Month: September 2018

I nearly had a nervous breakdown in Aisle 8 at the grocery store on Sunday.

There I stood, in the cereal aisle, reading the shopping list my wife created.

Item 15 on the list: “Healthy Cereal.” 

I marched up and down the aisle, scanning the shelves.  

Should I buy the Kashi or the Kellogg’s? Barbara’s Bakery or Bob’s Red Mill? What about General Mills?

Just guesstimating here, but I think there were 18 million options to weigh.

I texted my wife. No reply.

I called. No answer.

Panic was setting in. What to do? Which one should I buy?

I returned home with nothing from Aisle 8. “They were out of healthy cereal,” I muttered when she asked.

I know food manufacturers and grocery giants spend millions to master the science of product placement. There’s a reason grocery stores are organized as they are — to get us to buy more.

But those crowded shelves also can backfire. Too many choices can paralyze prospects.

That’s an important lesson for any business — not just grocery stores.

Numerous studies have proven that prospects act like I did when confronted with more buying options than they can comfortably process.

They freeze, and then they flee.

So keep it simple. Present good options, but not too many.

This principle applies not just when you’re selling products or services.

Remember that…

…the next time you present recommendations to your boss or co-workers.

…the next time you discuss what to do this weekend with your pals or spouse.

…the next time you’re stocking the shelves or writing a proposal or generally pitching your stuff.

You want to encourage people to consider the options, not freeze and flee.

Tom
MarketVolt

When I asked Tim Dean to describe his ideal client for me, his answer blew me away.

Tim is a life coach whom I ran into at a networking event.

His ideal client: “Parents of a millenial son or daughter who is living at home.”

We’ve all heard the old adage about finding a niche for your business.

But I had never heard of such a nichy niche.

I was very intrigued, but a little skeptical.

Me: “That’s actually a market?”

Tim: “Oh yeah. Lots of parents hire me to guide the son or daughter. They tell me, ‘We were going to turn the (kid’s) bedroom into an office or yoga studio, and then…’”

The kid came home and wouldn’t leave.

I have twin 21-year-olds about to finish college. I shivered at the thought.

“A lot of millenials are dissatisfied, unmotivated, not feeling like their work is working,” Tim said. “They’re much quicker to jump jobs. The parents want to help.”

Because they want that new office or yoga studio…

…and, Tim added, because they want to be good parents.

“This provides validation for what they’re doing as parents. Some of it is fighting their own stereotypes. They don’t want the world to perceive their children or themselves as failures. Some don’t give a darn about that. They just want to extend their dream of being great parents.”

Sounds like Tim has…

…identified a target market with very particular needs and…

…devised great solutions to address that market’s fears (“junior may never leave and I won’t get my yoga studio or office”) and aspirations (“I want to be a good parent who raises good kids.”)

That’s a good formula for any business: identify a target market with very particular needs and devise great solutions to address that market’s fears and aspirations.

What is your target market? What are the fears and aspirations? What solutions do you offer?

Tim reminds us how important it is to ask and answer these questions.

Tom
MarketVolt

My buddy Mark has been sober for ten years and counting. That’s cause for celebration.

Every time we go out, I play dumb and ask, “How long has it been?”

He knows I know. But he plays along. “Ten years,” he says proudly.

He should be proud. That’s why I ask the question.

The last time we went out, a few people in our party ordered a bottle of wine. I ordered a beer. Mark ordered an Arnold Palmer.

He has no problem sitting with others who drink.

But he had a problem with the waiter.

“May I pour you some?” the waiter asked Mark after bringing the wine bottle to the table.

Mark replied, “No thank you.”

The waiter persisted, “Are you sure? It’s delicious. Matches perfectly with the pasta you ordered.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Mark grumbled.

(Sigh!)

The waiter had good intentions. But come on, man! Don’t pitch wine to an alcoholic!

Seems pretty obvious, huh!? But businesses do this all the time. They pitch their “perfect” products to everyone without regard for what prospects want or need.

It happened to me with another restaurant this summer.

I joined the restaurant’s email list when I stopped in for a quick lunch.

I didn’t order any wine that day. No martinis either. Just a bowl of chowder and a sandwich.

Since then, I’ve received two emails.

The first promoted a month-long discount on wines.

The second pitched a one-night event (“celebrate our 11 year anniversary”). The hook? Discounts on sparkling wine from 4 to 7 p.m. and discounts on other bottles all night.

Don’t like wine? Been sober for 10 years? Wondering whether there’s a special menu or food discounts? Nothing to see here. Move on.

I like this restaurant. Tasty food. Nice selection of beers. Friendly service. Reasonable prices. That’s why I go.

I don’t go for the wine list. Nor would Mark. Same goes for many others on the email list.

So if you keep sending emails that pitch nothing but wine, we’re going to tune out. We’ll stop opening the emails. We may opt-out altogether.

Sending everything (i.e. narrow pitches for wine) to everybody, regardless of their interests, is the greatest mistake email marketers make.

Next Wednesday, I’ll dig deeper, share some examples from businesses that get it and offer some tips about how to engage email subscribers more effectively.

Tom
MarketVolt

I have a friend who’s convinced the government or Russians or Martians (or…whoever) listen to every cell phone conversation he has.

A few years ago, the friend (I’ll call him “Bob”) dumped his regular cell phone and began buying pay-as-you-go “burner phones.”

Bob pays cash for the phones.

“They can hear me,” Bob says. “But they don’t know it’s me.”

Bob is squeaky clean (I think). He’s not a drug dealer. He pays his taxes. He doesn’t have a cheatin’ heart.

He’s just a little unhinged. Or maybe he’s smart. (There’s such a fine line between paranoid and careful.)

I thought of Bob this week while watching my favorite TV show, “Better Call Saul.”

The main character, Jimmy (a.k.a. Saul) works at a mobile phone store.

Prepaid phone sales are slow.

So Jimmy buys some of that gaudy orange and yellow window paint (the kind you see at used car dealerships) and writes in four-foot-high lettering on the storefront: “Is the man listening? Privacy sold here.”

Sales skyrocket.

That’s some smart marketing, Jimmy!

“Better Call Saul” is a crash-course in smart marketing and copywriting. Really. I’m not kidding.

In the burner phone episode, Jimmy delivers a brilliant pitch to the leader of a biker gang who ends up buying a pile of phones. Even the most seasoned sales champion could learn something here.

Check out Season 4, Episode 3. Jimmy ad-libs a pitch for copy machines that they should reprint in sales training manuals.

Take notes in Seasons 1-3 as Jimmy pitches his legal services to senior citizens.

Brilliant stuff.

If you know the show and the Jimmy/Saul character, you know: He happily works for and with drug dealers, tax dodgers and cheating spouses.

Don’t worry about that. That’s not the point.

The point is this: Jimmy/Saul brilliantly assesses what motivates his prospects. He knows what they desire and what they fear. And then he tells (true) stories about how his products or services can fulfill the desire or address the fear.

Jimmy doesn’t sell mobile phones. He sells privacy.

What do you sell?

Tom
MarketVolt

p.s. I can help you re-define what you sell — so you can sell more. It’s something I do for clients all the time. It makes their sales pitches better. It makes their content more focused and relevant. It helps the bottom line. And for those of you who work for nonprofits or schools, the same principles apply. You are “selling” something — even if you don’t think of it that way. If you want to learn more about how this works, give me a call (314-529-1431) or email me.