I'm going to upset some
people today. I can't help it.
It's not
sarcastic pent-up anxiety from three
Hurricanes I lived
through during August and September.
That would be too
easy. Instead it's what I've
noticed through all of this
mess.
Take for example, the subject of
doing favors. Plenty of people
do favors every day. I did a bunch
when the storms wrecked my area. And
if you're like me, you did a
favor... did another... and never
looked back.
But for some
people I've heard from offering
support, lending a hand... calling
me to chin-wag... (whatever)...
turns out they had ulterior motives.
The chumps.
Take a woman I
spoke with. She claims she did a
"huge favor" in her Real Estate
business for a local banker... and
then she rarely ever heard
from the guy again ('Sniffle,
sniffle, whine,' she pleaded.
I can't believe it.)
For some strange
reason, she didn't get her own
pockets re-greased with a quid pro
quo from this Lender-guy. So
she was so bugged she called me to
rant. Her angst bugged her so much,
it was like she wanted to...
Make a Voodoo
Doll of the Guy and Stab
Him in the Eyes with Sharp Needles.
In
other words, she wasn't happy
with the banker she did the favor
for.
Why?
He didn't
reciprocate, or send her some
business like some clients, a
cheap wall calendar... green
lollipop... stale bagels.. or
whatever else bankers hand out.
So
what's all this got to do with you
getting more business referrals?
A lot.
I'm not talking about "favor" as
in someone gave you 250 bucks in
service freebies. Or they spent
their valuable time giving you
advice that you considered
minor (that they lost
half a day on).
Or, the
person who saved your
skin, bailed you out and,
say, wrote a quick bio you needed
for your imbecile boss. Or not even
the web geek in your networking
group who tweaked your web site.
No.
I'm talking
about "favors"
as in a way to showcase
a person what your unique skills and
gifts are. And the reality is that
most people don't have the
slightest clue how a
simple humanitarian action of
handing out a favor can
showcase their skills. Let alone
influence referrals.
They think...
"Gimme... Gimme... Gimme.
People Aren't Going to Do
What You Want Them To Do, Anyway!"
"So why bother,
I'll just get what I can."
It's almost as bad of a mistake
as:
The person who gets very
attached to their product or service
and then thinks other
people should do the same.
Kinda like
my friend in the furniture software
business. He sells expensive POS and
inventory software for major
manufacturers like Thomasville,
Broyhill, and so on. His
business lives and dies on selling
$150,000 software.
I'm always
telling him that if he wants to stay
in one
market --selling software to
furniture people -- fine. It
ain't skin off of my nose.
But sell the
stuff with an
arsenal of front- and back-ends
going in. Not some "sole" product.
He shouldn't get
hung up with one baby, like his
Whiz POS ASP2005 (or whatever
he calls it).
"And if you're
a really
good marketer," I
tell him, "You'll be
constantly testing other
markets on the side. Like
electronics
makers, bedding manufacturers, or
fitness retailers. In
other words,
people in retail who need
good logistics help."
From point-of-sale... tracking
how many contemporary beige leather
sofas are on the showroom floor...
how many Queen sleigh beds are in
the warehouse... or getting and
updated, real time P-and-L
with each sofa or 54-inch flat
screen TV that goes out the door.
The whole
enchilada, amgio.
So what does he
do?
He keeps selling
his Whiz
product. And I keep doing
him "favors"
by giving him marketing and sales
advice when anyone else (except me)
would have probably said to
themselves...
"Why
Isn't The Guy's Idiot Alarm
Going Off?"
Or worse. They'd write the fella
off.
Meanwhile, I know
my friend drags himself home
each day. Exhausted, freaked, and
stressed. A basket case to his wife
and kids as he thinks, 'If I
work any harder or longer I will
overdose on my Ritalin.'
All because
he has a false sense of reality
about what marketing "is." It
probably goes something like this:
-
Plan #1:
Blitz the market, blaze a path,
and destroy competitors.
(Truth: Waste a ton of
money on advertising or on
overhead.)
-
Plan #2:
Fall in love and target
a niche because it's "huge."
(Truth: Keep telling yourself
this as the month's and
years fly by.)
-
Plan #3:
Go after markets that have
hot prospects that are ready
to buy. (Truth: There ain't
never
hot prospects "ready to buy".)
Why am I telling you all
of this?
Because a lot of what I'm describing
is in a new book I'm
writing called...
'Crooked
Marketing Wisdom:
The 54 Undisputed Truths About
People and
What Makes Them Open Their Wallets.'
The truth is, I never wanted to
write the stupid thing. Sure, it's
brilliant insight from nearly 15
years of experience, buckwheat. Plus
a lot of blood, sweat and Pepto.
And over the last twelve months I've
gotten sick of reporters, producers,
editors and other media from
USAToday, Fortune, Inc,
Businessweek, WSJ, MSNBC...
and others... calling and
writing me all the time about the
book's sizzle.
One of my reviewers leaked how
brash and blunt the book is. (The
louse). The press got a hold
of the controversy and when that
happens, it's like a bunch of
dead armadillos strewn over hot
Georgia asphalt.
The hungry buzzards start circling.
Know-what-I-mean, Vern?
I've had 30 interviews
this year alone --- for a
book that isn't
even released... let alone
published. (So much for
brilliant media people.) Yet it's
all been quite a BORE. Especially
when you know what the media
clowns are really after in the
first place:
Juicy spin or sound bytes to miff
the Harvard academia types and their
"research" or "tested theory."
They waste 20 minutes
of your time for some micro-second
sound bite they get out of
you. Well, big-whoop!
I
Must Have Been Out of My Mind
Speaking To Them!
Sure, I did them a favor. I
sure didn't want anything in
return... other than to be left
alone so I could focus on my
clients.
And you know what else?
I'm now DECLINING every
new media request I get. NBC...
CBSMarketwatch... Entrepreneur...
CNBC... CNNfn... all of
them.
I am NOT available to talk to you.
Forgive me, I
digress...
The point is I'm behaving
differently. Sort of like the
millions of people in business who
actually behave differently
when the buy things.
-
But don't tell behavioralists
this.
-
Don't tell an MBA marketing prof
with his Law of Product
Elasticity.
-
And
certainly don't try to
convince some $100,000
dollar-a-year
corporate advertising
exec brainwashed of any common
sense or
reason.
Like, there's some kind of
reason a person would use their
American Express Platinum Card over
a check, money order
or cash
to pay for their 14-day trip to
Queensland, Australia and visit the
Fraser Coast of
Pialba Beach.
(Reason: They're broke
and don't have the cash now!)
Or when people refer
something to someone -- like
CustomVue LASIK
correction surgery or brag
about a product like the Mr.
Clean Magic
Eraser... like there's some
degree of normalcy of
how people behave.
It's like getting a
embarrassing physical while a pretty
nurse
watches the doctor snap on his cold,
latex glove.
The truth is people don't
act normal when they buy things. And
they
sure aren't predictable when
dishing out referrals. So get over
it. Because you can just...
Punch a Guy In The Gut All
You Want To.
He'll Keep Vomiting All Over You.
As the saying goes: Don't wrestle
a pig. You both get dirty and the
pig likes it.
Do favors because
they're the right thing to
do.
If some good fortune
comes from it, tithe 10 percent,
count yourself
blessed and then enjoy what's left.
And take some solace in the reality
that crooked human wisdom
predicts...
People Place
Less Value On
The 'Favor' You Did For Them As Time
Passes.
And if you're
still trying to influence someone by
reminiscing about the strings you
pulled, believe me, they're long
gone in your prospect's mind. It's
like smelly dead fish left in an
Igloo cooler.
True. At one
point you went out of your way to do
someone a favor.
You hoped it would possibly win you
some business. And that favor is
still hanging around in your head
like a 4-week old head cold. Blow
the snot out of your hear. And bury
it like dead fish.
The person you broke
your back for has moved on. So
should you. |
