To Sell More, Focus on Existing Customers

Harvard Business Review 10:00 AM July 5, 2012 by Rick Reynolds | Strengthening your relationship with your existing customer base is one of the best ways to increase sales. Your company's account management and operating teams play critical roles in making this happen. If they're not performing at their peak, the door opens for competitors to step in. Seeking new sales without strong account management and operating teams is like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it. Identifying and fixing the holes — the gaps in customer satisfaction — can help your company retain existing accounts and increase new sales. Research from the AskForensics Knowledgebase reveals that there are four gaps business-to-business companies need to address to achieve best-in-class performance. These gaps were identified through in-depth, qualitative sales and account forensics interviews with prospect decision makers in accounts generating at least $15 million in contract revenue for Fortune 1000 companies: Improve Training for Frontline Staff Employees who have daily interaction with customers often leave more of an impression than your sales team. As a result, your frontline teams are vital to expanding and retaining existing customers. These teams need to be trained in client protocol and procedures, your company's internal processes, and how to effectively interact with on-site client stakeholders. Provide Timely Responses Being responsive to your customers' concerns is a clear indicator of your company's desire to meet and exceed expectations. If there are deficiencies in how effectively and quickly you respond, your customers will question your commitment. This is true at all levels of your company, not just for the teams in direct contact with customers. Being responsive, though, is only part of the equation. The other is to communicate what has been done to address the customer's need or problem. Offer More Proactive Ideas As a service or product supplier, customers look to you as the expert. They rely on you to perform important tasks they cannot do themselves. This places more emphasis on you, as the provider, to be proactive. When you are not proactive, value erodes. Understand Requirements This is account management 101, right? Well, it doesn't always happen. In every account there are needs that are not being adequately addressed. Even if they are peripheral needs, not addressing them leaves you vulnerable. When attempting to generate a sustained increase in sales, the first place to start is with existing customers. Your selling investment is lower, you have an existing relationship, and you can leverage your efforts from other services and products you already have in place with your customer. This all works to your advantage if you are delivering best-in-class support. If you are not at this level, take the steps necessary to close the gaps. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. and Michael Guld,author of The Million Dollar Media Rep: How to Become a Television and Radio Sales Superstar"..in their System 21 sales and management training solution have a Sales Service Agreement, enabling each sales professional to stay up-to-date on their client's satisfaction level. The process by TV and radio station reps, called Portfolio Managers, are averaging over 86% renewal rates among all client types.

Banking Offers Wealth Of Sales Opportunities

TVNewsCheck, June 29, 2012 11:11 AM EDT Savvy stations will target banking institutions for sales calls. Competition in the industry is fierce — there are more than 6,400 commercial banks, 1,100 savings banks and 7,200 credit unions competing to get the customers. Remember to focus on these five areas — key product, customer, partners, timing and budget. And make sure you're putting together a fully integrated program including broadcast, digital, mobile and social where appropriate. Philip Jay LeNoble,Ph.D.of Executive Decision Systems,Inc of Littleton,CO says, "Many financial institutions are local-direct accounts and offer great opportunities to help them compete with the large banking firms." By Susan Novicki The banking industry represents combined annual revenue of approximately $700 billion and this translates to a tremendous opportunity for stations to garner revenue. It was the fourth highest spending ad category in 2011. Competition is fierce — banks and financial institutions are going after everyone from individual consumers to small-, medium- and large-size businesses to obtain their business. And there are more than 6,400 commercial banks, 1,100 savings banks and 7,200 credit unions competing to get the customers. Each bank is focusing on targeting a specific customer so it is important that we understand that in developing an interactive program for them. Story continues after the ad The banking industry has been through a major transition during the last few years starting in 2008 with the mortgage crisis. But the industry has been recovering, with earnings in 2011 of $126 billion, up 47% from 2010. The problem for 2012 is that the loss reductions that have created the earnings have run their course. The main engine of bank revenue — interest income — is under pressure from low interest rates and sluggish growth dynamics. If interest rates and loan growth stay low, net interest income could conceivably fall 13% in 2012. Other limiting factors on bank earnings include difficulty in raising fees, a volatile global economy and increased overhead as banks absorb the costs of new regulatory compliance requirements, specifically with the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. With this, bank profits could fall by 7% to $117 billion for the full year. The economy is very slow to rebound so consumers have not been aggressive to get loans. As with every other industry, consumers are in the driver’s seat. Last fall when Bank of America tried to create new fees there was a huge viral social media blitz that forced the bank to backtrack on administering the fees. But with the loss of interest income, banks will have to attempt to recover lost revenue by introducing new fees; requiring higher minimum balances on customer deposit accounts; and providing incentives for customers to use credit cards. However, these attempts to grow fee revenue will contribute only marginally to noninterest revenue. Everyone is aggressively working on gaining market share in this volatile industry. The No. 1 priority is to increase their financial institution’s lending portfolio. They hope to do this by cross-selling mortgages, auto loans and credit cards to existing customers. But the lending market and the entire economy is not cooperating. As stated, there aren’t enough consumers brave enough to apply for credit right now and only a handful of these meet lenders’ new stricter requirements. With limited avenues for growth, the market will be hyper-competitive over the next 3-5 years. In this environment, it will be critical for each bank to be very clear on how it is going to compete in win in this market. Adroitly targeting specific customer segments; creating products that go beyond deposit and checking accounts; and delivering these products through highly competitive (physical and virtual) sales forces will be competitive necessities. With the digital influx, there is the opportunity to further personalize offers, market to customers and build loyalty. Eighty-four percent of financial institutions have said that they are either going to maintain or increase their marketing budgets for 2012. This represents opportunity for us. It is important to understand the industry and the factors affecting it when we work on potential prospects. We also need to do research on the bank, credit union or other financial institution we are calling. Remember that different types of companies have different initiatives. •Credit unions, for example — each institution decides who they will serve, their rates are usually lower than traditional banks, they serve their customers with products similar to banks but they are not for profit. The surplus revenue goes back to the members in the form of dividends. Ninety one percent of banks in the U.S. are small community banks and focus on local families and small businesses. •Commercial banks represent 80% of the total banking revenue. Financial literacy is a hot button for banks, yet the biggest concern is customers switching banks and the majority of people switching are moving from the large commercial banks to savings banks and credit unions. Most of the time this is because of new fees being introduced. However, shopping for banks is an opportunity for us to create promotions to drive the business. Trends to discuss with decision makers include mobile banking and social media. Digitally, there is growth in many areas, especially because of the increase in smartphone users, e-reader users and tablet users. With this, online video ad spending will reach $53.1 billion and is the fastest growing segment of online advertising. Don’t forget that both banks and credit unions want to align themselves with the community and differentiate themselves in doing this from their competitors. Do you see the opportunity yet?

Thought Leaders LLC June, 2012 1 Guest Blogger, Leadership Today’s guest post is by Carolyn Knight. Few of us are natural-born leaders. When most of us are placed in a leadership position, we have to spend some time learning how to effectively lead, mobilize, and inspire people. In order to become better at any job, you have to learn new things and be open to growth and change. This is especially true when you’re given some sort of leadership role. If you’re new to a leadership role and trying to figure out how to become a better leader (or if you just need to brush up on your leadership skills a bit), keep reading. Here are 5 things you can do to become a better, smarter, more effective leader: 1. Learn to influence, rather than force When you force employees or other people you’re leading to do things, they often resent you for it. They feel powerless under your leadership, and they become bitter. Once they become bitter, they do whatever it is that you’re forcing them do to halfheartedly, and they keep their eyes open for other opportunities that will allow them to break free from your dictator-style leadership. As a leader, you should strive to influence those in your charge to work better and try out different ways of doing things. You do this with open, honest conversation and by explaining why you think certain things should be done certain ways. 2. Be transparent Nobody likes a corrupt leader. Being transparent with employees is the one of the best ways to earn their trust and respect. So, if the business isn’t doing so well, and you made a mistake, be honest about it. Mobilize your team to help you fix your mistake, and make it known that mistakes happen, are OK, and are opportunities to learn. Being transparent means that you need to make honest, ethical choices. If you’re not up to doing that, you may want to reconsider your role as a leader. Corrupt leaders are usually caught, and they can destroy the fiber of a team. 3. Really listen As a leader, you’ll need good listening skills. People will come to you with their concerns, and you should make an effort to truly hear them out and try to help them develop some sort of plan to deal with whatever’s going on. People can tell when someone isn’t listening, and it’s insulting. When a leader doesn’t listen, his or her employees feel as though they don’t have a leader at all. If you don’t develop your listening skills, it’s likely that no one will come to you when something really important is going on. 4. Provide encouragement You’re probably pretty busy. You likely feel as though you don’t have much time to provide anything but constructive criticism, and taking time out of your day to provide encouragement may seem like an inefficient use of time and of your mental resources. Providing encouragement, however, isn’t inefficient. It’s actually quite an efficient way to motivate the people you’re leading. 5. Don’t spread yourself too thin Taking on too much will simply tire and stress you out. A stressed out leader isn’t usually a good leader. In fact, stress can negatively impact your cognitive abilities, your mood, and your energy levels. As a leader, you want to be able to be your best you. You want to be a role model. You can’t do that if you’re stressed out to the point that it’s affecting your mental and physical health. Teach yourself how to have a decent work/life balance, so you can reach your full potential as a leader. Being a leader comes with a great deal of responsibility. One of your responsibilities as a leader will be to better yourself. So, consider the tips above, and don’t be too hard on yourself when you do make a few mistakes.

4 Tips For Businesses On Dealing With Summer's Teenage Crowd

Forbes Deborah Sweeney, Contributor and West Coast CEO who knows small business and entrepreneurs. 6/20/2012 @ 7:05PM Summer vacation – what used to define our childhood has morphed into an almost nightmarish season for many small business owners. Teenage customers, flush with cash from flipping burgers and mowing lawns, descend en masse onto businesses who may or may not be ready for the extra business coming their way. Catering to the needs of a teenage customer takes on a slightly different approach than working with other demographics because teens may not respond to the same customer service techniques that work on older patrons. I don’t typically deal with a lot of teenage customers in my line of work, but I have noticed that younger, millennial customers like solving as much of a problem as they can themselves, whereas my older customers want as much help as we can give them. It may seem like a small distinction, but good customer service is crucial for the survival of a business, no matter how old their customers are. And while my own experience in working with teenagers will remain limited (for now, until my two sons get a little bit older) I reached out for some sage wisdom from four business owners on why companies think that the kids are alright for business. 1) Treat Teens As Equals If they’re flocking over to your business, this means that most of them have some sort of job. They also have a level of financial independence that leads them to really educate themselves before buying high priced items, says Tyler Sickmeyer, owner of 5Stone Marketing. Intangibles like customer service and respect play a critical role in a teen’s buying decisions. Anyone who takes the old-school ‘stay off my lawn!’ approach is missing the boat – businesses should be focused on bringing in every dollar possible. 2) Remain Empathetic In agreement is Lauren Warner of Portillo’s Restaurant Group who says that restaurants are some of the biggest benefactors of teenage patrons. Leaving your ego at the door when you see a group of teens approaching allows you to be of the utmost service to the customer. Don’t dread their arrival or worse, assume that they won’t be able to pay for the entire bill. Lauren says to remain empathetic throughout your entire shift in order to provide the best possible quality customer service. 3) R-E-S-P-E-C-T Mimi West, CEO of My Dream Teacher, admits that she used to be intimidated when approached by a teen customer, telling me that ‘…this stemmed from my own beliefs that teenagers were the most judgmental, the least patient, and the most demanding of all customers.’ However, running her own company has brought her in close contact with teenage customers. She’s found that the best customer service tool is respect, and when you drop your defenses and talk with them like any other adult, their own tendencies to give harsh judgments cease to exist. Treat them like adults and they’ll act like adults. 4) Keep Cool Finally, Andrew Schrage of MoneyCrashers told me a story about a friend of his who had a teenaged customer with vision problems. His outward appearance backed this up, and he was a repeat customer to this business. One day, Andrew’s friend noticed this customer by a small electronics case trying to see if it was locked. The staff was notoriously bad at locking this case, and it turned out the visually impaired customer was stealing electronics. When confronted, he gave a lame excuse about not realizing he was reaching into the case. Andrew’s friend put a stop to it right then and there, and since then this would-be thief has been a model customer. You may wind up getting a bad apple or two – you’ll even get the occasional teenager who is just pushing their luck and seeing what they can get away with. Don’t blow up at them. Remain calm, and treat them like you would any adult. That last tidbit of wisdom seemed to be the common thread in all of these stories. Business owners need to remember to try and treat teenage customers with the same respect they’d afford anyone else. Yes, teenagers do have their own quirks, and may even be quick to judge you for some perceived ‘age-ism,’ but that defense melts away if you show them a proper level of respect. Treat them well and they’ll keep coming back with a pocket full of expendable income and a desire to support the business that treated them well.

GM downshifts Ad Dollars to Flow to Smaller Cable Networks

New York Post By CLAIRE ATKINSON Last Updated: 12:36 AM, June 25, 2012 Before you read below..your author of LeNoble's Media Sales Insights says, "Now is the time to renew your pledge to garner long-term, local direct revenue." Goodbye Super Bowl, hello Hallmark Channel. General Motors agreed to spend money in the TV upfront negotiations but has come away with deals that moved its advertising out of top-tier networks and shows and into less expensive units, The Post has learned. GM, which still counts the government as a shareholder, is trying to get more bang for its advertising buck and was pressing for a 20 percent cut in CPMs — cost per thousand eyeballs. The carmaker has an annual advertising budget of $1.8 billion. Of that, Kantar Media reports, GM spent $1.1 billion on TV in 2011, a 7.6 percent year-over-year decline. Joel Ewanick, GM’s global marketing chief, has been a loud critic of both spiraling ad costs and of ads that don’t work — an approach that could risk the firm’s position as the sector’s No. 1 media buyer. Carmakers spent $13.9 billion on TV ads in 2011, up 6.3 percent from 2010. Ewanick ruffled feathers when he pulled the entire display advertising budget from Facebook just ahead of the company’s public offering. (AdAge later reported that GM had wanted to take over pages, a move Facebook wouldn’t allow.) Just days after the Facebook news, Ewanick said it would exit CBS’ Super Bowl, citing its exorbitant cost. Ads are selling for $3.8 million per 30-second spot. It’s hard to say whether it got TV executives to budge much on price. “In order to help them save face, there were offers of multiyear deals and dialing up the tonnage and dialing down the quality,” said one executive familiar with GM’s buys. To rev up its ad power, GM added dollars with less expensive networks, including Discovery’s Investigation Discovery and Crown Media’s Hallmark Channel, sources said. GM has said it isn’t spending less money overall. “Universally, the market looked at what GM did as a botched approach without a coherent fallback plan,” said one Madison Avenue source. “The remedies were that people downgraded their mix of inventory and said no to the 20 percent rollback.” In one example, GM, traditionally an advertiser on the Golden Globes, agreed to a new sponsorship of the much smaller BET awards for its Chevrolet brand, according to reports. A spokesman for GM told The Post, “We have remained consistent in our position that we will not talk publicly about our negotiations with the networks.” Reps at Discovery and Hallmark declined to comment. Meanwhile, most of the big cable ad sales groups are close to concluding their deals. Early forecasts have the cable upfront take coming at around $9.8 billion, up from $9.3 billion last year. Average CPMs were up in the 5 percent to 6 percent range.

Highlights from 2012 CFO Outlook Spring Update

Bank of America Merrill Lynch June 26, 2012 About the CFO Outlook Webcast series Driven by the insights and opinions of financial executives, the CFO Outlook series offers a regular gauge of the health of the U.S. and world economies, and discussion of topics that drive successful business operations. CFOs warm on growth. Senior financial executives have a considerably warmer view on corporate performance and the U.S. economy than they did just a few months ago—with 93% of CFOs now forecasting growth in 2012. Rising revenue, employment and prices. 64% of CFOs expect their revenues to rise, half project greater profits and 51% anticipate more hiring in 2012. 57% of companies will be raising prices on their products and services. Oil prices and government fuel concern. In terms of economic impact, CFOs are most concerned about oil prices (65%) and the effectiveness of government leaders (63%). Energy costs (51%) and healthcare costs (51%) are the leading corporate financial concerns. Key CFO Perspectives Is sustainable growth ahead? Whether renewed CFO optimism signals a temporary spring thaw or a blossoming upward trend depends on several factors, from rising oil prices and looming legislative rulings to the fall elections. For more details and analysis, view the online report.

How to be a Functioning Workaholic

CBS Money Watch June 25, 2012 8:01 AM PrintText By Steve Tobak (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY A few recent articles use Google vice president Marissa Mayer as a model for how swamped executives should handle the extraordinary demands of their jobs without burning out. What a spectacularly bad idea. Mayer says she typically works 90-hour weeks packed with 60 meetings. In Google's early years, she says she worked 130-hour weeks by being "strategic about when you shower and sleeping under your desk." Why doesn't she succumb to burnout, working nearly all the time, year in and year out? "I don't really believe in burnout. A lot of people work really hard for decades and decades, like Winston Churchill and Einstein," she says. And she schedules a week off every six months or so. Let me say this about that. I did the math. The woman works all the time. She loves what she does. She has $300 million or so in the bank. She's happy. Good for her. I'm happy she's happy. But it's a rare case that nobody, and I mean nobody, should use as a model for how to work, how to live, or how to avoid burnout. Period. Now for something that may make a little more sense to mere mortals like you and me. Work-life balance: A common sense approach How to create a culture of innovation An open letter to Google CEO Larry Page There's so much written about work-life balance and time management these days, it's easy to get lost. And I, for one, am no expert on either. What I can say with absolute confidence, however, is that, over a 30-year career, there were times when I worked my tail off, times when I had loads of fun, and times when I was lucky enough to combine the two. Looking back on it, I have few regrets and none that I can't live with. Sure, I made some sacrifices, but who doesn't? That is perhaps the only thing Mayer and I agree on. You can't have it all so you have to figure out what's really important to you. Amen to that. Here are a few more not-so-obvious insights into how to be a functioning workaholic, whether you chose that lifestyle or it was thrust upon you. What's a workaholic? Somebody who puts work first, works more than he should, gets in trouble with his wife about it, maybe misses the birth of a child or two, obsesses about work, is "on" 24x7, has trouble not working when she doesn't have to, that sort of thing. Anyway, it's always good to know what you're dealing with. Don't be over-the-top proud of it. If you chose the lifestyle, you should definitely be comfortable with that. But don't go running around shouting about it to everyone who'll listen or wear it like some sort of badge of honor. That's just annoying. You should never apologize for the life you choose, but there's nothing especially noble about being a workaholic, either. And don't complain. That's even more annoying. Work your tail off when you have to; not when you don't. That's how I did it and it worked great. When duty called, I was there as needed. A quick trip for a meeting in Japan, a week or two on the road, long days and nights, that's why executives make the big bucks. But when things simmered down, so did I. I chilled plenty. No guilt, either. That way, it all evens out. Magically, no burnout. Have fun doing it. Yes, I know that's easy to say, but if you're not passionate about what you're doing, if it isn't fun on at least some level, you'll never be able to handle the workaholic grind. You'll make yourself and everyone around you miserable. You'll ruin your health and your life. Don't bother. You have to find something that turns you on in some material way to be able to work hard at it. Know the signs of burnout. Okay, so the truth is that there were situations when I wasn't happy. It had more to do with the company, the culture or my boss than the work itself. Those, in my opinion, are more common causes of burnout than just working long hours. Anyway, burnout is when you're miserable all the time and there's no end in sight. Watch out for the signs. Don't be a dope and sacrifice your health for work or anything else, for that matter. If you can work consistent 90-hour weeks for years and pull off looking and coming across as well as Mayer does, be my guest. Knock yourself out. However, in 30 plus years working in and around the high-tech industry, I've rarely seen it. But then, just about everyone I know is actually human.