I've got short timers disease

I've always given my all to help my customers and reps. Its a point of pride to be able to take care of them and make them look good to their peers. But now that I am training my sales replacement so I can concentrate on marketing, I'm finding myself struggling.

Its almost like reading a text book at bed time...I know it is important, the info is good, and it has to get done, but, how the mind wanders and gets sleepy. My most efficient time right now is when my replacement is here training with me a couple hours a day. Its weird to be promoted out of a job and suddenly find that you feel like you can't do that 'old' job up to standard.

Why is this? Perhaps its because my goals have already changed. Or finally getting a sense of completion and release after so many years of just continually juggling from order to order. Whatever it is, it just makes me feel incompetent right now. Must...push...self...harder.

B2B copy writing...tell it like it is

The Marketing Profs just published good, "1,000 foot level" article on B2B copy writing. The basic point is that we are trying to create a relationship between our company and the prospect, and the copy and tone we use in our materials should support that. Telling it like it is not only shows honesty, but makes the benefits clear. Here are their Five B2B Copy Myths and my read on why to bust them. See the article for their detailed reasons.

1. "Don't be negative"...sometimes you need to remind prospects of consequences so they can open up to your benefits.
2. "Appeal to the intellect, not the emotions"...engineers take pride in their 'gut' decisions, so help them feel confident in doing so (see the book Blink)
3. "Lead generation is everything"...breath down their necks trying to capture their phone number and they will immediately back away.
4. "Our mission statement and business philosophy help distinguish our company from the competition"...talk about the customer, not yourself (I hate mission statements anyway.)
   
5. "Our tone must be professional and businesslike"...skip the jargon and "be direct, forceful and concrete."

A more targeted way to present your message

With the slight rise in visibility this blog has had lately, I've gotten a few interesting emails this week. People asking questions, looking for help, or hoping for exposure of their services. Here's an interesting one just because their product is innovative and their website interesting:

2 Minute Explainers offers to make short flash videos that try to explain your company or products capabilities and value in, you guessed it, two minutes. Probably it is more specifically a canned 'elevator pitch', assuring that your initial introduction is consistant and compelling. Makes me think about the Top Ten Reasons to select our product PDF/PowerPoint that I was making last year specifically for emailing to new prospects. The 2 Minute Explainers show a lot of work, but very compelling, much better than the old 'flash intro' site started adding a few years ago.

The site also has a number of interesting articles about marketing and presentations, certainly demonstrating the skill and knowledge they have, making them seem trustworthy to turn over your message to. Here's a sample: Five ways to improve how you sell your ideas in print.

1) Use shorter lines
2) Don't double space
3) Use more white space
4) Try adding linespace with sans-serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica
5) Use typographic characters

The four Ps for a new salesperson

Its been interesting hearing what comes out of my mouth as I train my replacement take my sales job. The most interesting to me are my explanations of the unseen part of the job and lessons I've learned. I've been trying to warn him that instinct is a part of the job that he will have to grow into. "Don't give too much information or you give a prospect an additional chance to object, but deciding what 'too much' is takes some experience", for example.

In preparation for training, I did come up with what I think is a useful meme for helping the new guy assimilate information about his new job..."the four Ps". Not the same four as us marketers use, but maybe you'll see a resemblance:

• Product: Things to learn about what you are selling and how to present them.
• Process: How to actually do the job, use software, follow procedures.
• Politics: How to interact with different people who depend on you, and who you depend.
• Place: Getting your new work environment prepared.

I've told him that the first P is the most important for him right now. Customers and reps will be depending on him as an information source, so he's got to learn the Product, or know where he can find detailed info on it.

A step in the right direction

For the last ten years, I've been the sole person doing marketing at my company, in addition to my original job as inside salesperson. In what was a three person office at the time, it was a decision of economics and efficiency. Having a salesperson also handle the marketing provided synergy that made sure the company message matched the needs of salespeople and their customers. I don't think our website would be half as good if I wasn't able to hang up with a new prospect and immediately modify our website to answer his questions (or fix errors).

Now with more than double the team and a couple new product launches to manage, its time for me to let go of the sales job. Personally, the sales job was getting tedious and unrewarding anyway. Management has seen fit to move me to full-time marketing manager, which is the reason I went back to school for my MBA five years ago. I'm pleased for myself, but also pleased that the company saw fit to invest in its infrastructure by realizing that marketing now needs to be a dedicated effort.

Over the next month, I must train one of our engineers in the fine art of inside sales (expect several posts on this process). I will miss talking to my sales reps and favorite customers on a regular basis, but look forward to making our company more professional, our salespeople more effective, and our customer more satisfied. I've got a list of marketing tasks I started on the plane home from California two weeks ago that I'm dying to tackle.

Oh, and....yippee!!!

Importing leads into Goldmine is a pain

I guess there is a learning curve any kind of software. But aren't we all a little impatient to get to work, and we think we know how it works anyway. So it was with my first attempt at importing leads from our trade shows into Goldmine. Here are some of the issues I had:

• GM looks for txt files to import by default, which means it found my tab-delimited export from Excel quickly. Unfortunately, it doesn't recognize the tab as a delimiter. Instead I had to view 'all files' and find the CSV (comma separated) export.
• I also had to drop the quotation marks (which Excel automatically generated) as a way to lock text elements together, in order for GM to recognize the records. Not a big deal until later.
• The phone numbers didn't load because they had parentheses and dashes. Deleted the imported records, fixed the CSV file, and started over.
• Found out that the problem with not having quotation marks active during import meant that addresses and company names with commas make for big problems. Found it easier to manually fix the offending records.
• Zip codes from the Northeast US didn't import properly because they didn't have a zero at the beginning. Manually fixed these to. (How do you keep a leading zero in a CSV or txt file?)
• The first time I tried to mail-merge cover letters, nothing happened. I think this was caused by the fact that I already had another Word document open.
• The second mail-merge went much better. But I didn't get a print dialog box, so I couldn't pick the paper-tray with letterhead in it. 47 individual print jobs to wait for, or try to cancel.

I would suggest using mailing labels as a way of previewing the imported records quickly. I wish I had done that instead of rushing to do the letters first.

Yes, direct mail is worth it

Don't take my word for it, see what Jim Logan has to say about a couple successful campaigns he has run recently: JSLogan - Paper Direct Mail is Not Dead

Direct mail has always been on my marketing wish list. Jim makes it sound so easy...letter, stamp, then start booking appointments. The message and the list are so important, though.

Non-geeks aren't stupid

Can I assume most of you saw the news from Jupiter Research that something like 40% of web users delete cookies at least once a month? I expect quite a few people to react like Seth Godin does: "Forgive my skepticism, but it's inconceivable to me that 40% of the audience knows how to use their browser to erase their cookies."

As the 'go-to' geek for the sales department (and others), I think that Jupiter's numbers are probably pretty accurate. I've encountered a number of people who brag that they keep their computer secure by deleting cookies. Ask them what a cookie is or does, and they don't know. The people doing this were taught that cookies were evil somewhere around 1998. Since they don't know what cookies are and live in fear of their non-geekiness, they do the one thing they've learned to do.

Why bring this up in my blog? Because I've met these people. These are people I need to make sure use our Goldmine software, send emails, write in Word. This morning I watched someone right-click on files and folders and then select "open". I've fielded questions about GM that I specifically addressed in training weeks ago...basic 'what button to I click to do this' questions that means they missed even the first step. Next training will have more hands-on training, for sure.

In the end, Seth does get it right: "People aren't stupid. They just are too busy or too distracted to care as much as you do about the stuff you care about." A people-lesson for us geeks.

Top ten reasons to go to the show

It’s Dave’s (okay not that Dave’s) Top Ten:
Ten reasons we still love going to a trade show:

10. Don’t have to call wife to tell her you’re going out after work.

9. Beer and dinner on the company tab.

8. Unlimited gossiping.

7. Hot tub at the hotel.

6. Tschotchke collecting (this year: sunglass case, free beer, an orange and, of course, pens & bags).

5. Good discussions that solve every problem at our company and will make us #1.

4. Free continental breakfast (while getting per-diem for meals).

3. Sleeping in and walking to work (show starts at 10).

2. Knocking off 11 chapters of a good book (HP & The Order of the Phoenix).

1. Letting other people at the home office do all your work for a change.

Hangin' out at the OFC show in Anaheim

Christoph was kind enough to remind me I need to keep on posting, and I should, to help entertain all my new-found readers. The reason for the lack of posts is that I am in Anaheim at a major trade show called OFC. Trade show weeks seem to be very busy, but you often wonder if you have accomplished anything. So, in one big lump, here are some random observations and commentary:

• The convention center now has free wi-fi. This has made taking care of business back home all the easier. And, along with a local copy of Goldmine, I have almost all I need to do the job I was supposed to leave at the office.
• Show booths need as much attention to detail as websites. People scan your display and then decide to stop or walk on. Now that Boyink has turned me on to eyetracking, I think this would be a great tool for show booth evaluation. Of course, as a rep ‘in the booth’ you can start to learn what attracts people’s attention just as easily. Memo to self: must take greater control of show booth to maximize effectiveness…especially a live demo of some kind.
• I’m torn over whether to return to this particular show. The people we are seeing here are our prospects and clients, so I know I am in the right place. The problem is the show has shrunken and the traffic is lighter. For those directly involved in the technology the show is about, I would say it is a must just to be relevant. But we are only a peripheral supplier who understands very little of the technology at the show. Once again Dave is on the fence.
• I talked to the sales rep for one magazine and he made an interesting offer. They could develop a three-part email program with editorial related to our products, and featuring our advertisement. All for 10k. It is an interesting concept in how to maximize the value of their resources to customize a program for my specific benefit.
• Shows are just a great time to talk about your company, your challenges, your associates, and your own career. Its almost more like a retreat.
  
• Of course, the best part of going to a show is having a nice dinner out every night. If you come to Anaheim, I recommend the El Torito (ask for Mark Anthony). King’s Fish House was great too. Tonight, we are going to find some Asian food.

Why b2b marketing is like marriage

Can I admit that I didn't marry for money or good looks? Truth is we all (come on admit it) get married based on trust, compatibility, and a common long-range vision. I love my wife more today, not because she is perfect, but because we share interests and dreams and work well together.

And I could say the same about picking Goldmine as our CRM software. It was not a choice of the best software, but one of compatibility.

So why am I getting all philosophical? I just read this article about How GoldMine defends its native SMB segment... that describes their target market and their goals: "So FrontRange is playing a long-term game; it doesn't mind if the reputation and hustle of Salesforce.com win over a large number of CRM beginners."

It was reassuring to hear them echo my reasons for picking Goldmine, and commit to sticking to them:

1. "FrontRange wants to stand out by offering just enough functionality"
2. "Customers will often take someone closer (resellers) to them over someone who is, quote-unquote, better"
3. "For the typical small company... in its sweet spot, hosted CRM will prove too expensive"

The point of all this to us b2b marketers? That purchases aren't made based on making your list of features and benefits sound like you have the best product, but rather on whether the product is compatible with the customer's needs, resources, and vision. Or to quote PeeWee Herman's friends when he says he loves fruit salad, "well why don't you marry it then?"

UPDATE: From Business Blog Award winner Jim Logan, his post Recognize It's Only About Your Customer makes this point, that must have influenced my commentary:

When writing a proposal, never forget it's only your customer that counts - their needs, their problems, their opportunities, and their benefits of selecting your product or service. Your speeds, feeds, features, and functionality are secondary to their requirements - these are merely things that prove your ability to address solving their problems or creating the opportunity they desire.