Thursday, December 10, 2009
Season's greetings
Season's greetings and best wishes to all visitors of this blog for a great new year 2010!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Amateurs built the arc, Professionals built the titanic
Never be afraid to try something new!
Tomorrow's winning ideas can come from people you never expect!
Tomorrow's winning ideas can come from people you never expect!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Budget Issue
How many times have you heard 'our marketing budgets are getting cut coz they are easiest to cut'!
B2B sellers who sell into marketing functions ( advertising agencies for example) talk about how their clients are unable to find money for their services and hence the shorter revenue inflow.
Here's my question to them:
Have you gone to your clients offering a 'Revenue Driver' or a 'Revenue Multiplier' - not just another item to spend to 'Build their brand........"!
Let me explain. If you are able to offer something that drives their revenue up directly or multiplies their revenue ,as DIRECTLY as possible, will your B2B client be able to snub it off ,citing budget cuts?
If your offering is truly a Revenue Driver or Multiplier , businesses will find money to fund your offers. Budget cut will not be your showstopper.
On the other hand, all you are offering is helping build a brand , your clients do not have the visibility,patience,spend for the future . Especially in today's times.
How directly relevant can you make your offering to your client's revenue?
B2B sellers who sell into marketing functions ( advertising agencies for example) talk about how their clients are unable to find money for their services and hence the shorter revenue inflow.
Here's my question to them:
Have you gone to your clients offering a 'Revenue Driver' or a 'Revenue Multiplier' - not just another item to spend to 'Build their brand........"!
Let me explain. If you are able to offer something that drives their revenue up directly or multiplies their revenue ,as DIRECTLY as possible, will your B2B client be able to snub it off ,citing budget cuts?
If your offering is truly a Revenue Driver or Multiplier , businesses will find money to fund your offers. Budget cut will not be your showstopper.
On the other hand, all you are offering is helping build a brand , your clients do not have the visibility,patience,spend for the future . Especially in today's times.
How directly relevant can you make your offering to your client's revenue?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Where the mind is without fear
Hope you have read the poem by nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with this title.
If you haven't, you can find it here .
This post is not about the great poem/author.
It is about where such a mind is required - in 'Marketing'.
A fearless mind is required to
- To question conventional wisdom /products/services/offerings/pricing/channels....
- To question the customers' conventional thinking if your alternative thinking can help them
- To question every marketing technique known, to see if it will work in the ever changing business world
- To question oneself to get better all the time
"....Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action..."
Timeless words indeed!
If you haven't, you can find it here .
This post is not about the great poem/author.
It is about where such a mind is required - in 'Marketing'.
A fearless mind is required to
- To question conventional wisdom /products/services/offerings/pricing/channels....
- To question the customers' conventional thinking if your alternative thinking can help them
- To question every marketing technique known, to see if it will work in the ever changing business world
- To question oneself to get better all the time
"....Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action..."
Timeless words indeed!
Confusing Activities with Results
Across teams,individuals and organizations, people seem to think activities are sufficient to get hired/appreciated and paid. While there is no doubt on one needing the other, one needs to realize that activities are not sufficient.
To ensure that one is spending time/money/resources on the right activites , the right way, 'Results' alone can be the performance criteria.
The principle applies equally well to an employee, a vendor, a partner and for most of the business relationships.
Activities might keep you busy, but not for long if they do not produce the right Results!
To ensure that one is spending time/money/resources on the right activites , the right way, 'Results' alone can be the performance criteria.
The principle applies equally well to an employee, a vendor, a partner and for most of the business relationships.
Activities might keep you busy, but not for long if they do not produce the right Results!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sales Person is a customer too!
Many a time, customer objections seem to make salespeople think of them as idiots/unreasonable/irrational....
Every salesperson is a customer too for a number of products/services all the time.
Every salesperson selects/deselects/buys/ a large number of products/services from a number of sellers(vendors). Can you use that knowledge to address customer objections BETTER?
Whenever a customer objection araises, apply the following train of thought:
- If I were the customer , what would have made me raise a similar objection? what issues/impact factors/drivers would have made me behave that way?
- What would have convinced me against that objection? What exactly was I looking for when I raise such an objection?
This process in my view, will certainly improve the way customer objections are handled. Try and let me know.
Every salesperson is a customer too for a number of products/services all the time.
Every salesperson selects/deselects/buys/ a large number of products/services from a number of sellers(vendors). Can you use that knowledge to address customer objections BETTER?
Whenever a customer objection araises, apply the following train of thought:
- If I were the customer , what would have made me raise a similar objection? what issues/impact factors/drivers would have made me behave that way?
- What would have convinced me against that objection? What exactly was I looking for when I raise such an objection?
This process in my view, will certainly improve the way customer objections are handled. Try and let me know.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Central Idea and the balance 50%
Steve Krug says in his book 'Dont make me Think' that every web page content can get reduced by 50% without losing its meaning. The thought can easily extend to the books we read, presentations we attend,speeches we listen to.
In the age of 140 character communication ( pioneered by Twitter), stripping the communication to its bones saves a lot for everybody ( removes irrelevent audience,saves time/money for audience and the communicator,makes the transaction cheaper and is the need of the hour ( when everything mentioned here is in short supply today!).
Do you need 400 pages to say 'Focus on core competency'?
Do you need 50/60 slides to present one great idea?
Do you need 60 minutes of my time when 5 will do?
Do you need to print a book, when a blog will do?
If you are still not convinced, understand the japanese motto "Anything complex is costly. Anything simpler is cheaper". I rest the case.
In the age of 140 character communication ( pioneered by Twitter), stripping the communication to its bones saves a lot for everybody ( removes irrelevent audience,saves time/money for audience and the communicator,makes the transaction cheaper and is the need of the hour ( when everything mentioned here is in short supply today!).
Do you need 400 pages to say 'Focus on core competency'?
Do you need 50/60 slides to present one great idea?
Do you need 60 minutes of my time when 5 will do?
Do you need to print a book, when a blog will do?
If you are still not convinced, understand the japanese motto "Anything complex is costly. Anything simpler is cheaper". I rest the case.
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How many times have you heard 'our marketing budgets are getting cut coz they are easiest to cut'! B2B sellers who sell into marketi...
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Driving innovation is not easy. Most times it happens at fringes, pockets, derided by the majority and systems are designed to frustrate. Pi...
