Standing Out

The trick to standing out in the crowd in your line of business isn't being slick or a smart aleck (we see a lot of people playing the smart aleck online). It's not being controversial or being a shock jock. The trick to standing out from others is being consistent and helpful as you build relationships.

Regardless of what you may have heard, people are still looking for someone to help them; they're still looking for someone that will make them feel safe and secure. I know we have the internet now and people can "educate" themselves on all the products they need, but all the information in the world will never replace a real relationship based on trust, knowledge, and a desire to be helpful.

If you want to stand out in your business, follow these three rules:

1. Communicate consistently
Write a note. Send an e-mail. Send a Tweet. Facebook them. Call on the phone. Drop in to say hello. And when you do any of these, provide something of value.

2. Make yourself available
While I was writing this post, one of my customers called and needed help with a piece of equipment he uses. The manufacturer was short with him on the phone (probably busy), and told him what he needed to do to fix his problem, but he didn't seem like he wanted to help. All I did was let my customer vent, agreed with what the manufacturer suggested he do to fix the issue, and then suggested a couple of other options. Right before he got off the phone he said, "Thank you." I said, "For what? I did do much." He said, "I know, but when I call you I can tell that you really want to help me." Be there when they need you!

3. Build trust
The most important thing you can do in any business is build trust. That means you need to know your stuff, be honest when you don't know your stuff, know what your customer needs, and be honest when you find your product may NOT be the best fit for your customer's needs.

If you follow these three simple rules you'll be leaps and bounds ahead of your competition in no time.

Image: diankarl

Shut Up, Step Back and Watch

Have you ever seen hyperactive networkers that just HAVE to meet the guy that spoke to the group? It's kind of funny. They kind of shake like a toy poodle as they stand in line to shake the speakers hand, share a few words, and then feel like they really accomplished something.

I just watched a number of fellow Power Breakfast attendees do just that in Charleston. I'm sure many of them were potential suppliers for the company the CEO that spoke runs, just like me. But what good is a quick word or two, the passing of a card, and worse yet; a little bragging about ones self and business going to to do for that networker hoping to make a connection?

Instead of joining the crowd, I did what a good friend, and much more seasoned salesperson told me I should do in situations like this; I kept my mouth shut, stood back and watched. My goal in attending the meeting was to get a good contact name for someone in this CEO's company that I could talk with about my products. I was hoping the CEO would be able to give me this information. But after standing back for a while I noticed a lady that kept attending to all of the CEO's needs. She hovered around him, handed him papers, and and so forth.

No one was paying any attention to her, so I walked up and said, "He keeps you busy doesn't he." With a smile she said, "You have no idea." She then went on to tell me she was the CEO's personal assistant. After we talked about some of her responsibilities, I asked, "Could you help me with a question?" She said she'd try. I then told her I needed to know who to talk to in her organization that would be interested in my products and then told her what I do and how I can help her company. She gave me the name I needed, took my card to pass on to the fellow she asked me to call, and then gave me her card and told me to call her if I needed any more help. Goal met!

Shutting up, standing back, and keeping my eyes open netted me a better contact than the one I went to the breakfast with the intention to meet. Two points to ponder:

1. Don't be so anxious
Take your time when networking.

2. Look around
If you're only focusing on the "target" you came to meet. You may miss out on a great opportunity to meet someone you didn't even realize could help you.

Image: fspugna

All the Work You Need?

It never ceases to amaze me how foolish people can be. I've been involved in a group in my home town called The Business Fellowship for some time now and we had a really great speaker scheduled for this last meeting, so I decided to invite a few friends; three in fact. One immediately said yes, one couldn't make it because he had to go out of town, but one responded to my e-mail with this reply:

"I'll pass. I already have more work than I can or want to do."

I spent the rest of my day shaking my head over that one! Now understand, this fellow is a contract employee in a very stable industry and really does have all the work he could want or need. But my question is, what is he doing to build his professional network in case he ever finds himself looking for another company to work with? Networking is not always about finding more work. There are many reasons to network. Let's look at some of the reasons Jeff Taylor talks about in his book, Monster Careers: Networking.

Networking Separates You from the Pack
If you had two applications in front of you and both were from people that are new to the work force, but equally qualified; which would you look at more closely? An applicant that is well networked (student counsel, volunteer, school newspaper, toastmasters) or one that isn't?

Networking Catches You When You Fall
If you are laid-off or your company goes under, wouldn't it be nice to have a solid group of contacts that can help you land that next job? If you're self-employed, this same group can lead you to your next client.

Networking Opens Up New Possibilities
Sometimes you'll run across clients you never thought to call on, or a career you never thought to pursue.

Networking Makes You More Valuable to Your Company
Power people network! How many potential colleagues could you meet while networking? Lots!

Many people think networking is just for entrepreneurs or salesmen, but the reality is everyone should be networking. Don't be like my friend who was so fast to say no. Consider all opportunities to meet people and build relationships. This group may not have been a good fit for him, but he'll never know. Here's hoping all that business never dries up! :)

Reference: Monster Careers: Networking, Chapter 1, Pages 5 - 6

Image: successfromthenest.com

Brand Tags

Seth Godin mentioned Brand Tags in his blog yesterday. I thought it would fit nicely with what I wrote last week about Joe Dannelly's Two Columns branding exercise. Hop over to Seth's blog and read his post, then give Brand Tags a try.

To view what others say about the different brands, click the link on the top of the page that reads, see what other people have tagged it. This exercise will help you see how you, and others, view some of the most popular brands on the market; which will help you brand yourself better.

Image: mleak

Drop By Jim Sharp

Take a swing by Jim Sharp and check out the post I just wrote titled, I Can't. I wrote it for sharpeners, but you can take the words "I can't" and insert them in front of any objection and you'll get the point. Let me know what you think.

Image: tiff-a-ny

Joe Dannelly and Brains on Fire®

Brains on Fire®

I attended the Upstate Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners meeting last night. Joe Dannelly was the speaker. Joe works with one of the most progressive Idenity and Branding Companies I know, Brains on Fire®. Hearing Joe speak was a real treat for me because while I'd love to be able to hire Brains on Fire® to help me brand Wolff, with a starting price of $85,000.00, they are a little out of reach for my budget! Just the same, even though Brains on Fire® caters to high ranking companies, both nationally and internationally, they showed concern for local small business as well when they agreed to speak to this group.

Fisk-A-Teers

During Joe's presentation, he talked about the work Brains on Fire® did with Fiskars® Shears. They helped Fiskars® develop a Community Website for Scrapbookers called Fisk-A-Teers. It's a brilliant marriage between a hobby and a supplier that does two things as far as I see it:

1. It's an excellent way to promote the Fiskars® brand.
2. It provides a powerful medium for Scrapbookers to learn, swap ideas, show off their crafts and build friendships. These things lead to loyal customers!

Two Columns

One more thing I wanted to share with you from Joe's presentation was an exercise he had all of us perform. Each of us had to take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle of it. In the left hand column, we wrote down 3 or 4 of our favorite brands. In the right column, we wrote what we loved about those brands and what draws us to them. After a time of sharing, Joe told us to fold the paper in half and ask ourselves, "Does this list of things I love about these companies describe my company?" It was a great exercise!

I could go on and on about Joe and Brains on Fire®, but the best thing I can do is point you to their blog. It's an excellent source for anyone in business!

Image: cssa_ucsd

Tough Times Ahead?

Please go take a look at the latest post on Jim Sharp. It has a link to an excellent article by Jeff Cornwall about preparing for an economic down turn if you own a small business.

Great Service is Still Out There!

Yesterday I shared a post Mike Dandridge wrote about customer service and an article Jeffrey Gitomer wrote about the same. Mike wrote about first impressions and Jeffrey wrote about how good service is hard to find. Well I'm happy to say I had the opposite experience today.

I had a morning meeting in Greenville, SC today. We met at a hip little Coffee Shop called Coffee Underground. When I stepped up to order I didn't know what I wanted. The young lady behind the counter made some excellent suggestions, so I told her to go for it. I asked her to include what my friend was having on my bill. She looked up, called him out by name (he frequents the place) and asked if he'd have his usual. Less than a minute later we had our order and this time I was called by name. Cool!

After my meeting I went to see my website provider. I had some questions, and since I was in the area I figured I'd just drop in and see if they could help. My contact dropped what he was doing and walked me into the conference room. When I told him what I needed, he said he could show me some stuff right then, but it would be better if we set up an online training date so he could have a team put together to help me. He also said that they would record the training, burn it to a CD and send it to me so I could reference it in the future. Wow! I told him I'd call him later to set up the appointment and moved on.

My next stop was my customs broker. My brother-in-law lives in China and he's starting an export business. He was looking for some contact info. She got me what I needed and had me in and out in ten minutes. Fast and friendly!

My final stop was the bank. I used to hate going to this bank because the teller was detached and I always felt like I was an interruption instead of a customer. I guess they fired the old teller because there's a new fellow working the drive-through and he's dynamite. I actually look forward to going to the bank now and all he does is smile, calls me by name and says thank you. Real hard huh!?

As you can see, none of these things took a lot of time, but all of them made an impression. I know this is an overused cliche, but it really is the little things that mean a lot. What little things are you and your company doing to make a good impression on your customers?

Image: CustomersRock

How is Your Service?

Mike Dandridge quoted a customer in a post on the New School Selling Blog. This is what his customer said about a funny sign that joked about customer service...

"Did you ever notice, the places that have those signs that joke about the service, are the same places where the service is a joke?"

Mike took the sign down. He then goes on in the post to write about first impressions.

The most important thing we can do as business people is make good first impressions, and the best way to do that is dedicate ourselves to outstanding customer service. Unfortunately, according to Jeffrey Gitomer's latest article in Sales Caffeine, customer service is not very good and getting worse. So we have an opportunity! It's never been easier to stand out, all we have to do is treat people well and we'll be ahead of the pack. It's kind of a shame isn't it. Shouldn't we be treating our customers well anyway?

Image: successfromthenest.com

If you liked this post, be sure to visit my other blog: Jim Sharp

During an Interview

I had a friend of mine ask if she could interview me for a class project she was working on. They needed to assess a small business that uses 3 computers or less and they would come back with some recommendations for software that may be helpful to the business. She thought that On The Edge, a newsletter I publish, would be a good fit.

The interview went well. She and a young man from her class sat and talked with me for about an hour. It was helpful and I think once they go back to their class and make their report, they'll come back with some good suggestions that may save me some time and money.

What I found interesting though, was the young man she brought along. My friend is retired and is going back to school just for the fun of learning. She's not sure where it will lead, but she enjoys the challenge and her classes. But this young man is 26 years old and wanted to get into Computer Networking and IT. So I started quizzing him on what he is doing now that will help him get a job in the future. I kept getting blank stares. Here are some of the things I was asking him:

1. What organizations have you joined that are helping you get in front of potential employers?
2. Do you have a LinkedIn profile?
3. What books are you reading, apart from your class text book, that will help you excel in your chosen field?
4. Do you understand where I'm going with this?

Unfortunately he didn't. So I told him about GSATC and about their Tech after 5 networking meetings. I explained LinkedIn to him and suggested he sign up and build a profile. Since I don't know much about Computer Networking and IT, I couldn't suggest a good book on that subject. But I do know a good bit about Career Networking and I suggested he read Monsters Career - Networking. It is one of the best Career Networking books I've ever seen and every college student should read it. I also gave him the name of an IT Recruiter I know through some of the Tech after5 meeting I've been to.

It seems to me that our colleges need to do a better job of preparing their students for the future. While they're doing a fine job on the technical side of education, they should also be teaching the personal side of building relationships in your chosen field. Maybe this fellow will listen, maybe he won't. I have a feeling that the latter will prove true. In this new economy, we need to be interwoven into a community that can help propel us in our careers. Especially in a career like IT, it can change on a dime and you never know when you'll be hunting that next job.

So my big question of the day is, what are you doing to propel your career?

Image: pmi.org

If you liked this post, be sure to visit my other blog: Jim Sharp