The use of humour to pass on a message is a skill I aspire to and want to cultivate. I was at a meeting last night with Geoff Burch a business speaker and leadership guru. There were lots of business owner and Face book friends at the event, Jane Duncan Rogers, Claire Hayes, Jock Gibson, Tez Watson and many more. 

Paul Harvey Geoff Burch and Jane Duncan Rogers

“Geoff Burch is hailed as the alternative business guru. … With characteristic irreverence and humour, Geoff tears apart many business taboos. …”

 The event was the last formal meeting for the Moray Small Business Club. An enterprise-funded group meeting 6 times a year to network and share stories. Each month there would be a speaker on a subject relevant to the audience of start-ups and new business owners.

 Geoff has a strong stage presence, and conveyed with humour and story a great message for these modern times. The word “SALES” is now back in plain language.

 I have heard it said that “Good times breed bad habits.” Two years ago people would buy anything with out being asked. This was true no matter how it was promoted or if the service behind it was poor.

 Times are different and getting sales means asking for the business and delivering the service.

 Here is a video from the London Business Forum

 In Geoff’s presentation, he covered so much it would be impossible to put in a blog post that you would want to read.

 The point that stood out for me was the marketing and the bit before you start.

 “Marketing creates the opportunity for you to prove how brilliant you are at doing your business.”

 This is so important marketing is the fuel for the engine that is your business. If you cannot do it, then do not promote it.

 Putting this in plan terms if the machine for sprocket making tends to break down get it fixed before you advertise more sprockets for sale.

 I see this often and like to work with people to fix the problem before we market the business.

 How is you business engine running does it need any tuning, this gets us back to the point that word “SALES” in the pre crunch world if your business was not well tuned it did not really matter there was always another customer.

 Now that might not be quite so true. Any thoughts

 All the best with you day

This was a teleconference with Jane Duncan Rogers on Thursday 25th February 2010

Jane Rogers Richthinkers

Jane has had a full career starting in HR management she took redundancy and moved to Greece. Became a personal student with Louise Hay and returned to England to run study groups.

She became a published author, Started a complementary health business with her Husband Philip Rogers, and sold it in 2003. 

They move to Scotland with the richthikers project in 2007 and coaches numerous people all over Europe on how to manage money and have a rich life which is about more than money.

This was my first conference call that I had organised and it such a pleasure to do this with Jane.

What was so interesting for me, and I know this, we all know this,  ”Success in anything is about controlling your thinking.”

On the call she gave us tips and suggestion on how cope when it is difficult and the urge to shout at everyone or make that snap decision is there.  She has strategies to deal with tough times and confirmed that this kind of mental work takes effort.

Why is it we value this process so little. In our conversation I referred to the athletes in the winter games. Those down hill racers are working the course in their head just before the leap out the gate down the hill.

From Yahoo Sports

Sweden’s Anja Paerson, a former downhill world champion, seemed headed for a silver medal behind Lindsey Vonnbut flew 60 meters through the air before landing badly and sliding head first over the finish line. Paerson bruised her left calf and was shaken up, but otherwise appeared OK, said Sweden team official Ulf Lars Emilsson.

I watched Anja Paerson do this flying leap, she must have been moving at 90km/h when she took off, after landing she slid down the hill on her face.  The following day she went down the same hill and won a Bronze Medal. What type of mental preparation did she go through to get up and do that again.

We think nothing of this in terms of sports but do you apply the same attention to your thoughts in your business?

The teleconference with Jane reinforced how important it is for all of us, in life or business to look after our thinking.

It is our thinking that controls the journey we are on and what kind of journey that will be. Here is the sting in the tail, this it is happening all of the time every moment of your life even if you are not continuously in control of it, your mind will give you what ever you think about.

If you did not make the call the replay is here, I hope you find it useful please post some comments below.  

Right click the link below to play or left click and save target as to download  

http://www.market-that.com/Audios/JaneDuncanRogers.mp3

 All the best with your thinking

Paul Harvey

Thankfully with some time on side and few support question I was able to find the conflicting piece of script and remove it.

So we are back in business and I have some posts to catch up with, stay with me on this.

New post over the weekend

Forres Gazette Picture and link

The new year finally started once we had got over the shock of the snow and worked out how to drive on it. This weather for many has created a tough start with footfalls and turnover down for those companies that require customers to visit. It is a natural hibernation time and getting customers to respond to our messages can be tough. The traditional “sale” has lost much of its magic as consumers have grown suspicious of the standard sales message.

The trick here is to look to the future engauge them with events in the calender. Every business needs a promotion Calender or Diary if you have not looked at this then now is the time to start.

What are the main events of the year for your industry, look to tie a promotion to them, for my resturant clients in Scotland it will be burns night  followed by Valentines day then Mothers day Easter and so on 

Look to each event and see how you can structure and offer that fits in with the values of that event

Think about how you will structure it will it be exclusive or restricted.

Are there time limits or incentives

With a well planned Promotions Calender you can set about decideing channels to the market creating, materials booking, advertising and generally planning the year.

Once you have them tweeked, promotions will work year on year with minimal change to the formular.

If you want help with you promotions calender for 2010 drop me line or have a look at this

Marketing Boosters 2010

All the best to you success

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey Marketing Coach

I think I am in both although more relationship marketing than sales. What I find exiting about marketing is that it can be found in every part of the business, it is something that touches everything from the answering of the telephone to the deliver driver placing the parcel at the door.

Many of my clients have started their business because of a passion for a product or because they enjoyed making something or simply because they wanted to get out of employment and run their own train set.

They soon found out the reality of sales and its definition.

The definition of Sales: Find a great product that people might or might not want or need. Bang on any door, Speak to any one who will listen.

This can be hard work and needs a thick skin.

When sales is approached from the position of marketing there is a grace to the process, I like this definition as marketing is more like this.

Definition of marketing: Find people that have a need or a problem that they want to solve.  Find a product or solution to the problem and offer it to them.

The second is much easier than the first as when people want what you have it is the start of a journey you make together. It is building a relationship where the customer completes a sale with a true sense of satisfaction and gratitude towards you or your business.

There is an aspect of sale involved even when people want something they sometimes need to given all of the information for the coin to fall in your favour. 

It is not about heavy lifting, attrition or fighting objections, if it is then they are the wrong customer.

All the best in your marketing

Paul Harvey

I have been neglecting my blog of late partly other work and clients. I am writing after reading a regional newspaper and seeing the same kind of ads everywhere.  It saddens me when I see a paper, events flyer or product brochure with a message that is so broad and uninspiring that it just misses the point.

Every business course book or presentation talks about getting a unique selling point and targeting the message.

Are you using a key message a unique selling point or sales proposition?

I have though a lot about this and have concluded that is to do with the fear of missing some thing a not having confidence in the process.

We want to spread the messages about our products and service but fear we will miss something. The reality is when we do not take the time to focus the offer on a tight target group, and then we are just throwing mud at the wall and hoping it will stick, in a sense missing everything.

Living in a rural area as I do, local business face a difficult challenge, with a low populace, it can be hard to find a target big enough to make a response cover the cost of the promotion.

Having said this targeting will produce a better response than a broad advert, this is because the message is relevant to the reader.

There is a bonus to targeted advertising, once the market becomes aware of your tight selling position you become the authority in that segment and the business builds. The response to the advertisement goes up and the cost of customer acquisition will fall. Therefore, in real terms the cost of targeted advertising is less that the cost of broad advertising.

That is the key find a tight message that is relevant to a small group and build from there. Easy you can have this done by lunchtime, give it a test bottle it.

If you think this might be a bit harder that that then let’s talk

All the best in you business

Paul  Harvey

One thing that came up on both projects is the importance of having something to hang the promotion from to give it credibility. What is it that establishes this credibility for a business or person? As ever it will be the good services and value that the business provides. These values get hung onto a thing that can be the name of the business or the person. It becomes the brand an image that reminds the customers and prospects what you are about.

In my case it is me Paul Harvey and my trading name Market-that. 

Last week I met with a company where the quality of the product was out performing the brand, it just did not fit the name. I am supporting them in the re-branding project, its a great opportunity to refocus the business and develop new customers.

For anyone looking to understand the importance of branding here us a great post from BNET , I do like these quotes taken from that post

“Marketing is a tricky discipline. Science, art form, or both, it’s critical to your company’s success.

David Packard, of Hewlett-Packard, once said, “Marketing is too important to leave to the marketing department.” The more you understand and participate in your company’s marketing strategy, the better the odds of success.

I’d like to leave you with my favorite quote on branding by Bob Pittman, President of AOL back in the day: “Coca Cola does not win the taste test. Microsoft does not have the best operating system. Brands win.”

The full post is here

 http://blogs.bnet.com/ceo/?p=1416

All the best to your success

Paul Harvey

This is easy when you have a relationship with individual or the business, however it is the cold call that presents the biggest challenge to us all.

The Gate keeper is charged with keeping cold callers at bay and it is your job to get through  

Here are 10 tips from Andy Dickens on the Start up Donut Blog

http://startupdonutblog.co.uk/2009/06/16/top-ten-tips-for-getting-past-the-gatekeeper/

His blog is great and has lots of useful sales tips

Paul Harvey Marketing Coach

I was away over the weekend with the toys business and did not get time to blog a follow up to the Carphone Warehouse (CPW) post. Following the post I put this following comment on twitter to see what would happen.

“Carphone Warehouse on Twitter http://tinyurl.com/lrvrqv I wonder if they are really listening.”

Marktet_that  Wed 19^th   15:53″

Rebecca Holms replied within minutes (below) her profile reads “I work as part of the HLC Complaints team within CPW. I am here to help!”

 @Market_that - We are indeed becksatcarphone  Wed 19^th   16:00

 @Market_that http://ow.ly/kzSX becksatcarphone  Wed 19^th   16:01

 The second tweet Becks sent is the link to the PR interview on the CPW use of twitter and social media. 

I had another follow up from Guy Stephens his profile reads “Customer Knowledge manager at Carphone Warehouse trying to understand how social media can enhance the online help and support customer experience”

 ”@Market_that Hi there, I wrk 4 Carphone Warehouse. Let me assure you there are lots of real people behind the pictures tweeting away” @guyatcarphone Wed 19^th   16:39

 You can read the full interview on how they are using the medium 

 http://blog.immediatefuture.co.uk/how-the-carphone-warehouse-uses-twitter-for-customer-service/

This is a fantastic use of social media with so many Iphone users on twitter it makes perfect sense for CPW to be here listening to the chatter and helping where they can. When I did a Twitter search on CPW I found a shocking amount of negative comments and disgruntled customers, they are hacked off and twittering how they feel. It became clear that being on twitter for CPW was not an option.

 It is good to see them using the medium to engage with and solve the problems

 @Tamsinator Hi, I work for Carphone Warehouse, sorry to learn of your frustrations, can I help in any way?

There is no better way to improve a business than to hear the complaints and act on them. It is clear that twitter is a great barometer for this. Boy have they got their work cut out, I was surprised they had the time to react to my joke but I guess it was a nice change from the barrage of bad feeling that is being generated by the poor customer service stories.

 Here are a few of the tweets in the stream I have tried to find a balance

 “Carphone Warehouse very helpfull over last couple of days. Would recommend them.”

 “once again my plan to look at getting an iphone today was thwarted by the lack of staff in o2 and carphone warehouse in town”

 “Had the worst lunchtime arguing with Carphone Warehouse. Their customer service is joke. So angry. Still no Blackberry after 4 months!”

 “Raging at horror that is Carphone Warehouse and One Stop Phone Shop. May turn to terrorism”

 “My new and useless 5800 is now at the mercy of some cretins at the Carphone Warehouse.May God have mercy on its broken soul.”

 “@guy1067 how’s it going at carphone warehouse what’s ur take on twitter now that u guys have been using it for a while now?”

 Funnily enough, I very nearly went into my carphone warehouse this morning…Mostly wanted to check out gorgeous Adonis working there…But

@Kimberleyxjx ahh no can do, i refuse to shop at Carphone Warehouse after an 8 month disagreement, it got sorted through twitter haha!

 That last tweet I picked up this morning proves it is working for them

Good luck Twitter Guys at CPW

I was interested to see a blog post this morning on BNET

Carphone Warehouse’s Twitter Strategy

By Richard Young http://blogs.bnet.com/customer-service/?p=171

Carphone Warehouse

It looks at the strategy that the Carphone Warehouse have adopted using twitter. It buys in to my own experience with social media. There is so much excitement about its growth and potential to build huge lists of people and to my mind that is just what they are huge list of people where a small % is really listening

The key that CPW have picked up, twitter is a communication medium for connecting with customers if they are the type of customer that will be listening. They are using it to improve and monitor customer service.

 I think social media in general is a fantastic tool and we are still in the period of research and development, finding new applications and uses for the tool. It is really good to see a big company developing a sensible strategy for it use in the business rather that just banning it as they have in some organisations. 

http://blogs.bnet.com/customer-service/?p=171