How do we display Critical Thinking / Analytical Ability when answering questions?

Before answering that question we need to ask ourselves SOME of the following questions, firstly…
{What DO we already know …if anything?}

{What are the COSTs, RISKS, REDUCED UTILITY if the inverse was true …if any?}
{What are the dependencies …if any?}
{What is required in order for each option to be TRUE/FALSE …if any?}
{What is the probability of each option …if any?}
{What DON’T we already know …if any?}
{What assumptions can we make …if any?}
{What are the risks if .. …if any?}
{What are the limiting factors …if any?}

The Whole Product

Whole Product
Reading Guy's blog today, he lays down some simple rules around Geek Marketing 101. It always come down to a few basic rules. They're basically the same rules we were taught in our first marketing class. The rules are simple, sticking to them is what's hard. Technology companies love to solve problems that don't exist - "because they can". Companies are popping up all over the landscape (I talk to them every day) that have interesting products but they will never amount to much.

It's because making the product might be a 5% slice of the success pie.


" Whole Product" diagrams can be useful tools to get customers to understand that you need to have a "complete solution" if you want it to take off. Early adopters will suffer through complicated instructions, difficult downloads and installations, no customer support - but mainstream users need to be spoon fed.

The Rules:

1. Does It Solve A Problem - Have you solved a problem the customer recognizes. Have you identified the customers pain. If not, you have a vitamin and not a pain killer. You want a pain killer.

2. Is It Easy To Understand - Seriously, 5 words should do it. 2 words is better. Do the "mom test" If mom doesn't understand it, change something until she does.

3. Is It Easy To Get - Have you removed the barriers between you and having your customers use your product. In a 2.0 world we are talking free trials, no cost, fast, easy. Get it in their hands or nothing good will happen.

4. Is It Easy To Use - At Apple our rule was, "1 minute after they start to use it , they feel like calling their friends". ......" You will not believe what I just got".

5. Is It Easy To Share - In this ultra-connected world, your customers are your marketing department. If your customers are not marketing your product, you have problems. We used to call it evangelism, now we call it sharing. Your product needs to have "embedded viral components" - active mechanisms built directly into the application that assume your customers will want to tell everyone they know. Make it easy for them to do so.

http://donthorson.typepad.com/don_thorson/2006/10/whole_product.html

Why do marketing campaigns fail and customers leave?

Here are the reasons people gave for wanting off companies’ email blasts.
Email was too frequent: 54%
The emails became repetitive or boring: 49% (an additional 25% said the emails were never relevant in the first place)
I get too much email and need to pare it down: 47%

When people do find a email from a marketer boring, about two-thirds say they’ll click on the ‘unsubscribe’ link. But 8% say they’ll classify the email as spam.

The top three reasons consumers ‘unliked’ a company on Facebook:
The company posted too frequently: 47%
My wall was becoming crowded with marketing messages and I needed to get rid of some of them: 43%
The content became repetitive or boring over time: 38%. (Another 19% said the content wasn’t relevant from the start, and 17% said the company’s posts were too chit-chatty and not focused on value.)

Why consumers unfollow on Twitter
The company’s tweets became boring over time (52%). An additional 15% said the content wasn’t relevant from the start. Some 21% say the tweets were too promotional, and 20% said the tweets didn’t focus on value
41% needed to cut down on the number of tweets they saw
39% said the company tweeted too frequently

6 Things to Ask your prospect before selling to them. Sales

#1: Their History. Where are they coming from? How did they get here? What do they know about your and your firm? What dealings have taken place in the past?
#2: Frames of Reference. What ideologies and situations might affect their decision-making? Do they have a certain way of viewing your offering? How do they feel about their own firm?
#3: Needs and Desires. Where do they want to go? How do they expect to feel when they get there? How do they think they’re going to get there? What do they think will prevent it?
#4: Likely Objections. What is going to cause them to balk? How fervently do the believe in that objection? How real is it? Might it block the deal, no matter what you say or do?
#5: Capacity to Act. Are you communicating with decision-makers or seat-warmers? If decision-makers, what decision do you want them to make? If not, why are you talking to them?
#6: Decision-making Style. If they’re decision-makers, how do they make decisions? Are they all about facts and figures? Or do they decide according to a gut feeling?

6 Questions to answer before closing any sales deal? Based on persuasion

Q1: Have you already helped this customer? If you’ve already helped the customer in some way, that customer will feel obligated to say “yes” when you move to close. Have you, for example, provided a unique industry perspective, or brought your customer a referral for a potential customer?
Q2: Does this customer think your offering is unique or rare? Customers peculiarly value products that are rare or difficult to get. Have you established that your firm is the only viable source for what the customer actually needs, so that customer will perceive your offering as uniquely valuable?
Q3: Does this customer consider you an authority? Have you revealed anything about your specific background or experience that might increase the customer’s perception that you’re an authority and that your firm is reputable?
Q4: Would buying bolster the customer’s self-image? Customers are more likely to buy if buying is consistent with a prior commitment they’ve made in your presence. Have you gotten the customer to define himself or herself as the type of person who truly needs what you’re offering?.
Q5: Does the customer know peers who’ve bought from you? Customers are more likely to say “yes” when presented with evidence that their peers are also saying “yes.” Have you provided the customer with examples and references that match the profile of that customer?
Q6: Does the customer like you personally? Customers are more likely to say “yes” if they know and like you. Have you found similarities between yourself and the customer and raised them to the surface? Have you communicated that you truly respect the customer?
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How do you sell value?

INCREASE THEIR SALES:
How can my offering uniquely help them improve their revenue? How much more product could they sell? How much are those extra sales worth to them?

REDUCE THEIR COSTS:
How can my offering uniquely help them reduce costs? How much could they save in labor costs? How much could they save in overhead?

IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THEIR OFFERING:
How much could they save in reworks, scrap, overtime, corrective action costs, and so forth?
How can my offering uniquely help them improve delivery performance? How much would they save in canceled orders, expediting costs, airfreight charges, and so forth?

REDUCE THEIR RISK:
reduce their exposure to risk and liability? How much could they save in penalties, legal fees, and litigation?

By asking those questions, you’re defining the economic value of your offering to the customer.

Then, when you have your initial conversation with your customer, add the following three steps to your sales process:

STEP #1: Get the customer to agree on the specific negative financial impact of the problem.
Work with the customer to define ALL the ways that the problem that your solution addresses impacts their revenue and profit. Include direct costs, lost opportunity costs, personnel costs, etc., etc. Do this early in the sales cycle and make sure that the the decision maker buys into the cost analysis.

STEP #2: Convince the customer that your solution has attributes that no other solution provides.
It’s not enough to be vaguely “higher quality.” You need to be able to express specific quantitative elements of your entire solution that are unique from the competition. Anything that is unique about your solution (even the fact that YOU are the sale rep) is a potential differentiator.

STEP #3: Get the customer to agree on the specific financial impact of your differentiators.
For example, if your products can be at the customer site within one hour, and the low-cost competitors can only get the product there within 24 hours, what how much is it costing the customer to do without the product for 23 hours?

How do I beat my competitors by complimenting them?

Evolution - Describe the industry, market, customer base over a period of time and show what changes have happened. In this model, you can talk about the world of the ’90s, the ’00s and now. By describing the the changes, you can define your competitors’ advantages as addressing a world that no longer exists.

Revolution - Technology, regulation, off-shore competitors and other circumstances revolutionize businesses. Placing your competitors as great pre-revolution solutions is a good way to pigeonhole their value and emphasize yours.

Devolution - The world has gotten smaller — language like “Competition locally required this…, competition nationally requires that…, international competition demands something altogether.” The language of these conversation follows this direction: “Understanding your market as it was until (6 months or a year ago, whatever fits), I completely understand the choices you have made. As a matter of fact, I think under those circumstances, you probably made the best choice at that time. Under the current conditions, I can see why you are exploring new options. Our specialty is helping companies like yours who are in this exact set of circumstances.”

Basically, you’re killing them with kindness and compliments.