   
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Are you indispensable? July 6th, 2010 Jill Beraud, Pepsi’s Chief Marketing Officer, for Fast Company’s “30-second MBA” answered the question, What is too much information in an Information Age. The answer (in less than 30 seconds): Anything that is irrelevant to the other person. The more you distill everything you know into exactly and only what they need to know, the more indispensable you become. Storytelling as sales tool? Seriously? June 29th, 2010 It seems like everyone today talks about the importance of story, of telling your story and of differentiating your idea with story. Consultants and bloggers explain the different types of stories and companies jump on the bandwagon. Why? Because a good story starts a conversation. And a conversation can start a relationship. And a relationship can move mountains. What makes a good story? It’s relevant, authentic and intriguing (or at least interesting) to the listener. What makes a great story? When the teller isn’t always the hero. It’s a lesson learned the hard way. Sometimes there are twists and surprise endings that don’t make the teller look good at all, except for the fact s/he is telling it, to underscore that lesson learned. Whether you’re an executive trying to make a point, a parent or teacher attempting to persuade a child, or a sales professional trying to motivate a buyer to act, tell your story to help the other person trust your message. We (staff, clients, customers, children, students, etc.) are hard wired to buy into an idea based on emotion and justify with logic. That’s just the way it is. Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? Would love to hear from you. How to write an email that will impress your boss June 24th, 2010 Have you ever noticed that your boss doesn’t always agree with what you suggest? Sometimes it’s because he/she just don’t agree the idea is good. Often, though, it’s because the idea wasn’t presented in a clear, concise, confident and competent manner. What impresses bosses? A well-thought out message A concise message A solution oriented message A correct message A smart and clever message Having your idea ignored because it doesn’t fit the company structure is one thing. Having it ignored because you explained it poorly is another. What other ideas do you have to be heard? I’d love to hear! The fundamental flaw in “relationship selling” June 16th, 2010 Here is the fundamental flaw in relationship selling: Relying on it too much. Some sales people think if they write things like: that they’re relationship building, and that these statements actually resonate for the recipient. The reality is that when all things are equal, every buyer buys from someone they like. But too many sales people focus too much on building a (wordsmithed but fake) relationship, instead of keeping their focus totally, fully, 100% on the buyers’ success, needs and happiness. Forget telling them how pleased you are, or how much you look forward to making money (working together). Instead, zero in on the one thing that can actually differentiate you from everyone else: them. Instead of telling me how pleased you are that we spoke, for instance, reframe the comment to focus on why they might be pleased they spoke to you. You might say something like: Thank you for your insights today. Based on the important points you mentioned… Instead of telling me how much you’re looking forward to working together, tell me why I should/might look forward to working with you. Reframe your focus. Love your customer and you’re likely to build a relationship. Love yourself but pretend to love them and you’re likely to lose out to a competitor who talks less about “relationship selling” and does more relationship building. Your comments? The one most important thing you can do to sell more easily June 10th, 2010 Show respect. Respect them by writing truthful, clear, relevant messages. Do You Whistle While You Work? May 26th, 2010 If you were ever a kid, you probably remember Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarf’s song, Whistle While You Work. Keeping a happy attitude solved everything. And though I truly believe that is true most of the time, there is one time that it absolutely, positively provides a false sense of confidence: Email. Those of us who see the glass as half full, hear our own happy voices as we compose our emails. We talk our words out loud (which thrills our cubicle mates), smiling as we go (I’m doing it now!), practically singing, as we lovingly type, “Here you go,” or “Okay!” But our readers, they aren’t whistlers. And they aren’t hearing our happy tune. Recipients don’t give writers the benefit of the doubt. (Do you or do you jump to negative conclusions, too?) Before sending your next happy missive, ask yourself: Is there any chance the reader can misunderstand my intent? How can I write this so s/he understands I’m thinking of them and not just of myself? How’s this: Write as if you’re writing to Grumpy to keep everyone Happy. Sell with Email? 9 Top Tips May 24th, 2010 How do you create a message that gets read? Be being strategic. Understand readers go through 3 quick decisions when deciding how much time to allot to your message: 1. The subject line has to be meaningful to them. Keep it truthful and relevant to their needs. 2. The first line has to be meaningful to them. Write about them, not how proud, pleased or pithy you are. Tell your truth and make it about them. Answer the question they’re (silently) asking: Will reading this profit me any way? 3. “Above the fold” has to be meaningful to them. Above the fold is what they see on their screen without scrolling. Most messages should be completed by this point. Then, 4. Have a clear, easy next step. Quickly explain to the reader why she should take it or accept it. Make it meaningful from their perspective. 5. Use your inside voice. Shouting about what you have to offer even the benefits, is old school. Don’t hype. Tell stories. Use testimonials. Link to comment sites. 6. Don’t fall in love with your words. KISS: Keep it simple and sweet is still great advice. Maybe even more important today than before. 7. Use common courtesy. Saying hi, hello or good morning is more pleasing than just starting with their name. Include a closing too. Yes, it matters. 8. If you’ve left a voice message or sent a previous email and they haven’t responded, consider not mentioning it. You’ll just remind them they’ve already blown you off. On the other hand, if you said in your voice message, I’ll follow up with an email, you have every right to show your follow-through by writing, “Hi Sophie, As promised, here is the ….” 9. End with something meaningful to them. Something meaningful to them usually isn’t something that is procedural for you. It’s poor form to write: I’ll call you Friday to see discuss the next step. It’s much better to say: I’ll call you Friday to talk about additional ideas to make your next event memorable and fun. Try these ideas and tell me how they work for you! Do you kill your effectiveness with TMI? May 14th, 2010 One of the easiest ways to be more successful is to filter information for another person. The more you help them make good decisions, the more successful you are. Think about it. You’ve most likely asked your financial advisor, “What do you think I should do ?” And your hairdresser, “What do you think would look best?” And your wine dealer, “What do you recommend?” You may have even given up total control and said to them (I have): You decide. The people you serve aren’t any different. They want you to think for them, tell them what to do, answer their unasked questions. Once they trust you (and you’ve earned that by successfully guiding them through other decisions) you can easily earn expand your fan base. But only if you go easy on the information, and heavy on filtering for them. We have so many choices, we can no longer choose. The more you guide people to the (true, authentic, ethical) best choice, the more effective, successful and indispensable you become. They psychology of email: How to get your message read April 26th, 2010 More and more organizations are willing to pay hourly coaching fees to help leaders develop missing skills. I can say this, not because I’ve read the research, but because my coaching business is booming. So what do people need to learn to stay on the fast track? They ask for stuff like grammar and sentence structure but what they really need to know is how to connect with another human being. Here are a few tips: Say what you mean. Clearly. Leave out the history and your opinion. When you’re done writing, go back through and eliminate 20% of the words. Be approachable. Stop talking about what you think, want or do. It’s all about the recipient. Always. Be specific. Be certain your reader knows exactly what s/he or you will do next. Use correct grammar. Think of how helpful a stop sign is at an intersection. It helps traffic flow. Correct grammar does the same. And if you’re sooooo busy that you don’t have time for grammar*, get someone else to write for you. Be clear in your purpose. Before you start writing, know what your message should accomplish for you and for your reader. Identify your “pet” phrases. We all have them. Phrases that are meaningless to the other person but we like using them. Eliminate those phrases. Remember your reader. More than that, become your reader. Visualize them reading your message. Are you really talking with them or writing like you’re floating above them, don’t know them, aren’t one of them? It’s not about what you want to say; it’s about what you want them to identify with, grasp, do. *No one is that busy. What other ideas do you have to increase persuasion and productivity? Do your emails connect or curtail relationships? April 19th, 2010 Have you noticed that emails can be technically well-written (grammatical, no typos, good structure) but still be a major turn off? It’s like you can’t put your finger on, you just know you don’t really like the person who sent it. Here is my take: 1. People who write too much about themselves, even when they think they have the right too, are less likeable. Look over your last few emails. If you could simply write: Please send a message, do you prefer, I would suggest sending a message…? If you could just write: This is a great idea (or even better: You have a great idea!), do you prefer, I do certainly think this is a good idea…? If you could write: Can you/Will you/Would you, do you prefer, I’m writing to ask if you…? 2. People who use cliches are less likeable, less approachable and sometimes downright patronizing. Instead of writing: Please keep this in mind, just say what you mean. Instead of writing: With that said, just move on. Instead of writing: To my knowledge, just tell them what you know. Instead of writing: At the end of this day, what this means is…, write what your interpretation is. Instead of writing: At this point in time, you might say, at this point or now or whatever it is you really mean. Do you know anyone who feels like they’re talking down to you? Check their emails for I-I-I disease and for meaningless phrases. Consider they may not mean it and just don’t realize how self-centered they’re being. And if it’s you, stop now. What are your pet peeves when it comes to unapproachable writing? |
My Latest Book
Categories
Archives
Meta |
|||||||
