Why There Will Always Be Salespeople - Listening, Translating and Educating

First, let me open and say that marketing is an imperfect science - imperfect in that marketing never gets it right.  New ingredients are added to the marketing mix all the time - the objective of marketing is to educate the buyer so to make the sale simpler - but it's a moving target - it's in the salesman's skill set to adjust the aim.

Salesperson

Without  the salesperson, who would tell the prospect how their product fits the prospect's need (I think I took this, at least in context from something Steve Jobs once said).

It's the salesperson that educates / translates / explains to the prospect that their product is exactly what they are looking for.  In the printing business we see it almost every day; I will introduce myself as part of a local printing company and that we can print "anything"; the person I just introduced myself to will then ask someone else "do you know anyone who does brochures" ????  The prospect did not need "anything" printed, they needed brochures ????  See the problem?

When I was in the systems business (systems integrator) I would never try to explain what we did as it was to complex. I would ask the prospects why they were attending this conference / trade show.(if they were)  The prospects would describe in detail what he needed - abracadabra - my response- "That is exactly what we do..!!!  What the prospect needed - from the prospects eyes.

I guess we could call this a lesson in listening - Don't bore the prospect with what you do; repeat back to them what they want - You must listen first and then tell the story.

A Wrapped Filing Cabinet

So what brings this whole thing up?  I was talking to a prospect who was describing how he wanted his file cabinets custom painted to reflect what their business did (I'm listening).  I suggested he wrap them (kinda like we do vehicles - you see the similarity, vehicles and file cabinets :/ ).  Better, more damage/scratch resistant, easy to clean and much less expensive.  Best of all, I had one in the office to show him.  Who da thunk...  He would have never knocked on my door for this.

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113 (Call My Cell) 
512-593-8830 (in Austin)

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McPrint vs Local - Its no different than Big Box vs Local (Oldie but Goodie - Reposted)

This article was written back in January 2013.  I chuckle every time I read this.
This is why you need to find and use your local printers and designers - The are the experts in your home town.

Buy Local and Preserve the Expertise

So this morning I went on continuing my research on "Local" and, in particular, "NetBetter" printing.  I walked into Staples just to get up-to-date info on the McPrint business (Understanding the Changing Print Market).  I have difficulty sounding anything but sarcastic in this article, but it's the epitome of Big Box and McPrint.  Here is how my conversation went this morning (with some injected commentary).

• Me: "Hi, I'd like to get some pricing on some business cards". 
• Staples: "Sure, we have several different types. You can order them online.
• Me: "Wow".
• Staples: "If you need them now, order the "Instant" cards, we do them here".
• Me: "What size are these, I don't like the undersized business cards like from Vista".
• Staples: "Our cards are all standard 2" x 3"."
• Me: "You mean 2" x 3.5"." (thinking she just mis-spoke).
• Staples: "No, our cards are standard size, 2" x 3" (at this point she looks at me and sighs (like saying, 'you see which side of the counter I am on')).
• Me: "No, standard business cards are 2" x 3.5"."
• Staples: "No they are not". (the 'your stupid' look continues).
• Me: "Go grab one, let's measure it - I just want to make sure they are not undersized like Vista cards".   
• Staples: As she walks away with a frustrated look, grabs a card and measures - "Oops, we are both wrong, they are 2" x 3.25"."  She tosses the card on the counter next to a sample I brought in.
• Me: "That's 2" x 3.5"."
• Staples: With frustration she remeasures and then humbly states: "Oh yea, these ones are 3.5" wide".
• Me: "OK - I'll check the pricing online".
• Staples: "Order the 'Instant ones' if you want them produced here".
• Me: "Bye"

My morning - I must remind myself that this is McDonald's and not Morton's: "NetBetter" all !.

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113 (Call My Cell) 
512-593-8830 (in Austin)
 

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Business Cards - What Information Should it Contain and Not Contain - Some History First

Let's talk about the future of the business card, but to understand it, the history of the business card comes into play.

Business Cards existed before the phone thus early business cards would have name, company, mailing address, title and usually some tag line about the product being solicited.  The term "Traveling Salesman" was coined - They would travel with Business Cards and order forms so people could reorder product after the salesman left.  Imagine the pace of business - a snails pace compared to today.  Business Cards were printed with a process called "relief letterpress" - one sided, one color at a time and one up - that is the reason most real old cards were one color - Black.  Every feature would double the cost of the business card.  Back then we saved business cards out of necessity; we even treasured them.  Business Cards were also the icebreaker, the grease that made it easier to introduce ourselves - not much different then today.

Let's move the clock forward about 100 years - the early 1980s - about when I was starting my career.  Cards were still pretty much one or two color and one sided, but now they contained a telephone number (for about 90 years).  Business cards were still printed relief letterpress, but efficiencies were being played. Gang printing similar cards was common so to reduce production costs by as many cards as you could put together ( 4-up would reduce production costs by 75%).  Multiple spot colors, logotypes and raised printing (Faux Embossing) was common on most Business Cards.  Everyone had a business card; we still saved and distributed business cards out of necessity.

A few years ago, I was talking about the printing business with a tech CEO friend of mine.  I stated that "even the business card has a limited life - look at all the cool apps on our smart phone that allow us to share contact information" (remember bump?).  His response to me was not what I expected - "We hire a lot of kids out of Stanford, Berkley, the Ivy schools . . . The first question they all ask after getting hired is 'where do I get my business cards'".  This made me think of my first set if business cards - they made me real and legitimate.  They still do today.  They are what we lead with - they open the conversation - they do it with a little grease.  We did so with prowess.

Bring on today - you can print anything on your business card;  full color, two sided, pictures - anything.  Your card has become a mini brochure.  You can do so at a much lower cost (inflation adjusted) than could be done 140 years ago, or even 30 years ago.  Today, there is so much more information we want to get out: Email addresses, Website URLs, Cell Number, Fax Numbers (why, I do not know), etc, etc...

OK, So Finally the Gist of this Article.

So, what should be on a business card today?  Name, title, cell, company phone, mailing address, some slick tag line (The Makers of Quality American Made Widgets) and finally pictures, maybe of you on the front (maybe not) and your product(s) on the back (Maybe).

So, what should NOT be on a business card today?  Your website URL.  Your website is to get you found - you have already been found.  Sending a prospect and/or client  to your website only introduces them to competition and alternatives to you - be careful.  Yes, there are many exceptions to this - there may even be the need for alternate cards.  Maybe you put your Facebook page or your Twitter name - all better then a web URL (IMHO).  Evaluate your situation and how your cards are used / perceived - and how you want them used and perceived.  Remember, they have found you already.  If your client wants your web address, they will ask - If they cannot ask (they will if they need it), they will find it in your email ("Bill@AmericanWidgers.com") - if it is not there (like you are using a GMail address) call me, we need to fix that.

Also, kill the fax number; does anyone still use one?  Does your fax work? Again, there are exceptions (not many).

Its 2015 everybody, let's evolve.

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113 (Call My Cell)  
512-593-8830 (in Austin)

We do business all over the Northeast, Austin, South Florida

and in the SF Bay Area (actually Everywhere). 

Marketing Services Provided by all LightsOn / Time4 Offices

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The One Thing We Can Count On – Change – A Changing Market

The Internet and social media, have changed so much about our businesses and the market(s) we sell to, no matter which one(s) they are.  Adapting to the changes is the key to being able to survive in the future.  I have seen four business environment changes (ice age type changes) in my adult life (the 4^th being the current one).  Some companies survived because they were adaptive through entrepreneurship (dictatorship) control; some companies survived by refining their business model, sometimes through brute force and several mistakes until they get it right; sometimes the survivor was just a new entrepreneurial opportunists.

The natural tendency of change is towards chaos. It is imperative to focus efforts towards the vision. It is almost impossible that any complex change can be managed with any rigid structure and then deliver successful results - for change to succeed, frequent adjustments must be made – a fluid plan (of course, there are several MBAs and consultants, who have never done, who will tell me differently).

The art of success and management is to create harmony, order and direction from chaos.

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113 (Call My Cell)
512-593-8830 (in Austin)

EDDM is a services provided by all LightsOn / Time4 offices.

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Sell, Sell, Sell - Business Does Not Occur Until a Sale Occurs

I used to do volunteer counseling and training work for an organization called SCORE, the "Counselors to America's Small Business".  I primarily talked to start-up businesses about the ideas.

What amazed me about many budding entrepreneurs is that they make "going into business" more complex than it needs to be.  Going into business is not about finding a good accountant, not about having a lawyer nor is it about finding the right computer, right sign or right office location.  It is about selling and selling and selling some more - selling cures all and selling makes all (this coming from an engineer).  I don’t need a plan but I need an idea and a set of business cards. Then, what are we going to do – sell, sell, sell that idea! I make only one assumption here, that if you are planning on going into business, say the chocolate business, you know something about chocolate.  If you are lucky enough to be successful at selling, it then becomes time to think (while you are selling more) about those other things you need to do when you are in business - a plan.

So then, I should tell you more about selling.  Yes I will do so will in the very near future.  The thing to remember is selling is a Game of Numbers much more than technique.

Happy Selling.

Bob


About SCORE
SCORE is a nonprofit association consisting primarily of retired executives and business owners (almost all volunteer) dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business start, grow and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Localizing a User's Web Experience - Scenario One & Benefits

Localizing your website simply adds to the users experience.  This is now recognized by many of the largest consumer product companies and retailers.  There are still many companies that don't recognize the opportunity of localization.  This is the first in series of Localization Scenarios.

Localization Champion

Scenario One:

I like to use ACE Hardware in my examples as they are the epitome of "Saving Local" in the hardware business (in my opinion).  This scenario works with all the major players in hardware (Lowe's, Home Depot and True Value) as they have all Localized built into there website - but they could all do better - they all bought localization, but no one told them what they could do with it.


The most obvious benefit of Localization is identifying where the local store is located.  This feature should be located on every page of the website for every product.  Google does this for you if you search "ACE Hardware" before you even get to AceHardware.com, but what if they were searching "Lawn Mower"?  I have now found the lawn mower I was looking for, but now, where is the store?  Location information and the phone numbers should be there - without clicking away or back - because Clicks Cost Customers.

Product placement is a huge benefit of Localization.  There is no reason to sell snow blowers in Florida or lawn mowers in Minnesota in in January.  There is a bit of opportunity to get creative here.  Don't waste the users time clicking - Clicks Cost Customers.

The biggest benefit of Localization, in my opinion, comes from the ability to partner with community businesses.  Carpenters, landscapers, plumbers and more; it is already done behind the service desk - move this to the website -  it is a chargeable service!  Imagine the opportunity of listing landscapers on the gardening pages for each of the local franchisees - image the benefit to the website user - imagine the benefits through local business partnerships - Imagine the revenue potential - I want to be there!

See The Following Add-on Articles

Localizing a User's Web Experience - Scenario Two & Benefits

Localizing a User's Web Experience - Utopia or Just the Future

Consulting Online Localization
Bob Leonard @LightsOn Ventures
561-371-4113

Identifying the Opportunity - Having a Vision - More Cause (not the effect- yet).

As I have said before, even though my focus is local printers and saving the local printer, what I am saying can be applied to so many different businesses today.

Local printers are having a great deal of difficulty competing with the 'online mega-print website'; why?

1) Perceived price - the 'online mega-print website' advertises low prices that are not real, especially if you, the buyer, are really in business.  You don't want the printers information on the back of the card, you want it faster than 3 1/2 weeks, you want it to represent you and not some generic template and you want it on a card stock, not a heavy paper.  Of course you can pay for the "upgrades" that make it a normal business card, but then you would pay about the same, and sometimes more, than you would if you had bought it from the local printer (without the local printer guidance for you).

2) Advertising - the 'online mega-print website' can advertise in big ways, painting a picture that they are the norm.  They are not, but consumers don't interact enough with printers thus they have no knowledge of any other place to go.  This is why the online mega-print websites have won the B2C business, but have not been able to pierce the B2B opportunity.  Once your business becomes real, you no longer have the time to waste 45 minutes placing an order, wait 3-4 weeks (std delivery) for the order and then finally receive the inferior-undersized product.

In reality (in my head), the local printer needs to NOT try to fight this battle with the online mega-print websites; it is a waste of their resources and they can not convince the consumer until they experience both the product and process first hand.  The local printer must focus on real businesses.

A funny footnote... I was talking to someone last weekend about this and they said they liked the 'online mega-print websites' as they saved money, did not mind the 'online mega-print website' ad on the back, did not need it fast and the quality was not important.  I said, "your law firm orders from 'online mega-print website'"?  Her response was "Oh no. for my side business, they (the law firm) would never order 'online mega-print website' cards".

Finally, if the printer focuses on competing with 'online mega-print website' we will see the end to this local business and service and the cost of this product will only increase in the long run.

Yes, I think I have the solution and am getting around to telling you about it.  Visit www.LightsOnGraphics.com - figure out what we are doing.  Rolling this out on a broader basis shortly.

Identifying the Opportunity - Having a Vision - The Cause (not the effect)

I am writing this specific to the local printing market, but the concepts and the decisions apply to business in general as this blog entry demonstrates.

Prior to the 1960s, most home town business was locally owned and managed  - a time long gone.  We remember (some of us) the local pharmacist, the diner, the tailor, the cleaners, the corner store, the local printer, etc...  We then experienced a transformation where enterprising individuals (opportunists) expanded their businesses by packaging their business such that it could be sold to individuals looking for opportunities in distant locations. The 1950s and 1960s were the "Wild-Wild-West" era of franchising - minimal regulation and scams in a "buyer-beware" world.  The boom in franchising began.  Franchising brought us (arguably) consistent quality, business buying power and trusted/recognized brands.  With time, regulations from the FTC and its state equivalents made the purchase of a franchise much more transparent if only by making cost-of-entry so much higher.

The Internet era brought new competition; "local" was redefined as being as close as your computer.  Regulations ended up not being needed, even though they were frequently brought up and discussed.  The Internet (as a market) has evolved into a self-regulated market with minimal government regulation (not making a political argument here).  The 1990s and early 2000s were the Internets "Wild-Wild-West" era; today, we have evolved, like franchising evolved, into a market where we have trusted shopping locations, consistent quality and trusted brands.

The bad side of the Internet, IMHO, is the elimination of local service in business transactions that require service (again IMHO).  I have a story that should hit home pretty hard.  Remember the Hobby Shop?  I was in one in South Florida in, I think around 2002,  I witnessed the owner becoming very upset with a consumer who was a slot car enthusiast.  The consumer, I guess, would frequently come in, evaluate a products quality and suck knowledge and demonstration from the store owner and then buy the product online for the purpose of saving $3 on a $30 item.  What I witnessed was the store owner losing-it and kicking the consumer out of the store.  Who won here?  The store eventually went out of business and the consumer lost their ability to touch and evaluate the product before buying it.  Bought one of those radio-controlled helicopters lately? - Junk.!.!  Even worse, they cost more for the return shipping than original cost of the product... ugh..!!

How is the local printing market similar to this?  Next entry...

The One Thing We Can Count On – Change – A Changing Market – Case Study Chapter One

The Internet has changed so much about our businesses and the market(s) we sell to, no matter which one(s) we are in.  Adapting to the changes is the key to being able to survive in the future.  I have seen four business environment changes (ice age type changes) in my adult life (the 4^th being the current one).  Some companies survived because they were adaptive through entrepreneurship (dictatorship) control; some companies survived by refining their business model, sometimes through brute force and several mistakes until they get it right and then sometimes the survivor is just new entrepreneurial opportunists.

The natural tendency of change is towards chaos. It is imperative to focus efforts towards the vision. It is almost impossible that any complex change can be managed with any rigid structure and then deliver successful results - for change to succeed, frequent adjustments must be made – a fluid plan (of course, there are several MBAs and consultants, who have never done, who will tell me differently). The art of success and management is to create harmony, order and direction from chaos.

I (the opportunist) am going to create a series of blog entries (my business plan) defining an opportunity (the changed market) in the local printing business.  I expect this to be both fun and rewarding to all the Time4 and LightsOn offices.  It’s somewhat complex (the opportunity) so I’ll be documenting my hypothesis and tests in small chunks.

I have been nurturing these ideas with the Time4 offices for the last six months and have started rolling out different segments.  The first was (and continues to be) establishing an SEO presence in the markets being targeted – success – we have 1^st page Google presence nationally in several specific product searches – sometimes two, sometimes three, and a few times four different positions in the Top 10.  Maybe we should have been in the SEO business – NOT – way too much incompetent noise.

Sell, Sell, Sell - Part One - Business Does Not Occur Until Transactions Occur

I used to do volunteer counseling and training work for an organization called SCORE, the "Counselors to America's Small Business".  I primarily talked to start-up businesses about the ideas.

What amazed me about many budding entrepreneurs is that they make "going into business" more complex than it needs to be.  Going into business is not about finding a good accountant, not about having a lawyer nor is it about finding the right computer, right sign or right office location.  It is about selling and selling and selling some more.  I don’t need a plan but I need an idea and a set of business cards. Then what are we going to do – sell, sell, sell that idea! I make only one assumption here, that if you are planning on going into business, say the chocolate business, you know something about chocolate.  If you are lucky enough to be successful at selling, it then becomes time to think (while you are selling more) about those other things you need to do when you are in business - a plan.

So then, I should tell you more about selling.  Yes I will do so will in the very near future.  The thing to remember is selling is a Game of Numbers much more than technique.

Read my blog post Sell, Sell, Sell – Part Two – It's a Game of Numbers 

Happy Selling.

Bob


About SCORE
SCORE is a nonprofit association consisting primarily of retired executives and business owners (almost all volunteer) dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business start, grow and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Starting a Business Again

Even though I have not started a business for myself in years, the excitement and thrill is so there.  It’s not that I have been out of it for long, or even at all, but it has always been for someone else.  Over the last 4 years, I have done technical consulting; advertising consulting and volunteer consulting though SCORE as well as assisted my kids with their businesses when they let me.  Oh yea, I have had a little fun too; a few cross country motorcycle trips, summers in Maine and Saratoga, autumns in New England and springs in Austin.  Did I mention 5 grandchildren?

LightsOn is nothing new, the business is really the same as our Time4 operations (Time4Printing.com in Maine, Time4Texas.com in Austin, LightsOnAdvertising.com in SoFla and www,Time4Sacramento.com in, well, it’s obvious); local products and services utilizing the Internet, rather than, in spite of the Internet.  We all provide the highest level of service and knowledge for our customer because that is what they are really buying from all of us; they are buying our knowledge and talents in helping them increase their business.

LightsOn Graphics has, what I believe is the most advanced, technically thorough and complete website for local printers there is.  We have considered selling it, but realized that the price would be higher than any local printer could afford (including us if we had not had the technical know-how in-house).

We don’t provide online design tools like some of our competition – this is choice, not the level of sophistication.  We believe in “touch” and today’s business person needs help at costs that will make them more money and waste less time; we don’t make anything from a template, we make YOU for REAL.

We believe in things like, BNI, LeTip, everyCircle, Successful Thinkers, and chambers as YOUR network makes YOU money.

Here I am, no traffic, no readers, no followers and no Likes - See you all soon.

Bob