Avoiding Marketing Pitfalls

By Michael W. McLaughlin

Many competent consultants risk their own success, and their bank balances, by driving straight into the same old marketing potholes again and again. Take action to avoid these ten common marketing traps:

1. The curse of experience. Many consultants believe that their deep understanding of clients and their businesses translates into an understanding of the nuances of marketing. That assumption can cost you clients and money.
   
   
2. Go it alone. Consulting is a collaborative business. Whether it’s Web design, writing marketing copy, or launching a survey, you should always be on the lookout for talented people to partner with in marketing. Focus your efforts on what you do best—deliver value to clients. Let the pros cover your weak spots in their areas of expertise.
   
   
3. Overestimate clients’ interest in you. Clients care about their own problems and how to solve them, not about your business. They’ll engage you to help and express polite interest in you, but keep the focus on them, not you.
   
   
4. Believe your services are top-notch just as they are. Clients’ needs are always changing, so your service strategy must always be evolving too. It’s never good enough.
   
   
5. Sell too hard. Don’t think clients are ready to be sold by you right off the bat. Clients buy, they’re not sold. Give them something to buy that they really need.
   
   
6. Dabble in marketing. You can’t just throw an article or two out there and expect clients to take notice of you. Successful marketing requires sustained, consistent, and coordinated effort.
   
   
7. Focus on your “accounts,” not your clients. Learn as much about the people as you do about each client’s company. Plan and market in a client-centered manner—at the individual executive level.
   
   
8. Take the one-size-fits-all approach. Each client and project is different. Your previously winning formula can easily backfire unless it’s tailored for each individual situation.
   
   
9. Impatience. Instant gratification and marketing rarely go together. Be patient. Your marketing investments will pay off, but it almost always takes longer than you think.
   
   
10. Dread marketing. Consulting is a marketing business. If you don’t enjoy marketing, the road will seem like—and be—one pothole after another.
    

Michael W. McLaughlin is the coauthor, with Jay Conrad Levinson, of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. Michael is a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, and the editor of Management Consulting News and The Guerrilla Consultant. Find out more at www.guerrillaconsulting.com and www.managementconsultingnews.com.

Published in Networking Today, May 2005.

Getting…and Staying Connected

By Janet Christensen

In today's fast-paced world of business and personal life we have a number of ways in which we can choose to get and stay connected with each other.

Through the wonders of technology, we can connect across the globe instantaneously through satellite, email, telephone and cell phones. We can precisely know the location of a person or vehicle anywhere in the world with the aid of a GPS system. We have PC's, laptops, Blackberries, palm pilots, and other electronic devices that allow us to connect, schedule, read email remotely, and be as up-to-date as possible. For a while, I was concerned that there was a significant increase in the number of people walking down the street talking to themselves, then I realized that these people were all talking on cell phones with the hands-free attachment. With so many ways to get and stay connected, 24/7 connectivity is becoming a way of life and an expectation. T

he irony is that with all of the technology that enables us to do things faster and better, rather than give us more time, we now expect ourselves to do more and be reachable and accessible virtually all the time. Instead of having more time, we seem to have less. Instead of feeling more in control, we are feeling more pressured and stressed. We are busy getting and staying connected. We are busy thinking about what is next, what may happen, our list of things to do, making the next appointment, planning the meeting, and on and on.

When you were last in a meeting how many people were really there – not just in body, but really present? Or, were they flipping through notes, checking their email or palm pilot, or just mentally somewhere else?

What about our connectivity with ourselves? Are we making and taking the time to know and be who we are?

We are not our jobs. We are not the labels that get ascribed to us. We are not our roles. We are not our past – that is just the story of our lives so far. Somewhere beneath these various layers of descriptors that come to define who we are, there is a unique essence that is you that is longing for connection. I will call this the essential you.

Several years ago my husband and I benefited from taking some Marriage Encounter courses and I remember one of the core teachings was “God does not make junk.” The essential you is that part of you that is unique, whole, and complete, and has infinite wisdom. It is you in your perfection and it has deep knowing. It longs to be known to you. It is longing for connection.

The essential you is more than your brain and more than your mind. It is your mind, body, and spirit and it has four aspects to its intelligence – mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Young children are very connected to their essential selves. They are spontaneous, very much in the moment and able to respond to and express what they are experiencing. As we grow up and become “socialized,” we are encouraged to develop our mental intelligence and discount the other aspects of our intelligence. As a result, paying attention to gut feelings or instinct can be fluffed off as foolish. Displays of emotion or even feeling emotion may be deemed inappropriate. Our spontaneity gets dampened and we learn to respond to what others expect of us, or what we think is expected of us. We become outwardly very well connected and the connection to the essential you is diminished.

Think about what you were doing when you took your last shower. Were you relaxing and enjoying the feel of the water on your skin, or were you busy being mentally somewhere else? When do you take time to just be, without any agenda, and be fully present with yourself?

I recently attended a sold-out event to hear Jon Kabat-zinn, Ph.D., speak. Jon Kabat-zinn is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. The 1200 people who packed the Ryerson Theatre in Toronto to hear this man speak came from all walks of life, and many were from the medical profession. By a show of hands, it became apparent that many people in the audience already practice some form of meditation. One thing that we all shared was the longing to connect with ourselves.

Jon Kabat-zinn says that getting connected is really a matter of “awarenessing” and this involves being bigger than your thoughts. It involves being aware of what you are doing, and being present with what you are experiencing. In his words, “The real meditation practice is your life – either you are here for it, or you're not.” It is about living your whole life as if it really matters – living by design and not by default.

You may already be busy saying to yourself “but I don't have time.” Whose life are you spending time living?

Connecting with yourself does not require becoming a recluse or sitting on a mountain top. A few minutes at a time will get you there. And just as there are many roads to Rome, there are many ways to start to connect. There is an abundance and variety of courses, workshops, books, and audio material to sample and discover what fits for you. See what is available and choose one or two to try. Dare I say, follow your gut instinct to choose one to try. And remember that like anything else, it takes practice. Be patient and have fun with it. The joy is in the journey.

This is an invitation to slow down and be where you are. Be aware. Be connected to all of you. Hear all of your wisdom. When you connect to the essential you, you may find your true soul mate, a kindred spirit, and someone you genuinely like and love. Now there's a connection worth making and keeping!

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart .... (he) who looks outside, dreams; (he) who looks inside, awakens.”
Carl Jung

Janet Christensen passionately inspires potential as a professional speaker, Passion Map facilitator and writer. She can be reached through her company Unlimiting Potential at (519) 434-5397 or toll free 1-888-779-3061 fax (519) 434-8344 email info@janetchristensen.com Web site www.janetchristensen.com. Published in Networking Today, May 2005.

Networking Tip: Go Where Your Customers or Clients Are

By Karen Susman

A recent magazine ad for Red Lion Inns shows a lion checking in to the hotel. He's nattily dressed in a business suit. His mane is carefully groomed. When he registers, he tells the clerk he's attending the National Gazelle Conference.

This lion is one clever cat! He could have attended the KOBA (King of Beasts Association) conference and learned from his competition how to target gazelles. Instead, he chose to cut out a step and the competition by prowling with his target market (gazelles).

Last week, I provided a session on networking for career seeking CEOs, CFOs, COOs looking to connect with other C-level people. An excellent suggestion was made. Invest in tickets for and attend charitable galas. The heads of companies usually attend, sponsor a table, and appreciate those who support their causes. When you go, dress the part, don't accost the big cheeses, have someone introduce you, and don't sell or ask for a job. Remember, networking is about building long term relationships. Then comment on the event or cause that is dear to the CEO's heart. Finally, mention that you would like to meet with him or her at some future date to discuss something of interest to him or her. Be brief.

Don't hang on. Say "Good-bye" at the end of the evening. Follow up with a note and your card. Mention where you met, who introduced you, and something about the cause. Say you'll call to set a convenient time to meet. Then do call. If need be, ask the friend who introduced you initially to the CEO to call with a referral and to say you'll be calling.

I'm all for attending your own industry events to learn your craft, stay in touch, be visible, and possibly get business. Just don't limit your networking to your own like-minded contacts.

Karen Susman is a Speaker, Trainer, Coach, and Author of 102 Top Dog Networking Secrets. Karen works with organizations that want to maximize performance. Programs include Humour at Work; Balance In Life; Networking Skills; Presentation Skills; and Building Community Involvement. Order new guidebooks on humour, networking, time management, and community involvement by calling 1-888-678-8818 or e-mail Karen@KarenSusman.com. www.KarenSusman.com. Published in Networking Today, May 2005.

Are You Guilty?

By Nancy Friedman

What's your definition of customer service? What unprofessional behavior irritates you the most when, as a consumer, you are interacting with another company?

Sometimes, customer service that is perceived as rude is not intentional and often is the result of absent-mindedness or carelessness on behalf of an employee. Either way, bad customer service can translate into lower sales and lost business.

Based on our own Telephone Doctor surveys, we've compiled fifteen customer service NO NO’s. They are listed below, along with Telephone Doctor's guidelines (in parentheses) on how to do it right. Believe me, there are plenty more. These are at the top of the list.

If your company's customer service managers and front-line employees are guilty of any of these, it's time for some action. Otherwise, you may have an image problem that could sabotage your effort to produce and market great products.

1. Your team members are having a bad day and their foul mood carries over in conversations with customers. (Everyone has bad days, but customer service employees need to keep theirs to themselves.)
   
   
2. Your team members hang up on angry customers. (Ironclad rule: Never hang up on anyone. When we hang up, we label ourselves as rude.)
   
   
3. Phone calls or voice mail messages aren't returned, despite leaving your phone number. (Call customers back as soon as you can, or have calls returned on your behalf.)
   
   
4. Your team members put callers on hold without asking them first, as a courtesy. (Ask customers politely if you can put them on hold; very few will complain or say "No way!")
   
   
5. Your team members put callers on a speakerphone without asking them first if it's okay. (It's the nice thing to do, as a courtesy.)
   
   
6. Your team members eat, drink, or chew gum while talking with customers on the phone or face-to-face. (A telephone mouthpiece is like a microphone; noises can easily be picked up. Employees need to eat their meals away from the phone and away from the customer. And save that stick of gum for break time.)
   
   
7. You have call waiting on your business lines and your team members frequently interrupt existing calls to take new calls. (One interruption in a call might be excusable; beyond that, you are crossing the "rude" threshold. Do your best to be prepared with enough staff for peak calling times.)
   
   
8. Your team members refuse or forget to use the words "please," "thank you," or "you're welcome." (Please use these words generously, thank you.)
   
   
9. Your team members hold side conversations with friends or each other while talking to customers. Or they make personal calls on cell phones. (Don't do either of these.)
   
   
10. Your team members seem incapable of offering more than one-word answers. (One-word answers come across as rude and uncaring.)
    
    
11. Your team members do provide more than one-word answers, but a lot of the words are grounded in company or industry jargon that many customers don't understand. (If you sell tech products, for example, don't casually drop in abbreviations such as API’s, ISV’s, SMTP or TCP/IP.)
    
    
12. Your team members request that customers call them back when the employees aren't so busy. (Customers should never be told to call back. Request the customer's number instead.)
    
    
13. Your team members rush customers, forcing them off the phone or out the door at the earliest opportunity. (Rushing threatens customers – take your time.)
    
    
14. Your team members obnoxiously bellow, "What's this in reference to?" effectively humbling customers and belittling their requests. (Screening techniques can be used with a little more warmth and finesse. If a caller has mistakenly come your way, do your best to point him or her in the right direction.)
    
    
15. Your team members freely admit to customers that they hate their jobs. (This simply makes the entire company look bad. And don't think such a moment of candor or lapse in judgment won't get back to the boss.)
    

In defense of customer service workers, customers can be rude, too. And customer service jobs can often be thankless, with little motivation or incentive to do the job right.

But the problem here is that life for customer service employees may not be fair. Customers can be rude and get away with it. Employees cannot – if they want to help their companies to succeed and keep their jobs as well.

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor®, an international customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in customer service and telephone skills. She is a KEYNOTE speaker at association conferences and corporate gatherings and is the author of four best selling books. Call 314-291-1012 for more information or visit the website at www.telephonedoctor.com.

Published in Networking Today, May 2005.

The Next Wave of Insurance

By Cathy Blackwell

How often have we been told of the importance of buying life insurance to protect loved ones should we die prematurely? To many, that’s good advice. But now we are being told by insurance companies and agents to buy insurance in case we keep living.

It’s called critical illness insurance (CII), and as you may have guessed, selling this relatively new product is proving to be no less of a challenge than selling life insurance at the beginning of the century.

What exactly is critical illness insurance? Mark Weicker, Critical Illness Insurance Product Manager at Clarica, explains it’s an insurance plan that can help CII policyholders who are diagnosed with any one of eighteen covered serious illnesses. People who find out they have a critical illness will need money for a host of difficulties and necessities that might arise, such as special medical treatment, renovating their home for wheelchair access, help around their home, even paying down debt or taking a much-needed vacation.

Weicker has a simple explanation, “Consider it protection for the living, because you don’t need to die in order to collect the benefit.”

Critical Illness Insurance

Here’s how CII works. You buy a policy worth, let’s say, $100,000. You pay a monthly premium, just like life insurance. Then tragedy strikes. After various humbling tests, doctors tell you that you’re suffering from one of several serious illnesses that are covered by critical illness insurance. You’ve paid your premiums and kept your policy in force, so you’re entitled to make a claim to receive the $100,000 lump sum benefit.

Most insurance companies offering CII have basic plans covering cancer, heart attack, stroke, and coronary artery bypass surgery. Weicker believes all CII policies should include those four core diseases and illnesses, which have the highest incidence rates.

More extensive plans offer additional coverage for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, kidney failure, major organ transplant, blindness, deafness, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease) or other motor neuron diseases, occupational HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), coma, benign brain tumor, paralysis, loss of limbs, and severe burns.

Sobering Statistics

The grim reality is that critical illness is more common than you may think:

• One in four Canadians will contract a critical illness by the age of 65 (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2001)
  
  
• The average age of people who make claims on their critical illness insurance policies is 47 (Munich Reinsurance Company, 2000).
  
  
• 41% of men and 38% of women will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime (Canadian Cancer Society, 2002).
  

Critical illness products haven’t been around that long and Weicker says Clarica was one of the early entries into this product arena in the late 1990’s. It’s a classic business case: demand for the product is based on consumer need, not on some imaginary perception created by the insurance industry.

A Product with a Purpose

A good example of where CII may become increasingly important is in the area of heart attacks. Eighty per cent of heart attack patients survive when they’re admitted to hospital, but only forty-five per cent will be able to return to work (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2001). Weicker believes that “if a person suffers a heart attack, it’s potentially devastating not only to the person, but also to that person’s family” because of its serious impact on income and savings. Simply put, their finances will be stretched if they can’t return to work.

Could it happen to you? Weicker says, “people are more likely to have a critical illness by age 75 than they are to suffer a premature death. The focus should be on recovery, not worrying about their financial situation.”

One way to ease that worry is to invest in insurance created for that specific purpose. “With CII, you can alleviate some of the financial concerns and concentrate on getting better.”

What About Cost?

Because you’re more likely to get a critical illness than die prematurely, insurance companies must make sure they’re charging enough to cover their risk.

Premiums depend on the applicants’ health, the face amount they want, and the age at which they apply. Many applicants are surprised when they get a risk rating. Being overweight, high blood pressure, and a family health history of heart disease will all contribute to a higher rating, thereby increasing the premium.

A rating can also be an early warning sign—a possible opportunity for you to improve your health. For example, if you’re rated because of excess weight, shedding the weight will decrease the risk of a critical illness as well as your premium.

The first step you should take if you’re interested in finding out more about CII is talking to an insurance advisor. Your advisor can explain the definitions of critical illnesses, and tell you what’s included in the policy and how much your premium will be.

Weicker’s enthusiasm for the product is motivated by a desire to help people. “Everybody has stories about close family, friends, or associates who could have used the benefit this insurance provides.”

“This product addresses an obvious need.” Critical illness insurance makes good common sense. It’s insurance for the living.

Cathy Blackwell is a Member, Advocis with Sunlife, 1 Commissioners Road East, Unit 101, London, ON N6C 5Z3. She can be contacted at (519) 680-2382 ext. 266 or by email at cathy.blackwell@sunlife.com.

Published in Networking Today, May 2005.

Forget the Economy... Your Thoughts Really Create Your Business Reality

By Debbie Bermont

Throughout history people have built wildly successful businesses around the world starting with no money and no formal business education. If you were to study these people you would find they have one very important thing in common. They believed in their own success and ability to attract money into their life.

My grandfather was an example of an entrepreneur who overcame great financial hardship to achieve wealth in his lifetime. He had immigrated to the United States when he was eight years old from Russia in 1913 with his family. By the time he was eleven he left school to start his own business so he could help support his poor family. He never returned to a formal education and spent the rest of his life building a multi-million dollar empire of several businesses starting with no money. He built extremely successful businesses during World War One, World War Two, during times of economic growth, and during economic depression.

Although he started out with empty pockets, in his mind he considered himself to be rich. Despite being a poor Russian immigrant and having only a fifth grade education, my grandfather practiced how to be rich from the time he was very young. He focused on what he was going to get, not what he didn’t have.

My grandfather focused on an internal state of prosperity consciousness. He didn’t pay attention to what the economy was doing. He was always looking for opportunities. And he found them...everywhere! He never focused on lack. He focused on prosperity.

If you focus your thoughts on lack in any area of your business you will have a problem before you ever begin to spend a dime on marketing. Your thoughts about money have a direct affect on the growth of your business. That is why the first step to achieving business success is to create an internal focus of prosperity consciousness before you externally focus on how to develop new business.

Your thoughts are governed by the universal law of energy – what you focus on becomes your reality. In other words, your thoughts about the success of your business are a form of energy. As soon as these thoughts turn into a feeling you will have some sort of physical experience in your body, which either constricts or expands the energy flow to your business. You can either focus on expansion in your business, which is “prosperity consciousness” or constriction in your business, which is “lack consciousness.”

Successful people approach their business with an internal prosperity consciousness, which opens up the energy flow to their business. When you internally focus on prosperity consciousness your thoughts are concentrated on what you have now and what you can get including more customers, more referral sources, more sales, new products, and new markets. When you internally focus on lack consciousness your thoughts are always focused on what you don’t have, which constricts the energy flow to your business. And you end up with more of what you didn’t want – a lack of business.

Let’s first explore what happens to the energy flow to your business when you have thoughts of lack. Here are examples of thoughts, which illustrate lack consciousness:

1. I don’t have enough money to pay my business bills or payroll.
   
2. My business sales are not increasing fast enough.
   
3. I don’t have enough customers.
   
4. My competitors are stealing my market share.
   
5. I’m worried that my business will go bankrupt.
   
6. I need a larger budget to market my business.
   
7. I don’t have the business skills to make my business successful.
   
8. I’m afraid my business sales will decline if the economy takes a downturn.
   
9. I will never be successful in growing my business.
   
10. There is not enough business for me and my competitors.
    

Every time you have a thought about an area of lack in your business it is accompanied by a feeling. The feeling can be fear, stress, struggle, or anxiety. These are typically the emotions most people experience when they are worried about their financial situation. These emotions constrict your energy and prevent you from attracting into your life the very things you desire and don’t have right now.

Even if the economy was flourishing you would still experience lackluster sales if you constrict the energy flow to your business with thoughts of lack regarding any area of your business. This is why it’s essential to open up the energy flow to your business by developing an internal prosperity consciousness. When the flow of energy is open you are ready to receive the explosive sales you want.

Here are examples of thoughts, which illustrate prosperity consciousness:

1. I have enough money in my life right now and it keeps increasing.
   
2. There is plenty of business for my company and my competition.
   
3. I know that I can easily reach my sales goals.
   
4. I am confident that my sales will increase 50% this year.
   
5. My business has incredible growth potential.
   
6. Every time I need help with an area in my business the solution shows up.
   
7. I surround myself with people who support the growth of my company.
   
8. My bills are always paid on time.
   
9. My company’s profitability keeps increasing.
   
10. My referral sources and existing customers are happy to refer more business to my company.
    

When you read the above statements you’ll notice that they acknowledge the prosperity that is now present in the form of sales, customers, or opportunities and also for the prosperity that is coming in the future.

Let’s take a look at the energy flow to your business from a different perspective. The balance in your bank account and the bills you owe are a finite number right now. Even if your expenses increased they would still represent a finite number.

Imagine taking all the bills you owe right now and placing them in a box on a table and then sealing the box shut. That box is a confined space, but around the box is an unlimited supply of air. This box represents a very small space in a world full of opportunities. The space around the box represents the unlimited opportunities available to you where the energy flows freely.

You choose where your energy will go. When you focus on what you don’t have...you will always be faced with constriction and shoving yourself in that little box. There is no space to get out and expand.

On the other hand when you focus on what could be possible represented by the air around the box, your mind starts looking for ways to expand your business, to find solutions, to make connections. That’s when miracles happen such as your sales start increasing rapidly, you create a new product or service or an important business partnership comes your way. Prosperity will always flow in your direction if you allow it.

The principles of energy flow expansion and constriction are the same for every human being on this planet. It has nothing to do with your social or economic status, or your race or religion, or your education level. As long as you are a thinking human being that has choice you can decide where you want your focus to be. You can focus on the limited, finite space of lack and struggle, or you can choose the infinite space of unlimited opportunities and increasing wealth.

The next time you pick up the paper and read an article about a declining economy or lackluster sales, remind yourself that if you choose to focus on a world of limitations and lack you too will experience the same results in your company. Or, you can follow the example of my grandfather and choose to focus on what is possible and you’ll open up the energy flow for an unlimited amount of business to come your way.

Debbie Bermont is president of Source Communications, a marketing consulting firm. Debbie is a leading expert on helping businesses reduce their marketing costs and accelerating their sales growth. For more information go to www.outrageousbusinessgrowth.com or call (619) 291-6951. Published in Networking Today, March 2005.