Author: Dave J.

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.

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.

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!

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 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]

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.

***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!

In the mail today I received the classic three-part mailing from a software company. Letter, color insert, and reply card. If it was done well, it might work, but it wasn’t. What went wrong:

• The envelope doesn’t tell me there is an offer for free coffee inside, but shows a ‘hello my name is’ sticker with my name on it.
• The letter from the CEO goes on and on before telling us what they do. And in just two sentences.
• Nowhere does the package try to explain what their product does exactly.
• The response card is in the form of a self-surving survey.

So, you can say they didn’t see the forest for the trees. But the worst crime is that they haven’t figured out that the world has changed. Boyink reminded me today of the Cluetrain Manefesto, which helped me realize why I didn’t like this piece–it is bluster and self-serving despite pretending to be interested in me and my opinions.

Since I don’t understand what they sell, why should I reply? And the questions are simply lead-qualification questions despite their statement “Your answers will help us better understand the needs of customer service professionals in your industry”. Yea, right, you are just interested in understanding what you can sell me. And all I get is a cup of coffee. Thanks, Right Now.

Be honest, provide information, and start a conversation! That’s what the marketing should be about these days.

Aaron Kahlow has a web-consulting business that has closely partnered with Thomas Register. I heard Aaron speak at their internet marketing seminar earlier this year and was impressed. He told the truth about what is important in a website to satisfy your customers.

This document hits some of the same points, especially making the point that you can’t “ask the creative people of this world to solve your sales and marketing issues” (creative meaning artsy-types). He then suggests investing in improving your site and making is targeted toward search-optimization and user experience.

His affiliation with TR shows when we get to the suggested budget break-down for web marketing. He allows 30 to 75% (depending on four scenarios) for “guaranteed online listings”. This he justifies this expense on portals and destination sites as a “constant lead source”.

My real issue is that TR is now selling listing on a ‘portal’ type site for its ability to reach people using search engines, while Aaron is implying that users go to ‘portals’ separately and provide more consistant leads.

2004 Guide to Web Marketing (PDF)

And now my opinion: While web-marketing remains cheap to do, Aaron fails to make the point that the biggest investment in web-marketing will be time and effort by marketing managers to make and manage their site so that it does what it is supposed to do. Managing marketing for the industrial b2b company has become very complex now that the web is the tool of choice. Its still scary how many marketing managers don’t get it!

It’s decision time for renewing with Thomas Register for 2004. While I need to look to their company for confidence in the products they are selling, I really need confidence that my potential clients are going to use them. To understand our clientele, we are running a survey of recent contacts who we have quoted equipment to.

To get the survey done quickly, we used email requests and a service called Zoomerang. Zoomerang is an online survey service whose ‘zPro’ package is $600 a year. We will be using it for customer satisfaction surveys as required by ISO-9001:2000, too.

Zoomerang allowed me a good control of the survey questions and made the responses easy to digest. My questions may have been amateur for the first time out, but I think they are giving me the kind of data I need.

Next time: The survey results!