Is your team ready to win?

PLAY BALL! Baseball season is about to begin. All winter, teams have been making deals to acquire the best possible talent. However, star power alone doesn’t win a championship. As Babe Ruth said, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” Therefore, smart teams have spent spring training working on creating a team culture, developing team dynamics and molding their group of stars into a cohesive unit who will work together to win a championship this year.

I had the privilege to hear Red Sox skipper Terry Francona speak about the 2004 championship Red Sox. He talked about how their historic and odds defying wins were as much about team chemistry and off the field team bond as it was about on the field talent and heroics.

Companies can learn from this. When building their team, they need to examine how the talent they hire fits the culture they wish to build. It is hard to change individuals because most people don’t want to critically look at themselves and they hate change. Therefore, instead of just hiring for talent, companies must examine candidates for attitude and team fit.

The entire team must be on the same page and working as a unit. An organization will fail if people are acting as individuals and in their own best interest, just like a baseball team may lose if the hitter tries to boost his batting average rather than hit a sacrifice and move the runner closer to home plate. When everyone is aligned, the organization is aligned and heading in the same direction.

Traditional business thinking aims to control situations, but companies must avoid the temptation to try to set the culture by force. Companies should stop focusing on controlling employee interactions and focus on matching up people with similar expectations who will build and deliver the desired culture. When you recruit based on shared expectations, less effort will be required to attain success. This is due to the fact that the team will shape their own culture based on these expectations and they will be inspired to advocate for the organization. Because of this, companies will find it easier to recruit and retain other loyal internal and external advocates.

If you want to win, hire for attitude and team fit, create an environment where extraordinary things can happen, give your team the power to shape the organization, the resources to get it done, and the guidance to keep it moving forward. If you follow these steps, your team will create an extraordinary culture that builds long-term advocacy, the organization will succeed, and you will have a strong and winning brand.

© 2007 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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Daddy, what do you do at work?

One morning at breakfast my four-year-old asked me what I do all day at work. As I started to give my thirty-second elevator pitch I use at networking events, I soon realized he didn’t care how “I build stronger brands and improve organizational dynamics” nor did he seem interested in how “I help companies succeed.”

So I told him that “I make companies better.” And he asked, “Are they sick?”

“Well kind of,” I answered, struggling to bring my complex methodology of creating extraordinary experiences and advocacy building down to a single phrase that would satisfy my son. Finally I said, “I make stores, restaurants and banks into fun places to shop and work.” Satisfied with the answer, he shifted the discussion to something more important; what we were going to do together that day.

As I later pondered this discussion, I realized that we often describe our businesses in terms of how we understand them, not in terms our audiences will relate to. My son understood ‘fun’ was better than ‘not fun’ and he has often been bored in stores, restaurants and banks. By putting things in his terms, he was able to personally relate to that description and see why making them fun would be a good thing.

I have since changed how I describe my business and so should you. When you discuss your business, do not use industry jargon, fancy marketing phrases or well-crafted elevator pitches. Talk to the prospect in terms of their business and their issues. Which means you must ask them about their business and listen to their issues before you ramble on about your business.

If you are able to talk in terms of their perspective and are able to make a real connection between their business and your product, soon you will be spending some quality time together building a solid relationship.

© 2007 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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Why can’t we be friends?

A graphic designer friend of mine sent me this email the other day with the header “Awesome Marketing Strategy”:

When we got home there was a 9"x12"x4" box with the mail. The return address was a printer in Cranston, RI that I had heard about but never used. I opened the box and under a top layer of crinkled paper was a piece of their letterhead with this message:

“It's a safe bet that a passion for knitting may not be the only thing we have in common...”

Attached to the note was a pair of 9", #10 bamboo knitting needles. A business card was tied to the needles. I teach knitting and have a couple of students with the same first name, but a quick visit to the printer's web site showed me an unfamiliar face. So I sent her an e-mail.

Long story short: this relatively new sales rep got my name, probably from their database, cruised my website and saw links to knitting websites.

I met her this past Wednesday and we had a wonderful conversation about knitting. She's really great and a go-getter. I think she will probably get my business when I have a printing job.

This was an “Awesome Marketing Strategy” for many reasons. First, the message delivery method was different which made her stand out in a pile of mail. Rather than send the typical envelope or a postcard, this sales rep sent a box, something that would stand out and would not be thrown away. This is a technique I have used myself and I often encouraged clients to “think inside the box” when it come to direct mail.

Why? Because a box guarantees your direct mail piece will be opened. Boxes, big or small, always end up on top of a stack of mail. Gatekeepers would never open a box addressed to someone else and the “little kid at Christmas” in all of us ensures that the intended recipient will be compelled to open a box to see what it is.

The second reason this was an “Awesome Marketing Strategy” was that her message was creative, compelling, and left the recipient wanting more. The rep wetted my friend’s appetite and did not overwhelm her with capabilities brochures, samples or special offers. This marketing piece didn’t try to do too much. It did what it was supposed to do; it introduced the company, the rep and extended an offer to begin a dialog. But more importantly, this piece made an offer to begin a relationship based on something other than doing business together.

This is great example of how to begin a true relationship with a prospect. Instead of just marketing at my friend, the rep marketed to her, while setting the stage for a potential friendship. By doing her homework, this rep found a basis for a friendship and who wouldn't want to do business with a friend? They now have something in common besides a potential order and when my friend needs a printer, she will call this rep.

So this rep has taught us how to stand out and catch a prospect’s attention, but more importantly the lesson from this story is that instead of looking at a prospect in terms of just a sale, we should ask ourselves “Why can’t we be friends?”

© 2005 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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Does anyone know why Randy left this message?

“Who is Randy and why is he calling me?” was all I could think of as I retrieved my voicemail. He left no reason for calling, just “Hey Dave, it’s Randy! Call me!” and his phone number. Despite the fact that I don’t have any colleagues, clients, or friends named Randy, I still got the sense from the message that I should know him.

I felt there was a good chance he was someone whom I met through networking. So, I checked my database of contacts and my stack of recently acquired business cards with no luck. I Googled the number he left and the number that showed up on caller ID. I found out he called from the XYZ cleaning company. This tidbit of information confirmed that I did not know Randy, but still thinking someone referred him to me and intrigued by his cryptic message, I dialed the number.

After only 10 seconds on the phone, I realized that I definitely did not know Randy, he did not know me and I was just another name on his call list. As he immediately went into his canned sales pitch, I knew I would never be doing business with Randy or XYZ Cleaning Company. Like so many telemarketers, Randy had tricked me into talking to him and could care less if I truly needed his products or services. No matter how I objected to what he was saying, he countered with his scripted pitch and was insisting that I had to meet with his sales guy “who happened to be coming to my area.”

Why do companies let this type of situation destroy their brand’s image? In a matter of seconds, Randy had ruined the credibility of XYZ cleaning company and ensured that even if I needed a new corporate cleaning company, I would never use their services. The trick he was using got me to call him back and even got me to listen to his pitch, but his tactics, like so many other sales systems, ended up eroding the integrity of the company’s brand.

A company’s brand is shaped by everything that each employee in an organization says and does. Therefore, companies often try to preserve their brand by controlling all aspects of workers’ action with systems and rigid scripts. But instead of having a positive effect, they are producing experiences that are less that extraordinary for the potential customer. Then corporate leadership can’t understand why the company doesn’t achieve the desired results and their brands are losing dominance in the marketplace.

So what should Randy have done differently? First, he should have never tricked me into calling him back. Second, once he got me on the phone, he should have asked me if this was a good time to talk. If the answer was “NO”, he should have thanked me for my time and hung up with no further questions. This would have impressed me and added to the credibility of the brand.

If I did want to talk, he should have talked to me like a normal human being, not a robot programmed to counter my every objection and to make me agree to a meeting as early in the conversation as possible. This normal conversation would have allowed him to qualify me as a prospect and create a favorable experience for me.

Randy was the first person to begin my relationship with this company. If he had created an extraordinary initial experience, he could have moved me one step closer to being an advocate for this company’s brand. Instead, he resorted to dishonest sales tricks to fill his calling quota and used a canned script which did little to peak my interest in XYZ’s services. His overall tactics reflected poorly on the company’s brand and should leave XYZ’s leadership asking, “Does anyone know why Randy left this message?”

© 2005 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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What are you going to name it?

When my wife and I had our second baby, like all expectant parents, we had to go through the often difficult process of picking a name. Choosing a name is one of the first big decisions you make for your child and it can have a large impact on their future. Anyone familiar with the 1980s movie The Sure Thing remembers the diatribe of John Cusack’s character in which he expresses his disgust for the name “Elliot” who will grow up to be “a fat kid with glasses who eats paste.” He then goes on to explain that “You gotta give him a real name. Give him a name! Like Nick….Nick’s a real name! Nick’s your buddy. Nick’s the kinda guy you can trust.”

Choosing a name for your company or product is as important as naming your child, so don’t take it lightly. First and foremost the name has to be unique. Growing up in classrooms filled with Davids, Johns and Jennifers, the one thing that set me apart was my last name. Speaking of my last name, that brings me to the next point. You have to be able to say it and spell it. I know first hand how having a name like Lubelczyk, which is both difficult to say and spell, can be a real pain. In this world of URLs, search engines, and online directories, being able to spell your company’s name is crucial unless you want to spend a lot of money registering all the misspellings of the name. Before you pick a name, make sure you can get the .COM because chances are if you can only register the .NET, the .BIZ or you have to put in a lot of dashes or an “e” in front of it, no one will ever find you...but they will find your competitor.

A name also has to fit the personality of the company now and the personality you want it to grow up to be. Unlike Little Rickey who can become Richard the CEO or Rick the Fireman, you are stuck with that name for a long time. So choose wisely. If you have to change it later, the costs both financially and in lost recognition will be massive. The longer you have a name, the harder it will be to change. Just ask KFC who has recently gone back to Kentucky Fried Chicken because despite massive amounts of advertising telling us that KFC was their name and it stood for “Kitchen Fresh Chicken”, no one really forgot that this company southern-fried their chicken.

Another thing to remember when picking a name is to avoid trendy names, names based on a fad, names that include current technology, or names that expire. Let’s face it, does anyone get the latest electronic equipment at the Hi-Fi Shack or Computers 2000? I don’t know many people who still want to go to the Cineplex, the Roller Disco, or the Bowladrome. These all may have been great names “in the day”, but now they seem dated and irrelevant. So unless your company offers a retro theme or wants to forever stay in a time warp, avoid these names at all cost.

A popular naming trend is the use of only initials. This comes from the success of companies like GE, IBM and AT&T. But unless you’re a “Blue Chip” company, this is probably not a good idea. Not many people want to buy from EDP NOW nor do they see ABC Office Supplies as unique. I can’t even guess what ADSP Inc. sells. Finally, AAA Computer Repair may get you the first listing in the phone book but does it really differentiate your service?

My entire family had very strong feelings about what the baby should be called and your company’s stakeholders do too, therefore you must choose wisely. Always remember to consider if the name is appropriate, will people be excited about it, does it sound good, will people relate the name with the products or services you offer, and is it the type of company name people want to associate with. If all else fails, ask for help. There many good companies who specialize in developing the perfect name for your business.

For anyone who is interested, the baby’s name is Nickolas and even though John Cusack had very little to do with the name, I hope my son grows up to be a buddy, the kind of guy you can trust, not someone who eats paste.

© 2005 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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Do you come here often?

Developing a long-term customer relationship is very similar to dating. How you grab a prospect’s attention is critical. Advertising, direct mail, public relations, or a website may be the first step towards starting the relationship, but don’t let your marketing effort be another tacky pick-up line. What you say and how you say it will determine whether the prospect will be interested in starting a relationship or respectfully decline your offer to have a drink.

Getting the prospect to meet with you is only the first step in the relationship building process. Taking the relationship to the next level requires your marketing effort to make an impression that will create interest and have them call you the next day. However, it is not about tricking the prospect into being interested. Don’t make them think your first date will be a magical evening of dining aboard your private jet and dancing in Paris when you know you are only able to take them out for fast food. Make sure you are able to provide one hundred percent of what you claim and that they are expecting an experience you can provide. Otherwise, there will be no hope for a second date.

You may spend significant resources developing marketing materials to spark interest and get you that first date, but don’t forget that your prospects are also judging your company by everything you say and do. Once the prospect walks through your door, you must take great care to create an experience that resonates with the prospect and meets their expectations.

Instead of focusing on just marketing to develop the relationship, you must continually devote the resources necessary to examine all aspects of your business in order to determine what is adding to or subtracting from the experience needed to build a lasting relationship with a prospect. If you want this potential loyal patron to become more than a prospect, you need to do everything you can to ensure that they have an extraordinary experience each and every time they are with you.

If you develop a meaningful relationship based on trust while providing consistent experiences beyond expectations, your cash register will be ringing – just like church bells – to celebrate the relationship’s success.

© 2005 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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Why did they boo Damon and not Pedro?

Both left Boston on bad terms, both left for “better contracts”, and both went to New York teams. So why upon their return, did Red Sox fans give Pedro Martinez a standing ovation and gave Johnny Damon a round of boos? I think Pedro summed it up best in his press conference, “Johnny put on the wrong uniform” and Red Sox Nation let him know it.

You will never find people more loyal, faithful, and passionate about a brand than Red Sox fans. Even though they were not winners for 86 years, fans stuck by this brand through all the high and the very low moments in this brand’s history.

So why don’t most brands induce this level of passion? Because most brands are not extraordinary. Unlike most brands, the Red Sox have always done things in an extraordinary way, whether it is a come from behind 2004 championship win or a heart wrenching 1986 World Series loss. Good or bad, this brand has always given fans something to be passionate about.

John Henry’s group may own the team, but “Red Sox Nation” owns the brand. Red Sox Nation don’t follow this team blindly; they have taken ownership of the brand and are committed to its success. Red Sox Nation are a group of brand advocates who cheer the victories, but also have no problem making it known when someone is not performing up to par. Based on fan reaction, Terry Francona said he thought his name was “You Suck” numerous times during his first season as manager.

A brand is more than just a logo or corporate identity. A brand is shaped by everything a company says and does, both inside and outside the organization. The strength of a brand is determined by the experiences surrounding the brand and how people feel when they interact with the organization. Therefore, companies must create extraordinary experiences and build brand cultures that inspire employees, customers and anyone who touches the company, to be passionate about the organization, take ownership of the brand and actively contribute to the brand’s success.

Don’t just settle for repeat customers, loyal patrons, or even plain old fans. Build extraordinary experiences and a brand culture surrounding your organization which inspires people to become advocates for your organization. Like the Red Sox, build
“{Your Company’s} Nation”.

© 2005 IMAGE identity, LTD, All rights reserved.

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