GREG’S BUSINESS GROWTH NEWSLETTER #210
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Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.
In this issue:
– Techniques for FIT
– Being Human
– Random Stuff
Techniques for FIT
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- Each sniffle or muffled cough you hear from your people is a momentum robbing event in the making. If they have a bug, encourage your people to make plans for a few days off to rest because a planned absence can be worked around.
- The ability to control one’s schedule has a strong correlation to job satisfaction. If your staff has inflexible time requirements, consider a concierge errand service as a benefit. Start with using it to reward a good month as a test.
- You’ve heard the quote, “you are what you eat.” If you provide foodstuffs for your people request the fresh fruit people to show up once or twice a week. A mandarin orange and a handful of nuts are always a good idea.
- One last office health suggestion. Plants. I won’t go as far as saying they’ll boost productivity or decrease absences, but they’ll give Charlie in accounting a patient audience to whisper his conspiracy theories to.
Being Human – Bring them to me
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“And bring me all passengers, I want them alive!” – D. Vader
One way to look at your prospect’s decision-making process is to put it on a continuum. On one side, selling looks more like belly-to-belly, nose-to-nose activities. On the other side, marketing looks more like start-spreading-the-news, did-you-hear activities, but sales and marketing cross over a lot along the way. It’s the nature of decisions.
I bring this up because if your sales team is active but results are lagging, check who they’re getting in front of. One company I work with divides its prospects into segments like A, B, C, D and we run checks that the sales team is spending most of their time in front of A prospects. Most salespeople find it easiest to get in front of C prospects and fill their activity reports accordingly. Force them to concentrate on the top tier and watch growth happen.
One way to help your people spend more time in front of their best prospects is to invite those best prospects to a low commitment, well-attended event. Bring them all together, let them visit with other A prospects, have them mingle with current customers, let them make small talk with reps, and give this A group new information to make them look better in their jobs.
Should you wander down this path, keep these general ideas in mind when planning such an event:
- Humans are attracted to interesting people.
- Humans are attracted to novel locations/experiences.
- Humans like to show off.
- Humans love to buy, but hate to be sold.
Make your event exclusive, name-drop attendees, find a unique venue, don’t skimp on the swag, and think “third-year-first” when planning follow up.
Good stuff.
Random stuff
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“Well, it’s not like I do this every day. . .”
Last week I mentioned seeing yourself from the outside-in because I looked through a set of photos and more than once found myself wildly gesturing in the background. This week I bring you more outside-in snaps, but this time it’s evidence of my white-man’s-overbite:
https://www.instagram.com/p/
All this holiday revelry reminds me of the days when I used to be a regular at fundraising events. As you know, the nature of such events is you end up seeing the same group of people five or six times a year. These aren’t your close friends, they’re barely even acquaintances, they’re simply people you’ve shared a table with, or accompanied to a post-event party, and come to recognize over time. The problem is you only know them in one setting which is a superficially social. I say it’s a problem because when I see fund-raising-guy-or-gal at the bank, I wave, mouth “Hey!” then through my smile mutter, “ya drunk.” It’s shallow, I know, but it cracks me up.
Last weekend, after the impromptu dance party and a Packers victory, we end up back at UFB’s restaurant for a post game celebration. I strike up a conversation with a guy I see at the games maybe once or twice a year, and we yuk it up like old times. He points to another recognized party-goer who points back, recognizes me, we wave, give a thumbs up and mouth “Yo!” to one another across the crowded bar.
It’s late and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, but I swear I see him mutter “ya drunk” as he turns back to his group.
Well played, annual-green-bay-packer-man, well played.
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https://calendly.com/chamberspivot/