Persistence Pays Off

I love parables, don’t you? They entertain and there’s always a lesson to be learned. Sometimes we get to snigger at the dupe that just doesn’t get it too. This week I’ve got two parables for you, and the best part is that they both happened to me within the last few weeks. You’ll learn from each one while they’re (hopefully!) entertaining you, and in one of them you’ll get to chuckle at the numpties who just didn’t get it.
Ready?

1. Persistence Pays Off

Last summer Vanessa and I took a long hard look at the bargeboards and soffits on our house, and hung our heads in shame. They were awful! So we used our network to find a recommended fitter, and were introduced to Mike Sullivan at Trade Plastics. Mike came over to give us a quote – and that’s where things got a little slowed up…

You remember last summer, don’t you? That was when the world was introduced to two new phrases: ‘credit-crunch’ and ‘publically-owned financial institutions.’ So Vanessa and I did what everyone else did, and put a hold on our buying decision. How many of your clients did the same? And that was where your sales-cycle ended, I’ll bet.

But not for Mike. Earlier this year he knocked on our door and asked how things were going. He didn’t come on strong at all, just wanted to see how things were with us. Wow! Follow-up! Who’s heard of such a thing? I wish I could say that we gave him the job right then, but we didn’t. We still weren’t ready to loosen the purse-strings, so we thanked him for the visit and told him we’d call him when ready.

So how many of us would have thrown that lead in the bin and moved on? I’d probably have put my hand up to that one. But once again, Mike didn’t go with the conventional wisdom.

About three weeks ago, our doorbell rang. And it’s a funny thing, because in the week leading up to that ring, Vanessa and I had been talking about our bargeboards. If they were awful a year ago, can you imagine what they looked like by now? And the gentle ‘thaw’ of the recession is undeniable, so we were looking once more at our budget.

So when Mike was behind the opened door, we asked when he could start the job. A week later, we had lovely new bargeboards and Mike had the money in his bank account. (We can heartily recommend Mike’s work, by the way. Also, he’s a great guy, he has a great team and his prices are reasonable. So if you need that kind of work done, drop him an email.)

The moral of this story? Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! Don’t be pushy, but if a prospect seemed interested and then got distracted, touch base and ask how things are going. If they’re still not ready wait for an appropriate interval then rinse and repeat. Like Mike, you may well get the business in which you invested so much effort.

Check back on Friday for my other story!

Use a Burning Platform to Overcome Recession Fears and Close More Profitable Business!

Use a Burning Platform to
Overcome Recession Fears and
Close More Profitable Business

 

 

 

Most of our clients, and many others that we talk to lately, report that prospects are taking longer to make decisions than before the credit crunch began. Are you finding that? There are many reasons for it, but we’re going to focus on just one right now – the phenomenon of inertia. The principle of inertia states that a body will resist efforts to change it’s ’state’ (whether a state of rest or of uniform motion).

 

 

How does this apply to our prospects? Well, they are no more immune from the laws of nature than anything else, so they will tend to resist a change (especially a change which involves their time, their money or both)! This manifests itself in the ubiquitous ‘Let me think about it’ and other delaying tactics, even if you’re sure that they realise they should be doing business with you. Yes, they may be convinced that agreeing to work with you will significantly benefit their business or their life, but that darned inertia will cause them to procrastinate and delay – sometimes indefinitely.

 

 

Of course, if that’s true at all times, it is especially true now, as we stare a recession in the face.  (As a side note: you might be ignoring the recession talk and getting on with your business – as you should be – but please be aware that your prospects may not be as successful at positive thinking as you are.)  So a prospect has even more reason now to remain inert, perhaps thinking that ‘now is not the time to be committing to new expenditure’, or ‘it would be wise to wait and see how the economy pulls through the first quarter of next year before deciding’.

 

 

So what can we do about it? How can we overcome prospect inertia and get them moving toward that aspirational outcome we will help them achieve if they only get off the fence and commit to working with us?

 

 

Create a ‘Burning Platform’

 

 

 

I heard a fascinating anecdote once. There is a brave bunch of people who choose to make a living by working on oilrigs – platforms floating way out in the North Sea off Northern Europe. Now, you may not be aware that sea temperatures in the North Sea rarely get more than a few degrees above freezing, so a person falling off one of those platforms into the sea has a life expectancy measured in seconds or minutes if they are not rescued. It would be safe to say that, under normal circumstances, nobody would choose to jump off the rig platform!

 

 

There is, however, one circumstance under which the normal pattern of behaviour is reversed – fire on the rig! Oil fires are fantastically hot and virtually impossible to extinguish, so if one breaks out on the rig it becomes a very unhealthy place to be – so unhealthy, in fact, that the few minutes of life to be found in the freezing waters below could make the difference between rescue and death.

 

 

Do you see how this might apply to your prospect’s buying decision? If you can create a ‘burning platform’ in the mind of the prospect they will have little alternative but to take the plunge and commit to your proposal. Now, let me hasten to add that I’m not talking about bullying or high-pressure sales tactics here – I’m talking about sound principles of marketing. Let’s explore them together, shall we?

 

 

If you’ve been following Zee2A’s marketing methodology for a while, you’ll understand that when we go prospecting we make a powerful promise to our prospects based on our ability to overcome their key challenges and create an aspirational outcome for them. We sincerely believe that we will be able to create that outcome, don’t we? We honestly believe that our prospect’s life and business will be the better for having worked with us, not so? And we base this conviction on our experiences with others we have worked with, for whom we have created aspirational outcomes, agreed? So we are not selling snake-oil – we really believe that our prospects are on a burning platform! All we need to do is help them to see that too.

 

 

The Cost of Inertia

 

 

 

What is the best way to accomplish that? Not by bullying of applying undue pressure! Rather, while exploring the prospect’s challenges and ‘matching’ your service offerings to those challenges, take some time to help the prospect understand the cost of inertia to them. Remember, if they delay a buying decision they are in effect delaying the achievement of that aspirational outcome you promise.

 

 

For example, if a prospect wants to grow their business but are having a hard time getting above a revenue ‘ceiling’, and we can help them to break through that ceiling and get on the way to their goals, the cost of inertia can be measured in lost revenues. You could (for example) demonstrate that if they delay by three months they will lose up to £250,000 in revenue growth over the next financial year. Quantifiable costs are always more powerful than nebulous risks, so take the time to work back to reasonable, measurable, agreed projections.

 

 

Does the prospect clearly see and understand that quantifiable ‘cost of inertia’? If so, they will begin to appreciate that they are on a burning platform and haste is needed! If not – why take the risk? That sea looks even colder than usual!

 

 

©David Deakin and Zee2A Limited 2008. Would you like to reprint this article? You may do so as long as you include the copyright notice and the following paragraph: David Deakin, CEO of Zee2A, is a marketing mentor who works with Professional services Executives yearning to take their business to the next level. Through one-on-one and group mentoring programmes he helps them to create sustainable marketing strategies that attract more clients at profitable rates. To learn more, sign up for his e-zine, or make an enquiry please visit www.zee2a.com.

 

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The Key to Getting Through The Recession With Your Business Intact

Keeping with current blogging themes of getting through this recession with our businesses intact, I read something very eye-opening recently on a colleague’s blog.  Merlyn Sanchez is the guru behind Smart Business Owners, and is also a key player in the Mastermind Group that keeps Vanessa and I on the road to success.

Merlyn recently blogged about some research which came out of the three previous recessions (74-75, 81-82 and 90-91 in the USA) and the results, though predictable, are still amazing: businesses that stick to their marketing and advertising guns during a recession not only make more money during the recession, but critically also for the two years following the recession!

If that isn’t incentive enough to get out there and market, market, market then I don’t know what is!

Read the full article here.

Can You Sleep Through a Storm?

The feature article in this week’s Marketing Edge takes a look at the impending ‘storm’ of a recession, and uncovers two essential activities that will affect how your business weathers the storm.  If you want to ensure that your business remains intact whatever economic conditions give rise to, then be sure not to miss this week’s issue!

 

Sign up for a free copy at www.zee2a.com (please verify your subscription before midnight tonight, to ensure delivery first thing in the morning!)

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Are You Making the Economy Your Excuse?

A few days ago I attended a conference call with a Mastermind group I belong to, where Brian Tracy was talking about productivity and goals. He shared some very strong, positive words of advice with us that I would like to share with you.

All too many business owners are hyperventilating over the economic downturn, and are using all the sensationalism and media hype about a recession as ‘crutches’ for their inactivity.

Brian reminded us that ‘… a recession is two continuous quarters of negative growth. We have not even had one… don’t be in despair over what people say out there. 95% of people who are working are working. Businesses are growing. The financial sector is in trouble. The other 90% are reporting record profits.’ Then he told us: ‘Your job is to work a little harder, get a little smarter, try something new or different…’

So really you have a choice: you can curl up into a ball, stop marketing, close shop, and cry about how the recession ruined your business. OR you can get out there and find customers while your competitors make excuses.

On that note – would you like to learn exactly how to recession-proof your business? Please come along to our morning  Seminar on Wednesday 15th October 2008.

Make Your Business Thrive!

Are you anxious about the state of the economy?  What can you do to build a business that is truly recession-proof, reaching your revenue and profit goals in good times or bad?

When the economy turns southward many of us start losing sleep. Will we shed customers, either because we are too expensive or simply because they go out of business? Will we be able to close new business in sufficient volumes to meet growth targets, especially when prospects are cautious of new financial commitments? How will our marketing budgets be affected as cost-cutting measures are implemented?

Would you sleep easier knowing that your business had:

·         Powerful strategies to attract and develop the trust of prospects;

·         Highly effective low- or no-cost marketing initiatives;

·         Clear, actionable strategic plans for the business; and

·         A focused self-development programme?

The ‘Recession-Proof Your Business’ Seminar on 15 October 2008 is three action-packed hours of exactly what you need – for just pennies from your piggy-bank!

David and Vanessa Deakin of Zee2A have teamed up with Steve Lewis of the Baker Tilly Growth Programme for this seminar, focused on helping professional service businesses not only to survive but also to thrive, whatever the economic backdrop.

To find out more and register to attend, please go to http://www.zee2a.com/seminars/RProof081015.html.