Paul Woods

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Being the first week or so back after the Christmas/New Years, many folk at work have been taking the opportunity to take a fresh look at the way they do things… looking for improvements to drive towards their end of financial year targets.

We sat in a workshop yesterday, with one of the most profitable sections of our business.  You would think that if they were one of the most profitable teams they would have their sales pitch perfect.  As a matter of fact it was one of the worst I have ever seen!

It is a problem that I would say (gut feel) 80% of all sales pitches I have seen suffer from.  Going straight for the features and benefits, the speeds and feeds.  Sure, you will snag a few people that fall for the hype (or just the big numbers), but you can be so much more successful by doing one small thing.  In fact, if you get this bit right, you probably wont even need to worry about the speeds and feeds…

Sell the problem first.

Here is something to live buy - if you are in sales (especially B2B)… unless the prospect has budget they have to burn on that day… if the customer is not convinced that there is a problem, a risk, or a significant opportunity cost… then you have next to no chance of selling them something that solves it.

Simple.

The best part of our workshop yesterday is that the team we were talking with… they are actually solving a problem which if it occurred would cause significant business interruption.

That 2 hour workshop simply to refine a sales pitch (at next to no cost to our business) I expect will improve their hit rate quite substantially.  Conservatively by 40-50%.  Now that is Marketing making a difference!

2008 is still young… take the time to talk to your sales folk… ask them to pitch to you… and then play devils advocate… I mean the customer

Your sales people will thank you for it (maybe!)

Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone. 

2007 was a cracker.  Hopefully 2008 will be even better!  This time last year I wrote about my new years resolutions.  I think it is time for a quick check…

2007 Resolution Checklist

1. Get fitter
   Yeah… maybe just a tad fitter.  At least I am a card carrying gym member now
2. Going back to university for some post-graduate business study 
   Hmmm… not in 2007, however it is still on the cards for 2008
3. Compete in (and finish) a triathlon
   DONE!  Admittedly it was in mid December, and I did come last - but hey at least I finished it.  No photographic evidence unfortunately, I think I was a bit too slow and the event photography had already gone home.  But you can look up my result at http://usmevents.com.au.

   Position: 578 (last finisher!)
   Paul Woods (Competitor: 1054)
   Swim (750m) - 17:54  
   Bike (20km) - 1:02:51
   Run (5km) - 43:31
   Total - 2:04:18

   That is only 1 hour and 10 minutes behind the winner!   But they didn’t innovate like I did and change the the 5k run into a  1km run/4km walk .

4. Buy our first house
   DONE!  See previous post! 

So that means I can confidently say I got 2/4 of my new years resolutions last year - not a bad effort!

So what about 2008… what resolutions are on the cards…

2008 Resolution Checklist

1. Get fitter
   Yep… just like everyone else
2. Going back to university for some post-graduate business study
   Carry over question
3. Start some sort of online business that brings in serious income
   Not  like the USD $60 that www.thenewpaperclip.com brings in every month, but some serious spending money to help pay off the house.  I have plenty of ideas, and a few that might actually work (one in a very under serviced market too) - WATCH THIS SPACE!
4. Build a Foosball table
   How else can I represent Australia at Table Football without my own custom built Foosball table?  A custom built Foosball table with beer holders, electronic scoring and webcams for instant replays?  And maybe a radar gun to clock shot speeds.  Yeah that would be awesome!

Wonder if I can improve on my 50% new years resolution strike rate in 2008… we will wait and see!

Ok… it has been pretty quiet around here lately, and over at some of my other blogs like The New Paperclip.  Why?  Well, after moving a few weeks ago, we have had to wait for my new desk, chair, bookcase etc etc to arrive from the furniture store.  Well it finally has, so my office is now set up and I am ready to get back into the swing of things.

To celebrate, I am going to relaunch this blog in the next few weeks, and look at making it much more focused… topics like Brand Management, Messaging and Positioning, Collateral Development and Management, Campaign Design, Managing Marketing Teams, Dealing with Agencies… all those things that B2B Marketers live and breath.

… watch this space.

In short… Competition ROCKS!

Moving into your first home is a very exciting time.  We have watched for months as our house was built from scratch. 

One of the last things to do when moving into a new home, after shifting and unpacking all the boxes, hooking up the electricity and the gas… is to open land line telephone and broadband accounts.

I called Telstra to set up the landline.  They said that they needed a techie to come out and ‘check that everything was in order’ because it was a new house.  All that despite only a few weeks earlier the house was was cabled into the Telstra network by an approved licensed contractor.  Weird, I thought, but anyways I kept listening…

Here was the first of the bad news.  “Sir, we need to book an appointment 10 working days from now for the contractor to check all the connections”.  That’s right - 10 WORKING DAYS - ie HALF A MONTH!! until someone would check to see it is ok, let alone connect our landline phone. 

“… and there will be a new connection fee of $299 as well”.  WHAT!  $300 bucks and a half a month wait just to get a phoneline that we will hardly ever use, infact the only reason why we have it is for emergencies, the every once and a while 45 minute on hold phone calls, and some sort of internet connection.  You can’t be serious.

“… yes sir, sorry about that… is there anything else I can help you with?”  NO THANKS!

Is it just me, or is that just a little slow, and expensive?

Enter the competition

Thank god for Virgin (… thanks Branson)

Virgin Mobile have just introduced into Australia a package they call “Broadband @ Home”.  $60/month, no connection fee, home phone, and a half decent broadband connection.  The twist with Virgin Broadband is that it doesn’t use the normal phone network like Telstra, instead it uses the same technology as your mobile phone.  No wires!

I called up and enquired… signup over the phone was simple.  A few details later the friendly guy at the other end said that he was posting it out.  How easy was that!

Less than 48 hours later I had…

1) a home phone connection
2) broadband access to the internet
3) no expensive connection fee
4) no 2 week wait!

Virgin have absolutely nailed this one.  Great product, great price, easy to use and simple to set up (all I had to do was plug in the power, plug in my phone, and turn the thing on.  I was up and running in 45 seconds!).

Telstra… be warned… its time stop focusing on copper.  You need to offer an alternative like Virgin have - they are really changing the telecommunications game here in Australia.  In terms of Customer Lifetime Value, consider me gone (and I’m only 24, imagine how much money you could have got from me over my lifetime if you actually cared, innovated, and had good offerings).

If you are considering changing telephone providers in Australia, or are looking to get a new telephone connection, I encourage you to at least check out Virgin Broadband.  They might not be for everyone, but they offer a substantial alternative to the incumbents.

Virgin 1, Telstra 0

Things have been a little quiet on the www.paul-woods.com front for the last few weeks.  For good reason too…

We just moved into our first mortgage home

(Before: Our last night at our old unit / After: Our brand spanking new house!)

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic packing, moving, and unpacking.  Now that all that is out of the way, I have more time to get back onto all my web projects like www.paul-woods.com, www.thenewpaperclip.com (Office 2007 tips and tricks), and a few new projects I have in development.

Watch this space!

If you are like me, you crave content.  The latest top 10 lists, hints and tips from the pros, stories about how to (and not to) do things, insight… in fact just about anything to do with marketing.  At the end of the day, if you can get across all these things, and maybe make use of one out of every ten, it is going to make your job either easier, or more effective (or both!)

I currently subscribe to hundreds of blogs from around the world.  I spend hours every week trawling through every post from each one of those feeds looking for the golden posts.  You know, the ones that make sense, and will make a difference in your life.

Over the last 9 months I have been marking the important ones, keeping them in a folder that I can refer back to for my own use later down the track.  But not anymore.  I figure since I am doing all the work, I may as well make all your lives a lot easier and let you see what I think is the most important stuff to keep track of in the marketing world (well the B2B Marketing, Communications, Presentation, Negotiation, Strategy, and random Business tid bits world).

All you need to do is read my link blog.

Each day I log into Google Reader, and read all the new posts that have come through in the past 24 hours.  Of the hundreds that appear, if any of them have an inkling of making an impact in your (and my) days, I will share it with the rest of the world via the link blog. 

So whether you are trying to build you strategic marketing plan, looking at ways to deliver the best presentation, or craft the best subject line for your next email campaign, you will find the best bits of content that can help you out on my link blog.

My service to you so you don’t waste time going through the stuff that doesn’t matter.

You can access my link blog at http://www.google.com/reader/shared/10754633153512837159, or click on the link in the right hand column of my blog

… before I start - get your mind out of the gutter!

When I talk about the funnel… I am talking about the journey from the great unwashed masses that are your target audience, to those who have seen the light and handed over their purchase orders/credit cards.

The slipperier the funnel… the more likely it is for a suspect to go through the journey of prospect -> qualified lead -> opportunity -> sale.  If you are really good and lube up the funnel, it can dramatically reduce your cost of sale, and accelerate your sales cycle.

But…

If your funnel isn’t slippery… it can cause all sorts of problems.  Like prospects who once were interested in your product walking away to your competitor… or the classic “abandoned cart“.  It doesn’t take much to turn what could be a very slippery funnel into a gritty, blocked, manky funnel that only lets a few drops (sales) few at a time.

The blockage could take place anywhere along the journey… not getting enough attention at the start… not offering the relevant information to assist with decision making… asking for way too much information from the consumer… or the most common funnel killer of all… limited payment options!

Everyone has heard it before “We don’t accept AMEX”, or “Cash Only”, or “Minimum Purchase on EFTPOS $10″, or in my case this afternoon “We do not accept Pay Pal”.

The culprit in my travels today… Flickr, the photo sharing site.

Today I thought it would be a good idea to finally get around to putting all my photos online.  1) to share with family, friends etc., and 2) because it is a good backup strategy along with burning them onto DVD.  When you sign up with Flickr you get a free account that allows you to upload 100mb of photos a month.  I have 10s of gigabytes of photos that I could upload that I have taken with my Canon 300D DSLR over the last 3, almost 4 years.  That means I am the perfect candidate for the upgrade to Flickr’s paid subscription, the pro account.

I clicked on upgrade.  I was ready to pony up my USD$24.95 for a year with their pro service.  My funds are ready and waiting in my PayPal account.  But Yahoo (who own Flickr) don’t want my money.  No PayPal please - credit card only.

My credit card was all the way down the other end of the house… and being it was a lazy Sunday afternoon… I didn’t get up to get it.  Flickr just managed to clog up their funnel - by not making it easy for me to give them money.

Interestingly… Flickr used to accept PayPal only until recently.  I wonder who made the decision to stop.  On the Internet, that is the equivalent of a corner store saying “Sorry… we don’t accept cash any more, just credit cards”.

How do you know your funnel is slippery enough?  Listen to your customers.  If they want to pay with PayPal, Cheque, or Magic Beans… think about letting them do so - you still get the consideration you asked for in the transaction, the customer still gets the value they are purchasing, and at the end of the day… everyone is happy.

How slippery is your funnel?  Are your customers getting stuck along the way?

Cheers,

Paul W

PS - you can check out my afternoon’s efforts on Flickr - still with my free account!  I am addicted to geotagging now!

… “The shortest distance between two people is a story.”

Amen brother!  via Presentation Revolution

… because I am on the panel!

Here is the reminder email I got today.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

From: Lisa Ma [mailto:lisa@icebergevents.com.au]
Sent: Mon 6/18/2007 4:47 PM
To: Lisa Ma
Subject: [NETWORX EVENT ] Its not too late to book for Pitching internally or externally - 20 June at Chill on Queen

Hi!

We have 10 tickets left to this popular ‘Pitching’ event!  Come along and learn how to sell your ideas from experts and learn what the client is looking for! You will also be in with a chance to win tickets to Christina Aguilera, thanks to our friends at Austereo!

Book online today or call us on 07 3876 4911. 
Group discount available for 3 or more non member bookings (in one sale)!  This is a great opportunity to bring your team to learn the same information.

All of us have to sell something whether its your ideas or your product. Whether you are an employee, or a business owner, we all live or die by selling something.

Join our expert panel as we discuss:

• What is a pitch?
• What needs to be included in your pitch?
• What are the success factors for pitching?
• If you are pitching an idea for your organisation - how do you get others on side?

Our Panelists:

• Paul Woods,
  Team Leader - Marketing Communications, Data#3 Limited
• Robyn Woodrow, Managing Director,
  Red Zebra Consulting
• Ms Alex Fisher, Manager of Projects Branch, Brisbane Water, Brisbane City Council
• Fiona Caird, Group Account Director,
  George Patterson Y & R

Who should attend?
Business owners looking for new ideas, sales and account managers, marketing and communication managers.

Running for 8 years, Networx offer monthly events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane that deliver inspiration, information and introductions.
Book online today or call us on 07 3876 4911.
Please remember to forward this invitation on to colleagues, clients and friends who may be interested - and help us build your network. Networx events are a great way to bring along your team at work, it’s a great opportunity to socialise outside of work and to all learn something cool together.

Best wishes,
Jodie Parker, Lisa Ma and Kym Baty
Networx Marketers Meetings - Brisbane 
managed by Iceberg Events
p: 07 3876 4911 
e: brisbane@networxevents.com.au
w: brisbane.networxevents.com.au
Remember: This event is a tax deductible expense for your business or your employer.

… of an audience… and you laugh… and I mean laugh like you just heard the funniest joke in the world… and no one, not a single soul in the whole audience laughs with (or even at) you… it is time to stop laughing!

This morning I attended a presentation (I will keep the name of the person and organisation anonymous) where the speaker didn’t stop.  It was very very sad.

Key Takeaway: Don’t laugh continuously whilst there are tumbleweeds rolling through your audience!