Management Memos

Alan Bayham is a sought-after business consultant and trainer with a master’s degree in organizational management, combined with more than 30 years of experience in leadership, management, sales, and marketing training. As the president of Bayham Consulting, LLC, he has consulted with and developed customized training programs for companies ranging from small- and mid-sized businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. For more information, contact Alan at 504-259-8682 or visit www.bayhamconsulting.com.
COMMUNICATIONS Six Reasons Why Face-to-Face Trumps Mass Marketing
Turn on the TV or radio, surf the Internet, open your mail (or e-mail) – what do you notice? You probably have a high volume of advertisements and marketing campaigns targeting you, begging for your attention and your business. But do you open every sales envelope or listen to every commercial? No. Then, why would you think your customers would be any different? Spam e-mail, blogging, instant messaging, television, canned phone messages, and other electronic methods of mass marketing have desensitized the American buyer to these tactics of selling. Despite all the surveys and studies into what buyers think, people don’t make purchases rationally. They make buying decisions based upon emotion. A product or service is either going to make the buyer “feel” better, or rid him of “pain.” Sometimes, buyers aren’t even aware of the need that is causing this pain, and this is when face-to-face selling comes into play. The necessity of “closing the deal” or “making the sale” is equally important to various sales professionals, pharmaceutical manufacturer representatives, bankers and small businesses owners. Regardless of who is doing the selling or what the product and service is, face-to-face selling is more effective than the mass marketing. Still a nonbeliever? Then, consider the following six things that only face-to-face communication can do: 1.) Gain the buyer’s attention – Overcome “Marketing Noise” When you are in front of a prospect or client, you have the enviable position of having his or her complete attention. However, just like TV commercials, you still must get the buyer’s attention immediately. Therefore, enthusiasm and energy are just as important as the conviction about the merits of your product or the advantages you have over your competition. Selling face-to-face and gaining the attention of a venture capitalist is much more powerful than being another envelope in a sea of letters. 2.) Tailor product benefits to specific needs of the buyer Your presentation to potential clients can vary based upon their specific and individual needs. For example, a surgeon may need different results from a particular drug than a primary care physician. And although the drug you’re promoting may work in both venues, face-to-face selling allows specific product features to be linked to specific buyer needs. The surgeon may like the fact that your sleeping pill causes “retrograde amnesia” patients to forget the preparation for surgery, but primary care physicians may find this undesirable in their patients. While ads can be customized to specific perceived needs and placed in print media targeted to a specific prospect, these ads may not be received the same by different buyer behavioral types. 3.) Tailor a presentation to a specific buyer type You would not sell a widget to Donald Trump in the same manner you would to Richard Simmons, as Mr. Simmons would not respond as favorably to direct selling approach as “The Donald.” While it is true that everyone is different and unique, it’s also true that people tend to fall into four basic behavioral types when it comes to buying a service or product. The success (or failure) of the sales call is dependent upon the sales representative distinguishing the correct behavioral type of the prospect, the sales message and also the appropriate communication style. The product is the same in all sales calls, but in order to close the sale effectively, the approach and the message should be different to each category. Therefore, effective salespeople can tailor their face-to-face presentation styles to their clients’ specific personality in order to gain their trust and acceptance. 4.) Allow the seller to view the non-verbal communications of the buyer It’s been said that 75 percent of communication is non-verbal. Selling face-to-face allows you to better gauge how your client is accepting your presentation and if additional probing is necessary. Facial expressions, body posture and vocal tone and pitch, as well as other non-verbal communications, can serve as instant feedback about the effectiveness and relevancy of your presentation. This essential ability is non-existent in mass marketing techniques; it’s like paying a basketball game with the scoreboard covered. 5.) Provide instant answers to buyer questions While buyers can always call an 800-number or log on to a FAQ Web page, the time to answer questions is never more opportune than during the presentation. This way, salespeople cannot only overcome objections, but they can also determine if their assumptions about the buyer’s needs are correct. Then, the seller can instantaneously adjust the presentation to address the buyer’s unique needs. 6.) Close the deal instead of waiting for buyer to make the move Face-to-face selling allows you to control the buying process instead of allowing the prospect to control the process. This allows you to control the speed and direction of the product pitch. Also, the more time that passes after the presentation, the less likely the sale will be made. The best time to make the sale is when the buyer is ready and sitting in front of you – not after the buying impulse has passed. While mass marketing is an excellent tool to create awareness about your product or service, it cannot compare to face-to-face communication when it comes to making the sale or closing the deal. After all, do your profits depend more upon “circulation,” “calls,” “exposures,” and “hits” or upon “units sold”? Alan Bayham
EFFECTIVENESS Tips for getting better results To be very effective you have to keep a few things in mind. Here is a list of recommendations from Leif Hokanson Smith of Personal Best Consulting: • Don’t focus on the obstacle. Instead focus on what your personal strengths are so your energy is brought to bear where it is needed. • Reduce your stress. Ask yourself if you’re being high maintenance at times, and if the answer is yes—then stop. Here are some ways to reduce stress: a.) Allow more time to finish tasks. b.) Don’t set arbitrary goals such as “I will work out for two hours and only consume liquids for the rest of the day. c.) Let go of excuses you cling to in order to explain away your lack of success. d.) Stop being defensive—your self-esteem is not something that can be easily destroyed.   TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH Taking mandatory "time outs" A riveting article in the Wall Street Journal recently discussed how some people think they can fly off to a spa, have two weeks of idyllic living, come back, and be ready to go. A growing body of research, however, suggests that this approach is wrong and that multi-millions of people manage stress incorrectly, states Jeff Davidson, CEO of BreathingSpace.com. They stress out all day and defer relaxation to isolated blocks of time, such as evening yoga classes and weekend trips. The problem with this approach to stress management is that the relentless exposure to daily, chronic anxiety is the most toxic form of stress. The body releases chemicals under high stress that can damage the immune system and increase the risk of all types of illness. Stress can harm neurons in the brain, hamper sexual performance, and even lead to heart attacks and premature death. The conclusion from these findings: people need breathing space throughout the day, every day.   KEEPING GOOD PEOPLE Behavior smart managers eliminate Do you want to maximize productivity? What manager doesn’t, right? But in trying to accomplish this goal are you actually leading your people astray? If so, you need to acknowledge what is happening and work hard to get people focused on what really matters, according to Jennifer White in Drive Your People Wild without Driving Them Crazy. Here are some of the things you must avoid in your quest: •  Believing that if people would learn to manage their time better, your company’s problems would disappear. •  Overloading your best people—without taking any of their other assignments away. •  Failing to help your people prioritize what really matters. •  Failing to provide workers with a sense of accomplishment—even though everyone is working hard all day. •  Failing to pull the plug on something that is obviously not important.	FAST FORWARD... Standing up for yourself If a co-worker has popped into your office and is monopolizing too much of your time, try this subtle tactic to get him or her to leave: Stand up. Don’t be too hasty or your guest will expect you to leave the room; don’t be too slow or he or she may assume you’re merely stretching. Most people will automatically take the cue. If all else fails, you could put your hand on the door or at the side of your cubicle and say, “Well, thanks for stopping by.”   Getting perspective Anytime you feel yourself being swept up into a vacuum of negativity, ask yourself “What’s funny about this?” It’s a sign of intelligence to find some humor in your struggles.   Avoid paranoia Stop assuming others want to make you angry or are being disrespectful. Most people don’t walk around intentionally trying to get other people’s goats. Give other people the benefit of the doubt. It’s likely what they’re doing has very little to do with you personally   Monday blues? Use part of Friday to ease your re-entry on Monday morning. Clear and clean your desk before you zip off to your weekend. If you can’t get everything done, at the very least tidy up before you leave. It’ll be nicer for you to walk into work and face a clean desk or a desk with neat piles when you begin on Monday again.
Peter Koeppel is Founder and President of Koeppel Direct, a leader in direct response media buying, marketing, campaign management and creative strategies. Koeppel specializes in utilizing an integrated media buying strategy including online, radio and print, in addition to television. With over 25 years of marketing and advertising experience, Peter has helped Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and entrepreneurs develop marketing campaigns to increase profits. Peter is a Wharton MBA and has improved the media buying strategies and advertising for clients such as H.J. Heinz, DIRECTV, Columbia House, The Hair Club for Men, Ben Hogan Golf, and Scholastic. For more information on his work, please visit: www.koeppeldirect.com or call: 972-732-6110.
WEB PRESENCE 7 Keys to an Effective and Profitable Website
Gone are the days when having a web presence was something only for multi-national companies with huge marketing and technology budgets. In today's business environment, having a website is a must for any business, no matter how large or small. In fact, not having a web presence is like having a storefront in a busy shopping district, yet always having the "closed" sign displayed and the doors locked. So while people may have heard about you, they have no easy way to buy from you or to get more information about what you do. Even if you currently have a website for your company, have you analyzed it lately? Have you looked at it from today's perspective of web design? Have you thought about your website from the perspective of your current customers or clients? For many businesses, the answer is "no." That is, they may have created a website several years ago, but they have made little to no changes to it since then. In order for your website to be a true asset to your company, you need to follow some website development guidelines. Following are the top 7 tips to building a dynamic and profitable web presence for your business. 1. Whether you're designing a site from scratch or revising an existing site, you must first have a thorough understanding of the business, product, or service your website is going to promote or sell. A good starting point is to research your competition and see what their sites look like. What about their sites do you like and dislike? While you don't want to totally copy your competitor's website, you can get pointers of what works and what doesn't work based on their design. 2. Make sure your website is visually appealing for the target customer you have in mind. Realize that unless you're targeting a very young demographic, cool graphics and flash animation typically turn off a lot of customers. Also, avoid having too much clutter. Doing so can overwhelm or confuse people. However, you don't want too much empty space either. That may make you appear as if you don't have anything meaningful to say. It's a fine balancing act, but one worth mastering. 3. Give your website a consistent look throughout. If your home page is red and has a navigation bar across the top, then every other page must match that style. Designing every page differently confuses people. As they click from page to page, they may think they left your site. Other ways to ensure a consistent look include using the same font, graphic elements, color scheme, and layout. 4. Design your site so it's easy to read. If you're targeting seniors, make the font larger than if you were targeting teenagers. Use bullet points and lots of short paragraphs to break up the text. Additionally, keep the length of the text in your main message to one screen shot. Having a page that rambles on forever makes your site appear complicated. Keep your messages short and easy to understand. 5. Remember that usability is more important than aesthetics. If a website looks beautiful but doesn't convert prospects into buyers, then it's not an effective website. Blend your message and the technology used to deliver it seamlessly. Your site needs to engage the target consumers so they can interact with the site almost effortlessly. When that occurs, consumers will have a better feeling about your product, service, or brand, which will lead to a higher conversion rate. 6. Speaking of conversion rates, one of your site's main goals needs to be converting prospect into sales. To make that happen, you need to give visitors to your site a satisfying experience. This means having the technology that makes the site secure so people feel comfortable shopping there and giving out their credit card. So while you want your site to be entertaining, you don't want people to be too distracted from the goal of learning more about your company or buying your product. 7. Be sure to work with a web designer who can analyze your site's performance and analyze results to improve the conversion to sales ratio. Remember, your website should not be a static type of marketing tool. You need to constantly review and update it so you can improve it over time. The most successful internet marketers frequently update their site and make it more usable. Website Rewards While website design can be a complicated topic, it does follow some basic rules that anyone can master. So if you've had your existing website for a long time, now is the perfect time to analyze it and make changes as appropriate. And if you're creating a new website from the ground up, keep these 7 guidelines in mind so you minimize your learning curve. Taking the time to analyze and plan your website effectively will enable you to experience greater results and higher profits in the future. Peter Koeppel
MANNERS ON THE NET How to get a response from a total stranger The beauty of the Internet is that it is easy for anyone to contact complete strangers from all over the world and get questions answered by them, says Eszter Hargittai in Inside Higher Ed (www.insiderhighered .com, “A primer on electronic communication”). The problem arises when people don’t know how to pose their questions to total strangers. Hargittai says that everyone is busy these days, and if you don’t want your e-mail to land in the recipient’s trash folder, you should follow these tips: • Write a clear and descriptive subject line. • Address the person politely. • State your reasons for contact. • Introduce yourself. • Explain who you are, what you are doing and what you want to know. • Restate your question and elaborate, if necessary. • Thank the person and sign off with a formal signature. • Read your letter and make sure it says exactly what you want it to say—and is error free. • Get in touch again in a week if you’ve gotten no response. • Don’t make urgent requests. Assume that the person on the other end is as overwhelmed as you are.   STAY IN CONTROL How to overcome the jitters Do you suffer from stage fright or performance anxiety? Do you “choke” when you’re in the spotlight? Do you suffer from shaking, blushing, nausea or shortness of breath when you’re on stage? In the article “Scare stage fright away,”by Karen Haywood Queen in Better Homes and Garden, pianist Miriam Elfstron suffered the jitters so bad that she had to wear mittens all day the days of her performances because her hands shook and became cold. Eventually, her piano instructor taught her how to control her anxiety. Here are Victoria Wyatt’s (Miriam’s piano teacher) recommendations: • Think positively. Practice making positive statements about what you are doing and avoid using negative words or self-talk. For instance, say “I am confident,” not “I don’t feel nervous.” • Practice performing through the inevitable slips. It’s a performance. If you mess up the world won’t come to an end. Get comfortable recovering from slips and memory lapses. • Practice in front of smaller groups first. Don’t perform for the first time for a crowd of 500. It’s too much pressure. • Reduce muscle tension to reduce mental tension. It’s all connected, so if you’re body is relaxed, there’s a good chance your mind will be relaxed as well. • Adopt a ritual. Carry a lucky charm. Wear your lucky shoes. Touch your nose before you begin. Dribble the ball three times before the game starts, like Michael Jordan. Whatever works for you is OK. • Don’t be a perfectionist. Don’t visualize a perfect performance, because then you will feel like you’ve failed if you make even a small mistake. Instead, picture a performance where you do well by overcoming small obstacles along the way.	FAST FORWARD... Protect your image Check your name on Google and Yahoo!, as well as any other search engines you think might turn something up about you. And then check your name about once a month to see if anything appears.   Is your self-image ruling your life? Deepak Chopra, in The Book of Secrets, says to be ruled by self-image is to exclude many feelings that we don’t believe jibe with our imagined selves. This, he speculates, keeps reality at bay. Chopra says you are no longer ruled by self-image when: •  You let yourself feel what you feel. •  You stop being offended by things. •  You stop worrying about how a situation makes you look. •  You stop excluding people you feel inferior or superior to. •  You stop worrying about what people are thinking of you. •  You stop obsessing over money, possessions and status. • You no longer feel the urge to defend your opinions   Eyes front A recent study found that eye contact increases your ability to persuade others. If you are perceived as likable then people will be more open to paying close attention to you and being convinced by your point of view   Introductions Enhancing your career can depend on how ready you are to take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself. That means that you need to be ready to introduce yourself quickly to people you might run into casually in the office or in other business settings. Once you have an introduction that you like, work to perfect it. Practice it—and then use it when the opportunity arises.