Category Archives for "Business Management"

To Find Your Place in the Market, Innovate

By John Aberle | Business Management , Sales and Marketing

Yesterday, when I was looking for a way to explain to my client what I meant about solving a need that customers have, my wife’s frustration with passenger seatbelts dawned on me. Why is it that the driver’s seatbelt gives freedom of movement whereas the passenger seatbelts are restrictive, confining, and uncomfortable? It’s no wonder we need laws to make people wear them. This is an example of finding a need to something that isn’t working well.

Alex Mandossian in one of his podcasts made the point well that the money is made by innovators, not the inventors. Innovators take an existing concept and tweak it so that the public will want it more than the original. I think a good example of this is Starbucks. They certainly did not invent the idea of coffee shops.

Faith Popcorn in her book Clicking describes it as “Clicking Through Small Indulgences.” Actually, I think Starbucks tapped into “Clicking Through Fantasy Adventure” as well. They definitely tapped into the desire for community. They created coffee shops that specialized in fancy Italian coffee drinks and cleverly expanded the concept of “small indulgences.” They’ve done a lot more things right that I intend to cover another time because they are off the point here.

The main point is that the people who survive and even thrive in down times are those who manage to innovate. Find out what your customers want and need – what works well with what they are doing now? What isn’t working? What would it take to make it work? Why? Be sure before you invest heavily in manufacturing that 1) the need is large enough to support ramping up production and 2) that the market is willing to pay enough for it to be profitable.

Once you have done all of this, remember the world does not beat a path to your door for inventing a better mousetrap. You still have to do a great job of marketing – read that to say of describing and showing the benefits they have been looking for. And finally, you need someone to sell it, to “Help Customers Buy.”

In closing, please let me know
• What are your favorite innovations?
• What are you interested in reading or hearing more about related to sales and marketing?
• Do you agree with my point here?

Sales and the Super Bowl: What It Takes to Win

By John Aberle | Business Management , Sales Management

I just listened to a great interview by Melanie Benson Strick. She was congratulating James Malinchak on winning the Marketer of the Year Award from the Glazer Kennedy Inner Circle Group. He made a wonderful point about needing to delegate tasks others can do cheaper than you so you can do the most productive activities.

What I particularly appreciated, though, was the story James shared about Michael Jordan telling him and seven others about how he finally realized that he needed a team to win championships. Being a great player and a great scorer wasn’t enough.

I often ask clients, “What does a team need to win the Super Bowl?” The answer is far more involved than most people think. When I ask the group to tell me what they need, obviously a team that wins the Super Bowl must have a great quarterback. However, he alone can’t win the game. He needs an incredible offense. Again, though, the best offense isn’t enough if the defense doesn’t keep their opponents from outscoring them.

So far so good. I will always get those responses. If I ask them for what else the team needs, they will mention the coach. However, I usually have to push to get them to mention the trainers. And if you’re playing in Houston in September in 95 degrees with 95% humidity, most will agree that you need the water boy. MORE ….

Thrive in a Down Economy: Take Advantage of Competitor's False Economies

By John Aberle | Business Management , Financial Management , Sales Management

A down economy causes fear in most business people. While
response is essential to survival, it is actually possible
to take advantage of others’ mistakes, such as cost cutting
that harms their businesses, i.e. false economies.

Years ago I read a story about a seafood restaurant that had
an incredible reputation for their clam chowder. When new owners
bought the restaurant, they decided to cut expenses to increase
their profits. They began watering down the soup. Over a period
of several months, the restaurant’s clientele began dropping away.
Loyal customers gave the owners the benefit of the doubt the first
time they found that their chowder was not up to the quality they
expected. However, most of them stop coming after the second time
they experienced the cheapened chowder. Pretty soon, the owners lost
enough customers to threaten the survival of the business.

The point here is to do everything in your power to maintain the
quality of products and services at the same level or better than
your customers expect from you. Otherwise, you could very well be
the one driving the nail in the coffin of your business.

I tell my clients that cutting corners on your product or service
in an effort to save money is “false economy.” In my first two years
on the road as a consultant, I wrote savings recommendations worth
$2,300,000. I believe in cutting waste and reducing unnecessary
expenses. However, cutting corners is foolish. Customers vote every
day with their money. MORE ….

What questions or comments do you have about selling for fun,
profit, and mutual rewards?