Mary Schmidt

When’s the Last Time You Closed a Deal in an Elevator?

Mary Schmidt — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:25:42 +0000

...or even talked to anyone? Mostly we all stare forward, working hard to avoid eye contact. Maybe we do one of the closed mouth Buddha half-smiles as people enter but that's pretty much it. Of course, "elevator pitch" is shorthand for encapsulating your key selling points into a few words of sheer, unforgettable brilliance.

Here's a sanity check for you. In the last meeting where everyone was asked to stand and speak their bit, how many did you remember? Or were you busy obsessing about your bit? Exactly.

And then there's the endurance test. I once sat through a lunch meeting where every single one of about 125 people (no exaggeration) was asked to stand up and do their bit.After about number 25, I wanted to commit hari-kari with my butter knife. Around about number 40, people had pretty much stopped even pretending to pay attention. And, yet, the poor souls continued to stand, sweat, and spiel. (I was number 65 or so. By that time I didn't care what I said, let alone if anyone remembered it.)

If you do have to stand up, don't be afraid to stand out. Say something that'll get people to follow you out into the hall for a real conversation.

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So, You’ve Got Data! Do Customers Agree?

Mary Schmidt — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:10:51 +0000

“The short road to ruin is to emulate the methods of your adversary.” - Winston Churchill.

Benchmarking. Best Practices. “Competitive Intelligence” (often an oxymoron anyway) I love data. I'm an old market researcher so I can spend literally days crunching away and analyzing. But, data is -- well -- just a starting point. It'll tell you something about where people have been and are, not where they’re going or what the next BIG thing is/will be. (Side note: You may not even want to be the "next big thing." Look at all those unicorns littering Sand Hill Road...Lot of money being thrown at glittery glitz, few sustainable biz.)

Plus, “industry standard” may in fact be thoroughly mediocre, not a good thing to emulate. (We pause here for a moment of silence for cable service providers.)

Your customers can’t tell you the revolutionary BIG thing either - but they can (sometimes) tell you what they want - which may give you some ideas.

Of course, you can’t fly blind and you’ve got to make money now, not bank everything on some future cool idea. However, beware of blithely thinking “follow the dream, the money will come.” (Your investors won’t write checks for this.)

Also avoid “analysis paralysis.” Data is great - but you’ve got to get busy…while you’re thinking, your competitors (and customers) are out there doing..

It all comes back to truly knowing your (best) customers. And that takes a lot more than collecting data points.

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The First Five Things for Success

Mary Schmidt — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 16:29:55 +0000

Starting a business is hard. Keeping it going (and growing) is even harder. I wish I had the magic answers for you, but I don't. I can offer you some quick advice based on my work with clients and own successes (and failures.)

1. The Right People. If you're building a team, make sure you've got respect built in from the get go. It's easy to do group hugs and sing Kubaya when things are going well...but you'll have some challenges (in even the best situations) where you need to listen to each other, and sometimes even vehemently disagree. And, if all agree all the time, you're very likely missinng something.

2. The Right Budget. Before you leap in to the fray, do the numbers. How much money do you really need to get started? What's your projected burn rate? You don't, for example, need big glitzy offices before you even have a customer. (One start-up in which I worked had great ones...and the burn rate was insane. It failed.)

3. The Right Name. People obsess about this, and rightfully so. But keep some perspective and don't pay some - ahem - consultant a bazillion dollars to help with "branding." Here's a sanity check for you (well. two). Facebook (started as an app to find hot girls at Harvard) and Google (who'd have ever thought?) Ultimately your brand will be decided by your customers. Keep it simple, keep moving...AND do the URL search BEFORE you commit. Otherwise, you could be sending people to your largest competitor or a company in, for example, New Zealand, that does something completely different!

4. Simple Website. You're going to change. Keep it simple to start. Provide the necessary information so people know where you're headed and why they should be interested. And, get a bit of professional help so it doesn't end up looking like a cut and paste ransom note. (Need some referrals? Let me know. I know web developers who are both affordable and excellent.)

5. Business Cards. Yes, those boring old things. Yet, people (including potential investors) still ask for them. Looks odd if you don't have them. I was recently told, "Oh, business cards just aren't me!" Well, okay, but what if I want to help you build your biz? Having cards to give people would help.

Bonus Number 6. Do a first pass biz plan. You can use the One Hour Plan. (And have some fun doing it.)

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Remember Permission Marketing?

Mary Schmidt — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 15:55:57 +0000

From the Timeless Wisdom File

Seth Godin wrote a terrific book, way back in 2008...and you can still read his blog post.

Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them...Real permission is different from presumed or legalistic permission. Just because you somehow get my email address doesn’t mean you have permission. Just because I don’t complain doesn’t mean you have permission. Just because it’s in the fine print of your privacy policy doesn’t mean it’s permission either.

Yet here we are, in 2019. And I'm still having to (gently) remind people that access to email addresses isn't permission to use them. And, if you're collecting addresses, be sure and set expectations for how you're going to use them (and it should be for something they want, right?)

Of course, sales leads are great, but forcing someone to give you info in gated content isn't really a lead. It's cold info with no qualification.

Here's a quick reality check for you. How do you like being forced to give your info before you can read something (or download?). See? Different perspective always helps.

And as I note in my social media consultations and workshops...

If they think you're spamming them, you're spamming them...and nobody likes being "blasted."

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What Marketers Can Learn from Librarians

Mary Schmidt — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 18:12:31 +0000

I love the Albuquerque library system. It makes me happy simply to walk into one of the many branches, staffed by knowledgeable, helpful people.

Who'd thunk fusty old book people have anything to teach a marketer? Well, marketers take heed:

Librarians know they need loyal users, and lots of them.

The staff acknowledges your presence; they're responsive; they try to help; they'll occasionally cut you a break, overriding the rules. (This is how I know the check-out limit is - ahem - 50. ) Compare this to the last time you visited a big box store or called a customer service phone number.

The online system is streamlined and very user-friendly. Once you set up your account, which takes about a minute, the world is yours. You can search on any number of terms and keywords; you can place holds (on books AND DVDs) and they'll be delivered to your local branch for pick-up. You'll also get an email telling you the holds are ready for pick-up. You can download ebooks and pick up a free museum pass. Musical events. Lectures. Gardening demonstrations (my local branch is also home to the Albuquerque Rose Society.) The list goes on and on. It's truly a multi-faceted culture center.

The library buyers know people have a wide variety of tastes and needs.Personally, I really appreciate whomever keeps buying Buffy The Vampire Slayer graphic novels. I'm equally grateful for whomever buys all those ponderous tomes of military history and sociological research.

...and libraries are a great "third place" that are -- wait for it -- absolutely free! (and many have computers available for use.)

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Avoidable Start-Up Failure: Emotional Pricing

Mary Schmidt — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:56:11 +0000

From Start-Up Failure Rates By Industry, by Kristin Pryor:

If all startups were successful, everyone would be an entrepreneur. Starting up involves risk, a lot of it. There’s a very real probability that your startup will fail. It might have nothing to do with how you ran it, it could be based on a number of factors that are out of your control. Although, it could also be because of the way you ran it. You often need more than good intentions for a solid business plan.

The number one cause for failure (46% of them) is incompetence. (Ouch!) Here's the good news. Everything listed under that can be fixed, if recognized and dealt with in time. That includes emotional pricing (followed by living too high for the business; nonpayment of taxes; no knowledge of pricing; lack of planning; no knowledge of financing; no experience in record-keeping.)

Three warning signs of emotional pricing:

1. EVERYONE NEEDS IT! So we can charge top dollar! Well, okay. But does everyone know they need it? Can they afford it, even if they do? This is where detailed target market analysis has to be done, which, I admit, can be a hard slog. Are you operating on a feeling or facts?

2. We HAVE to make $X! profit! Says who? It's not your distribution channel(s) or customers' responsibility to make you successful. Cost plus pricing is a good place to start, not necessarily end. Can you make ANY money? And, if you have a tiered distribution model (in which each requires double digits margin) your profit can rapidly disappear.

Here's a quick reality check for you: Would you rather have 10% profit or 110% loss?

3. I KNOW IT'S WORTH IT! I've worked with super smart entrepreneurs who just could not bring themselves to reduce a price, even when their experienced salespeople and market dominating distributors were telling them the price was way too high. All those years they slaved over the idea, they simply were too emotionally invested to consider reality. And that reality is that the customers ultimately decide the value and the price.

Here's where I give you a bit of good news. Your price could actually be too low so the customers don't think it's a quality service or product. But again, you really have to understand your market and your competitors.

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The Three Most Abused Words in Business

Mary Schmidt — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:47:51 +0000

In no particular order:

1. Partner

As in, "We want to partner with you, Mr./Ms. Customer!" Calls to mind a meeting I once had, in a Fortune 50 gig, with one of our top sales executives. He had great fun (snort, snort), "Yes, we want to be YOUR PARTNER, Mr. Customer. Give us all your money!" (Yes, he really said that and he was only half-joking, if that.)

"Partner" implies that both parties in the transaction are in it for more than dollars or that single transaction. There's nothing wrong with being an operationally excellent company who excels at transactional selling. The problem arises when the company's talk doesn't match its walk. Don't yadder about partnering with me, for example, if I can't even get a live person on the phone (much less find a contact phone number on the web site.).

(The abuse of this word will also send your attorneys into conniptions.)

2. Strategic (Note there is often little to nothing "strategic" about whatever the company is pitching. It's marketing ego speak (and really tired at that.)

when combined with...

3. Alliance

As in, "Our plan is to form strategic alliances with market sector leaders." To accomplish what? Will the big boys be interested? Will they have skin in the game? Working with established, reputable, qualified companies can speed your time to market and give you instant credibility. The key words here, however, are "established," "reputable," and "qualified."

Further, what about the relationship? If nothing else, the culture of the "market leader" may not fit with yours and their growth strategy may be totally different (or consist of "allying" with smaller potential competitors and stripping them for parts, so to speak. Always, always do your own due diligence on a potential partner or ally. Look for lawsuits, etc. I recently did a very quick, basic Google of a company and found an SEC investigation, the subsequent SEC judgment and several more civil lawsuits alleging fraud.)

It's easy to fall into/back into using such words. They've been around since -- well -- forever in biz writing. Authenticity (also over buzzed at times) can be both difficult and downright scary, but your customers (and - ahem - strategic alliances) will appreciate it.

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Just Three Things

Mary Schmidt — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 17:35:11 +0000

There are many productivity tools around. But the key word here is "tools." You need the best one for the job; and what works for someone else may not work for you. And, you may well be overwhelmed by everything you need to do.

I advise clients to start with "just three things." This applies for everything from strategic planning outcomes to your daily action list. Write down three things. Do them. Repeat.

(BTW, it is possible to get your strategic plan down to one page, with those three outcomes. I use a variation of the Balanced Scorecard methodology for my clients. Of course, a lot of thinking has to go into distilling down everything, so you have the necessary clarity for measurements, actions, and course corrections.)

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