The Second Secret of Marketing

The Second secret of marketing is strengthening your number one asset—your employees—through Employee Training

Though there are hundreds of topics you can and should be covering make sure you review the basics on a regular basis. Items like: having an attitude of gratitude, service, eye contact, communicating, being a good listener, how to ask engaging questions, how to build value, how to make emotional contacts with every customer, how to check their positive attitude and how destructive gossip is.

These basics will help set the stage for their other success and help make them great employees.

“Measure customer service as the most important aspect of an employee's job performance.”
—Debra J. Schmidt, The Loyalty Leader

Of the hundreds of people I have interviewed one thing stands out like a sunburn on a farmers back. Almost without exception, every boss has relied on the training of past employers rather than spend money and time on training their employees—your employees—how to excel in your workplace.

This poses a huge problem for small and medium sized businesses. You think you can’t afford to train your employees beyond “this is how to use the cash register,” “don’t be late,” “read this booklet of do not dos.” and “smile at the customers.”

First, your competition, the big guys, like LL Bean, Convergys, hospitalities (, and) know the power of employee training and the absolute damage it does to your business if you ignore it. Remember the quote that opened this special report. It was no accident that I chose it and lead off with it!

“For every five sales you make, another nine customers who had hoped to buy from you will leave your store disappointed and empty-handed. This means your existing store traffic can give you 2.8 times your current sales volume, if you sell only those customers who are ready to buy. The only thing more expensive than hiring a sales trainer is not hiring one. Any investment in sales training is an investment in your own gross profits.”
—Roy H. Williams

LL Bean trains each new employee for 40 hours before they ever are let to deal with a customer! Why is that? They know that to be successful at business, not just making a living, but to be a business that makes every leader wealthy, training is the first rule of marketing.

Take the time to prepare your employee to meet and greet your employees. It will pay in huge dividends.

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part V

• The fifth thing to look for is a commitment to Lifetime Learning or Self-education.

“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
—John Locke

What has your potential employee done in her life that proves her commitment for lifetime learning? What does he read? What does she study? What are his long-term and short-term goals? Answers to such questions will reveal how much they will contribute to your business, your company culture, and your success!

Determine if your interviewee has the right attitude by asking questions as these that will show their character,. This is the best way to separate an average employee from a great employee.

How To Keep Them
Remember a great employee is worth 1,000 times more than an average employee! Consider that in your hiring, retention plan and pay.

A recent study states that it costs in excess of $13,000 to loose an employee, Money lost in productivity, experience, customer relationships, retraining and expertise. This is startling, an area where all can improve.

It is in your best interest and your customers’ to develop or extend your retention plan and provide incentives to keep great employees longer. Most employers tell me they can’t afford to pay their employees more… I believe they can’t afford not to pay a great employee more and the statistics prove me right.

This secret of marketing, hiring attitude not aptitude, sets the stage for all other interactions you have with your customers. Ignoring your number one asset—your employee is tantamount to ignoring your business!


“Winners create their own atmosphere.”
—Gerhard Gschwandtner

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part IV

• The fourth thing to look for is Commitment.
How does your potential employee define commitment?

Com·mit·ment
•The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of
action or to another person or persons.2

You can easily determine how a potential employee will perform by assessing their commitments to things and people in their life. Ask questions that show their commitment or lack there of.

For example:
1. Where did you work the longest?
2. How long were you there?
3. Why did you leave?


more later...

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part III

• The third thing to look for is Initiative.
“Employees with initiative are needed, they are needed badly. They are needed in every business in America. They are needed because they find solutions for the problems pointed out by the merely ambitious. They are the glue that hold a business together.”
—Roy H. Williams

This skill is invaluable. A resume can show it, but only if the employee recognizes it as being important. Probe to find if your interviewee has initiative.

What To Look For:
• Try to discover what he/she has proposed without being asked
• How does he feel about putting forth an idea?
• Ask what steps she would take to get her idea accepted in a bureaucracy?
• Ask about planning and goal setting


More later...

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part II

Last week we started talking about secrets of marketing. This week we continue discussing what I consider the first secret of marketing - Hiring Attitude not Aptitude.

• The second thing to look for is Servitude.
This can show itself in many ways. Does this person participate in the community? Does she volunteer her time anywhere? Does he use his talents to help others? Does this person like to help others? Ask questions to draw this out. Does this person plan on offering such services? Knowing how they feel about service will tell you all you need to know about how they will work with others, especially your customers.

“Show me someone who things he is too important to serve, and I’ll show you someone who is basically insecure. How we treat others is really a reflection of how we think about ourselves.” - John C. Maxwell

“The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbors as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant of others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.” -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

This is a vital step in the hiring process. You must find those who are secure with who (or know who) they are and are willing to go on from there.

More next week.

Secrets of Marketing - #1

The old rules of marketing are as dead as the once great societies of Greece and Rome. The consumer has stolen them from you. They wield the power now, you have seen it too, know it or not. You can choose to ignore the future and do the same old things or look into why things aren't working so well.

To sell more stuff to more people more often for higher profits you must apply the marketing secrets ignored by all but the most savvy business owner. Which are you?

1. The First secret of marketing is Hiring Attitude not Aptitude.
A great employee is worth 1,000 times more to your businesses success than an average employee! Invest the time necessary to get the right employees the first time.

Few employers take the time necessary to weed out employees that do more damage to their organization that help. The most important thing to do when hiring is to find people who have the right attitude!

What To Look For:
• The first thing to look for in an employee is Teachability.
Is he willing to do what is required of him? Will she accept advice from peers? Will he find out the answer to a question he doesn’t know or just give up? Will she seek advice from you or others when needed?

You can teach the skills that are particular to your business, but you cannot easily motivate the unmotivated! “It’s easier to teach data than to change personalities.”1

Focus your attention more on this and the following unseen skill-set. These unseen skills affect your bottom line more than any other decision you make.

Consider this, the average consumer has a circle of influence of 52 people. One poor experience with your staff can have devastating repercussions to your business. If that one person tells 52 people never to do business with you again and each of those tell 52 in no time 2,704 people have the message that you are not the place to take your business. Compound that with a blog and one poor staff experience can turn into a disaster.

More on this next week.

Create and Use a Database

Do you know as much about your customers as you know about your inventory? You know certain customers are worth more to your business than others, right? Why are you treating all customers the same? A database will allow you to effectively grow into areas you were not aware of. It is the goldmine hidden in your business.

Discover RFM segmentation. Who to market to next!

Employee Essentials—Attitude is Everything!

Employee Essentials—Attitude is Everything!
I'd like to share with you my Top 10 Employee Essentials - essential skills to being
a great employee. Skills that if your employees have will increase profits for your company and make each employee more valuable.

NOTE: This is written to the employee.

“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.”
—George Herbert

Consider This.
• What skills do you have that an employer needs? How do/did you get these skills?
• Do you have confidence in those skills?
• What are the basics you need to know to get your dream job?
• What skills does your current job require?
• How do you get those basics?
• What price needs to be paid to get the skills needed?

“Your job is to make something happen.”
—Seth Godin, Free Prize Inside

Download and read: AttractTheBest.pdf before you go on to the following section.
Keep in mind it is the way you attend to the needs of others that directly affects you success in your career. Even if you haven’t started you career it is these basics that determine how successful you will be.

What do you consider to be the Top 10 employee Essentials? Make your own list before you read on. Then compare it to the following.

In following posts I will give definitions to each.

Top 10 Employee Essentials
1. Attitude of Gratitude
2. Service
3. Eye Contact
4. Communicate
5. Be a Good Listener
6. Ask Engaging Questions
7. Build Value
8. Schmooze
9. Adopt a Positive Attitude
10. Never Gossip About Others

Change

When I lived in China, it was rural. But over the five years that I lived there, great changes happened. The country went from very rural to the feel of a large city. The average home went from having no ice or refrigeration to almost every home having both. The country went from 25-50 motorcycles for every car on the street to 5-10 motorcycles for every car on the street. This entry is about change, being ready for the inevitable—Change! Those that can change will be ready for the future! Those who cannot change will be left behind.

You must embrace change…you must do things to be a valuable asset to your boss, your job and the company you work for.

Consider These Questions
Honestly ask yourself the following questions:
• Who likes change?
• Do you like change?
• How do you feel about change?

Most people don’t like change but it needs to happen for us to be successful and for us to remain competitive. This entry will require commitment from you, especially in the area of change. What you learn might go against many things you have been taught. But it is all-important for your growth. These things aren’t hard, but they are difficult! What does difficult mean? It means that it takes guts to accomplish.

Many people feel that changing is not effective because they are “just one person.” In a recent, hotly-contested local election, one candidate won by just 53 votes. In another one candidate won by just 3 votes. That is a very slim margin and it goes to show that all of us can make a difference. We can and must make a difference! Each of us has the capacity to make change happen. Just like 53 and 3 people changed these elections, you have the power and ability to change your future.

• We must always be ready for change! We must facilitate change. You can.

To make a difference, there are basics we must cover first.

For those who are leaders now, to facilitate change in your workplace, you need to make your employees experts in all of the products or services you sell. You need to establish reward systems that foster excellence and you must prepare for excellence.

Some of you are the leaders of the future. You might not be today, but you are a leader in training. We need good leaders. The only way to get there is to learn about change and how to promote it within yourself and in those around you. You need to learn strategies that engage and inspire yourself, your coworkers, and your customers.

For those future leaders, you need to become the expert on all of the products and services you sell. You may even have to create reward systems to reward yourself, if you need motivation.

“Your greatest opportunity as an employee is in making things…something…anything happen.”
—DCF

Hiring is Marketing - What skills should you be looking for?

Spend a little bit of time contemplating the many skills an employee needs to be successful at your business. You should keep a list of the skills you feel are most relevant to the position you are trying to fill.

Then when you write your ads describe the person you need to fill the position. Don’t waste your time listing the skills you think you need in your ad. You need people with strong character traits! Such a person can quickly and easily learn a certain program or procedure.

Nadji Tehrani wrote an excellent article called Effective Hiring And Keeping “The Right People”—44 Characteristics Of “The Right People.” In it you will find what he considers to be the 44 most important characteristics of “the right person.” (Find the article on www.tmcnet.com)

The most interesting thing about this list is that the majority of these characteristics I consider to be basic human decency. But since he found a need to write them down they are no longer the basics you get from your talent pool. Making it all the more important to the success of your marketing plan to find people with strong character traits.