About my TR contract decision (and juicy survey details)

While I prepare for a weekend of bliss before our company moves to our new building next week, let me share some juicy stuff for you. I've been sitting on this till our Thomas Register contract is signed.

Our contract is for about 40% less than last year. But we did sign. Our very honest sales rep suggested our money go to 'points' for internet ranking, as well as to the CD-ROM. What's missing? No ad in the books! I said he was honest. In some cost-cutting, we decided to nix the CD-ROM promos, too.

We are seeing increased activity from their websites, so we wanted to maintain the additional visibility. But our decision is that they are a 'supplement' to our other promotions and not a central tool.

I had mentioned before that we were executing a prospect survey. I've waffled on how much I can share here, but I don't think there is any great risk in sharing. The basic premise of the survey was how first-time prospects for my products searched for potential vendors for this type of capital purchase. Some bullets:

• Best resource for investigating vendors: 83% say web-search, 5% say other websites, 7% other.


• Use of IQS website: 20% said they used (found via web-search), 40% of these said they found it useful.


• Use of Globalspec: 7% said they used Globalspec (found via web-search), 25% of those aware of Globalspec actually used it to search for vendors.


• General awareness/usage of Globalspec: 23% aware of but don't use, 8% use occasionally.

General awareness/usage of the Thomas Register Green Books:
Not aware of: 30%
Aware of but don't use: 52%
Use occassionally: 17% (but according to a previous question, only one used it in his search this time)
Use regularly: 2%

Any questions or insights? Let me know.

Google slam dance

Google is known for its 'dance' when it shuffles results about once a month. This time something screwy is happening. If you haven't checked your rankings on Google lately, check again. Terms I was at our near the top for are now not showing in the first three pages. What is showing up are pages which aren't that valuable to the user.

I'm surprised this hasn't been something I'd hear elsewhere. Everyone watches Google, don't they? My favorite SEO site, I Help You has a good thread on this problem, but this is about all I could quickly find. General opinion seems to be to wait and see...this must be some kind of mistake.

Why is a more interesting question. My wild guess is that Google is purposefully deflating their balloon a little. A lot of speculation has gone into how much Google can dominate the internet and what the ramifications would be. This is the power of an organization that is not publicly owned. I've said it for two years now...Google's strength lies in being a private company that can do what it wants, as opposed to 'maximizing revenue'.

UPDATE (11/25): My new buddy Glen pointed me to an post at 'slash dot' which pointed at this interesting article about the change at Google. Now I know more, but it seems no one has decided what, if anything, to do about it.

A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy ...Trust Me

A good article on how creating trust with prospects can be an effective marketing strategy: A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy ...Trust Me

Speaking of trust, it comes referred to me from CRM Mastery blog (second mention of this blog this week), and it is posted at Sitepoint, also a trusted source of mine.

My comments: When I wrote about selecting a wiring company for our new building I wrote: The real issue at hand is that the winner listened to my needs and responded with a proposal that shows he understands and cares about my needs. He earned my trust, and therefor, my business.

While our company does some good things to generate trust, we could stand to make it more of a strategy, like the article suggests.

Marketing and Sales, two great voices that sound great together?

I felt compelled to improve upon the title of the article I want to direct you to: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (via Marketingwonk). Essentially the question is, when you invest in marketing certain messages and positions, can your sales department be part of this process? I think CRM then becomes part of the equation.

The writer complains that the website and automated emails from a certain company were well written and thoughtful, yet an email from a salesperson was gruff and stand-offish.

That's why at our last sales meeting I made a presentation about email manners. As we move to CRM where email is integrated and likely scripted, the risk in using different voices and putting off potential clients is high.

A cut-and-paste email reply doesn't sit well with the reader. I try to open and/or close with a personal comment so the person knows I was thinking about them, even if the rest is cut and paste. (I've created a simple email body for our salespeople and I think they mostly use it verbatim!)

I've also avoided using auto-responders for website inquiries for the same reasons pointed out in the article--I don't have control over the response they get from our salespeople. Instead I have instituted a function that allows them to get a copy of the inquiry they send to us.

Private message

I see a lot of activity in my stats that appear to be from ACI Controls. Guys, don't be afraid to ask me a question!

Risks in choosing the big-boys in CRM

Another interesting post at CRM Mastery blog. This comments on an article about how the big-boys are targeting smaller businesses like mine.

Jim scores points with me for recognizing what I had held as as the standard for selecting CRM: usability, in the sense that the software fits how we will use it. He even makes the point to have the vendors walk you thru common processes, which we did. Only one could do it, and that is of course, now our first choice.

E-Journal For Small & Mid-Sized Enterprises, CRM Software Usability is the Key

Top 10 issues in sales today

Top 10 lists have to be the ultimate way to write for the web. This list is the result of a survey of sales professionals published at Customerthink.com.

1. It is all about revenue


2. Sales are working harder for the same or less return


3. Dismal pipeline analysis/forecasting is demanding new accountability


4. ”No decision” is more often the single biggest competitor


5. Sales effectiveness is a key strategy for optimizing performance


6. The quality of sales people is far higher than it was a few years ago.


7. CSOs are reasserting themselves in their demands for activity and pipeline reporting and adherence to sales processes—improving process is gaining steam.


8. The adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology is again on the rise, though results of its use are mixed.


9. The fourth part of the sales equation is becoming sales knowledge management. The idea of leveraging people, process, and technology has been bantered around for a decade or more now.


10. The status quo is not an option. Selling like we did five or ten years ago will not meet the demands of the marketplace today.

Top 10 Trends in the Move Toward Sales Excellence [Top 10]

Administrative Hassles Hurt Effectiveness

While I suffer under a sudden deluge of work, I found this article (via Danavan CRM blog) to resonate with me.

Basically, a 6% difference in the workloads of sales managers showed a 10% diffeence in revenue. So freeing up 3-4 hours a week for your sales managers (and sales people) can boost revenue by 10%! That would certainly support implementing a new CRM system.

Study by Growth Solutions and Synygy Shows that Administrative Hassles for Sales Managers Hurt the Effectiveness of the Entire Sales Team

Personally, I've found that my recent involvement in our factory move and other issues has left me dropping certain tasks I should have taken care of for customers. Following the rules of ISO processes tend to go out the window, too. I enjoy hustling, but its getting harder to switch gears.

A valuable lead from Thomas Register

***Thomas Register Email***

JANICE XXX sends the following message:

I would like to do an environmental test on an air sample. Also, I need to test for
Phosgene gas. Two ex-New Orleans cops were sent to follow me by former New Orleans Police Chief Richard XXX. My life has been threatened.

I live in an apartment building with a common attic. They have been pumping
poisonous gas into my apartment through the ventilation system. One of the gases
suffocates me. Another kind leaves a metallic taste in my mouth; still another type
fogs my vision and one kind has PINK FIBERS. My Chest X-ray is now positive and I
had to be placed on medicines. Wherever I go, they follow using taxpayers' money.

Would it be possible for me to have the summa canisters sent Fedex to me? Also, can any assay or test for substances be made from an air conditioning filter? I have a MICROPORE filter and the BLUE type that were exposed to the above stated chemicals. I will be happy to pay the shipping. I will then Fedex them back to you for analysis.

Please send me instructions on how to take the sample. The fibrous material has been collected in plastic zip locked bags. I am a Pediatrician an I'm concerned about exposure to the aforementioned substances. Thank you.

Wow!