I had the opportunity to hear Bob Scribner, owner of Executive Advantage, a highly respected HR firm located in Columbia, MO., (573-2436) talk about leadership recently. What Bob shared with us had a strong impact on me so I'm going to share a bit of what he had to say with you.

TRUST & RESPECT

Bob started his talk with the idea that, as a leader, earning the trust and respect of your people is critical. That means, to lead effectively, you must be consistent. He said trust is the foundation of respect and trust is developed from character coupled with core values including: integrity, accountability, empowerment of others, willingness to take responsibility, a desire to increase your ability and the abilities of your people, and a strategic mindset.

Drawing four circles on the chalk board, Bob filled in the details in each circle as he spoke.

CIRCLE #1: PURPOSE

The first circle was PURPOSE. Bob told us that trusted leaders are dream-makers. Helping people imagine what could be requires vision coupled with the ability to see the desired end result.

CIRCLE #2: MANAGEMENT

A manager that earns the trust and respect of his team MANAGES in a way that creates the strongest possible infrastructure for the business. The six P's: Place; People; Product; Price; Promotion; consumer exPerience, must be as strong as they can be. Further, each member of your team should be empowered to do what needs to be done to improve of each of  the "P's" and each member of the team must be held accountable for the actions they take.

CIRCLE #3: PROFESSIONAL

The PROFESSIONAL leader acts as a futurist, imaging what will happen and what needs to happen, and devises a course of action that will lead to the desired result. To achieve that result, the effective manager improves his skill set while investing in each member of his team, enabling them to improve their skill set, too. A good leader, Bob said, serves as a mentor to his people.

CIRCLE #4: LIFESTYLE

Bob's discussion of LIFESTYLE returned us to the concept of core values and the importance of being consistent as a leader. You positively influence your team when your core values include operating with integrity, accepting responsibility, empowering your people, holding yourself accountable for your actions-and holding your team members accountable for their actions-while improving your abilities to think strategically and the ability of your team to do their job. Demonstrating these critical core values earns you the trust and respect of your people which, in turn, gives you the ability to lead them to the desired result.

As always, sell a bunch!
Mark

I'm reading a book titled The Referral Engine by John Jantsch
(he also wrote Duct Tape Marketing). In the book he discusses
how to go about getting referrals. He says there are
two critical elements.

The first of the critical elements is:

You must have a core talkable difference.Your goal, Jantsch says,
"is to unearth the simple, remarkable difference that is your chief
competitive advantage. It is not enough to offer a nice feature,
something your competitor doesn't; this must be something so special
that people can't help talking about your business...I can't stress
enough how significant this first step is to the eventual success (or
failure) of your referral ambitions."

How to determine your core talkable difference is the point of
my book What's Your Phrase that Pays?. Jantsch says the best way
to do this (Jantsch suggests there is not much help available to the
business owner trying to figure our their differentiation-I wrote Phrase
to fill that gap) is to understand 1) who and what you are (how to
accomplish this is detailed in Phrase), 2) determine what consumers
already want (how to conduct effective, no cost, easy to complete
consumer research is detailed in Phrase), then 3) figure out how you
can provide the desired benefit and communicate the fact you do
provide it to consumers in a way that makes it easy for consumers
to understand why it's in their best interest to pay you a (perceived)
premium for your differentiation (a phrase that pays-ten words or less
that presents your consumer-desired differentiation in an easy to
understand, memorable way, is the point of What's Your Phrase that
Pays?).

The second of the two critical elements is:

you must have a narrowly defined ideal customer.

Jantsch goes on to suggest you focus on a specific target market
(how to determine your primary target market is detailed in Phrase).

A consumer-desired differentiation that you consistently deliver
creates trust; presenting your differentiation in an easy to
understand, memorable way (a phrase that pays, I suggest) is
the key to effective word of mouth marketing and referrals because,
Jantsch says "In the business of referrals, trust is the most important
reason a recommendation is made and, conversely, lack of trust is
the single greatest reason referrals don't happen."

Thanks, and sell a bunch!

Mark Dahl

The next What's Your Phrase that Pays 'how-to' marketing class has been scheduled.

The class will be held each Wednesday, Nov 10th-Dec 15th, from 6pm-8pm at Air & Water Solutions, on Heriford Dr in Columbia, MO.

The class is limited to 8 non-competitive businesses. During each classroom session you'll have plenty of opportunity to share ideas-what does and does not work when it comes to marketing and advertising-with other business owners (this is what the folks that have completed the program like best about the class sessions), while discussing the results of the assignments to be completed between class meetings.

Your investment is $240 and that includes the 115 page workbook.

Those that take the class you will learn:

1) How to dramatically improve your advertising ROI;
2) How to create advertising that motivates the now buyer and positions you with the future buyer;
3) How to beat the 'big boxes' at the cash register, even if you are higher priced;
4) The consumer-desired differentiation only you can provide that consumers will pay you a premium to own;
5) How to create your phrase that pays (positioning statement slogan);
6) How to do consumer research that tells you what you need to know at no cost to you;
7) How to schedule your advertising campaign for maximum reach and effective frequency;
8) How to create employee 'buy-in' to your business mission so your staff is eager to help you grow your business;
9) And more!

Seating is limited so contact me asap to reserve your seat or to get more information. Thanks, and sell a bunch!

Mark Dahl
Accountable Marketing
573-443-8610

Background

I've been suggesting to my clients, with increasing vigor over the past few years, that they invest some time and effort into developing a Complementary Marketing (CM) program. The more I investigate the potential of CM the more convinced I become that it's a viable way to grow your business at minimal expense. 

What is Complementary Marketing?

Let's assume you retail pool tables and game room accessories. One way to communicate with consumers about your pool tables  is through traditional advertising and, as the owner of an advertising agency, I would certainly advise you to advertise.

But, while you're advertising, you could also engage in a CM effort. The beauty of adding CM is that it costs you very little-and often costs you nothing-while it improves the effectiveness of your traditional advertising. This is true because your CM effort makes additional impressions on consumers and the information is delivered to consumers by a trusted resource, someone with whom they are doing business.

Example: while your TV, radio and/or newspaper ads are running, some consumers are hiring home remodelers to remodel rooms into a family room. When the room is finished the consumers are going to need to buy stuff  to put into the remodeled room including, perhaps, furniture, a big screen TV and, maybe, a pool table. Your goal is to make sure the home remodelers endorse you as a source the consumer should consider as they turn the remodeled space into the perfect family room.

How to start

1) Make a list of all businesses that serve your primary target market but that do not compete with you directly;
2) Do NOT restrict your list only to the obvious suspects (more on this in a moment);
3) Prioritize the businesses that, when a consumer buys from them, your product or service increases in importance to that  consumer.
4) Find out who the business owner is of each of your potential CM partners;
5) Develop a short, non-threatening presentation to deliver when you contact your potential CM partners;
6) Test your initial methods of contact. By this I mean call some of your CM prospects on the phone and set an appointment to introduce yourself, contact some via e-mail and cold call some of them (that's right, just walk in, ask for the owner, then tell him/her why you're there. It's not that scary;
7) Keep records as to which method of contact works best;
8) Invest at least two hours each week making the contacts;
9) Communicate regularly with your CM partners and potential partners;
10) RETURN THE FAVOR; if you want your CM partners to refer you, you need to refer customers to your CM partners.

Potential CM Partners

For the pool table retailer a few of the obvious CM partners are:

Home remodelers
Contractors
Bars and night clubs (and any other location) that hosts pool league play
Plumbers
Furniture stores
Electricians
Paint and hardware stores
Architects
Interior designers
Carpet stores
home furnishing stores & home decor stores
Real estate agents
and etc.

A few of the less obvious, but viable CM partners are:

Upscale restaurants (especially if the pool table retailer sells upscale tables):
Cigar Bars (reach upscale consumers)
Wine bars and wineries (reach upscale consumers)
Investment brokers (a pool table gives Mom and Dad more reason to bring the grandchildren to Grandpa and Grandma's)
and etc.

Complementary Marketing is word of mouth marketing on steroids.

Take a few minutes now to create your initial list of potential CM partners, then make some contacts. Revise your presentation as you gain experience. Expand your list as new potential CM partners occur to you.

This is an exciting, easy to implement, affordable idea. Give it a try, then let me know how it works out for you; I'd love to share your ideas with other business owners. Thanks, and sell a bunch!

Mark Dahl

Recently, during a TV interview on MSNBC, Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business) was explaining why jingles are so successful as a marketing tool. Mr. Phibbs suggested jingles work because they make the sales message easy to remember.

We agree!

Music works as a mnemonic device. How did you learn the ABC's when you were a kid? I bet you sang them (to the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star tune). Smart teachers have used music to teach virtually every subject (including math and chemistry) for years.

Your chances of getting consumers to implant your sales message in to their long term memory increases significantly when you use music to convey the message.

Since 1983 we've created jingles for hundreds of small businesses across the country and we continue to believe that a jingle (musical image, audio logo, electronic logo, etc.) is the best investment any broadcast advertiser can make.

For more information check out our web site www.jinglesforsmallbusiness.com, or give me a call at 800-324-4804 (or 573-443-8610). Thanks, and sell a bunch!

Mark Dahl
Accountable Marketing

At the end of 2009 I had the opportunity to be mentored by a business coach. He helped me through the process of creating a strategic plan, and I must say, I'm very pleased with the result.

I admit that I was of the opinion that vision statements, mission statements and the like were 'soft' concepts that felt good to create but that were nothing more than a lot of work with no bottom-line pay off. I was wrong!

A properly created strategic plan includes a detailed action plan that, when implemented, drives the business owner to creating his or her desired future. As my business coach kept saying: "OK, Mark, what are you going to put on your calendar to do tomorrow?"

That works for me because, once I put something on my 'to do' list, I do it. My problem was, like most small business owners, I had so many things to do, and because I prioritized nothing everything seemed to be critical, I did those things I liked to do.

Here's the rub: those things I like to do are, more often than not, not the things that I need to do to advance my business.

I would often find myself, at the end of the day, patting myself on the back for working so hard all day long. But, when I analyzed what I had done, I discovered I did a lot of 'stuff' that was important, but in no way critical. For example, I spent several hours one morning working on my brochure. Now, I can make a case that I need a brochure. But, is working on it from 8am-11am on a Monday morning the most effective thing I could have done with that time?  Or, would I have been better off using that time making cold calls to prospects that might give me an appointment to discuss how I could help them grow their business? There's no way around it: cold calling for appointments, while not all that much 'fun' in my opinion, is a far better use of my time.

My mentor suggested that I include strategic planning as one of my services. I've taken his advice and have done so. The experience of helping several business owners through the process has convinced me that strategic planning is an essential part of growing a business. A business plan presents the vision, the end-result, in the form of financial projections, of successfully growing your business. The strategic plan shows you , step-by-step, the path you will need to follow in order to reach your financial goals.

Working through the steps of the strategic plan require a commitment to the process. I admit it: there were many times I wanted to 'bail' on the process. Thinking is hard. It requires focus and effort. It's a smack upside the head when you have to admit to yourself that, to get your business to where you want it to be, you must do those things that, in the back of your mind you know you need to do, but you've not been doing because you don't like doing it.

On the other hand, implementing a plan is somehow very freeing. I'm convinced that I'm now doing what I need to be doing (most of the time), and that gives me a feeling of confidence, even when the end result of my actions aren't what I was hoping they would be. It's just easier, mentally, to do what you know you need to do than it is to tell yourself you're working effectively when you know that, in reality, you aren't.

If you're ready to take the next step, to grow your business to the next level, I highly recommend you put yourself through the process and create your strategic plan.  That way, each and every day, you'll be doing the most productive thing to achieve your business vision.

Thanks, and sell a bunch!
Mark Dahl

Click here to return to Your Phrase that Pays

I recently talked with a prospective client that was eager to hire my marketing communications company if I was willing to work for a percentage of the increased sales the marketing communication developed.

I told him I very much liked that idea; as a matter of fact, I told him that I've worked with clients in exactly that manner. 

There's only been one problem: it doesn't work.

Why?

Circle of Influence vs. Circle of Concern

I call my company Accountable MARKeting for a reason. I expect to be held accountable for every aspect of a client's marketing communication effort over which I have influence. That would include selecting the medium to be used, negotiating the rates, writing the copy, producing the piece, placing the buy, etc.

But, here's the problem: there are factors beyond even the most effective marketing communication effort that determine if a sale will be made, and all of these factors, while in my circle of concern, are outside of my circle of influence.

According to the Harvard Business Review there are five resource factors that determine the success of a business. In the order of importance to consumers they are: Place (geographic location as well as the physical plant), People, Product (service), Price and Promotion (including marketing communication). These five create a sixth success resource: the exPerience consumers get when they do business with you.

But, here's the problem: every client I've offered to work with for a percentage of the increased sales has refused to let me: rent new space for them at a higher traffic location (Place), remodel their store (Place), hire and train their people (People), select their product  mix (Product), and determine their pricing (Price).

Why the Resources Matter to Sales

Consider this:

A man is driving to work one morning. He's listening to his favorite radio station and he hears an advertisement for a restaurant with which he is not familiar. He's impressed by the ad which promises great food (Product) and spectacular service (People). He decides that, as soon as he gets to work, he will make a reservation for himself and his wife for Friday night.

Did the advertising work?  I think we can agree it did.  Has the restaurant made the sale? Not yet. Do I get paid? No.

The man gets to work and, en route to his desk where he intends to phone in his reservation, he detours past the break room. While getting a cup of coffee a co-worker joins him. He tells her that he is going to make a reservation at a restaurant he just heard about on the radio.

The co-worker asks him which restaurant. He tells her.

The restaurant is now enjoying positive word of mouth!  Is the advertising working? Yes! Do I get paid? No.

The co-worker says" "Oh! Do NOT go there! My husband and I ate there last night and it was awful!  The food was terrible and the service was even worse. We will never go there again!"

Oops.

The restaurant made a Product promise (food) and a People promise (service), and according to a person that has exPerienced the restaurant, the restaurant fails to deliver on their promises!

We've agreed the Promotion resource (the marketing communication) worked.  Yet, now, due to negative word of mouth-lousy food and service-the man now decides NOT to make the reservation. 

All three resources-People, Product and the resulting exPerience-are not functioning properly. And each of these resources are outside my circle of influence.  So, even though the marketing communication-a resource inside my circle of influence-worked, no sale is made and I don't get paid.

And here's the real kicker: the client blames the marketing communication! He fires me, hires another firm, and the results are repeated ad naseum.

How does that saying go? Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results, is the definition of insanity.

I expect to be held accountable. I agree that accountability includes telling truth to power. So, I make this pledge to my clients: should I discover something going on with any of the resources that is hindering sales, I will tell you about it right away!

In the meantime, I expect to be paid for doing the best job possible within my center of influence. That seems fair, doesn't it?

Thanks, and sell a bunch!

Mark

Click here to return to Your Phrase that Pays.

To return to your phrase that pays click here www.yourprhasethatpays.com

I'm currently reading The Myth of Excellence by Fred Crawford and Ryan Mathews. The authors report the results of a consumer research study that included 5,000+ consumers.

The book is primarily aimed at retail and service businesses and breaks the marketing process into five areas: access, price, service, product and experience. Crawford and Mathews suggest that trying to be "the best" in every area is a wast of time and money. Instead, they recommend that a business attempt to dominate by differentiating in one of the five categories, differentiate in one of the remaining four categories and be as good as the average business in the other three categories.

In other words, be acceptable in three categories, preferred in one and so dominate in one that consumers seek you out specifically to do business with you.

There are plenty of case studies, charts and diagrams,and  the concepts are explained clearly; this makes the book easy to read, understand and apply.

I found the chapter on price ('Would I lie to you?') to be especially interesting. The authors say: "Price is perhaps the attribute most commonly abused by companies chasing the myth of excellence. Believing that price is the ultimate consumer siren song,  too many businesses offer gratuitous discounts on items or services consumers would be happy to pay full margin for....Customers trust prices they believe are fair and honest, often distrusting promises of 'lowest possible cost.'...But the message from consumers is clear: Dominating on price doesn't necessarily mean having the absolutely lowest cost-it means consistently offering customers fair and honest prices."

Consumers will pay more for a product if they understand they are getting a  value for the premium they will not get from a lower priced competitors. The authors discuss how successful businesses create and deliver that value.

I recommend the book.

Thanks, and sell a bunch!

To return to the web site click here www.yourphrasethatpays.com

(Click www.yourphrasethatpays.com to return to the website)

5,000 ad messages each day!

The average American is bombarded by as many as 5,000 ad messages each day according to research conducted by Yankelovich Consumer Research.

That's a bunch!

If your advertising is going to break through all the clutter it needs to do so in the first five seconds or you have lost your opportunity to sell the consumer.

Small Business Times magazine reported in 2002 that 80% of an ad's effectiveness comes from the headline!

And things haven't change much since renowned copywriter John Caples-he wrote Tested Advertising Methods in 1974-said the headline is the most critical component of an ad because 75% of the decision to purchase happens at the headline.

That's why your phrase that pays, the consumer-desired benefit only you promise to deliver, must be the headline of any single ad you run and why it must be the focus of your advertising campaign.

Can you name the sponsor, business or product from the phrase below?

Life/Changing
Legendary
Your World. Delivered
The Power to Make it Better
Rising
Imagination at Work
Higher Standards

How about these?

Be All You Can Be
Think Small
Just Do It
You Deserve a Break Today
Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand
When It Absolutely, Positively Has to be There Overnight
We'll Leave the Light on For You

How did you do?

If I were a betting man my bet would be you could name most, or all of the businesses or products from the second seven, and few or none from the first seven.


And the answers are:

First Seven:
Iowa
N Dakota
AT & T
AARP
United Airlines
General Electric
Bank of America

Second Seven:
U.S. Army
Volkswagen
Nike
McDonalds
M and M's
FedEx
Motel Six

That's the importance of a well-crafted phrase that pays!

Thanks, and sell a bunch!
Mark

(Click www.yourphrasethatpays.com to return to the website)

I've been studying the 'strategic triangle' concept recently. That's the exact spot where you meet your customer and your competition head on and, from what you know about both, begin to determine your sustainable competitive advantage.

Kevin P. Coyne, in an article that ran in "Business Horizons" (Jan-Feb, 1986) titled Sustainable Competitive Advantage-What It Is, What It Isn't, says "For a producer to enjoy a competitive advantage in a product /market segment, the difference or differences between him and his competitors must be felt in the marketplace: that is, they must be reflected in some product/delivery attribute that is a key buying criterion for the market."

In his book "Jump Start Your Business Brain," Doug Hall discusses the idea of 'key buying criterion' in these terms: "Sales and profits explode when an Overt Benefit and Real Reason to Believe pair is offered with a Dramatic Difference. Without uniqueness, you have a commodity that sells for commodity-like profit margins. The new news is that for the uniqueness to be effective it must be dramatic-ten times bigger than you think it needs to be-and the drama must be focused directly on the Overt Benefit and Real Reason to Believe."

From my workbook "Your Phrase that Pays":

"Assume a customer wants to make a purchase. She knows of two stores in her marketplace that sell what she wants to buy, Business X and Business Y. She knows this about the two businesses:

1) They are directly across the street from one another;
2) She believes that both sell identical versions of the item; and
3) Business X is selling it for $100 and Business Y is selling it for $130.

"Given these facts, from which store will she most likely make her purchase? From which store would you buy if you were the consumer?

"Business X is the choice she can be expected to make because the only difference she is aware of is the 30% difference in price. If there is no other difference, if she perceives the item to be a commodity, why would she pay an additional $30? Would you pay the $30 premium?"

My guess is, you wouldn't pay the extra $30.00.

Consumer will pay more for a benefit they cannot get at a lower price point if they understand the value of the benefit. Consumers know that providing a true sustainable competitive advantage costs you time and money; if the benefit is important enough to them they will pay a premium to obtain that benefit!

How do you discover your sustainable competitive advantage, a benefit only you can provide or claim to provide that consumers care so much about they will purchase it from you at your higher price point? You analyze your strategic triangle.

Thanks, and sell a bunch!