|
Marketing Yourself as a Professional -
handwriting on the wall
by John H. Melchinger
Will Rogers said, "It isn't what you don't know that hurts you. It's
what you know for sure . . . that just ain't so." In this one statement, Will
cautions against blind acceptance of what may well be myths, misinformation, or downright
lies. He wants us to examine our beliefs for accuracy and appropriateness. We owe
the future our vigilance now. So I've been thinking about what we've learned over
the years, whether it is still true today, and if new thinking "formulas"
should be developed.
Take for example the adage that a photograph never lies. Nowadays, with retouching
and computer enhancements, a photograph may be created with no other purpose than
to lie. We have to trust the person who presents the photo and believe the explanation
that goes with it. Or not. Some of us are skeptical, if not jaded, about how much
truth may be found in photographs. Just think: you can surf the Internet, find two
photos, download them, combine them, enhance the images with details, and print it
on photographic paper to look like one real photo. Is it real? Well, the photo
itself is real; the content of it is not.
Add to this scenario the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words and think
it through. A picture may replace a thousand words in its effectiveness delivering
a message; but, without words, a picture alone still does not have the impact it
would if it were to be accompanied by an effective explanation, even one as simple
as a caption or brief quotation to set the context. After all, what is a sales illustration
without a
salesperson's explanation?
The Compounding Effect of Multimedia
The spoken word, by itself, will produce only about 11 to 15 percent audience retention;
words plus pictures or images will almost double that; add conversation (two-way
speaking) to get close to 50 to 60 percent retention; and try adding audience participation
and guided discussion about the experience to top 75 percent retention.
Something to think about, isn't it.
Problem is, salespeople seldom take the time to really think things through before
they crank up their engines and start driving down the road to a sale they think
they can make. Like everyone else, we get excited about a new idea or opportunity.
Once excited, we "go for it" or just do it before we know what "it"
really is. We dump the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle on the table and go right at trying
to assemble it, never taking the time to study the picture on the boxtop or to develop
a sensible course of action. We love being caught up in the chase; nevertheless,
we also lament poor results. We create our own dilemmas.
Unfortunately, business (yes, I mean selling, oo) requires both efficiency and effectiveness.
Preoccupation with deriving one's thrills from spontaneity in personal selling has
rung the death knell for many producers. As financial times get even tougher and
margins thinner, we cannot afford to make mistakes or to learn how to
succeed by the painfully slow "hunt, guess and cuss" method. We must apply
our precious capital carefully and be right more often than not.
I've seen false starts so many times since I began coaching producers on marketing
in 1979 that I believe it makes a worthy marketing article. So here they are: a handful
of tripods and other think tools I use to stay on track when thinking through marketing
issues with my clients.
What's A Tripod?
Mechanically, a tripod forms the soundest foundation of any structure because a tripod
does not easily tip. For me, tripods are the foundation of good thinking; three step
thinking combinations which, when done in sequence, will get you a good result the
first time you think through a concern. Here's an example, just to make my point.
Computing
In my previous existence as a director of field training in a large insurance
company known in the eighties for being in the vanguard of adopting and applying
new technology, I was told three things emphatically by the home office computer
gurus.
(1) No self-respecting life insurance agent would ever succeed by sitting
with a prospect at a computer terminal to sell. (2) The IBM DisplayWriter
was the word processor to take us to the turn of the century. (3) The IBM
PC was a born number cruncher and would never be used for word processing,
graphics creation, or
telecommunications. Oh, yes, I was also told that the Apple philosophy to develop
easy-to-produce graphical output was a silly philosophy for numbers-based business
like life insurance to adopt. With that thinking, people first bought hardware, then
software, then spent countless hours trying to get it all to run correctly. Painful.
Reverse the sequence and see what happens.
Task -> Software -> Hardware means that you should first decide the real
tasks that you want the computer to perform for you. Next, find the software that
will do those tasks. Finally, select the hardware that will run the software correctly.
We historically (and hysterically) do it in reverse order.
If the insurance companies had examined the sales process correctly and not become
so preoccupied with the promises (often not met) of advancing technology, countless
hours of wasted time would not have been spent by frustrated field people and home
office technicians trying to get software to do what we wanted it to do on hardware
that was supposedly ahead of the software yet often still behind its own ability
to deliver. Sales people would have been trainedbetter to deliver presentations that
make sense to the prospects, and the insurance business' deplorable producer failure
rate would have dropped some. Maybe we'll still be able to catch up, now that we
have Windows and can make the PC do what Macs have done for years now - that
is, produce output that communicates effectively to most human beings.
Staffing
Think about hiring staff. The staffing process that gets the best results looks a
lot like
the method of purchasing computer software and hardware. The tripod I use for staffing
is Task -> Skills -> Person.
First, identify the tasks you want to delegate to someone else and write up those
tasks in a job description. Hint: use verbs that indicate the actions you want the
person to perform, state when, and write them down in priority order. Next, identify
the skills and interests required to do the job well, with the most important ones
listed first. Finally, search for the best person who has the set of skills, talents,
and interests to do that job (combination of tasks) at the price you are offering.
By using Task -> Skills -> Person to sequence your staffing process,
you will avoid problems such as developing a position requiring a set of skills not
likely to be found in one person, or planning the wrong person in the position. This
way, candidates also have the opportunity to assess the position and help decide
if the fit is good. How many times has someone been offered and taken a position
without a job description, only to have the situation fall apart a few weeks or months
later? That's my point. Tripod decision- making works to avoid these problems.
Marketing Tripods
A handful of marketing tripods may help you be more profitable as you explore various
campaigns, and make your important marketing decisions. The first three deal with
how markets think about and judge you. The second three emphasize what you must think
to achieve the best results campaigning to your markets.
Appeals
The First -> Best -> Different tripod is a mainstay in my marketing
thinking. When looking for the basic reasons that consumers react favorably to providers
of professional services, it became clear to me that they like it best when the provider
they choose is (1) first or innovative, bringing to the table ideas that
are offered as, or as if they were new. Enthusiasm, graphics, conceptual presentations,
analogies, and communications enhancements help to get your prospect's attention.
They also want to (2) work with the best at what they do, and they are often
quite willing to pay for it. Finally, it is stimulating to work with professional
advisors who are (3) different in appealing ways, so consumers seek out unique
qualities in their professional providers.
The Appeals Checklist I use to test any marketing activity by these criteria is simply
this:
- Does this activity appear to be new to the target audience?
- Does this activity demonstrate this producer's superiority?
- Does this activity provide something that is different in an appealing way?
Professional
We often use the term professional (even overuse it according to some consumers)
to describe ourselves and our business actions, but do we really know what the consumer
uses to judge our level of professionalism in their eyes?
The tripod Process -> Expertise -> Engage can help. It covers what buyers
look for in us as professionals, even though this thinking may be subconscious.
It breaks out like this.
First, people want to know you have (1) a process through which you will lead
them to suitable conclusions. They test this in many ways, including the value, style,
and timing of the questions you ask. Whether you describe the process you use, and
how clearly you describe it. Whether they think you will let them participate in
the process or merely be processed by you. Whether your respective roles are clear.
It is critical that people understand what it is they are getting into, and the process
it is.
Next, your potential buyers want to know if you have the ability and credibility
to do that process with them. Ability means your credentials, such as how long you
have been in business; how many satisfied clients you have; pertinent experience,
professional designations and training; and finally, formal education. (Hint: Knowledge
+ Experience = Expertise.) Don't make the mistake of thinking that people want to
know what you know (education); they want to know what you have successfully dealt
with (experience), and that it fits their situations. In this last regard, your credibility
comes from recommendations by people who are similar to and respected by your prospects.
Recommendations indicate that you have the knowledge and experience necessary to
deal with people in your prospect's situation.
Finally, the engage segment of the Process -> Expertise -> Engage tripod
should remind you that prospects and clients also judge you by your ability to involve
them in your process. They are looking for a connection to you, by which they will
be able to work with you. They often make this decision subconsciously or quickly
("on the fly" so to speak) because they are already involved at the very
moment they make this
decision.
Hint: Today's consumers increasingly want to collaborate with their advisors,
participating side by side with them in the decision-making process. They'd really
rather not negotiate price and program at the end of your offering a judgement.
Judgemental salespeople often arrive at the end ofa hopefully conclusive presentation
of recommendations that are, in the professional's terms, "the best solutions
to your problems." In reality, more people think about goals now than problems,
so they want to collaborate on how best to achieve them. That's one big reason why
mutual funds are easier to sell than insurance.
Expectations
The Values + Behavior = Integrity tripod simply points out that integrity
comes from action. It does not mean honesty, as many people try to define it. Rather,
your integrity is perceived as the consistency of your actions, over time and in
relation to your stated values and standards. This is also something buyers scrutinize
with agonizing accuracy. Do you set expectations that you don't fulfill? Eventually,
the integrity you demonstrate will set up peoples' expectations of you.
Hint: A bimonthly newsletter sent for a year or more sets an expectation.
When one issue in the second year is not received, your clients don't think, "Gee,
I didn't get John's newsletter this month." Rather, they think, "John's
business must be in
trouble." Setting and fulfilling expectations is a critical part of the marketing
game, and it has as much to do demonstrating your integrity as anything else you
might do in your business.
Marketing
Now that we've covered how prospects tend to judge you and your marketing efforts,
let's explore a few more tripods that will help you think through how to put together
winning marketing campaigns.
Market -> Message(s) -> Media is my all-time favorite tripod. It reminds
you of the critical sequence of effective marketing activities. First, identify
the market (or segment) you are targeting, as precisely as possible.
Hint: The more general your target, the less specific your message will
tend to be, often making it unable to be heard above the noise in the marketplace.
If your market cannot hear you above the din, your market will pass you by.
Second, identify and devise the message(s) you want the market to hear,
and whether they should come from you or be delivered by someone else about you.
For example, you may want to show that you sympathize with doctors against doctor
bashing, an activity indulged in by the public as well as by some parts of the government,
and a topic of great concern to doctors.
Third, identify the media for delivering each message.
Hint: a letter to the editor may be a suitable media for showing your sympathy
with a market's concern, but the delivery mechanism should be the mail. Your intended
readers may not read the publication that prints it, or your letter may be discarded
by the editor. Regardless, your intended audience can read it if you mail a copy
to them.
Recognition -> Desire -> Action is the formula to develop audience
reaction to your delivered marketing messages. It is almost self-explanatory, so
I won't belabor the point here. Keep in mind, however, when you are putting together
your marketing messages and mix, that your desired outcome is to evoke the audience's
recognition of your idea and your ability, creating the desire to act now to obtain
the benefits of what you offer.
The Trouble with Tripods
Tripods can be like acronyms for some people. They often don't linger in one's memory,
and we spend more time trying to remember the words that form an acronym than we
do thinking about how to apply it correctly. The acronym we remember; but we forget
its meaning. How many times have you tried to remember what the acronyms PESOS, KISS
and FACTS mean?
Hint: Learn the words, not the acronyms, and remember what they mean and
why the sequence if important.
Another problem with tripods is that they don't always cover everything that's
important in just three words or actions. Adding a fourth aspect often solves a problem,
but then, would it still be a tripod? Technically, no. Take the Situation ->
Problem(s) -> Solutions tripod, for example. It is clear enough that a good
decision process is to:
- Understand the situation as completely and accurately as possible, which requires
good questions and good questioning skills.
- Identify the real problem(s) that need to be solved. Problems, by definition,
are those issues, which if resolved, will get you to your goals.
- Itemize the steps to be taken to solve those problems: the solution.
Trouble is, this assumes you have a clear idea what the objectives are at the
outset, and this may not be the case at all. Now my tripod has four parts (a four-legged
tripod!): Objective(s) -> Situation -> Problem(s) -> Solutions.
It is no longer a tripod per se because it remains the most fundamental approach
to decision-making I have ever employed and it has held up perfectly well for me
for over 20 years now.
Another useful four-legged tripod I use helps explain what separates the really
great producers from the marginal ones. It is Focus -> Organization -> Discipline
-> Practice. First, the best producers focus clearly on what they want. They
have a very clear vision of their targets and/or activities. Second, they organize
their operations towards that focus, keeping lean and purposeful. Third, they discipline
themselves and others not to violate the focus or the organization that they know
will get them to their objectives. Finally, they practice what they are going to
say and do. This way they know exactly what they are going to say, just not when
they are going to say it. They know that ad libs are for amateurs.
So Why Tripods?
What's so great about tripods is that they provide thought process checklists for
intense decision-making. They help keep you on track. They serve as a communications
method for delivering important reasoning to support your ideas and
decisions. They also keep things simple when they should remain so, allowing you
to add more details to whatever degree or depth you want, simply by adding layers
underneath each leg of the tripod.
Do Tripods Work?
They do for me and many of my clients. Audiences make special efforts to write them
down with explanatory notes whenever I present them. They're good for me. I hope
they're good for you, too!
John H. Melchinger coaches financial planning and estate planning professionals
who market and sell to high income and high net worth buyers. His consultations on
developing their professional practices through effective marketing are highly profitable
for his clients. John's career experiences in financial services and products--since
1977--make him exceptionally qualified to have developed innovative, non-traditional
marketing and skills development programs in estate planning, financial planning,
business planning, ethics and consultative selling. His how-to books, articles, bulletins,
workshops and presentations have become classics in the industry, and his clients
are among the most profitable and productive in their fields.
John is available on the Internet at jhmco@ix.netcom.com,
by telephone
appointment at (403) 459-1472, by fax at (403) 419-2936, and by mail
John Melchinger
3 - 11 Bellerose Drive, Suite 117
St. Albert, AB T8N 5C9
Canada
Web Sitehttp://fsc.fsonline.com/fsm/jhmco.html
|
