Steve Noel's Blog

What Caused the Collapse of Mayan Civilization?

2012-02-24T14:57:00.000-05:00

Subtitled, why your business should dig a well.

I just read an article about what caused the Mayan civilization to collapse. While there may have been many additional reasons, the main one discussed in this article was climate change and lack of water.

Due to the lack of rivers in the Yucatan, the Mayan relied on the seasonal rainfall to refill their fresh water storage. While these reductions amounted to only 25 to 40 percent in annual rainfall, they were large enough for evaporation to become dominant over rainfall.

Let’s just replace the words water and rainfall with money and cash flow. Are you too dependent on cash flow from one particular segment of your business? Would that 25 to 40 percent cut cause your extinction?

The rain of money that comes from cloud bursts are great, however you have to have a drought proof source as well. Grandma might have said don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

How does this fit with your business philosophy? Do you approach your market in a narrow focused vertical, gaining deep penetration, or a broad based approach doing a little of everything? There are ways to create different revenue streams in both of these models. Find recurring revenue, one time sales, and services revenue across all your business divisions.

So while the rain is falling, you may want to dig a well.

Happy Anniversary to Me

2012-02-23T17:04:00.003-05:00

It has been one year today since I posted my first blog post. This was a journey I started with only one goal. I had to post on a regular basis. I was not going to start a blog where I posted once a week, then once a month, then once a year. I have averaged a post every other day.

Mission accomplished. All of the other benefits I have gained were really only bonuses. I have found writing to be a great form of therapy. It could be even more helpful in its therapeutic value if I were writing a different type of blog. My blog content has evolved, and will continue to evolve as I write because I evolve.

I want to thank you who are reading this right now. I would still write my blog if no one were reading, it is part of me now. But to know there are people who feel my writing is worth taking some part of their day is humbling.

Stay tuned for more excitement as I start writing some blogs that are a little different for me, like my guest blog for Looks Cloudy. I’m also sure that when I land with a new company, I will have a lot of new material for my blog.

So I’m off to celebrate 365 days and 186 blogs seen in over 10 countries, by writing a new blog post..

Commodity Trader

2012-02-22T11:52:00.001-05:00

Let me start with a definition. Commodity: “In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs.” This is from Wikipedia, I hyperlinked if you want to know more about them. In addition the description goes on the state: “…the market treats it as equivalent or nearly so no matter who produces it.” If you are reading this, you may be a commodity.

Don’t feel bad, but it is something you need to know. Unless you produce something or provide services than no one else or a small number of people provide, you and your products are commodities.

Many of the people I talk to are in the IT Services market. There was a time when computers equaled magic. No longer. It is really hard to charge more for servicing a product than it is worth. Think home appliances. When was the last time you took a toaster to the Mr. FixIt shop downtown? Even your big screen TV? Not worth the cost. We don’t spend the money when we can put it towards newer, better, faster, even if it has only been a year or two.

What makes a TV different from a computer? Data. Your customer’s data is not a commodity. So while the hardware, software, network, or provider that is used to access the data may be a commodity, but the data never is.

So if you want to be “less” of a commodity, tie yourself to the data.

Miner 49er…

2012-02-17T17:04:00.001-05:00

Two really interesting stories that are more connected that you might think.

The first was Google admitting to circumventing the security of the Safari browser when it was set to prohibit websites from using tracking cookies. You can find that story here.

The second was in Forbes talking about how retailer Target was able to identify that a teenage girl was pregnant before her father was able to know. That story is here.

Both stories have one common theme. Data Mining. Whether it is mining the data from store purchases and using that data to generate more sales, or mining the data from internet searches to generate better searches and ad revenue, it is still data mining.

So this data mining doesn’t have to be evil or even a breach of privacy. If you want to see who Google thinks you are, go here. This is some of the data they use to provide suggestions and ads to you. I can tell you I think this is much more helpful that the old way ads used to be put on search portals or in the results.

We all want great customer support. We all want our computers and websites to read our minds. We all want this to happen without sharing any data. We are all dreaming, and Google can tell us about what with about an 80% accuracy…

The Best Known Have Died

2012-02-16T17:06:00.002-05:00

That may seem like an odd title, but tell me quick, NO GOOGLING, who is the top scientist in the field of bacteria today? Me either, no idea, yet we all know Louis Pasteur. Who owns the art nouveau movement now? Right, same thing.

So do the best known, most memorable have to have died? Can your sales demo be the most memorable, even if you don’t die during it? I would hope so.

Like the old question, are you famous, or infamous? Do you care? I hope you do, because when doing a demo, you want to be famous and avoid infamy.

The first thing to keep you from being infamous is the truth. By telling the truth, or at lease what you think is true. See my blog on Distorting Reality for more on this. The truth will set you free, and keep you free of a bad name.

Second is be a person first, and a sales second. I know you are a salesperson, but think of yourself as a person-of-sales. Please never forget to be a person.

Third would be to ask for more than a reason to tell. My wife tells me I’m guilty of this one, I think she may be right. Leading questions. I’m sure you don’t need to report...”You do!?!” (said with shock and surprise), well let me tell you about our all new report 6000 module... Sometimes you should ask to actually hear their answer, not be answering their answer before they are done speaking.

And truth be told, we may argue over who the greatest LIVING baseball player is, but we know all of their names. Why do we know? Because they performed and produced. That is what it takes to be known before you die.

Managing for Success 2012

2012-02-15T08:06:00.000-05:00

I hope my blog helps people. I write my blog with the hope that my words will make people think, and help them in their business. So while this isn't a typical blob post for me to make, it does what I want my blog to do, help you. I can think of no better way to do this than to tell you about a good friend of mine and an even he is holding.

Karl is an author, speaker, and trainer who focuses on helping computer consultants and I.T. Professionals improve their business practices. He is widely regarded as someone who provides click-by-click instructions on how to be a successful technology consultant. He is the author of nine books (available at SMBBooks.com). His blog - SmallBizThoughts.com - has more than 40,000 visitors a month and is considered a training resource for many I.T. consultants. The blog has experienced an audience growth rate of almost 600% over the last year.

Karl is hosting a 3-day online conference for computer consultants in June 2012. The conference will focus on building successful business processes and will feature some of the best business and technology speakers in the U.S.

Have you ever wanted to attend an IT conference on running your business? Have you ever wanted to go to a conference without the travel? Now you can.

Speakers include . . .

Karl W. Palachuk - Author, Blogger, Managed Service Provider

Patrick Schwerdtfeger - International Speaker, Author, Social Media Expert

Stephanie Chandler - Author, Online Marketing Expert

Bob Godgart - Industry Pioneer, Entrepreneur

Arlin Sorensen - Community Leader, Super-Successful MSP

Matt Makowicz - Author, Coach, Trainer

Ken Thoreson - Sales Trainer, Sales Management Expert

Josh Peterson - Professional Coach and Business Consultant

Stuart Selbst - Professional Coach

Bob Nitrio - Managed Service Provider, I.T. Pro Leader

Dave Sobel - Author, Trainer, Virtualization MVP

George Sierchio - Author, Coach, M&A Specialist

. . . and others we can't name yet. Stay Tuned

Go here for more information.

http://www.smbonlineconference.com/

I hope you get the chance to meet and know Karl as well as I know him. As well as these other speakers that I am proud to call Partners, vendors, and friends.

Three Simple Words

2012-02-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

In the spirit of the day, please let me talk about romance and getting the special someone to respond to the three little words you want to say to them. Oh, it isn’t those three words...

The words you really want to say to the prospects you are romancing is, “Please Be Mine”. Getting them to respond with I Love you is great, but you want them to be yours.

A sales process is very much a romance. We meet, exchange pleasantries. If we discover we have something in common, we spend more time to get to know each other better. One party generally gives gifts or pays for diner. Then that magic moment arrives when we pop the question, and what we are asking is, pick me, be mine.

You can never feel a customer’s love, until they are a customer. So you need to close the deal, but without closing their heart, kind of like dating.

Distort Reality

2012-02-09T15:03:00.002-05:00

Isn’t that what we do in a really good demo? Take reality and compress it, turn it, make it fit our solution in a logical way. I just read a news story (Here) about the FBI file on Steve Jobs. One of the things that was said about him is the following:

“Several individuals questioned Mr. Jobs’s honesty stating that Mr. Jobs will twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals,” according to the FBI file.

I always felt there was a difference between out right lying and distorting or twisting the facts, especially in a demo where the “facts” are often weak at best. And aren’t we also trying to achieve our mutual goal with the prospect?

If you want to see how slippery truth is, just ask 3 different people the same question about something they all just watched. Truth is so easily warped in our own mind, it might get closer or further away from the “facts” we were just shown.

For me, using my ethics to stay true to the needs of the prospect, override the strict interpretation of the “truth”. This is because my job is to present a new more functional reality to the prospect by distorting their current less functional reality by showing how twisting my solution around their requirements works.

If I wanted to be in the fact business I would have been a librarian. I’m in the solution business.

French is all Greek to Me

2012-02-07T17:12:00.001-05:00

I never learned a foreign language. I wasn’t required to in high school or college. I did learn quite a bit of American sign language one summer with a girlfriend who had a deaf cousin. I have decided that I’m going to learn some French before a trip to Europe this spring.

I know I don’t really need to. Everyone speaks English, even the English..well sort of. I know I can download a hundred iPhone apps that will say phrases for me in any language. I’ll tell you why I really want to learn some conversational French.

On trips to Montreal I can almost understand, if not the words, the meaning of the conversations. It is like listening to the radio with the volume just low enough that you can’t quite make out the words. I can tell if the speakers are happy or sad, excited or reserved, serious or playful, speaking to me or about me, almost.

Almost understand, almost know, almost good enough.

So what is the foreign language in your business? What do you almost know? Almost understand? Almost grasp, and is it enough, or do you need to get the Rosetta Stone for your “language”?

Learn the language, get a translator, or don’t complain when they bring you snails for breakfast.

Super or Bowl Marketing

2012-02-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

We all love the Super Bowl ads. I’m not sure when it started, but I know that the ads are often the most talked about Super Bowl happenings. Millions are spent by these companies and their brand managers for 30 seconds during this game. Is it worth it?

As with all marketing, and never forget that that is what those ads are, some work, and some don’t. Which ones do you remember now after 24 hours? Which ones do you remember AND remember the brand it was for? Which ones do you remember AND remember the brand it was for AND thought it was good or positive? That one may have been worth it.

The Dot Com era was the golden era of Super Bowl ads. Also the biggest waste of marketing dollars ever. Great commercials, no idea who they were for or why. Viral video, huge social media numbers wasted. If you want to entertain people, start a movie company, otherwise market your brand.

Great marketing equals Super branding. Poor marketing equals dollars down the Bowl. Whether you are doing 5 cent Google adWords or 5 million dollar Super Bowl ads, wasted message equals wasted dollars.

Super Bowl Sales

2012-02-03T15:19:00.001-05:00

Ah, the Super Bowl. Good food. Good friends. Good teams? You always think the best teams will be in the championship game, but that isn't always the case. The same is true with sales, the best solutions don’t always get to the final. Here’s why.

In sales, like in sports, sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes the other team doesn’t show up. Sometimes you just really get up for the game. Sometimes you out hustle your competition. The bottom line is you have to win every engagement.

We could review the past football season and point out all of the could’ves and should’ves that would have had different teams in the Super Bowl. The fact is these teams did what they had to do when they had to do it.

So have a game plan, practice hard, and execute in every meeting and you may just have a shot at the prize. Even if you aren’t the favorite.

Phil’s Shadow

2012-02-02T15:36:00.002-05:00

Groundhog Day. It is a perfect holiday. Made up and everyone knows it, knows it doesn’t matter, but needs to know anyway. Do you have any Groundhog days in your business?

You know those things that you worry about, think about, obsess about, but really mean nothing? Maybe you have a “thing” about employee time off, or personal internet use, or whatever, is this really what makes your business special or unique?

In your mind right now, list the top 5 things that take you to the next level. Is your Groundhog Day on that list? I bet not. Top 10 or 20 list even? I would say no. So maybe if you took the effort you spent looking for shadows and applied it to items 1 through 5 you would be better off.

Don’t let Phil’s shadow distract you from heading to the light.

There Is Still Time…Brother

2012-02-01T17:13:00.002-05:00

I just re-watched the 1959 adaptation of the book, “On the Beach”. You can follow the hyperlink to more about the story. Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, end of the world, how can you go wrong? What really struck me was how different people deal with the end.

The end of the day, the end of work, the end of a job, relationship, friendship, life. Whatever is ending, everyone deals with it differently. So how do you deal with endings?

There are several “groups” of reactions. Denial, just act like everything is fine. Overreaction, the sky is falling the sky is falling. Adult, deal with the issues and move on. I’m sure I could make smaller sub-groups, but these will do.

The key part is, there is still time. If you see an end and you are proactive, there is still time. Time to plan. Don’t deny what you see and know, use that information. Don’t overreact, all things end. Do be an adult and develop a separation plan.

No one wants to start a partnership with an exit plan, but when will you be more reasonable or fair. Once emotion kicks in? No, make sure you have thought about the end, it is thinking about you.

All things do end, but there is still time…brother.

Fish Tank Sales Timer

2012-01-31T17:44:00.000-05:00

I have a fish tank in my office, I have for years. I love the way the sound of the bubbles and water can help be de-stress my day. It is a great sales tool reminder too.

How is that you say? Well, it gets dirty. What do you have to do when a tank gets dirty? Clean it, right. Every time I clean my tank, I also clean my sales pipeline.

Having something that has to be done on a regular schedule that is right in front of my face every day, helps me. So think of my fish tank as a giant sales timer that helps me clean my deals on a regular basis.

Your fish tank might be golf, or bowling, or emptying the trash, or paying bills, but tying need to do tasks to want to do tasks makes sure everything gets done.

Time to feed my timers…

Marketing Up With The Joneses

2012-01-30T18:55:00.002-05:00

We all know about keeping up with the Joneses. I don’t know if you have seen the movie, The Joneses. I linked to it if you haven’t.

It is all about creating demand by selling the dream. That, and staying true to yourself, but we’ll save that part for another blog. How do you market? How do you measure it? Are you tracking all of it?

Even the “ripple” effect? The intangible marketing that your employees do every time they meet with, talk to, or interact with anyone? Believe me, this does more than any radio ad you have ever run.

Sell the dream of whatever you sell, every time, everywhere, everyone.

Big Extended Dysfunctional Family

2012-01-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

Or I could have called this blog, connectors in your life. Or don't F people, karma works. Because I have seen an overwhelming response from the channel.

Most of you who read my blog know I lost my latest gig recently. I did what I do, I talked about it, in my blog, on Facebook, on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, text, hell I may have even spoken to someone about it. And the response from everyone has been amazing.

As most of you know I am a positive person. I believe things happen for reasons and you are more likely to see your next greatest thing with your chin up. I have talked to people who told me they heard from multiple people that they should speak to me. This type of story is helping carry me through.

Where did all these great people come from? While I’m not sure I deserve them, I think I earned them by being their friend when they needed one. Connecting someone here, an idea there, passing a lead, taking a call, showing someone how, telling what I know, and generally just being one of the big extended dysfunctional family that is the SMB community.

Thank you all and keep it coming, by the way, Mom loves me best.

Training Trust

2012-01-26T18:11:00.002-05:00

Or is it trust training? What I’m asking is how do you train people in your business? It the training forced on them? Required? Offered? Not offered? What type of training is it? On-site? Live? Web based? Who delivers it? Internal person? Unknown company? Nationally known person? Computer?

Is there a trust between you and your employees that there is training provided that is worthwhile? Additionally, is the training beneficial to them and the company?

It is very hard to mandate training that is only helpful to the company and to get full participation by your staff. However if you combine quality training that will build the employees personal skill level with company specific training your get attention and trust.

If the employees can trust their training, you can train their trust.

Paper, Plastic, or Private?

2012-01-25T21:07:00.002-05:00

Does your local supermarket offer a discount card? You know, swipe your card and get a discount on your pork and beans. Do you know what the supermarket does with your card swipe? Makes money, that’s what.

They take that data about the shopping cart full of food fun you just bought, yes even those items, and build a database based on certain demographic data about you and your family. They then sell or trade that data to the food producers and distributers.

So have you read about the change in Google’s privacy statement? You can read it here. They are going to do the same thing as your grocery store. Collect data and sell it. Really what they have been doing. By tracking what you do, they make your searches more relevant. Sharing this data with advertisers should make your ads more relevant.

So do you want paper, plastic, or private?

The State of Your Business

2012-01-24T15:35:00.000-05:00

Tonight the President will give the State of the Union Speech. Well, to be accurate he will give the State of the Union as he sees it Speech. Which begs the question, do you do the same with your business?

Objectivity is a hard thing to have when looking at yourself. For most of us, our business is us. So looking at our business is just as hard as looking at ourselves objectively. So hard in fact we spend lots and lots of money to join peer groups or hire consultants to be honest for us.

Believe me, I’m not saying not to do those things, in fact I encourage it. But before you spend a dime to get someone else’s honest opinion, give your own honest opinion.

Do you feel a little sick to your stomach hearing what you said? No? Go back and do it again, more honest. Think like your spouse. There, you got it. Now when you pay someone to give their opinion, you have something honest to compare it too.

Be sure to give the opposition their rebuttal as well.

You Can’t Consult if You Can’t Converse

2012-01-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

I said this in a comment on my friend Kate Hunt’s

blog, Looks Cloudy. It is a post about a sales person learning enough about their industry to ask their prospects. “How can I help you”?

It is not possible for you to do consultative sales if you do not know the industry or products. If you can’t carry on a conversation about their industry, how can you talk to them to sell them?

I am not a believer that sales people need to know everything about the product and the industry, but they do need to know enough to speak with the client.

They first have to be able to have a conversation with the client if they ever want to sell to them.

On a Personal Note, Part Two

2012-01-22T18:13:00.000-05:00

It was less than 2 months ago that I shared the news with you that I had decided to pursue a new career, leaving Autotask after nearly 6 years to join Bradford Networks.

The decision for me was not an easy one, as I had built many friendships and ties into Autotask, their customers, and the industry, but I felt the need to grow personally and professionally.

The great news was that I would get to build a brand new channel with my friends and peers in the MSP/IT Services space. This was a true win win for me.

The more I explored the needs of the SMB channel for the security features that a NAC solution could offer, compliance checks, guest management, dynamic vLans, etc., I saw a huge potential for Bradford and the channel as I have shared with many of you.

Sadly,I am no longer with Bradford.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I saw, and still see, such a need, as well as a business case for these solutions in our marketplace and for our customers.

My biggest disappointment? Not being given the chance to fail. By that I don’t mean that I would have failed, in fact I think it would have been a huge win, but the chance. Isn’t that all any of us want? A chance. To win or lose, succeed or fail, but just a chance.

This has left me with a hunger, a feeling of incompleteness that feels worse than failure. I have been feeding that hunger with lessons learned, the good and bad. So as in all things in life, the only path worth taking leads forward.

Now it is time to get back to work and feed that hunger with a new challenge, a new goal, a new position.

Changes

2012-01-19T19:21:00.002-05:00

Changes happen everyday. Whether we want them, or cause them, or deny them, they happen. So the best we can hope for is to deal with them.

Change is a good healthy thing. This view is not normally seen until sometime in the future. I bet if you look back at most major changes in your life, they helped you grow.

When we make a change, it is better than when a change happens to us. At least it seems that way to me. It gives us that illusion of control. The biggest defense we have against change is choice.

We get to choose. Sometimes this choice causes change, and sometimes the choice deals with change, but the choice is our control.

The Story…Part III

2012-01-18T20:19:00.000-05:00

Or part 4, or 5… or part whatever, when does it get better? Does it ever make part 1 better, or more complete? So in movies as in life. Rarely is part 2 better than the original.

So when planning on a demo for your prospect, how many remakes or sequels are you going to make them sit through to get to the good part? Does adding more make it better? Don’t bet on it.

When planning your demo:

Plan on the story you need to tell to get the business. If you don’t have a good story to tell, don’t expect to make any money at the box office.

Get the best actors you can. Use the best people, some of your salespeople are just better presenters, use them and figure out the comp.

Never forget there is only one director, and there has to be at least one. Someone needs to be in charge, and ready to yell cut when an actor is getting out of character.

You have one take. That is all you can plan on. If you do get a sequel, add to the story you told in part one, don’t start introducing laser firing vampire aliens just because you think it is cool.

In short, take your best storyline, match it with your best actors, use a great director, and nail it in one take.

Anti-Failure

2012-01-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

Generally there are two schools of thought when it comes to winning. You won or you failed, or we are all winners. I’ll offer another option. To not try is to fail, to not achieve is to not win. Anti-failure.

So the phrase Anti-failure has meaning to me. Success is never a given. Even with 100% effort, focus and desire, the plan may not succeed. Is this a failure? I say no, I say it is an Anti-failure.

Failure is giving up. Never trying to better yourself. Never striving for more. Being content with what life hands you, now that is failure. So the opposite of that? Pushing, strengthening, striving, driving, that is all Anti-failure.

So I choose an Anti-Failure life where I may fall short, I may skin my knees, I may not win, but I will not concede.

Inspecting Belly Buttons

2012-01-12T14:59:00.003-05:00

The last couple of days my company has been doing our QBR (Quarterly Business Review). This is a great exercise for a company, and specifically a department to show and tell the good and the bad. The successes and failures and most importantly, lessons learned.

Do you do this in your business? No matter how big or how small your business, this should be a cornerstone of what you do. each member of the team should have individual goals that they should be accountable to to their team. The team should be accountable to the department, and the departments to the company as a whole.

Lessons learned is also a key part. Knowledge share in a company is a key way to grow success. Don’t make every department learn their own lessons. Share Failure to grow success.