The ad, below, which is part of the rebranding effort of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The Foundation is changing its name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Frankly, I don't doubt that this ad campaign will successfully attract attention, especially among "my" half of the population. As entrepreneurs think about leveraging their marketing dollars, the temptation to build a campaign around a tease is real. GoDaddy.com would suggest that it works, but I wonder if it works when it offends and how often people, especially women, are offended by these campaigns.
I don't have strong views. What do you think? Should I?
January 29th, 2007 | Author: Matthew Lampros | Permalink
Studying sales processes in diverse industries, to me, is like watching game reels before the big match. I love to do it and find creative solutions in every industry I study. The process that intrigues me the most and the one I’ve studied the most intensely during my career is the ‘sales process’ the doctor uses to sell you a cure.
Isn’t this interesting…
A doctor is important enough for you to go to them.
Generally a long wait is worth your time to get to see the doctor.
The more important the problem you have, the more important the doctor becomes. And, by the way, you don’t try to go the least expensive route.
Doctors don’t sell you – they diagnose you using data points you provide. And you believe them and act on it.
Doctors can tell you about a problem you don’t even know you have.
The diagnosis and recommendations you get from doctors always trump those you get from a friend or family member … or even a website.
The ‘sales cycle’ is very short.
Doctors are always going straight to the decision maker for the decision.
Every time you have a problem you go back for another consultation.
We tell our team, “You are not a salesperson, you are a DOCTOR”. When we find ourselves working with prospects to DIAGNOSE their problems we seem to end up in a doctor-like situation. Our prospects buy more quickly, they trust our recommendations, the decision maker is involved early and often, and they appreciate our advice and come back for it often.
Do you have something to learn from doctors? Would your quota achievement increase if even a few of the nine items above were true for your sales process?
I’ll be spending more time on this interesting topic in the coming weeks and months. In the mean time spend some time looking at your current process. Are there a few things you can do to tweak your sales process to be more diagnostic and less persuasive? Try them out and I think you’ll be astonished at the results.
Share your thoughts and feedback using the [add a comment] link below.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who sues most of all? These 10 companies based on trademark lawsuits from 2001-2006 taken from the sidebar of this article:
Microsoft
Cendent
Altria/Philip Morris
Best Western
Dunkin' Donuts
Lorillard Tobacco
Levi Strauss
Baskin-Robbins
Chanel
Nike
So what can be gleamed from this info? Either these companies are overprotective or have several others infringing on their IP.
January 29th, 2007 | Author: Chris Knudsen | Permalink
When you were growing up you probably had someone tell you to be a lawyer or a doctor. The idea being that these professions pay well and are stable - which they do and are.
Market demand has created an environment and new economy that is rewarding performers - not just the highly educated. I have a good friend who is into Internet marketing - she is very good at what she does. One day we had a long discussion about her skill set and experience. I told her she was way underpaid and that her salary level was actually hurting her legitimacy because she should be making much more. She was shocked when I told her what her salary level should be. In the last year she doubled her salary. She now has a job offer on the table that will take her well into the six figures. This all happened in about a years time and it happened because she got educated about her market’s demand and changed her attitude about what she should be earning.
In most cases, what you earn is what you think you are worth not what someone is willing to pay you. That is why you always let an employer name the salary range before you ever tell them what you are currently making. Whoever plays that game best always wins.
I had the same discussion with another friend who was thinking about changing jobs. We talked in detail about his experience, education and skills. When I told him what I would pay him if he worked for me, he was shocked (something in the low six figures) but that shock caused him to think hard about it. I firmly believe that in the next year he will easily double his salary.
How do you get there? Simple. Experience and education.
What is experience worth? Everything. Why do you think doctors slug it out in residency for years on end? Why do you think we have management training programs? Why do you think most sales guys start out on the phone in an inside sales operation? You’ve got to practice and get good before you make the grade. Nothing annoys me more than people trying to get around this system. It exists to make you good. Go with the flow.
What is education worth? Everything. In fact, it was reported in the book The Millionaire Next Door that 90% of all millionaires have at least a bachelors degree. Education matters. Remember though, education is still only part of the equation. I had a relative who graduated with an obscure bachelors degree and had no real work experience. She went out looking for a job with the attitude that she should be making big money in a management position. She was shocked when all she was offered was a position in the call center at a Fortune 500 company. She only had half the formula down. Education matters but you must gain experience as well. You have to start somewhere.
Switching gears…
I have often said that if you want to make great money get really good at sales, which isn’t hard to do and you don’t need ten years of school to do it. I went to MBA school with a guy who sold mortgages. He makes about $20k per month. I am aware of several software companies in Utah that pay some of their sales guys upwards of $700k per year on commission. I know one company that doesn’t have an outside sales guy making under $200k per year. Most ignorant people think of sales guys as the dude on the used car lot or the guy trying to push a TV on you at Best Buy. While you can still classify these people as ”salesman” they are basically playing on a farm team. Sales is the heart of all good companies. It is not uncommon to find a good sales guy making much more than the CEO they work for.
Some people slug it away for years in school simply because they are seeking a “stable” career. If you’re that good you will always have a steady paycheck no matter what you do. Think about it.
When you work on a commission your earnings potential is only limited by your imagination. My boss, Doug Smith at Podango, told me a great story. Years ago he worked at Cendent Technologies. He told me about a smart sales guy who went out and struck a huge distribution deal with a major hardware supplier. He was paid a commission on every piece of software that went out with the partner’s computers. That isn’t even that original of an idea yet the guy made a boat load of money on that one sale.
I realize that entrepreneurship is a tough row to hoe - trust me - I’ve been there. I have also said that wanting to get rich is not a reason to start a company - getting good at sales is much easier path to wealth. However, the vast majority of the wealthy in this country are first generation business owners.
Now I’m really rambling. The bottom line is that the changing dynamics of the economy and the work place have created huge opportunities for anyone who is willing to learn and try. You need to get educated but you don’t need years of schooling to get there. Experience and work ethic will get you farther in this world than anything else.
This is tennis player Andy Roddick during a press conference after getting schlacked (even bageled) by super-human and world number one Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals. To set the stage, Federer owns Roddick. He now has a 10-1 winning record against the fifth ranked American. Despite this, Roddick has made several in-roads up to this point even beating Federer in a a warm up match just two weeks ago. But he may be competing against the greatest tennis player who has ever lived. Tough break. And though dropping some censored expletives during his post-game interview, Andy's candor in defeat is admirably, likable, refreshing, and extremely funny. Well played (the press conference that is).
January 27th, 2007 | Author: Jack Brittain | Permalink
We are in the midst of selecting the recipients for the teaching awards we give annually, and I have the great privilege of telling the recipients they are receiving an award. What do you think the typical reaction is?
The teaching activities of a professor are mostly done in isolation. Apart from an occasional guest lecturer or observer, faculty are alone with their students in a classroom where the students dutifully show up on time, take notes and participate in class, then go home. Some students drop by office hours, but this is a minority of all the students taught in a semester and these are seldom just for conversation. Teaching evaluations come to a professor anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months after a course is over, and the professor gets a numeric ranking that looks good in most cases, a few helpful suggestions like “too much reading, but it was all good,” and maybe an occasional “thanks for the help preparing for the final.” Pretty close to zero feedback and not much recognition for a job well done.
In my experience, faculty who receive the recognition of a teaching award are almost always shocked. When they are called to see the dean, they are worried (which is dismaying, because the only person I know of who has ever been yelled at in my office is me). For most people, the response is emotionally overwhelming and they tear up. I tear up, too, because it is emotionally overwhelming for me to see how moved the recipient is by the award.
Most days, these seem like cynical times. In the world of business, we seem to hear story after story about leaders taking advantage of their position for personal gain, whether it is backdated options, insider trading, or swapping favors with cronies. Sports heroes too often lack the humility to realize the team made them — although there are some outstanding exceptions — political leaders seem to be more worried about winning the game of politics than finding the path to justice, and too many arenas of social life seem overly focused on exorbitance over effectiveness. To sit with someone who is moved by an honor is an experience that profoundly touches anyone who plays a part in the recognition.
Great teachers are moved because they care deeply, which is a large part of why they are ultimately recognized by the students who pass through their classes and move on to rewarding careers. It is overwhelmingly the case that the chicks do not write home once they flee the nest, so most faculty do not know how much they impact the students who study with them. One of the great privileges of my service as dean is I do get to talk to alumni and hear the stories they have about their professors, and I try to make sure the professors know the stories, too. But it is still pretty much a zero feedback job.
What is interesting given the little feedback most faculty get on teaching performance — because teaching awards at best will happen 3 or 4 times in a 40 year career — is how dedicated faculty are to excellence in the classroom. We have easily 30 professors who could receive a teaching award every year, but we only give 4 a year, one for undergraduate teaching, one for graduate teaching, one for PhD teaching, and the Brady Superior Teaching Award where the recipient is selected by the University of Utah Business Alumni Association. Four awards, another couple of dozen deserving faculty, and another couple of dozen who are doing teaching service in roles such as advising that should also be recognized. And every one of them will do a great job year after year.
Because they believe in what they do, know it is important, and because doing it well is the only acceptable standard. Because they are great teachers regardless of the rewards.
If you are in school and have a teacher who is doing a great job, let the person know. If a teacher made a great difference in your life, drop a note and let the person know. You cannot imagine how much it will mean to a dedicated professional who gives her/his all to classes of students year after year.
In doing some Wikipedia research last week on Bill O'Reilly, I found this little snippet of vandalism right under the "Politics" sub-section after four, well-constructed paragraphs: "Bill O'Reilly is also a douche who should never express his right winged opinion ever again."
I couldn't help but laugh at the little activist fellow who snuck that one in. The change in cadence was hilarious. And while I love Wikipedia, I do admit it that it takes an intelligent reader to spot entry vandalism on controversial subjects. Hence, you have to be a pretty savvy individual to spot the good from the bad. Furthermore, reports indicate that the reading level for the site is on a 10th grader level, much higher than the 6-8th grader level of most national publications. But more often than not, however, Wikipedia works like a balanced and well-written charm. It's the closest "no spin zone" I've found on the internet.
The short answer? Not very much -- if anything -- especially given the landscape of current, more social internet traffic. For the uninitiated, "nofollow" is an SEO-er's worst nightmare. Internet links of type "nofollow" don't get weighted by search engines as credible content. Therefore, search engines are less likely to increase your search engine result page ranking. But the link still exists on a page to send humans along their way (what really counts), and gone are the days of link juice via the mighty Wikipedia with some speculating Digg and others will soon follow.
If you run a link farm or use black-hat SEO techniques, you're job just got a bit harder and will continue to do so. On the other hand, if you understand traffic-driving content, solid copywriting, and content optimization for humans, you and your site will do just fine. As search listings get more bloated, people want to be referred by trusted individuals or a consensus group, not some outdated search algorithm. Hence, the "nofollow" link is a good thing to counter spam while humans still get directed to the best content. Remember: search engines follow where humans go, not the other way around. Optimize your content and you'll do just fine. Need another buzz word? Call it SEO 2.0. Okay don't. Just call it smart content.
WordPress just released version 2.1. The already stellar CMS/Blog software just got a whole lot better right out of the box. From the release: "You can [now] set any "page" to be the front page of your site, and put the latest posts somewhere else, making it much easier to use WordPress as a content management system."
We baked this feature into our custom WP installs last year for several clients, but it's nice to see this support out of the box. Also included is an autosave feature, a better default spell checker, more AJAX for quicker updates, and better overall performance. Oh, and it's named Ella after the great Ella Fitzgerald. At last.
Hit me up if your interested in a custom upgrade, and/or if you'd like to see just how far custom development can enhance your WP install as a better CMS.< /sales pitch>
January 25th, 2007 | Author: EllenReddick | Permalink
I am writing an etiquette blog for technology users and would like input regarding this entry. Quite a bit like do you agree, do you set etiquette standards for yourself etc.
Top 10 List of SMS Etiquette
Text messaging is one of the simplest and most useful means of mobile communication. No one can doubt the popularity of text messaging and short messaging service (SMS) in particular - more than 50 billion SMS messages were sent across the world’s GSM networks in the first quarter of 2005, a fivefold increase over the previous year - and there’s no slowdown in sight.
Common courtesy still rules. Contrary to popular belief, composing an SMS while you’re in a face-to-face conversation with someone is just about as rude as taking a voice call.
Remember that SMS is informal. SMS shouldn’t be used for formal invitations or to dump your girlfriend or boyfriend. The casualness of SMS diminishes the strength and meaning of the message.
Don’t get upset if you don’t get a reply. Before you text someone and get frustrated at the lack of a response, be sure that they’re familiar with how to use the service, and that their carrier will accept messages from yours.
Be aware of your tone. It is extremely difficult to discern tone in text messages, just as in e-mail. What seems to you to be a completely innocuous message may be grossly misinterpreted by the recipient, causing certain discomfort if not irreparable harm.
Don’t SMS while you’re driving. Talking on the phone is bad enough. You won’t know what hit you - or what you hit - if you are pounding out a message on your keyboard.
Leave the slang to the kids. Don’t expect your stodgy superiors at work to be hip to the lingo of the SMS streets. And don’t expect to win points with your kids by trying to be cool, either.
Remember that SMS can be traced. Anonymous messages - if you must send them -are still best sent from Web sites.
Be conscientious of others’ schedules. Don’t assume that because you are awake, working, not busy, or sober that the person you’re texting is as well. Many a pleasant slumber have been interrupted by recurring “beep-beep…beep-beeps” of messages.
If it’s immediate, make a voice call. If you can’t get through and your text message is ignored, there’s probably a good reason. There are still some times when people don’t even have a thumb free to respond.
Remember that your phone does have an off button. There are very, very few things in the world that absolutely cannot wait.
