The Power of FREE
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Why is FREE so irresistible?
How can it help you generate greater profits?
Dan Ariely, in his book, Predictably Irrational, offers empirical data that shows that rational thinking goes out the window when something is free. Why?
Professor Ariely believes that "most transactions have an upside and a downside, but when something is FREE! we forget the downside." Makes sense; why explore a downside when there apparently isn't one?
There are two applications for this counter-intuitive insight:
- As a buyer, train your mind to explore the whole deal instead of focusing on what's free. It can save you a lot of money.
- As a seller, find low cost ways of offerings something free and you'll increase both your revenues and proft margins.
I love getting multiple benefits from the same idea. Thanks Professor Ariely!
For more information on Dan Ariely visit his website www.predictablyirrational.com.
If there are topics you'd like addressed, please email me at dale@furtwengler.com
Dealing With Denial
Monday, May 19, 2008
When your employees don't produce the results you desire...
They're probably in denial.
A company contracted for training to help their project team leaders get results more quickly. "The training was very good, but we haven't seen any results", they lamented. Why?
"Everyone in the training program felt that they didn't need to be there. They saw everyone else's deficiencies, not their own." Indeed, denial is at the root of many failed training initiatives. How do you avoid this pitfall? Follow these three simple steps:
- Ascertain their interest in the training
- Shake their world to show them that they're in denial
- Make attendance optional
Before engaging in any training program, determine whether the intended audience is interested in the training. If they're not interested, but the lack of results indicates they should be, you know they're in denial. Shake them out of their denial. 360 degree feedback assessments are an excellent tool for this. The person may dispute one person's assessment of their performance; it's much more difficult to dismiss the assessments of your boss, subordinates and peers. Another tool that has worked well in shaking people out of denial is Step 1 of the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program - Contributory Negligence. The audience gets to see that they contribute to every problem they face. This approach opens their minds to the possibility that they are contributing to their team's lack of productivity. Finally, don't make training mandatory. It's a waste of time, money and energy. Instead, offer the training to those who have recognized the need, then let their superior performance speak to the value of that training. It's counter-intuitive, but one of the reasons training fails so often is that the people in the audience are in denial about their need for training. Avoid this costly mistake by assessing the level of denial, shaking the intended audience out of their denial, then making training optional. If there are tips on dealing with denial you'd like to share with our readers, please post a comment or email me at dale@furtwengler.com
The Wrong Hero
Monday, May 12, 2008
One of the most common mistakes in marketing is...
I think you'll be surprised.
Occasionally I stumble across language so eloquent I simply have to share it. That's the case with this week's blog.
Harry and Christine Beckwith in their book, You, Inc., talk about marketing. They cite a company whose marketing materials tout their credentials. The Beckwiths said "It's an impressive story...There's only one problem. It has the wrong hero."
Their point is that your customers aren't going to identify with you, they're going to identify with the people you've helped. It's your customers' success they desire.
It's counter-intuitive, but when you highlight your success, prospects doubt what they hear. When you tout your customers' success, they dream about enjoying the same success. Create marketing materials that tout your customers' heroics and you'll generate more business.
Please share your marketing tips that have helped you enjoy greater success by posting a comment or sending me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.
Recruiting Salespeople
Monday, May 05, 2008
How do you evaluate candidates for your sales force?
You may be overlooking something very important.
A very successful business owner, and effective salesperson in his own right, said "I wish I could get my salespeople to communicate the value we provide as well as I do."
My question to him - "What type of buyers are your salespeople?" Like many sales managers, he looks at the individual's track record in generating sales; not at his buying habits.
It's counter-intuitive, but price buyers are price sellers and value buyers are value sellers. Asking them to change their price philosophy is like asking a leopard to change its spots. It isn't going to happen.
The next time you're evaluating a candidate for a sales position ask for a couple of examples of the best buys she's made. You'll quickly get a sense for whether she's a price or value buyer. If she's a price buyer and your company competes on price you've got a good fit, assuming all other factors are favorable.
If, however, your company is value oriented, keep looking. She's not a viable candidate for your company.
Let our readers know some of the effective tools you've devised for recruiting salespeople, post your comment or email me at dale@furtwengler.com. Please join me this evening, 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. when I present 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE. It's the Kirkwood Des Peres Chamber of Commerce opening ceremony for Small Business Week. The program is proceeded by a networking/happy hour at 4:45 p.m. sponsored by AMG Corporate Offices at their location 1610 Des Peres Rd., Suite 150. Directions: Take 270 to Manchester Rd. Go west to the Des Peres Rd. exit. Turn right onto Des Peres Rd. and another quick right into the Corporate Hill office park. 1610 is the farthest building on the right. I hope to see you there!
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