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Hello and welcome to this edition of the Marketing Edge – we also extend a very warm welcome to all our new subscribers! We are delighted that so many of you are putting confidence in us to provide you with quality news and articles that you gain real benefit from.
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There are only 10 spaces available in our Platinum Group and membership is by invitation only. Please bookmark this page on our blog which will be frequently updated with more information as it becomes available, as well as how the application process works.
Listen and Learn:
A Lesson for Marketers
I love my dad: it’s necessary to make that clear before I tell you this story. My dad is always wondering when I’m going to give up this lark and get a real job. That’s not the worst of it – the worst is that he’s not at all sure what ‘this lark’ is! Yes, I’ve told him – and told him, and told him … Those who are avid readers of The Marketing Edge will know that we here at Zee2A help our clients to craft a Verbal Signature – a brief statement which encapsulates who you work with, what problem you address and what the outcome is of addressing their problem. My dad has heard my Verbal Signature on many occasions – so why doesn’t he know what I do?
The answer (I’m sure you’ve already guessed) is that hearing doesn’t mean the same thing as listening. Perhaps you’re wondering what on earth this has to do with marketing, so let me rephrase that: Speaking, telling, talking – none of them mean the same thing as listening! And yet we as marketers are always focused on telling, not so? We just assume that the person we are talking to has listened.
I’d like you to participate in a short experiment in case you’re not convinced. Quickly write down the names of five people who are close to you but not people you do business with – family, friends, community members. Done? Right, now call them one by one and ask a simple question: ‘What do I do?’ If you got five accurate, congruent answers I’d like to hear from you – you’d be a world-first! You’ve told them (almost certainly) but how many listened?
I recently participated in a very interesting experiment under the direction of Maureen Scott of Mascott Training. Maureen wanted to graphically illustrate to a roomful of hard-nosed business people the challenges we face in accurate communication. She did so by splitting us into pairs and assigning one of the pair as the talker, the other as the listener. To the talker she gave an envelope containing a simple sketch, to the listener a pen and a blank piece of paper. Then, sitting back-to-back, the pair had to reproduce the sketch on the blank piece of paper. Get the idea? The talker cannot see what the listener is drawing, while the listener cannot see what the talker is seeing.
I was the listener in my pair but it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine the challenge faced by the talker: how do you even begin to describe what you are seeing? (You may be interested in seeing what I drew, which you can do by clicking here.) Do you describe the scene? Do you describe each line in detail and let the overall picture form as the process continues? What about colour? Positioning of the drawing on the page? Page orientation? (Our pair made the mistake of assuming that we were both holding the paper in the correct orientation, so the picture you see was inaccurate in that it should have been in portrait orientation.)
It is a deceptively simple experiment with so much meaning to be derived from it. Different people listen and visualise in different ways, so understanding whether the person you are talking to is a visual listener, an auditory listener or a kinesthetic (touchy-feely) listener is immensely useful in guiding how you present a proposition to them. Equally, as a talker you need to be a good listener too, because you should be sure to check regularly whether the person you are talking to is developing the correct image of what you are presenting. Maureen illustrated this concept by suggesting that the goal of communication is to create a shared vision, so we should imagine two ‘thought-bubbles’ emanating from the respective heads of the talker and the listener. If those two thought-bubbles are overlaid on one another, are they identical? If not, there is more (and perhaps also better) communicating to be done!
What can marketers take out of this? Here are three keys to effective communication:
- Never assume: Remember the mental exercise of overlaying your ‘thought-bubble’ with that of your prospect. Are they identical? Or does your communication need enhancement? If you don’t know what is in your prospect’s thought-bubble then you need to listen more!
- Be adaptable: Different people need the same information to be communicated in different ways. Are you talking to someone who seems to get frustrated when you try to talk detail? Chances are they are visualisers – start using verbal ‘broad brush’ strokes to paint an overall picture. (This type of person is vehemently opposed to presentations that rely on scores of Powerpoint slides – you have been warned!) Are you talking to a detail person (career engineers are a good example)? They are auditory listeners – break your proposition down to its key components and allow the prospect to build the picture as you supply the components. Touchy-feely listeners really struggle with a service proposition because they can’t run their hands over it! Make sure that you provide lots of references (the closest thing we in the service profession have to a tangible offering) and offer to set up calls with or visits to satisfied clients. Some kind of demonstration of how your service works is also powerful if you are selling to a kinesthetist.
- Listen more than you talk – Always! Yes, you are trying to communicate something to someone else, but never think that you don’t need to listen. Only by listening carefully and diligently can you understand how your message is coming across to the prospect. A ratio of ‘2x listen : 1x talk’ could be called the Divine Ratio – because we were given two ears and one mouth!
In conclusion we could perhaps say that rather than listening and learning, the goal of our decision to be good listeners as marketers is because listening leads to more profitable clients. Now that’s music to my ears …
Are you a Professional Services Executive struggling to close deals at the right price? Do you have to 'give away the farm' in discounts to clinch the deal? Would you like price to be a non-issue in your sales cycle? It is possible! We at Zee2A have not had to negotiate on price to close a deal in more than three years! Our methods work, and we know that because we use them on every deal. Find out more about our Marketing Edge Mentoring Programme here.
(If you're unfamiliar with the concept behind Front2Back 2Front please go here to read the explanation in our launch issue.)
AnnaLisa Michalski from Norfolk, Virginia shares this story:
"I was unable to find my question addressed in the FAQs on the Web site. Past experience has taught me that sending a service request by e-mail would only net me further frustration, so I called the service hotline instead. I was routed through a long menu of options, none of which seemed to fit my question. Then I was put on hold. No exaggeration, my phone timed it--I remained on hold for seven minutes.
The rep who finally picked up told me I could not proceed any further without a credit card number. My name, PIN, account number, password, etc.--things that work from the Web site (assuming the Web site is functioning, which is another frequent problem) would not do--it had to be the credit card. I ran off and dug up my credit card...OK. I asked my question. The rep told me that wasn't his department. He transferred me, at which point I went back on hold for another five minutes.
The second rep took me through the credit card routine again, and I asked my question. The rep wanted to know why I called her because the other department should have answered. I told her the other department had transferred me, so what do I do? She put me on hold again (3 minutes) and came back with an answer this time...but unfortunately the answer was: ‘we don't offer that service.’
Before ending the call, the rep tried to pitch me an account upgrade. It's easy, she said...I already have your credit card number and only need your authorization!"
Now that's nerve. And it's NOT customer service.
 Have you had an experience similar to AnnaLisa’s? You’ve been on the verge of ‘spitting fire’ when the service provider adds insult to injury.
Click here to send us your thoughts, using 'SoapBox' as the subject. Alternately you can email us at info@zee2a.com. If we like yours it will appear in an upcoming issue of The Marketing Edge.
In our last issue we asked you to share your experience of service providers happier to provide excuses rather than solutions. We received such a large number of responses that we have put the best ones up on our blog.
Thank you to all of you who sent in really superb contributions.
A selection of networking events that we’ll be attending in the next few weeks:
- Monday 10th March – NHCCI Business Breakfast, Holiday Inn, Farnborough. Breakfast costs £10.95 on the day (paid to the hotel) and there are fantastic networking opportunities. The group meets 07:15 to 09:00. Please contact Vanessa to be added to the visitor’s list.
- Monday 17th March – Ladies Who Latte, Bizzy Lizzie’s in Chineham. A great, informal, ladies only networking group. No entrance fee, simply buy your own coffee and/or cake. Would you like to come along and meet like-minded business women? We meet between 10:00 and 12:00. Contact Vanessa to be added to the visitor’s list.
- Wednesday 19th March – We are attending the launch of the new BNI Chapter in Basingstoke. Why don’t you come along for breakfast (£10 at the door) and see what it’s all about? We will be meeting at 06:30 for a 7:00 start. For further info and to reserve your seat please contact Vanessa. Please note that an RSVP is required to ensure correct catering.
- Thursday 27th March – We’ll be back at Wired Wessex at the Slug & Lettuce in Winchester.
- Tuesday 1st April – PLEASE NOTE that Vanessa’s presentation at Basingstoke Networking has had to be postponed due to other work commitments.
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