PowerPoint is an incredibly powerful tool – when used well. When used poorly, it is just BORING. In the past, I was taught to put everything on a slide, including our logo and “all rights reserved” at the bottom. Each slide had a header and a footer, and then we would cram as much text as possible into the slide. The idea was, when they took the slides as the handout, they would have all the information. I now know that thinking is completely WRONG.

Instead, your PowerPoint is to enhance your presentation. We all learn in different ways so the slides add a visual backdrop for your presentation. The key here is backdrop. YOU are the focus. YOU provide the content and the information. If you are just going to read to me, knock it off. I read faster than you talk. Send me an email. I’ll get to it – I promise.

One big hurtle I’ve had with the idea of PowerPoint being a backdrop was the handout at the end. I wanted a scenario where I was vital to the experience of the program, but if someone wanted the information as reference or to share with a friend, they could. Enter “Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery” by Garr Reynolds. The obvious answer? Create the handout as a DOCUMENT. Put all your information into a document form with as much detail and information as you like, with headers and other ways to quickly find what they need. Now, you are free to really use PowerPoint for the tool it can be.

Once you’ve written your handout, design your presentation. Slides become large pictures with few words to convey your meaning. There are no titles, logos, or disclaimers because they aren’t necessary anymore. One comment Reynolds makes is, you would never start every conversation with your name, so why start a slide with your logo?

Outline your flow and what information you want to provide. Then create slides that support that mission. You don’t need to put all the information on the slides because it is in the handout so think in terms of what is engaging, what will enhance your presentation and what will keep the audience’s attention.

For more on these concepts, I highly recommend checking out the Presentation Zen blog and book. Hope to see a change in your PowerPoints!

Now take that a step further. Now you know what they say. Happy with that? Happy telling people at a meeting, “we do XYZ and our clients tell us we are the only company they’ve brought in that actually understands what they needed.” You certainly sound more credible and people like knowing others agree. But what do you really want them to say? That’s your next strategic direction. Set up the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you decide you want your client to go to an event, talk to someone and say X, you will provide X.

So how are YOU different?

So what?  Well, if your marketing to a group of “nobodies”, you have an opportunity to really make them feel special.  It isn’t that no one is buying books anymore, it is just that I’m unique in that I don’t have an eReader so I want a regular book.  The bookstores can appeal to me and bring me in – make me feel special.  In their eyes, I’m “better” than the non-book-buying person so they can say so.  They track every one of my purchases through my frequent shopper account so USE THAT INFORMATION.

There are many industries selling to “nobodies”.  Make them a niche, give them special privileges including perks for bringing along non-nobodies and see what happens.  If you can turn your nobodies into somebodies in your business, they will stay with you for life.  After all, no one wants to be a nobody!

For instance, I got to spend a couple hours with Patti Boyert over at Boyert’s Garden Center.  I just have to say – WOW.  I am not a gardener, much to my mother’s chagrin. It isn’t that I can’t grow things, I just don’t know because I don’t want to. I don’t care about it!  So talking to Patti, who loves it, is fascinating for me  because she truly does. And she knows EVERYTHING.

We were walking through the greenhouses talking about plants.  On the scale of subjects, plants for me ranks just slightly above football. But there I was, diligently taking notes. Until she started explaining how to select plants for your yard.  She suggested I get down closer to plant level and look across the greenhouse to see what jumped out at me.  What a cool idea! I saw things I didn’t see just looking around and suddenly wanted to know what they were and where they would work in my yard. She talked about how to take care of the plants and why she doesn’t carry certain varieties. Interestingly enough, she doesn’t carry one type of daisy-looking flower that my husband bought elsewhere last year because they get “heat stressed” and die. Sure enough last year they made it to June and then died. I was disgusted that we had plants for no reason and here it wasn’t me, it was the plant!  If I had talked to Patti, I would have known what to buy instead and had plants all season.

Another thing she recommended was bringing in pictures of your yard. Then she and her staff will make recommendations on what to get within your budget. So I don’t have to figure it out?  Because look -when I say I don’t do this, I’m not kidding. When it says “shade”, I’m the one asking my husband does that mean under the deck or could it handle it if there is a little sun?  Turns out, talking to Patti, it means it can handle morning sun but not the hot afternoon kind. And it doesn’t matter any way because I can show her my yard and she’ll tell me what will work where. No guessing, no worrying, nothing!

She then showed me an area where she had planters all lined up full of plants. She said people bring their planters from the previous year back in and she fills them. Drop them off in March, pick them up in May and you are out the door with a beautiful pot or hanging basket! So that means other people don’t have this weird collection of pots and planters underneath their decks! Genius.

This all comes back to passion because Patti was able and willing to talk about plants and growing them for as long as I was willing to listen.  She had ideas and ways to get someone not interested at all excited about the day when the rain stops and I can plant some things.  And, she gave me a list of what I need and the supplies so I don’t have to worry I’m missing something or don’t know what to do. And she never made me feel stupid when I had to ask what “dead heading” means since to me that’s something to do with a band. It was important to her to share her love of what she does with me and made me get excited too. Now that’s following a dream.  Thank you to Patti and Boyert’s for all the information and I’ll be back soon!

Now, Blizzard, the makers of the game, noticed this too.  Many players liked the pets and collected bunches of them.  So they put in more pets, tasks where the rewards were pets, and give you more pets if you reach certain numbers of pets.  This upgrade came with a bunch of other stuff as well but they recognized something that happened organically and built on it.  Now, you often see people in towns with the rare, unusual or the holiday pets.  It is just fun.  From Blizzard’s perspective, it also gives a person a reason to keep playing – they need to get that next pet or the next level or whatever.  It is one more way to keep the player interested and engaged in a way he or she likes.  We don’t have to do these things – they are in no way mandatory – but come with a prize we want.

Okay, so how does that relate to business? First and foremost, notice what your customers are doing.  If you sell a product, how do they use the product?  Is there anything about it you should know like does everything have a spare in the office or home or do they buy it as needed?  If you sell a service, is there a pattern to use or can you graph it to see if there is a cycle, etc?  Or, do some people always go with the addons or do they just stick to the basic service?  Now, how can you capitalize on the answers?  What can you offer that is building on those real life situations but add more value and keep the customer coming back? It is all in how you motivate people to do things.

Chris Brogan talked about a clothing brand his son wears that have tags that are stickers. And they are cool stickers too.  For anyone with young children, a sticker is a great extra on anything, especially something as boring as clothing.  That child will always go for the clothes that come with stickers over the ones that don’t. And if the sticker gets put on a lunchbox, backpack or other item seen by other children, it is now a marketing tool.

So what can you do? What extras can you add?  How can you help people feel motivated to stay with your product or service?   Frankly, adults like stickers too!

But I was impressed  because it was genius.  If we had even the most tenuous relationship, when I called if the person could say we met somewhere or talked at some point and they truly thought I’d be interested, I’m hooked.  To tell someone they made enough of an impression on you that you remembered them when something came up is a huge ego boost and would definitely get my attention.

So do this the way it was intended.  Go to a networking event and meet people.  Jot down on the back of their business card something they said or something they are interested in.  When you follow up after the event, don’t just send a “great to have met you” email- instead, include in it something that is based on what they discussed; something they would truly be interested in.  If you don’t have it electronically, send it hard copy.  But be sure to put your name on it and have the note say something to reference your conversation so they have a context.  At the end of the day your messages will get noticed and people will think of you as someone who really pays attention.  Meanwhile, I’m not returning this call.  But I’m still impressed.

SEVEN printers later, I have two quotes. One came with two sentences of “we’re here in the mornings to talk about this” and the other doesn’t even have any text on the email!  And worse?  One of them sent me a note back the first time around telling me why they couldn’t take on the project (too small of a quantity, etc.).  I had to write back additional questions to get them to consider the job!  Four of the others didn’t return phone calls or emails and the fifth one was very service-oriented, but was three dollars a piece higher than is in the budget. So now I will take my business to the people that at least have some information in their email, but I am left feeling extremely unhappy with the whole experience and will continue looking for a good printer.

Can you imagine your customers feeling like this?  I’ll bet big money the owners of these print shops have no idea this is what I’ve gone through.  I’m confident they are all (most) nice people who care about their businesses.  I am hoping nothing bad happened to the first one!  But, at the end of the day, six printers will lose business because I couldn’t get them to do their jobs.  It has been said before, but obviously could do with repeating:

Respond to people – if you are not going to be in the office, set up an out-of-office message and TEST IT.
Every communication with a customer or prospect is a marketing piece – be sure you represent yourself well at all times.
When sending quotes or contracts, keep in mind this is an email that will be saved so make sure you put some context into the email itself.
Talk about what you CAN do.  Can’t run 100 pieces?  Tell the prospect you can run 250 and 100 is not in their best interest due to the high cost.
Follow up.  Not one single company has followed up on their information. It was left to me to handle.

Don’t make things hard for customers because they won’t do business with you.  Instead, make it easy because service is everything!

I love to build marketing messages based on sales objections.  You already know what issues people bring to the table and how to answer it, so do so before they even get there! Leading with those objection-answers gives you a chance to show you do understand your customers and why they should make the call.  These can be done as a series of emails, a series of blog posts, testimonials that give the reader insight into why the customer was skeptical and how you overcame it, or voice mails that are left for prospects.  Here’s an example of how to work this:

I recently met with a client who’s prospects don’t trust them.  There are some unscrupulous people in their industry and they are always fighting an uphill battle to overcome those concerns.  We developed a list of what other companies have done wrong, and used it as our messages.  We did an email marketing series as well as used them in voice mails.  We pointed out that there are some companies who have experienced X.  We don’t do that – we do this.  It was extremely effective and yielded 40% more inbound contacts.

It was tough for this customer to come up with marketing messages in the past, but now that the sales team is giving them objections and answers, the possibilities have really opened up.  Try this technique and then let me know how it goes!

My initial introduction to the organization was through one of their customer support reps, we’ll call her Amy.  I observed her with several clients and each time she was engaged, clearly knew her products, and was able to solve their problems.  Each one left with a smile on her face and with goals and reasons to come back soon.  My second visit involved Jeff.  Jeff is new and the first thing out of his mouth when someone comes in for an appointment is “I’m new”.  Immediately clients move to uncomfortable.  He wasn’t able to answer any of the questions put to him although he promised to find out and follow up, and he really only knew anything about the products he’s used himself, which were few.  At the end of the meeting, the clients had the same or more questions and didn’t look happy.  The third consultant, Lori, had a terrible time with time management.  When I arrived she had one client but as they moved to her office, two others arrived.  She was so concerned about the “back up” she clearly did not give the current customer the time she needed.  Interestingly enough at one point she told the customer that if she “could come back when she had more time” Lori could get into more stuff with her.  The customer then indicated she had “all the time in the world” much to the shock of Lori.  She had transferred her time stress to the client and not even realized it.  In addition, she didn’t listen to the client ask questions and then had to answer what she assumed had been asked.  After the third question that wasn’t answered, the client quit asking although on her notepad she had many more questions.  The fact that Lori didn’t notice the notepad or the list of questions was a surprise to me.

I have given this client a proposal that starts with unifying their offering before we start marketing.  First, we need to get Jeff training on the products as well as customer service.  Inspiring confidence is his number one job so we need to help him do so.  Also, I checked in with him two days later to see if he had followed up on all the questions and he confessed he was behind on that.  We quickly created a system so he can track the questions and answers and learn where to get them as his plan was to “just ask Amy”.  We also put in place a goal of calling the client before she got home so that upon her arrival was a voice mail letting her know what her options were.  This should gain Jeff a strong following. Finally, Lori needs some serious work.   Helping her learn to focus on the person in front of her is job number one.  I would like to see Lori in a situation where there aren’t other customers waiting but I believe there is always something else that needs to be done so I’m not convinced she is cut out for a service position.

Am I really recommending they not market their company?  In the short term, yes!  At this point there is a one in three chance that a customer would receive the products and service we would be marketing.  This will not create the kind of referral culture and customer loyalty we would want out of a program.  Until these issues are addressed, the majority of people will feel misled and unhappy with the company.  Nothing can sabotage a marketing effort faster than customers with bad experiences!

So take a hard look at your organization or hire someone to do it for you.  Have them make sure what you are selling is what you are providing and that customers will have a good experience.  If the problems can be fixed by training, like Jeff, then get the training needed immediately.  If the problems may not be trainable, then find the right people to do the job. And finally, if you have someone or multiple people setting the standard for service, be sure they are rewarded and are recognized for doing so.  The worst thing that could happen to this company would be Amy leaving!

Most people who use a lathe learn the safety of the machine and then how to use it to get the results they need. They understand how to mount the wood or metal to be shaped, they know how to position the blades properly and they know what safety gear to have on while it is running. They also have a clear idea, understanding or diagram of what they want to have at the end of the job as well.

All of these ideas apply to our marketing. Creating the plan gives you the final drawing of what you need to have at the end. The safety aspect means we know what the risks are, we know how to minimize them and we know what to watch for to see if we are on track. No one learns to use a lathe by walking up, putting a piece of wood on and starting it up.

The other parallel we can draw here is every wood worker has access to a lathe. There is nothing unique about that tool itself. It is what the wood worker does with the lathe that makes the work special. The tools are a means to an end, not a differentiator on their own. A new cool can give the wood worker an edge for awhile, but at some point everyone will have it too so he or she better have a different way to differentiate next. This is true with social media and marketing as well. Using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are great ways to get to customers, but it is no different than your competition can do. What is different is how you use them and what your final products are.

If you want to be a company known for educating customers, then use social media to provide education. If innovation is your thing, then you need to be out on the bleeding edge ahead of the game. If the message is quality, then everything you put out needs to be grammatically correct and no typos. And the list goes on.

Before starting to use any tool, watch someone else use it and listen to them explain it. Then, try to do what others are doing first so you can see how it goes. Once you are comfortable, then it is time to start adding your own flair and design. You can make beautiful pieces if you know what you are doing first!

At the end of the day it is vital to see your customers as individuals and to understand what is important to them.  When you think about your customers, specific individuals should come to mind that represent the different groups you work with.  That way, when you want to add a new service or product, or have a new idea, you can think about how Jack would react or what Jenna would say to it.  You will have a much better shot at building your business to cater to your best customers and therefore attract more of the same.

Not understanding who your best customers are means you will never know what they need.  You will constantly play roulette with your business.  And having played roulette, it was over way to fast and I lost way too quickly to play more that once!  If you don’t know them, the best thing to do is first identify your best client and then talk to them.  And not just about how they interact with your product or service, but also about their other interests, family, etc.  Really getting to know them will help you understand what need you fill for them and why.  It will also help you understand what would motivate them to leave you for another provider.  Finally, it will help you word messages so they are understood.

How can understanding the people help you word messages differently?  A friend of mine went to see her doctor twice in one month.  On the first visit, she asked a question unrelated to her appointment and was told they couldn’t discuss that because the insurance might not cover it.  When she got home she was ready to switch doctors and called me to complain because she was furious.  When I explained she had a specific reason to be at the office and an additional topic wouldn’t be covered if the appointment became two she calmed down and did see the doctor the second time, but almost quit.  The second visit an insurance situation came up and this time the doctor explained how the billing goes through and why she was answering the way she did.  My friend totally understood and felt much better working with her doctor for both treatment and getting the doctor paid.  Now, if the doctor had understood my friend and her need to feel the doctor was concerned for her health first, she would have handled the first appointment differently and would never have been in danger of losing that patient.

So take the time and get to know your clients. Host a feedback breakfast, invite people to the office, offer a discount for taking some time with you or just call them to talk.  Show an interest and you will learn a lot about how to keep your clients and build your business.  Understand that it takes a lot of trees to make a forest!

So now I’m not as inclined to read the paper.  I will, because I want to see if there is something new out there I wasn’t aware of, but I’m not going into the document thinking either neutral or happy thoughts.  I have a giant chip on my shoulder.  And when the doc tells me all about stuff that has been in the world for months, I will think badly of the company.  Anti-mission accomplished.

Now it just so happens I downloaded a white paper from another company on Thursday.  That company also left me a voice mail today but that was more reasonable since it has been several days.  And her message wasn’t an in-my-face, jump-all-over-it kind of voice mail.  It was a very low-key, “wanted to see what your thoughts were on the white paper”.  Her voice mail made me feel like she actually did want my opinion.  And as the two events happened close together (I picked up the two voice mails at the same time), it was an interesting contrast.

So the morale of the story is, don’t think that because someone downloads your material they “owe” you something.  You chose to put out free information so people who take advantage of it are following your direction.  When you do follow up – and you should – make it clear you want to start a dialog.  Not necessarily sell something right this second because you don’t know what product would be right for them as a client.  In fact, for all you know they need 12 products or services – you can’t tell from a download!  So take the time and build the relationship.  Ask the questions and listen to the feedback.  And for heaven’s sake give the person some time to read the document.  Otherwise, you come across desperate and annoying.

There was a time when people didn’t have processes.  Then, it was vital to mention you had one and clients wanted details.  How could you ensure you would be able to replicate your results if you didn’t have a process?  Today, most people talk about a process so it has lost the impact.  Today, you have to illustrate your process differently.

For some of my clients, we design a graphic to illustrate their process.  These pictures convey exactly how the process will repeat the success and are easy to follow.  In fact, I’ve had a couple of clients that when we tried to draw their process we couldn’t and they have gone back and simplified the whole thing!  Another option is to name the process.  Giving it a name gives it meaning as well and also an opportunity to discuss where the name came from, how it works, etc. A third option is to highlight a key step in the process – “we focus on the “XYZ” of our process to ensure world-changing results”.  Again, this changes the game and gives the client something to talk about instead of blowing off your process as just another process.

Generic words that are used by everyone shouldn’t be part of your brand unless you are using them in an unconventional way.  Instead, use pictures, names or call outs to really bring your message home.

When I began my business, I embraced this philosophy whole-heartedly.  I am not a good hunter.  I don’t like the uncertainty, the failure/misses, or the need to put myself out there like that.  Coincidentally, my clients aren’t either.  They don’t like the hunt.  So we build programs that are more about the harvest.  Being a gatherer has its advantages – people remember you longer and with more warm feelings if you are a gatherer.  I know this is true because in the last two weeks I have run into people I have been cultivating for 6 months who are now ready to do business.  They’ve gotten my newsletters, phone calls, emails and blog articles and now are ready to go. Hooray!

So when I say to be a gatherer – here’s what I recommend:

Know what kind of fruit you want – what kind of business would be best or second best?
Know where the fruit is – know which prospects could give you the type of business you want.
Provide the water and sunlight to the fruit trees – Give them vital information for their business.
Check on the plants – Contact your prospects to see how things are going.  Have a good reason to be checking though!
Be ready to harvest when the fruit is ripe – There is nothing worse than being ready to buy and not being able to for some reason. So when the prospect is ready, be available.  Answer the email or phone call, schedule the meeting, whatever it takes.

The tasks involved in cultivating plants is the same as managing prospects.  Be sure you have the tools you need and backups to help if the market conditions don’t provide what is needed.  After all, slow and steady often wins the race!

Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
Established or Create the need
Long or Short Sales Cycle
Known Industry
Established vs. Startup
Tech Savvy Customers

At each step, we analyzed the company and the customers to make sure we understood who people think we are, who we know we are and who we want to be.  That is the core of a good marketing plan.  And while no one knows your company better than you do, there are many details that have not been put into words.  That makes a huge difference when trying to target marketing.  The last thing we want to do is throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks!

We’ve talked in the past about buyer personas and that is really the next step to your marketing plan.  Create 5-7 characters in your marketing story that are typical of your best customers.  What are they like?  What do they do in their spare time?  Married?  Children?  Where do they live?  Give these characters as much dimension as you can.  Then, when reviewing marketing options, ask “does this attract Scott” or is “this answering Mary’s concerns”.  Since you know so much about the characters, you should be able to answer the questions.  And we all know what my answer will be if you say you don’t know your customers that well. GO ASK.  If you are local, go sit down with them and if not, get everyone in your company together and put together what you know.  Then, the next time you talk, find out what’s missing.  Otherwise, you will not be able to tell if that new technology is the best thing to use or if traditional advertising works better.

Your marketing plan is vital to know how to steer your ship in 2010.  Many people are forcasting changes to social media this year with a tightening of networks and more depth in relationships.  If you have a strong plan, you will be able to adapt to those changes as they come and handle them immediately.  Bring on the plans!