openings
in their schedule.

When organizing an event,
ask for the best speakers
on the topics you want covered.

Those best speakers
are likely not white or male.
And they are, unfortunately,
likely to be available.

Oh, and this shouldn’t have to be said,
but compensate your speakers
according to their skill
and knowledge,
not their skin color
or genitals.

Ensuring Your Salespeople Are In Attendance

A salesperson loved one
was told
by his executive
to invite
all his clients
to a company-run conference.

The salesperson did that.
He arranged his travel.
He set up dinners
and other meetings.

Then he was told
HE (and most of the other salespeople)
wouldn’t be attending
the event.
They didn’t have enough space
for everyone.

He had to relay that news
to his clients.
His clients are, of course,
backing out
of the event
and
they are also questioning
whether or not
they should do business
with the company.

Multi-million dollar deals
are now in jeopardy.

It is a huge
brand-damaging mess.

All because
the company didn’t
leave space for their salespeople.

Ensure your salespeople
are attending
events held for their clients.

This seems obvious
but clearly it isn’t.

Decrease Product Sizes OR Increase Pricing

I was planning to increase
the pricing
for my Romance Novels.

I was also contemplating
not crafting
the free ‘thank you’ short story
I usually give to readers (customers)
every December.

I can’t do both,
not in the same year,
not unless I want
a LOT of
customer complaints
and a decrease
in sales.

I’ve chosen to increase
pricing.

If we increase pricing
while decreasing the quantity
of product/services
we give customers,
customers WILL
notice this.
They won’t be happy.
Unhappy customers
often stop buying
products/services.

Do one or the other,
not both.

Sales Is A Necessary Skill

One of the key jobs
of a business builder
is to sell.

She sells her products/services,
her company,
herself
to
prospects, customers,
business partners,
banks,
and other entities.

She sells everywhere
she goes.

In his newsletter,
Carmine Gallo
shares

“I remember the first time
a famed venture capitalist
debunked the myth for me.
Geoff Ralston,
the president of
seed accelerator Y Combinator
(early investor in Airbnb, DoorDash,
Reddit, and thousands of other startups).
During our conversation,
I called public speaking
and storytelling
a “soft skill.”
Ralston corrected me
before I finished the question.
“You might call it ‘soft.’
I call it fundamental,”
he said.

Ralston’s point was that
an entrepreneur can have a great idea,
but if they can’t persuade
investors, partners,
and potential employees
to join them,
their startup won’t even
get off the ground.”

Sales is a necessary skill.
Gain it.
Practice it.
Use it.

Feel The Excitement

One of my loved ones
is a top salesperson.
Moments before
every important presentation,
he calls me.

I hype him up.
I cheer for him.
I drive his enthusiasm skyward.

He then brings that excitement
to his presentation.
His audience hears
his excitement
and
they become excited also.

They listen to him.
They consider his pitch.
They are more likely
to take his pitch
to the next level.

Get the passion pumping
before every sales presentation.

If you need to call
a cheerleader
to do this,
call your cheerleader.

Excitement and passion
are contagious.
Infect yourself with it.

We’re Buying The Way It Makes Us Feel

There’s an ever-going argument
posed by new writers
about whether or not
a Romance Novel
should have
a Romantic Happy Ever After
(or, in some cases,
a Romantic Happy For Now).

These writers
don’t understand
Romance readers
(or any customers).

Romance readers
are buying how the story
makes them FEEL
at the end of it.

They are buying
the Romantic Happy Ever After.
They’re plunking down
their cash
expecting to get
that happy,
all is right with the world
glow
in return.

THAT is what they’re paying for.

Seth Godin
shares

“Most of what we encounter
is driven by emotions,
and our emotions are always relative.
When we’re shopping for a car
or an avocado,
we’re buying the way it makes us feel,
not how it would make someone else feel.”

Understand what your customers
are buying EMOTIONALLY.
And it is ALWAYS an emotion.

Then give them
that emotion.