shorespeak | Rob Shore | Coach • Consultant • Speaker

Lay On The Floor And Look Up

Rob — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:23:10 +0000

When my wife and I built our first home we had little experience with the builder walk through. This is where you are handed a ‘tick sheet’ and asked to go through the home and note any of the issues that the builder needs to resolve .

One of my coworkers suggested laying face up on the floor in the middle of each room. He said that when you lay on the floor you’ll observe things from that perspective that you would otherwise miss from a conventional viewpoint.

Go ahead. Try it.

Never noticed that nail pop in the drywall did you?

Taking on this different angle sharpens your powers of observation.

How well do you observe in a sales situation?

One time I was calling on the head of product for a gigantic account that our firm needed to secure. The meeting took place in the product manger’s office and I had one of my employees with me.

When we left the meeting he started rattling off all of the things that he had observed in her office.

The folks in her pictures.

The books on her shelves.

The nick-nacks on her credenza.

We then discussed ways to forge a relationship with her based on what we had seen.

I was reminded of this experience during a recent coaching call. The client suggested that the ability to observe was a fundamental part of Sales 101.

We agreed that it’s a frequently forgotten tactic that, when done correctly, will yield great results and expedite the relationship building process.

How sharp are your powers of observation?

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When Did You Stop Learning?

Rob — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:16:07 +0000

Last week I had lunch with my friend Mike. His brother “Jake” sells commercial insurance. He has created a focused and tight niche directed at commercial divers. Guys and gals that weld, say, gas lines in the middle of the ocean.

It seems that Jake has made quite a name for himself in his niche. He has found a way to go directly to the underwriting insurance company and skip the traditional intermediate brokerage relationship.

One day Jake received a call from one of the legacy brokers in this particular area. In fact, this broker had dominated the market for 30+ years – until now.

During the conversation the broker asked in amazement how Jake got access to the niche. How did he locate his prospects? How did he get direct access to the carrier without a broker intermediary?

Jake explained that he does relentless research. He has spent unfathomable amounts of time dialing in the answers to these questions and dozens more. In short, he became a recognized expert and trusted source of this highly specialized insurance product – and in the process boxed out the legacy broker from a ton of business.

Then Jake asked the 60 year old broker one gutsy, honest question that you actually might expect from an up and comer half his age, “When did you stop learning?”

Are you still learning?

Do you devote Jake-like time to getting deep in the weeds of your craft?
In the absence of what shorespeak has always referred to as ‘student of the business’ learning, you, or your sales force, are at risk.

At risk of finding out that another sales team, or individual sales professional, has figured out a way to reengineer the system.

At risk of realizing that your ‘standard operating procedure’ is now an antiquated approach.

At risk of losing market share, revenue, and profits.

Take a good look around your shop and in the mirror – you haven’t stopped learning, have you?

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Are You An Automatic?

Rob — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:06:32 +0000

Way back in the early 1980′s I helped establish a small executive search firm in Los Angeles.

As we were new on the scene and competing against larger and more established firms, our goal was to get in the game. We wanted to be considered in the same thought as the ‘big’ players when an employer needed staffing in the L.A. financial services community.

Some years later this concept took a larger stage as I traveled around eight Western states developing business for a (then) small, lesser known mutual fund provider.

Our goal in the region was to become an Automatic.

Simply put, our aspiration was to not allow a broker dealer in the midst of a product line-up decision to finalize their decision without speaking to us.

We knew if we had the chance to be in the beauty pageant, there was a high likelihood we would win it.

Think about it this way: if you are looking to buy an economical car from a foreign manufacturer, you most likely will not buy until you check out a Honda.

When considering a five star hotel vacation experience, you will price Ritz Carlton as part of your investigation and planning.

If you are looking to sell a house, there is likely one realtor in your neighborhood who you simply must call to get his/her pitch.

What is it about these brands or these people that have placed them in this coveted position?

How did they become an Automatic?

Three key ingredients:

Relentless Execution:

No secret potions. No shortcuts.

Becoming an Automatic takes time and a ton of sweat equity.

It’s doing the right things over and over again.

It’s building upon your strengths and taking action to shore up your weaknesses.

It’s exhausting and exhilarating…often at the same time.

Reputation:

Formally defined, it is:
1. The general estimation in which a person is held by the public.
2. The state or situation of being held in high esteem.
3. A specific characteristic or trait ascribed to a person or thing; i.e., a reputation for courtesy.

Whether you have a huge national brand and presence or a solid local/regional following, it has been built, in part, by the reputation that you have carefully created and nurtured.

An Automatic filters all that they do through the reputation lens.

Do you make certain that everything that you do every day is mindful of, and accretive to, your reputation?

Build a Fan Base:

It’s not enough to let the relentless execution and reputation grow your business.

Automatics have fans, cheerleaders, advocates, supporters, backers, promoters, believers, activists, and campaigners.

They are the folks that will sing your praises and open new doors – and they need to be carefully and delicately cultivated.

Automatics use the right fertilizer and grow a deep and passionate fan base.

Take a minute and think about your firm, your practice, and your product.

How Automatic is it in the eyes of your prospects?

For some, the answer will be a refreshing reaffirmation of your strategy and plan.

For others, it will be a sobering reminder that there is so much more work to be done.

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FYI: Txt AYOR. K?

Rob — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:46:01 +0000

So Apple launches its newest category killer, the iPhone 4.

Sprint counters with the HTC EVO 4G.

You, as a technologically advanced sales professional, think, “The world is now connected as never before so I’ll move to texting versus traditional email”.

Fundamental mistake or leading edge differentiator?

Consider that:

By nature texting is a more casual form of digital communication. That means that standard protocols (read: spell check and proper grammar) traditionally go out the window.

In addition, for many folks texting is reserved for family and friends – because it is more casual.

Your goal, at all times, should be to present the most professional, informed, articulate element of your brand with clients and prospects. Unless you have an established relationship with a client that enables you to let down any part of that brand texting may backfire.

To assume that your clients are conveniently text enabled is a mistake.

‘Conveniently’ is the operative word.

To assume that your client population is smart phone enabled, when there are still plenty of flip phone users for whom texting is a non starter, can mean that your message is promptly ignored.

Lastly, there may well be compliance considerations as texts may not have the same archive ability as traditional emails.

During recent Mastermind sessions the groups discussed the use of all forms of technology to advance the sales process. One member suggested that only recently have they started to use text messaging – and only after the relationship with the client had developed the supporting root system.

Best advice?

Know your client’s preferences, know your firm’s policies, and know how you want to display your brand.

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Are We In A Permission Based Employment World?

Rob — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:11:09 +0000

Early last Thursday morning I was shooting a promo video for I Carry The Bag in Laguna Beach with my able bodied camera man, producer, director, friend and all around nice guy Ron Ploof.

How can a 77 second video cause so much angst?

We needed to shoot a quick exterior shot and wanted to use the front of an office building. The Wells Fargo Advisors office exterior would work perfectly, and besides, it’s 7:40 AM so we will disrupt no one.

Noticing a lone employee in the office, and me being the courteous sort, I thought I’d stop in and let her know what we were doing outside her door for the next 10 minutes.

Oh my.

This poor lady went straight into DEFCON 4 mode.

“You’ll need to speak to corporate. I don’t have the authority. My manager is not here to give permission.”, all flew off her lips faster than a Chinese bullet train!

After getting the exterior footage we needed at another location we sought to find a hotel room to use for an interior shot.

First stop, the Surf and Sand. After pitching the why we were there, presenting the physical copy of the magazine along with my business card and explaining that we only needed to shoot for a maximum of 15 minutes, the front desk clerk was agreeable.

With one small problem.

The hotel was fully occupied the night before and there were no clean rooms to use.

And that’s where the empowered employee of the day was last spotted.

At our next stop, Laguna Brisas, the clerk at the front desk replied with the mantra of the morning, “Oh, I can’t do that. My manager is not in and I need his permission”, she said.

At the next locale the clerk behind the counter was as pleasant as the day is long.

He listened attentively to my plea, nodding his head in agreement.

I’m thinking, “third time is the charm!”.

And then he says, “Oh, I’m sorry sir. My manager is not in and he would need to give me approval to do this”.

On the way back to the car Ron exclaimed, “Why does every employee today feel like they need permission?”

And he is right.

Is it that folks are just too happy to have a job in this economy -and they will do nothing to risk losing it?

Or maybe there is a particular strain of hard-ass managers that inhabit rough and tumble Laguna Beach?

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Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza

Rob — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:58:06 +0000

Admit it.

From time to time you see a service or product and think, “why didn’t I think of that?”

Examples of this might include the original Smiley Face. For 40+ years we have all heard the lament from family and friends that this should have been “their” idea.

Here’s another one that hit home for me for two reasons. I can’t sing and I always screw up the lyrics. Enter the official misheard lyrics book “Hold Me Closer Tony Danza”.

My personal favorite though might well be the Flowbee.

Really, who wouldn’t want to cut their own hair, or the hair of a loved one?

And who could pass up the thought of a “refreshing vacuum haircut”?

More recently on a trip to Napa we ran across the same book in almost every winery we visited, Wine Dogs.

As the story was told to us by a tasting room employee whose dog is in the book, about five years ago a guy came through the Valley and started taking pictures of every dog at every vineyard he could find. The dog owners were only too delighted to have their dog featured in the book and the book is now for sale in every single one of those wineries.

Brilliant.

A week after our return from Napa I find myself not just reflecting on the great wines that we tasted but also further invigorated to continue the pursuit of the innovative endeavors that get the blood juices flowing and have the opportunity to generate more revenue – in part because of Wine Dogs.

Whether you work for a major corporation or you are a one person operation the need to innovate, invent, test, trial (all while expecting and learning from the occasional failure) has never been greater. For a more in depth look at innovation read “How companies approach innovation: A McKinsey Global Survey”.

Why didn’t I think of that?

One thing that I did think of is the first ever print and digital publication aimed at the great profession of wholesaling. I Carry The Bag…the official magazine of wholesaling premiers later this month. If you are in financial services distribution check out the magazine at ICarryTheBag.com

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Deciding Between 4 1/2% and 4 1/2%

Rob — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:50:24 +0000

The month of May is a big month, as months go.

In the course of a three week period, I will celebrate one of life’s birthdays that one would sooner forget (yes, 30) and also raise a glass to a marriage that has lasted about three times longer than the U.S. average.

Today I received a bound edition of the New York Times from the year of my birth.

Among the things that caught my eye:

Based on the ads, folks back in that day were big drinkers of Scotch and Bourbon. Or maybe it was the fact that May was National Tavern Month – a celebration I wish I was aware of before today.
Saks Fifth Avenue had two-piece men’s suits for $57.50.
Nussbaum’s had a special sale on 1954 Château d’Yquem Sauternes for $2.49 a bottle (no, that’s not a typo). Today that same bottle is available for $849.99

And, not unlike I am with any other paper, I was drawn to the business page.

It was there I saw the ads for bank CD rates – and they all offered the same rate: 4 1/2%

Remember, it was not until 1983 that bank time deposit rates became deregulated. As such, banks needed to find a way to gather assets, create value, and stand out in the sea of sameness on something other than price.

South Bay Savings in Chula Vista, CA advertised that they “supply complete airmail postage both ways!” – they were selling convenience. That said, you had to write to them for more information as they did not list a phone number in their ad!

Fidelity Federal appealed to your need for safety as their ad stated that “your funds are protected by our high ratio of reserves to savings, one of the nation’s highest.”

Personally, I like Van Nuys Savings. They appealed to the ‘freebie’ crowd and offered depositors a “beautiful 3 pc. Salad Set with Bowl, Salad Fork and Spoon by Wm. Rogers Silverplate for your new account of $500 or more.”

Silverplate – fancy.

Just as banks competed for your dollars with the exact same rate all those years ago, today you compete with a substantially similar product as a competitor. You have a comparable price, your service is too alike to tout as unique, and your firm’s brand value is mostly the same as the next guy’s.

So how do you stand out?

What makes you memorable?

What’s your MQ?

Are you a wholesaler? Have you heard about the official magazine of wholesaling? It launches in June. Visit I Carry The Bag for more information.

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Be the Mayor of Your Region

Rob — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:48:06 +0000

While traveling in Manhattan last week I had the opportunity to meet the Mayor of 10th Avenue.

More specifically he was the Mayor of 10th Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets in Hell’s Kitchen.

I stopped off for a slice at Hell’s Kitchen Pizza and out front sat Russ.

Russ had to be the Mayor because apparently he knew everybody in the neighborhood. Almost every person that passed by as he sat in front of his pizza parlor gave him a wave, a nod, honked their horn or otherwise acknowledged his presence.

In the middle of that little hamlet called Manhattan.

It was evident to me that Russ ran a business that people want to connect with, that Russ had the charisma to be able to draw people in to a business that was nothing more, arguably, than sauce, dough, and cheese.

Are you the Mayor of your territory? Do you have command over the region the way that Russ commands 10^th Avenue?

Look at the picture of Russ. He’s affable, confident, and has a great presence.

I enjoyed watching Russ as I ate my slice. He demonstrated to me what it’s like to develop your little piece of memorability inside of a very big territory.

Oh, and his chalkboard says, “Not here for along time… Just here for a good time!”.

If you enjoy the posts here on shorespeak, and you’re a Wholesaler, you are going to love I Carry The Bag. Use this link to save $10 bucks and invest $79.00 in your business – you have nothing to lose as there is a full money back guarantee.

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Physician, Heal Thyself’s Appointment Calendar

Rob — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:06:34 +0000

Yesterday, I had an appointment with a new doctor.

Being the terminally early sort, I showed up at the doctors office 10 minutes early for a 1:00 appointment.

After waiting just a brief time, until the top of the hour, I was escorted into the examination room. The medical technician asked why I was there, took a blood pressure reading, and said, as she closed the door behind her, “the doctor will be in shortly”.

This of course would infer, to any right minded person, that everything was in order and I’d be well on my way to having my appointment and getting on with the balance of my day.

At 1:25 I poked my head out of the door of the examination room. I asked the woman at the front desk how much longer I’d be waiting and she said “we’re not sure, we haven’t heard from the doctor yet”.

What?

I felt the blood pressure rising so fast that my ears must have turned red.

I retreated back into the exam room where I stewed for just a minute or two and then I decided.

Just like in any other business, the choice of physician is mine and if I choose that this one is going to be more hassle than she’s worth, that she doesn’t respect my time, I’ll choose to look elsewhere, and that’s exactly what I did.

I told the woman at the front desk that in 2010, with the ability of everyone to be hyper connected by way of text, e-mail, voice mail, cell phone, or land line there’s absolutely no reason why anyone (her boss, the doctor) can’t alert their prospective customer (that’s me), that they’re running late.

She did exactly as you might expect – she raised her hands in an exasperated manner and stated, “it’s not my fault”.

Oh, and do you suppose the doctor was compelled to reach out to apologize and potentially ‘save the sale’?

Never mind…..

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When Memorability Backfires

Rob — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:35:42 +0000

As I made my way back from Birmingham (thanks Regions Bank), and killed time at Houston IAH, I scooped up a copy of the Houston Chronicle and stuffed it in my briefcase.

About an hour into the flight I started to page through the newspaper and was met head on with this full page ad that Hearst Media Services had placed to congratulate their 2009 Publisher’s Club Award winners.

As our scanner is hand crank operated and we couldn’t fit the entire page on it, we have excerpted the best part for this image – if you click on it you can see the larger size.

What was the dude on the far right thinking?

Oh, he is for darn sure memorable.

We’re just not sure if in this case that’s a good thing.

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