Press the Thumbs for Your Staff

I'm often skeptical of studies such as the one highlighted in this Harvard Business Review Daily Stat. Basically the study shows that wishing people luck can improve and speed their performance. (It also reveals that "press the thumbs" is the German equivalent of "cross my fingers.")

Why am I often skeptical? There are frequently more variables involved than they believe they're testing, such as positive selection. In this study's case, they took away a lucky charm from half the participants to prove that having lucky charms improved performance in the other half. I wonder if the first half of the participants would have performed less well if they had taken away anything from them, such as one sock.

Why did this study catch my attention? Since I interpreted the finger crossing to actually be a sign of encouragement, not simply a superstitious act, and I do believe that wishing someone well is motivational. If I cross my fingers for your success, it shows that I support your success, not solely that I am invoking lucky spirits on your behalf.

There are so many toxic workplaces, where people are afraid of making mistakes and receive attention only when they screw up. Or, at best, receive kind words only if they succeed. And there are far too few workplaces where bosses send their staff off with encouragement.

While I have not done any analysis of the success rates within the two types of workplaces – and there are so many other variables – I expect that the ones with bosses "pressing the thumbs" for their staff's success would have better "luck" and greater productivity.

So ... next time you give someone a job to do, also give them a little motivation on the way out. It might lead to better and faster success.

It Now Takes 30 Minutes to Become a Marketing Expert

Maybe less.

"This guy, at a conference, spoke on Social Media and he said all you need in today's world is a YouTube channel and a Twitter account and you'll be beating back the customers from your front door. You post a video, twitter the link, and then thousands of people twitter and retwitter it. Many of them show up to your store, are impressed by your service." This part in a whisper: "And here he explained that you had to give the first few people incredible service. Maybe offer them a free gift." Back to the regular voice level: "Then these people, right there in the store, twitter to their friends or post on Facebook or ... something elser it ... makes no difference what social media they use ... and, voila, you have more customers than you can handle." And then the new-found expertise: "So all we need to do is get a Twitter account and make a video. Let me know if you need help, I'm good with the internet. I buy things on Amazon.com all the time, and I have teenage kids who are really good at making videos."

Raise your hands if you've been on the other side of this "discussion." Everyone have their hands up? As expected.

Makes no difference where you work, your client base, whether or not you have access to followers, or even have a good video idea. This is how it works nowadays, apparently. You no longer need marketing experience or training, or even business developers. All you need is a Twitter account. And a Flip. Unsure why you, the veteran marketer, couldn't think of that? Maybe you don't go to conferences where Social Media experts give talks? Maybe you are simply trying to do things the hard way. Or maybe you didn't hear about Twitter yet.

Too bad that our entire field has been replaced by a free online tool.

I wonder if Denny's is hiring.

Broken Windows and Marketing Culture

Many people are familiar with the "Broken Windows" theory from having read Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point.

The theory, not Gladwell's (click on "Broken Windows" above to go the the Wiki page), is that slight neglect or small crimes create a breeding ground for larger, more persistent issues. Consequently, if you want to eliminate major problems, you need to focus on eliminating minor transgressions.

The "Broken Windows theory" is named from an example provided: an unrepaired broken window in an apartment building leads to further neglect, vandalism and, inevitably, worse crimes.

But what does this have to do with creating a marketing culture?

Marketers are often seen as small-minded shrews nagging people to accomplish meaningless tasks.

Examples include:

• Entering contacts or updates into the database.

• Completing surveys after events.

• Taking the time to send out thank you notes.

• Researching people before networking sessions.

• Completing pre-proposal forms.

• Following up in 48 hours. (And then entering that into the database.)

• Reviewing subscription lists before mailings are sent.

• Updating online profiles.

• The list goes on.

We also find ourselves being vetoed by more senior people who let the high-perfomers off the hook ("They closed two big deals this quarter and you're worried about them entering a few marketing activities?!?") or allow special cases* to slide.

Letting your high-performers and special cases off the hook provides plenty of rationale for others looking to shrug off the marketing work:

1) Management doesn't really care about this effort, so why should I?

2) Those people are succeeding because they don't have to waste their time on this.

3) What makes him/her so special? I'm special, too.

4) Why am I the only team player here?

When people see that not everyone is being forced to do something (and it often takes only one example since people look until they find the single exception), they decide they are also off the hook. And then it's a slippery slope, since examples are easier and easier to find. Broken windows everywhere.

Look, I fully understand that we should only worry about the important things. That organizations can and should keep only three to five big goals in the center of their plate. And that everything else is a "nice to have."

So the real question is this: Is creating a marketing culture one of the "need to haves" of your organization?

If it isn't, then don't waste your time trying to get some of the folks to complete the marketing tasks. Certainly don't put an intermediary in the toothless role of nagging people in the hope that enough of them will do it.

However, if a marketing culture is a critical issue for your firm (and I would argue that it must be), then you can't let anyone slide. Not one person. Not for any one of the attributes/tasks you decide is part of this culture. When you do let them slide, you have a broken window. And we know what happens next.

In short: It's not an attribute of your marketing culture unless everyone is doing it all the time. And when any transgressions are met with sharp, high-level disapproval.

To end: Do you want a marketing culture? If so, then senior leadership must be willing to fix any broken windows quickly and publicly.

*Special cases are often simply "squeaky wheels" that are only special since they turn every skirmish into a siege … and who has time or stomach for that?

Referrers, Promoters and Yetis

Yetis? Yes, yetis. And you heard it here first.

One of our goals as networkers is to create referral sources. And we all know what they are. People who send you leads.

There has also been a lot of discussion and research on promoters and net promoter scoring(TM) … a registered trademark of Satmetrix as it turns out. I have been using the term "promoter" to mean "proactive referral source" for a long while now (maybe even before net promoter scoring came into existence.) Unsure if I am using the term "promoter" in a technically correct manner, but I very much doubt it matters. Others call them "angels" or "ambassadors," which is fine. You can call them whatever you want.

|>My thinking, as many know and as I expect I have written in this blog before, is that you need 8-12 promoters in your network. If you do not have them, either go get them or go get a "real" job, since you will have trouble staying in business without them if you rely on rainmaking.<|

Gene Rosendale of ASA uses a term called "witnesses," which fits nicely into the strategy I've always employed. A "witness" is someone in the room when the relevant pain is being felt by your potential customer. The witness will help guide this prospect to contact you. My strategy was to have active promoters who understood your unique selling proposition (USP) and were able to ask questions that help lead your prospects to uncover the pain that you can uniquely salve. And then point them your way. "Witness" is an elegant term for this person. And far faster to explain as you have just read.

But even this does not go far enough.

|>We need to look for people who can present potential value above the "you should" metric and move to the "you will" one. That term is "Yetis."<|

Why a "yeti?"

One the same day recently, two people pulled out their iPads and asked me the exact same question: "Have you gotten an iPad, yet?" This was not the first time I have been asked this question about products or services – and I've specifically been asked the question for iPads at least 5 times so far.

Why do these people assume that it is only a matter of time until I get an iPad ... or a Kindle ... or call a certain person to help with a specific business issue?

The answer is that they, themselves, can't imagine why you haven't yet already done so. They believe that the product or service is not only a perfect fit, but a known and obvious solution; the only one that'll do the job well enough to even be worth considering. In fact, them thinking you already know this is a compliment and an insult: You are "in the know," but not yet wise enough to take the obvious next step.

Yetis.

So, how do you create Yetis?

1) Find the pain for which your product or solution is a clear and obvious salve.

2) Create witnesses (often current customers) who cannot imagine why others haven't yet used your offering to salve that pain.

Sound simple? Sound easy? Of course it's neither. Both of those bullets are hard work. But every "yet" is money in the bank and you can only get there by creating Yetis, so it's worth it. And the closer you get, the better off you will be.

Finally, since so many people forget that current customers are the best referral sources, this might help them see their customers in a new way, that is, covered head to toe in shaggy fur.

Stop Networking! You Already Know Enough People.

The golfer steps up to the tee, pulls out a driver and swings. The ball soars perfectly straight, right down the middle of the fairway.

Without even admiring the drive (or where the ball eventually stops), the golfer places another ball on the tee and swings again. Another great drive! Also right down the middle of the fairway. This one skips twice, hits one of the many other balls (just white dots from where the golfer stands) and the two balls roll forward a few feet before they stop, both hitting other balls along the way.

The golfer places yet another ball on the tee...

For many people, this golfing analogy describes their networking (and sadly, entire business development) strategy. Stand at the tee, hit lots of balls onto the fairway and either hope for a hole-in-one or that, by some miracle, one of the balls will knock another one onto the green. Once the ball is on the green, we suddenly notice it and try to putt it into the hole. The problem is that the fairway is often littered with balls that have sat there for years and years and years.

--

I promised I'd assess the last three years of networking coaching efforts to determine how many professionals and companies needed more contacts in order to reach their business development goals.

Individuals: 12/79 (15%)

Organizations: 4/10 (40%)

Of 79 individuals, I can recall only 12 that didn't already have plenty of contacts to fuel their business development plans. This counts two professionals who had long lists of contact, but after review it was determined that they didn't have enough of the right contacts, so did need to meet new (more targeted) people.

Organizationally, only 4 of the 10 companies needed lead generation efforts; they had enough names in their contact databases.

|>A caveat: No one nor any company should ever stop marketing. Using the analogy above, you should have a plan to continually drive balls onto the fairway. But if your business development effort does not include a strategic, step-by-step plan for moving these people from 1) initial meeting to 2) engaged community member to 3) referral source/prospect, then you are wasting your time meeting them.<|

Recently, I asked a professional to print out his contact list so we could assess it for potential clients, promoters and centers of influence. His administrative assistant contacted me with some desperation in her voice.

"Do you really need a print out? It's eighty-four pages."

I asked, "How many per page?"

A long pause as she counted. "Thirty-seven."

Let's do the math: 84 x 37 = 3,108 contacts! To be fair, the last page only had 27 names on it, so we didn't quite hit 3,100. Also to be fair, this professional knew he had enough network contacts already. However, we both looked at this list and wondered where we would even start. The list itself was overwhelming.

|>The question is: If you output all your contacts onto a spreadsheet, how many would you have?

A better question is: How many more do you need? Odds are (85% likely by my non-statistical count), the answer is none. You already have enough.<|

So... Put down your driver, get out an iron and start clubbing those balls down the fairway and onto the green. The good news is that no one is counting strokes*. They only care about how many balls you get onto the green and into the hole.

And here's a question for the business leaders out there: Can you see all those white dots out on the fairway? That's wasted opportunity! And wasted cost of getting the balls out there. (Do that math if you need additional motivation.)

*Many companies do track the number of tee shots. Some even compensate on this. We can argue whether or not this is valuable and that is arguable. However, if you are only measuring tee shots and sunk balls, then you deserve what you are getting, which is a lot of wasted time and money meeting people who will be contacted once and then left to rot on the fairway.

Stop Forcing Me to Meet People!

Okay, this isn't really personal, but we all feel this pain. And the title is a good line to send to everyone in your network … and they should feel comfortable telling you the same.

Another title for this blog post could be: Stop Forcing Other People to Kiss Frogs. And Stop Being that Frog.

As set up... a very successful Business Developer I manage sent me this Onion article. In a nutshell, it's a joke article about people being forced to talk "features and benefits" and "skill sets" non-consensually. Like most good jokes, it's funny because it's true.

More truth:

1) You are not at networking events to talk synergies or features and benefits. If you think you are, then please look at my schedule and avoid the events I attend. Also, I'm short, balding and have a beard. Please avoid anyone that fits this description, in case it's me. (All short, bearded, balding people now owe me a "thanks.")

2) If you are sharking the room to find chum, then see #1 above.

3) And while we are on the subject, do not connect anyone together via e-mail without both of their permissions.

Question: So why even go to networking events?

Answer: To set up "synergy" conversations at a later date.

Question: But how can I do this without telling them all of my skill sets in painful detail, while guessing at what they might find valuable without any actual context?

Answer: Converse at a higher level. If you connect, you can then arrange a time for the other conversation. A time when you are both prepared for it.

Examples:

• What are you seeing "out there" right now?

• How are you/your firm dealing with ___insert critical business topic or current event here ___?

• What brings you here? How do you know the organizers?

|>The goal of networking events is to connect with people on a high level. Any "synergy" conversations can happen when you meet at a later date for coffee – after you do some research to make sure the follow-up discussion is valuable for them.<|

Yes, the point of networking is to meet new people, though you should know the type of new people in the room, if not also their names, before you bother to go. But forcing them to hear your "story" – right there and then – is sad and pathetic, not valuable. If you think it's fun or cathartic, there are professionals you can pay to listen.

In short: Elevator pitches are for set moments, not networking events. Unsure when? Err on the side of: not now.

Now to #3.

When you send an e-mail connecting two people together, assuming you did not get their prior permission, you are likely wasting their most irreplaceable resource: time.

They now have to meet or risk insulting both the other person and you. The likelihood they will find mutual value is low. The odds either of them needs yet another random network contact is even lower*. While you think you are doing them a favor, you are more likely punishing them for knowing you or ever having given you their contact information.

|>My response to unapproved e-connections is generally: What gives you the right to promise this person an hour of my time? Your response should be the same.<|

Ask for the right. Explain, specifically, why you think the connection might be of value to them. And don't be upset if they politely decline. In fact, if they decline, you have just been complimentary, helpful and irreplaceably valuable.

1) You let them know you are thinking of them. Complimentary.

2) You have now gotten a better idea of who they believe is a valuable connection. Or who they believe is not. Helpful.

3) You saved them an hour of wasted time. Irreplaceably valuable.

Now get out there and network. Assuming you need to meet more people ... though you likely do not.

*Next up: I plan to assess the last 3 years of my networking coaching efforts to see how many of my clients actually needed to meet more people. I doubt it will be a high number. Off the top of my head, I can only think of 1 company and 4 individuals that didn't already have enough contacts to build out their referral/promoter networks. So why are they meeting more people? Watch this space.

The Value of Failure (aka Prototyping)

Two months ago, I wrote that Marketing is the Art of Managing Failure. I.e. that trying, and failing, is basically what we Marketing folks do for a living.

Then, I saw this video about the "marshmallow challenge."

I'm sure you can put two and two together.

And when you put pressure on your marketing folks (read: up the ante), you are likely going to ensure their failure and, worse still, put more emphasis on the output than on the learning.

If they succeed, great. But, based on the results of the marshmallow challenge, we can see that success lies not in getting it right the first few times, but in learning how to get it right by "prototyping" (read: failing.)

In shorter words:

1) Watch the video.

2) Allow your marketers to take calculated risks.

3) Expect (and require) them to track the results for future attempts.

The only real failure is failing to learn from failure.