Drilling for Diamonds

Chess expert Bruce Pandollfini makes the point in his book, Every move must have a puspose, Strategies from Chess and Life, (Hyperion 2003) “nothing should be played without first considering what the opponent has just done.”

In an ideal play, in marketing as in chess your moves should always do at least two things in convert: foil out opponents aims while fostering ours. “We cant do either properly  if we do only one, and both can be accomplished by first assessing what the other player has done.”

Yet, social scientists who observe chess players eyes note beginners usually restrict their eye scans to just their side of the board. by contrast, experienced players inspect both sides.

I have found the same in marketing, negotiation and sales. Beginners ignore theire competitors. yet seasoned professionals first look at their opponents moves then plan theirs.

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“Life is too short;

for cheap customers,

cheap wine,

and cheap sunscreen.”

All three leave you burnt.

-Harry Mills

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In his insightful new book, Managing Customers for Profit, (Wharton, 2008) author V. Kumar argues the first step in implementing a successful marketing strategy is to select the right customers.

Why?

Two reasons.

Reason One. You have a limited marketing budget - you have to select which customers or prospects to spend your limited monies on.

Reason Two. Not all customers are equally profitable - there are customers that count and there are customers that cost. The mass of the profit comes from a small group of customers. It’s not uncommon for 10% of customers to generate 80% of profits. This means you must target these customers with high profitability.

This is of course the essence of our marketing programme Drilling for Diamonds which shows you how to grow a customer base chock full of crown-jewels.

And, the best way to measure potential customer profitability is to use customer lifetime value as your key metric.

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“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit a third time - a tremendous whack.”

- Winston Churchill

In her book, POP!, Stand Out in Any Crowd, author Sam Horn tells us that one of the most dramatic examples of a crafted soundbite was one used by the late Johnny Cochran, one of the defense lawyers for O.J. Simpson.

Can you remember the trial?

It went on for months. The jury heard testimony from dozens of experts and witnesses. But the dramatic moment came when O.J. Simpson was asked to try on a glove arguably worn by Nicole Simpson’s murderer.

Many people believe O.J. Simpson exaggerated the difficulty of putting on the glove, but Johnny Cochran amplified the doubt over O.J. Simpson’s guilt with this pile driving soundbite.

“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

Many legal analysts believe that this - Cochran’s summation encapsulated by this one soundbite - won the case. The phrase was doubly impactful because it recalled a visual demonstration.

The best PowerPoint presenters conclude with a pithy statement that recalls an earlier slide that had high visual impact.

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Marketing pioneers have to be prepared to put aside their customers immediate concerns or needs.

Henry Ford who sold over 1 million Model T Fords, and invented motoring for the masses was once asked what inspired him to create the Model T car.

Ford’s answer, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a better horse.”

If Steve Jobs of Apple fame had asked us what we wanted, would we have said, a hand held device that stores all of our music?

If Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon had asked what we wanted in 1990, would we have said a huge virtual bookstore? No, of course not.

Real innvators have to think outside the square and anticipate customer needs.

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Lots of firms now measure their customer’s willingness to make referrals.

Loyalty Guru Frederick Reichheld argues the one number you need to grow is the number of customers who answer Yes! to this question:

“Would you recommend us to a colleague or friend?”

Marketers however also need to know other key information about referrals.

1. If a customer intends to refer you to a friend or colleague do they actually follow up and recommend you to a prospect?

2. Do these referred prospects actually become customers?

3. Even if the prospect becomes a customer, are they profitable?

These three questions allow you to measure the value of a referral.

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To check whether your actions are being affected by your negative thinking, you need to monitor your self-talk.

Start by using the Daily Thought Monitor that follows to keep track of your reactions and self-talk.  At the end of each day, first complete section C, then section A, and then section B.  Then finally complete section D.

Think of this as a four step process.

Step 1: In section C of the form describe how you felt when you experienced your unpleasant emotion today.  It’s often helpful if you start by saying to yourself, I felt… and then use a word such as “angry”, “depressed”, “hopeless”, “frustrated” or “anxious” to complete the sentence.

Also rate how upset you were on the scale: 0 (mildly upset) to 5 (extremely upset).

Step 2: In section A on the form, describe the activating event or problem that triggered your emotional reaction.

Step 3: List all the thoughts you said to yourself when A occurred.  An example of a Daily Thought Monitor with sections A, B and C completed is set out on the following pages.

Step 4: Your final step is to dispute your thoughts by completing section D of the form.  After you’ve completed your disputing, evaluate how much better you feel at the bottom of the form.  An example, following on from the previous example is set out below.

Keep filling out your daily mood monitor for as long as you feel you are being plagued by negative self-talk..  If you want to permanently change your thinking style, use the Daily Thought Monitor for ten to 15 minutes, five days a week for at least a month.  These Daily Thought workouts will increase your mental toughness in the same way a daily jog increases your physical stamina.

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Disputing

The most powerful technique to turn a negative belief around is disputing.  When you dispute a negative belief, you argue with yourself by asking three basic questions.

1. What is the evidence for this belief?

When you jump to a conclusion based on a negative belief, you tend to jump over evidence that, had you considered it, might have led you to a different conclusion.

2. Is the belief sensible?

Negative beliefs are often based on distorted logic.

3. Is this thinking useful?

Sometimes beliefs are destructive and serve no useful purpose.

A B C D E

To practise disputing, extend the ABC model (Activating Event, Belief, Consequences) by adding D and E.  D stands for dispute, E stands for effect.

Activating Event: This is the negative event that triggers the emotion.

Belief: We react to activating events by thinking about them.  These thoughts turn into beliefs.

Consequences: Our beliefs have consequences.  These are what we do next.

Disputation: To turn a negative belief around, dispute it.

To dispute a negative belief ask:

• What is the evidence for this belief?
• Is the belief sensible?
• Is this thinking useful?

Effect:The effect of disputing is the renewed confidence and energy that flows from getting rid of destructive negative thoughts.

Practice Disputing

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To become more confident and persistent we have to learn to think differently.  Picture yourself in a crowded elevator.  Someone, behind you keeps standing on the back of your shoes.  You think to yourself - “Who is this obnoxious jerk?  What a nerve!  How inconsiderate can you be!”  As these thoughts race through your mind, you get angrier and angrier by the second.

You swing around to give the person a piece of your mind when you see that it’s a blind person, complete with sunglasses and white cane.

Instantly your anger subsides, and your feelings change to sympathy or concern.  You even offer to move forward to give the blind person more room.

This example illustrates the fact that our immediate thoughts determine our feelings and what we are feeling shapes the way we behave.  If you think or believe that someone has deliberately stood on the back of your shoe and hurt you, you behave differently toward that person than if you think it was an accident.

It’s the same in selling. If you think a situation is hopeless, you behave differently from the way you would do if you think there is still an option for you to try.

The ABCs of Behavior

Psychologist Albert Ellis pioneered much of the work that shows how you think determines how you feel and subsequently behave.  Ellis uses a simple ABC model to show how we think determines how we feel and behave.

The A stands for activating event. This is the event that triggers the emotion.

The B stands for belief. When we strike activating events we react by thinking about them.  These thoughts rapidly turn into beliefs.  These beliefs may become so habitual that we don’t even appreciate we have them unless we stop to examine them.

The C stands for consequences. Our beliefs have consequences.  These are what we do next.

Here is a sales example using the ABC model:

Activating Event: I made thirty calls and got no
appointments.

Belief: This is a waste of time.  I’m not cut out for selling.

Consequences:I feel frustrated, dejected, and depressed. I’m giving up,

A critical point to remember is that the same negative event can trigger different reactions in different people. Here are three examples of how three different salespeople handles the same activating event:

Example one:

Activating Event: Ive just lost my best client.

Belief: I’m hopeless

Consequences: I feel depressed. I’ll take a couple of days off.

Example two:

Activating Event: Ive just lost my best client.

Belief: The competitors have offered a better deal. I might have taken them for granted.

Consequences: I’ll have to improve my service to my other key accounts and I’ll start tomorrow by calling on all my purchasing managers to see how I can provide better service.

Example three:

Activating Event: Ive just lost my best client.

Belief: I’m on a downward spiral.

Consequences: I feel angry and dejected. I’m off to get drunk.

As you can see, it’s your beleifs or thoughts that determine your approach to selling. Different beleifs produce different consequences. It’s our beliefs or thoughts that determine out levels of confidence and persistance.

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How to overcome failure, rejection and negativity.

Overview:

• Our levels of confidence and persistence and determined by our beliefs.
• To become more confident and persistent we have to think differently.
• Negative beliefs can be identified, challenged and extinguished.

Can you reprogramme yourself to become optimistic - to become more confident and persistent? Can you learn to overcome the negative thinking habits that cause you to despair and give up? Yes, you can. Confidence and persistence are learned skills - ones that can be permanently acquired.

Before you read further, you might like to quickly assess your own levels of confidence and persistence by completing the two questionnaires, How confident are you? and How persistent are you?

How confident are you?

This questionnaire will indicate your level on confidence. For each of the statements listed below, indicate to what extent each one describes you with a number from 1 - 4. Be honest with yourself.

4= Strongly agree

3= Agree

2=Disagree

1=Strongly Disagree

1. I am a very able salesperson.
2. I welcome new sales challenges as a chance to prove myself.
3. I bounce back immediately after a knock back.
4. I make my own success; it has little to do with luck.
5. In tough times i can still perform.
6. I never let criticism get me down.
7. I like who I am.
8. I usually feel calm and in control under pressure.
9. I always believe i can persuade a waivering customer to buy.
10. I rarely, if ever, blame myself when i get rejected.

Now total your scores and interpret as follows:

• If you scored more than 35 you are extremely confident. Your levels of confidence will help you cope with even the toughest of sales challenges.
• If you scored 25 to 35 you are reasonably confident. However, you need to guard against the spells of doubt when you question your ability to stay on top of your job.
• If you scored below 25 you often lack confidence. Handling failure, rejection and negativity is a continual challenge.

How persistent are you?

This questionnaire will indicate your level on persistence. For each of the statements listed below, indicate to what extent each one describes you with a number from 1 - 4. Be honest with yourself.

4= Strongly agree

3= Agree

2=Disagree

1=Strongly Disagree

1. Even when customers are rude and aggressive i follow through with my best level of service.
2. Regardless of how many calls or setbacks it takes, I rarely give up on a live prospect.
3. At work i rarely have trouble getting started on the boring tasks associated with my job.
4. I always go into sales presentations well prepared.
5. I rarely defer completing sales tasks i dislike.
6. Selling is tough, but never too tough for me to handle.
7. If necessary, I’m always prepared to work the extra hours i need to complete a sale.
8. I rarely have trouble completing my cold calls.
9. I rarely allow interruptions to distract me from my important sales tasks.
10. I rarely get behind on my paperwork.

Now total your scores and interpret as follows:

• If you scored more than 35 you are extremely persistent. Your levels of persistence will motivate you to keep going in situations wheres most of your competitors give up.
• If you scored 25 to 35 you are reasonably persistent. However, you are vulnerable to more determined competitors.
• If you scored below 25 persistence is a major problem. competitors will take much of the business you probably feel your deserve.

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