Sales is more than just a numbers game...

Morning Light – A film for your next retreat

Not in the mood to get back in the car to retrieve a movie, and in-between Netflix choices, I go for the remote and Time Warner Cable’s On Demand. Up and down the choices, nothing catches my eye. Ah, but what’s this? “Morning Light” – a true-life documentary of fifteen (young) rookie sailors, soon to be a team of eleven, competing in the Transpac Yacht Race.

My sailing days were short-lived once I discovered flying, and then moved to the West Coast. I picked it up again when a friend asked me to crew on his 26-foot sailboat in the San Francisco Bay. Although I did some racing, it was nothing to brag about. Maybe that’s what caught my interest; what would it be like to have competed on such a large scale?

Go ahead and watch the trailer; but I would encourage you not to spoil the enjoyment of the film by watching the rest of the clips. From Disney.com, here is the Plot Summary:

“Experience a riveting and inspiring true-life adventure aboard the high-tech sloop MORNING LIGHT. Fifteen rookie sailors have one goal in mind -- to be part of her crew, racing in the most revered sailing competition on Earth, the Transpac Yacht Race. From start to finish, it's a rollercoaster ride of emotions and physical challenges, beginning with six months of intense training. Only eleven will survive to race in the grueling 2,225-mile Transpac. Matching wits and skills against experienced pros and the unforgiving, unpredictable Pacific Ocean, these young men and women develop a powerful bond and prove how dedication, teamwork and an unyielding spirit can overcome the greatest of odds.”

What a film! I thoroughly enjoyed it from many perspectives. You see the training, selection, and performance of the various members of the team from a wide range of vantage points. You witness the preparation for the race, and an emphasis on safety as a key to success. The scenery was beautiful, but so were the close-ups of the highs and lows of the competitive environment. Also, the character-building outcome is documented as you watch the rolling credits at the end of the film.

For those of you planning a retreat for teambuilding and planning, take some time out and show this film. Rated “PG”, it is a family worthy film, too.

p.s. If you have seen the film Morning Light, jump into the discussion with a comment, below.

Good job, cowboy! – nothing like a little praise for a job well done

Many years ago, while living in California, our family passed through Orange County Airport (SNA) for the trip back home to the San Francisco/Bay Area. At the time of this visit, a prominent bronze statue of the actor John Wayne, fondly known as "the Duke", had been erected near the main entrance of the terminal building - the airport was renamed to “John Wayne Airport” back in 1979.

As we walked past this statue, my daughter – who at the time was quite young – looked up and said, “Good job, cowboy!” It was a spontaneous comment that seemed to come out of nowhere. Little did I know how much I would use that phrase over the years to offer up appreciation or praise for the work of others.

It came forward in my mind the other morning, pre-dawn I might add, as I crafted a brief email to someone in order to show my appreciation for their effort. I had witnessed qualities of leadership and style, in their words and actions, that often seems rare in our ‘hurry up and get it done’ way of life. I was careful in my choice of words, pondering how they may be taken by the recipient. That is the downside to email; you only see one side of the response.

Many situations pass our way each day. But, how often do we take a minute to acknowledge the positive brought upon us by others? Not just in those instances where we stand to gain some ground. There are many situations or acts that we bear witness to where we can learn how to handle something better, or grow in our character and well-being.

This is not limited to co-workers and friends. Keep in mind, your boss might appreciate a little praise once in awhile, too. So, the next time you see or feel the positive effect of someone else, take a moment to say, “Good job, cowboy!”

Photo Credit:  John Wayne Airport - owned and operated by the County of Orange.

“The John Wayne Associates commissioned sculptor Robert Summers to create a bronze statue of "the Duke" in commemoration of the late actor and true American patriot John Wayne.

The nine-foot statue was dedicated to the County on November 4, 1982 and placed outside, in front of the Eddie Martin Terminal. After the Thomas F. Riley Terminal was built, the refinished and restored statue was placed in the lobby of the new Terminal.”

When you think retail, quality racks can make or break a sale

Many of us who are now in the profession of Sales, ‘cut our teeth’ by starting out somewhere in a Retail business. For me, it was Women’s and Children’s clothing (independent retail store). One thing that needed attention was restocking the shelves and the various display racks. I recall when we remodeled the store, we met with the architect to select new displays for clothing and accessories. It was not much different from selecting appliances in a kitchen remodel.

As time went on, and I changed jobs, racks and displays popped up in a variety of places. We needed revolving racks for trade show displays for easy access and the presentation of collateral and brochures. Coming into the hotel at night, I would see racks stocked with regional tourism or event information. As a manufacturer, when working with distributors and wholesalers, we often provided racks for them to display our product, or marketing materials.

As I look at today’s market and economic climate, I got to thinking about this niche industry of manufacturing displays and racks. The manufacturing side is suffering the same pressure as any other manufacturer located in the United States. Also, there is the wide range of materials and designs available for the same application, i.e., why choose wire racks over acrylic/plastic ones?

When the announcement was made on Monday that Blockbuster would be closing more stores (“Blockbuster more than doubles planned store closures to nearly 1,000”), I began to think about all those racks that would be re-sold, or discarded. Looking at how thin my local newspaper is – not to mention the giant leap in price at the newsstand ‘rack’ – I have to believe the number of racks built for newspapers and magazines is on the decline. How about the declining numbers of independent, local bookstores –the movie “You’ve Got Mail” quickly comes to mind. Enter the momentum of the digital book and e-readers for the classroom, or reading for leisure with a handheld device or Smartphone – I still like ink on my hands.

With all these market forces, if you were in the display and rack business as a manufacturer, I am betting you wish there was a “Cash for Clunkers” program for racks of all kinds. Some of the display racks I see in stores or outdoors would definitely qualify and not require a means to disable them; they are nearly DOA already.

Although the above may seem bleak, there is one manufacturer I know, with over 30 years in the industry, which is far from tossing in the towel. R WIREworks, Inc, based out of Elmira, NY, offers a wide range of wire racks and displays, where “most items proudly carry a Made in the USA label “. When you look through the selection of categories and individual racks, it reminds me of one of my favorite phrases I used during my time with Unisource; “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.”

Selection is not always enough in their industry. Product innovation and quality are equally important to survive. They use high quality materials and pay attention to creative designs. Knowing the construction and wholesale lumber & building material dealer industries well, I could appreciate their venture into Roofing Displays. Not only do they design and manufacture these displays, but they assist their customer with layout and installation needs, too. They are taking a full-service approach to a product that can easily be seen as nothing more than a commodity in a catalogue.

Small businesses like R WIREworks are under a great deal of pressure from many directions. Pricing in the business of racks and displays is very competitive, and the cost to manufacture is not going down. To survive, manufacturers will need to not only serve their existing markets well, but also look for new markets with innovative, high-quality products. Recognizing that supplying retailers is a partnership, quality racks can make or break a sale.

Simple online add-ons make for a better customer experience

As an online purchaser, I would probably rank pretty low. I am still a ‘touch it, feel it, take it for a test drive’ kinda guy. But, when it comes to interactive chat in tech support, or product inquiry/clarification, I don’t hesitate to burn the wires with rapid-fire keystrokes.

Two recent ‘retail’ experiences have shown me that an emphasis on having a good Web site can be augmented with the addition of some extra communication add-ons for higher customer satisfaction.

After a recent purchase at the local Sears store, I sought some information on my order. It was going to be a pricing inquiry and membership discount question. Since the receipt only had the store phone, I decided this would probably be something that should be handled at the corporate level. I poked around Sears.com and found the customer service numbers. Calling the first 1-800 didn’t offer any choices that sounded like my need. Instead of going back to more phone numbers, I opted for their “Click to Call” vs. “Click to Chat”. I was greeted with a Pop-up window that offered two choices – talk by phone, or talk by computer.

I was eager to try the talk by computer choice to see how this might work. Much like using this in GoToMeeting webinars, I wanted to experience this as a customer service event. It didn’t go anywhere; an error code popped up to say there was an application error. On to Plan B, Talk by Phone. In this case, you insert your phone number and choose the delay timeframe to call the number. I chose the ‘talk now’ selection. No sooner did I finish hitting the enter button, and my phone was ringing. That works!

Ah, but not altogether true. There is no telling what department or category of customer service request is calling you back. Within a short period, I could see that this was not the right destination for my inquiry. Nor was there any offer from the customer service person to transfer me to another department or individual. This quickly hit the bin of “Good plan, flawed execution.”

On to the second example, Netflix. Again, I have been slow to adapt. When it comes to movie rentals, I still frequent my three top options: Blockbuster (local store), Redbox (local grocery store), and Time Warner Cable OnDemand. Having helped others with their Netflix accounts and movie choices, the pressure was on for me to do the same for myself. Since I am not a big movie watcher – especially now with the (USTA) US Open on ESPN2 – I never felt pressured to join Netflix.

I was finally ‘voted off the island’ and have succumbed to a subscription to Netflix – more like, I am trying this out to see if it works at the pace I rent movies. As before, the account setup and Free Trial was completed in short order; kudos to them for the ease to set-up an account and get started. With movies on order, I was a day or two away from the first one.

The movie arrived as advertised and I turned it around for return in minutes – poor choice on my part - on to the next one. Although I had experienced email confirmations from them for movies of arrival and departure, this morning a survey-style email arrived. They wanted confirmation on their delivery turnaround by offering choices of when they expected it to arrive. A couple of clicks later on my part gave them valuable customer service information on their part. Why couldn’t more companies do this?

With a little extra thought and effort, I am willing to bet that many businesses could make small investments in online add-ons and reap better (customer) results. Also, you probably have some good examples of your own. What is your company doing to improve the customer experience with online add-ons?

Forget about the solution – look at the root cause, first

When I wrote about the Prediction Market Industry, I was quite taken with the notion of what constitutes ‘transparency’. Stumbling upon the definition that transparency (this came from a doctor) is “…being clear about what we know and don't know.” has left a lasting effect on my thinking, especially around sales forecasting.

Early in my career, my career mentor challenged me with the maxim, “Define the problem and the solution will present itself.” What Mike was trying to get me to do was to look for the ‘root cause’; what contributed to this problem in the first place. Of late, I find people are spending a great deal of time putting forth solutions without regard for what caused the problem. Often the solutions become a Band-Aid and offer a short-term fix, or less.

This is not reserved as a business observation, only. I see it carry over to many facets of the work and life balance we all face. What I have been looking for is the ‘why’. I believe some of it may be related to the rapid-fire communication we wallow in day and night. From social media to an overabundance of communication tools and devices, we rarely get a break to just stare out the window and take a break – think about the momentum to ban text messaging while driving.

I caught a feature article on Ken Burns (“famed Americana documentary filmmaker”) in Fortune magazine that noted how much he enjoyed driving and taking-in the scenery; it was good for idea generation, reflection, and thought. I share his desire to avoid the trials and tribulations of air travel. Not only have I rediscovered the joy of driving, I now appreciate Webinars as a more effective tool than many a business trip by plane.

When thinking of problem solving, where do you think we miss the mark? Is it along the lines of my premise that we fail to pursue the root cause? Or, is it bigger than that? What can we do to become better problem solvers in the future?

Taking your company center stage with affordable online video advertising

Companies are catching the wave of online video as a means to communicate to employees, customers, and the investment community. Beyond the obvious advertising value or television commercial, there is an emerging trend to use video for annual reports. Video offers a more vibrant presentation and a significant cost savings over the more traditional print and mail of annual reports.  To get a feel for this trend, click on this link to visit California Pizza Kitchen’s past reports.

But for the small to medium size company, high quality video has been seen as cost-prohibitive. Not anymore. You can take your company to center stage with services from online video production companies at minimal cost.  Two companies I have kept my eye on are PixelFish and SpotRunner.  Although they provide similar services, your advertising and promotion needs may favor one or the other.

John McIntyre, CEO of PixelFish, puts an emphasis on affordable creativity. In our conversation he said, “Lower costs of production combined with new distribution options have finally made video ads worth the investment for SMBs (small to medium businesses). Most SMBs don’t have experience creating and distributing video ads so we have to make the process easy, affordable, and fast.”

Beyond their creative templates, i.e., pre-produced/do-it-yourself video solutions, you can leverage their network of professional videographers to come to your location and create original work.  PixelFish calls this style of video, a Documentary-style where they send a videographer to the business’s location and capture the owner, customers or other spokespeople on camera talking about the business. 

John went on to say , “Although affordable options for TV ads such as Google TV are emerging, we believe online directories and search currently offer the best value for SMBs.” They even offer Yellow Page (online) distribution as an option. In a short time segment of five minutes or less, you will be able to include recognizable examples for the viewer, a reflection of your company and employees, and an integrated message of how you serve your customers needs better than anyone else.

SpotRunner takes an all-encompassing approach; they provide a fully integrated advertising solution that includes creative production, media planning and media buying. Not only can they serve your production needs for video, but they can help you book the airtime on local stations.  When I talked to Keith Wiley, Manager of Corporate Communications at SpotRunner, he said, “We can help create and execute integrated effective, multi-media campaigns for TV, online, radio and print.”

This translates to a highly targeted local advertising and marketing campaign from a single source. Wiley explained it like this, “The Spot Runner Production Network can be quickly deployed to shoot onsite footage of a client's business...whether it be their store front, famous dishes, customer testimonials or interviews with the store's owners." If your production needs include print and mail, as part of a larger marketing campaign, they can help with that, too. SpotRunner has a full complement of in-house services, or they will partner with your advertising agency, to ensure a consistent message and brand recognition.

Video offers you a medium that can reinforce your brand while connecting with the audience. In our conversation, Wiley said, "Video advertising, whether TV or online, is extremely important for SMBs. It's the most powerful form of communication out there -- nothing else combines sight, sound and motion to engage consumers and deliver a message, so it's really important for SMBs to consider the best ways of leveraging it." Adding text to the video can reinforce your message.

How can you put this to use? Beyond the earlier mention of annual reports and online advertising, other applications of online video include press releases, sales and marketing collateral, human resources (HR) and recruiting, meetings and presentations, training, and more. With your newfound ability to serve a wider and more diverse audience, at an affordable price, this can translate into creating a virtual tradeshow for any number of events or market segments. There’s a viral marketing aspect to all this, too.

Here’s a parting thought. By reducing printed materials , you are demonstrating a commitment to social responsibility through “Reduce, reuse, and recycle”. Just one more reason to go video for your next ad campaign.

Blockbuster and Bear Rock Cafe; Out – Apple and Bruegger’s; In

Is poor customer service an early indicator of impending doom for a company? When it comes to Blockbuster, I am beginning to think so. Over the last couple of months, I wonder how long Blockbuster will remain in business. A recent experience at Bear Rock Cafe could cast a similar level of doubt in my mind.

I frequent the local Blockbuster in my neighborhood for a larger and more spontaneous selection of movies. But, if a movie is available as pay per view on my local cable provider, I will gladly save the extra $1.00 in rental fees, lost time, and gas. Where I used to enjoy the cheerful ‘hello’ from employees as I entered the store, I now experience a less enthusiastic welcome. As customers stack up in the queue waiting to be served, employees can be found playing the game "Guitar Hero" in a demo area.

When they recently charged me $0.99 as an overdue fee – I missed the deadline by hours - I decided they have completely lost touch with the customer; even the local library cuts you slack on fees. Somewhere along the line I missed the part about no more Rewards Card for you; they used to give me 7 days past due, free. I think it’s only a matter of time, and they’ll be history (closing two stores near me is another good indicator). BTW – Redbox, if you happen to be listening, I know a couple of good locations for you – maybe that’s why it looks like Redbox will be filing for an IPO in the near future.

On to Bear Rock Cafe. Readers and subscribers of this blog may recall that Bear Rock Cafe has been featured as the “Entrepreneur’s Conference Room” in the on-going series, “Small Group Wisdom”. Well, it was that time again for the group to go to the conference room. The only problem was, the conference room lost sight of the objective. We thought they opened at 7 a.m.; we discovered it was 7:30 a.m. – you would think the hours of operation would be on the Web site; not. This seems rather late to me for a coffee and muffin experience. Oh, well; let’s wait outside for 30 minutes. Upon entering, no coffee was brewing; in most restaurants, you bring staff in early to be ready for opening. The server told us it would be ready in 5 minutes. Ten minutes later, after calling out for someone – they were in the back someplace – we discovered it still was not ready, and the plastic wrap remained as a tent over the pastries. Sorry, I couldn’t take it anymore, and we headed off to another conference room; there’s a Bruegger’s not far from here.

I am beginning to think that we have reached a point in customer service where those who do it well surprise us. In reading Greg Hopper’s recent experiences reflected in his blog - Time Warner Cable vs. that of Apple - I share his sentiment about Apple. I had a delightful telephone order experience with the Apple Store. Unlike those who answer with, “If you would only go online, you could …”, the Apple customer service rep was more than happy to answer questions and place my order. Why the phone? Well, it’s easier for me to multitask; I am accustomed to being ‘on-hold’, so I plan to type on my computer in the background. With Apple, it backfired; they got my full and undivided attention – good sign of excellent customer service.

How about the Bruegger’s folks? As we bounded through the door, looking left and right for a line, we headed straight for the cashier. Efficient service eliminates wait; there was no line. She was more than happy to take our order, and we were able to get right to work. Looks like we have moved to new digs when it comes to calling for a meeting.

So, I am left wondering, “Why doesn’t a company, or their employees, understand the importance of good customer service?” It seems so obvious to me. From the company perspective, there’s plenty of competition to keep all of us on our toes. From the employees’ perspective, it only seems natural that they would want to treat customers, as they would like to be treated by others.

p.s. I would encourage you to read Greg’s Time Warner Cable experience; it’s priceless. Not just from the perspective of we’ve all been there at some point, but look at the company response; think of all the companies that have multiple lines of business. Is this any reason for poor service?