The kingdom of your business is made up of two entities: the employees and the vendors. Each has desires that can compliment and compete against each other. Each provides your business with information that is tainted with bias and self-interests, yet valuable none the less.

The Vendors’ Desires

The desires of the vendor is to have a client use, promote, and re-purchase the products/services that the vendor provides. Each visit to a client is designed to move a decision further towards a purchase. The vendor rewards, showers with praises, and offers incentives to the client for each purchase that is made. When times are good the vendor is the client’s best friend.

This Vendor Wants You To Write More Rx's

Mere managers and executives mistake these overtures as testaments to their authority or their power. They become enthralled with the ability to get the vendor on a moments notice to fulfill any desire. These managers forget that it is the power of the purse and their capability to purchase that brings them such power.

These managers begin to believe that the desires of the vendor is akin to friendship. They forget that the information the vendor provides is biased with the vendor’s desire for more business and more sales. Unlike a business owner, these managers will allow declines in service and response times to slide because they “know” the vendor. They are willing to put up with poor quality because searching for a new vendor is difficult and time consuming. They are blind to the subtle and incremental price increases the vendor adds over time. These managers and executives are always surprised when the vendor folds.

The successful business owner knows the relationship to the vendor is about one thing only: business. A successful business owner uses this fundamental understanding in every dealing they have with a vendor. It does not mean that they will disrespect the vendor or maltreat them, instead the business owner will never forget that through all the pleasantries business is the underlying purpose for every visit.

This keeps the owner vigilant about quality, delivery, and experience it’s business has with the vendor. The owner does not tolerate anything that would fall below its own standards for products and services. The business owner challenges each price increase and requests by the vendor that its business “upgrade”. The business owner is always willing to find another vendor that will meet its needs and standards for service.

The successful business owner knows that it is in the customer where all the power lies.

Unlike the manager that is blinded by the “friendship” with the vendor, the owner recognizes that price increases, frequent request for new purchases, and declines in service are all signals from the vendor. Information that when placed next to the signals from the marketplace can be warnings of threats and opportunities to the owner’s business.

Unlike the executive that enjoys the power of the purse and the accolades it brings from the vendor, the business owner seeks a vendor that will compliment the productivity of their employees. The business owner will award a vendor with a contract or purchase only when the vendor helps the owner’s business increase its value to its customers. The successful business owner knows that it is in the customer where all the power lies.

The Employees’ Desires

A decent wage, promotion, titles, benefits, bonuses, and job security are but some of the desires of employees in any given business. When an employee feels that these desires are met and at times exceeded by a given employer than productivity increases. When these desires are not met and are sub-standard then productivity

Without Customers There Is No Need For Staff

decreases with quality and the business is in dire straights. Or is it?

The manager who treats their employees like servants should never be surprised that their work is substandard, quality is shoddy, and productivity poor. That part of the equation is a truth. Yet, the manager that compensates employees without discernment or overly provides too much, is placing their business at risk when conditions change. Those managers are blind by their wanting to be loved and liked. They do not see that by giving into the desires of employees can create discontent when salaries, benefits, awards, and jobs have to be taken away. These managers are blind to fact that by overly spoiling their employees can erase the desire to stretch for the finish line or push for the extra mile.

The successful business owner understands that the employer/employee relationship is about one thing: business.

The owner believes that employees should be rewarded for hard work, yet it recognizes that not all employees are the same. The business owner knows that employees will always desire greater wages, greater benefits, and job security. They also know that these desires are measured on a scale with the realities of the marketplace as a counter weight. The business owner seeks to obtain a close equilibrium as possible, never allowing the desires of the employees outweigh the realities of the marketplace. The successful business owner understands by doing this he/she keeps people employed, rewards success, keeps merit the focal point of promotions, keeps benefits funded, and keeps employees motivated to service the customers of the business.

The successful business owner hires the best, compensates above the competition, motivates the workforce, and moves employees up or out.

The successful business must forever be vigilant in listening to the members of their business kingdom. Not doing so puts them and their business in grave peril. So like with the marketplace, the successful business owner must train their ears to determine what desires are to be fulfilled and which are not.

Another airline service has gone and done it.  They’ve taken customer service one step closer to worse or beyond.  Continental Airlines is the latest among the major American carriers to start charging for food during the flight.  The next logical question should be: why even have food on the plane anyway?

The rapid decline in customer service from the airlines is legendary.  So let me be the next person in line to pick up the stick and beat the dead rotting carcass of the horse.

Ahh.. the Golden Age of Air Travel

We can all remember the golden years of aviation. (Cue dream music.) Flight attendants were happy to welcome you aboard.  Seats had some form of comfort.  Food, while not top of the line, was at least served with a real fork, knife, and was not thrown at you.  It was like being on a luxury liner of the skies.  Then it all went down hill.

Granted, some of it is due to the internal pressures the airlines face, like union wages and increased regulation.  The external pressures, like competition, terrorism, and a down economy mean the airlines have to make choices.  Controlling costs is key.  It is just too bad that it comes at the expense of customer service.

Yet, as customers, we complain about all the charges for what was once part of the price of a ticket.  We pay for checked baggage, exit rows, additional legroom, food, and while the bathroom has not been metered – I am sure it is next.  We complain, but we do nothing about it.

Now imagine if this was a department store or any other business.  You’d stop purchasing services if you were nickel and dimed the way the airlines do.  Can you imagine going to a restaurant and having to pay extra for napkins, seasoning, tableware, and possibly a waiter?  No, but you do on the airlines.

I like travelling.  I enjoy spending time with my customers and clients.  There is nothing like the face-to-face interaction to learn more about their needs.  Yet, with all the small costs to get out there and see them, it becomes more difficult to make it happen.  A new hurdle of costs to doing business is being added to every industry.

The result is more meetings online through WebEx, GoToMeeting, and other like services.  These services have tapped into the customer dissatisfaction with travelling to market their services.  A yearly subscription to one of them is less than a two-day roundtrip from New York to Seattle.  (That is airfare, food, hotel, and ground transportation combined.)  These companies now openly advertise against travelling.  If you need video there are services like Skype and Oovoo (both free) that allow you to see each other, pimples and all.

What’s the point?

The lesson here, besides a rant against the airlines, is to listen to the market.  There are opportunities out there for you to fill a void and take away a customer’s discomfort and/or pain.  You can compete against an entirely different industry and eat their lunch too.  That is what the web services are doing to the airlines.

If you happen to be in the industry that is causing the pain, then you can win too.  Take Southwest Airlines.  They never had food on the airplane in the first place.  So there is nothing to be lost there.  They point out the fact that all the other airlines – their direct competitors – will start to charge for toilet paper pretty soon.  The Southwest experience is always fun, unlike their competitors.

Which brings us back to the beginning of this post.  Why have the food on there anyway?  The cost to load it, store it, and fly it across country does not go down.  Continental will barely make enough money to cover the costs during each flight. They’d be better off if they eliminated food completely.  It would take one cost hurdle out of the way.

If you were in Continental’s shoes what would you do?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

I am currently involved in a discussion with an old friend over what a business coach brings to a business.  The fundamental question is does the business coach act as a therapist at times.  The answer is a qualified yes.  Qualified because the business coach has been hired to help a team solve a specific issue, train new skills to beat the competition, or help a business launch.  A business coach is not hired to exorcise personal daemons.

A business coach is not hired to exorcise personal daemons.

Yet, it is invariable that a business coach – really any trusted advisor – will have a bonding experience with the coachee.  In that experience the coach will help the coachee improve in other areas than just the business issues that need to be resolved.  This comes from the mutual trust and respect that is built during the coaching relationship.

They help their clients focus on the basics that build success.  The continuing practice of fundamentals tends to spill over into the private lives of the clients.

In sports, top coaches get more out their players than what happens on the field.  These coaches help their players become more responsible members of their communities and better individuals.  The sports coaches have their players focus on the fundamentals of their sport and their lives.  This happens because the sports coach is able to establish a bond built on trust.  Coaches like Phil Jackson, Guus Hiddnik, and John Wooden come to mind as top coaches that have done that.

The result is a better-run business, a high functioning team, and improved personal relations.

Top Coaching Benefits

The same is true when it comes to top business coaches.  They help their clients focus on the basics that build success.  The continuing practice of fundamentals tends to spill over into the private lives of the clients.  The result is a better-run business, a high functioning team, and improved personal relations.  The nearby chart shows the benefits of a business coach.  What is apparent in the chart is that most of the benefits are personal.

So my friend is right.  A business coach, any coach, is a bit of tactician, motivator, and therapist.  Just remember that the latter is a beneficial side effect of coaching.

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

I ran into an old colleague in the supermarket yesterday. (No, no one got hurt.)  We were discussing the current business climate and how our respective businesses are going.  His is in a breakout stage right now, which means he feels a bit overworked but happy.  He is working for a medical device company that does not make a unique product but has improved on current technology.  Which got us into the conversation about what makes a successful start-up company and how do entrepreneurs discover new ideas.

The Secret Recipe

We are all bombarded through media about those who discover a break-through product or a completely new way of doing business.  The pressure on most entrepreneurs, or would be ones, is to discover a fantastic new way to do business.  Yet, there is tons of money to be made by improving existing products, services, and methods of doing businesses.  In fact, if you review most of the break-through products of the last decade and they are improvements on products/services that were already out there.  iPod: improvement on portable CD player and the Walkman.  Notebook computers: improvement on the laptop.  Facebook: improvement on MySpace.

These improvements represent a new direction on existing products/services that were not meeting a need by the market.  That is what it all comes down to in the end… meeting an unmet need.

So, if you are looking to start a new company or create a new product it has to meet the following test:

• Will it meet an unmet need? This is the test that must be passed in order to have any success.  It would do you no good to launch a buggy-whip business where there is not a need for them.  You must do your research to make sure that there are needs that are not being met.  If your product meets and exceeds those needs then you are well on your way to launching a successful business.

If it is so easy then why do most companies fail?  Well, the answer to that question is a hydra of responses.  It could be poor quality of the product, bad business plan, unsuccessful value propositions, et cetera.  Regardless, most of the time it is because the unmet need has been overstated and not vetted.  Think of Crystal Pepsi (I think I am the only person in the world that drank it) and New Coke.  Both of those products were failures because the need was overstated in the research.  There simply was not a need for them.

If you have a great idea, don’t keep it to yourself.  Well, keep the secret recipe and all to yourself, but not the idea.  You need to test if there really is an unmet need that your business idea will fulfill.  That means that you need to seek out beyond your social circle to receive feedback.

This is the toughest part, because the feedback can be brutal.  Yet, it is important as it helps you gauge how much desire there is out there for the services you wish to offer.  It also helps you not be myopic in your vision.

Coming back to my conversation with my friend.  We were both shopping for groceries for different reasons.  It was time to stock up the fridge and cupboards for him.  For me, I needed a few ingredients to complete a recipe I was trying on items I already had.  Another trip, that when you add time and gas, was becoming costly.  If only there was a website where I can plug-in the basic ingredients and it could spit out a recipe.  Hey! That’s an idea!

How would you test if your business idea is ready?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Customers have a never ending thirst that must be quenched on a continuous basis. They return to the same source of water that will quench the majority of their thirst because of familiarity and trust. Customers will desire for that source of water to be the answers or solutions to myriad of diverse needs. Yet, no business can fulfill every single need a customer has.

The manager, when faced with this dilemma, will look first to procedures or guidance from above to fulfill the need of the customer. When those fail, as they eventually will, the manger resorts to the last defense that all managers know, “I am sorry. I cannot help you.” Or “I am sorry, you’ll have to call this number. We do not do that here.” The manager does this, because the manager only knows of the watering hole they have been assigned to.

The business lion understands that while its business cannot satisfy every thirst a customer may have, there are other businesses that might.

The executive, with more power than the manager, has access to more sources of water for the customer. The executive too will look towards procedures, policies, and guidance from its most successful sources of water to meet the needs of the customer. The executive does the latter because they believe that if success is to be had at one watering hole, then it should easily be copied to the next one and the next one. Sadly that fails as well. In frustration of being drawn away from managing multiple sources of water, the executive will tell the customer that, “We will look into it.” Or “It is in the pipeline.” Both being statements that have no end and definitive satisfaction for the customer’s thirst, the executive hopes to string the customer along until conditions change or the need wanes.

The Business Lion Is Calm

The business lion understands that while its business cannot satisfy every thirst a customer may have, there are other businesses that might. It may even be a competitor. The business lion knows that the breadth of every policy or procedure cannot cover every thirst a customer may have. Knowing that they are there to define what is wrong and/or illegal they will help guide the business lion in finding the right source for the customer’s thirst.

The business lion will scour far and wide for new watering holes if none have been discovered for the client. Once found the business lion will lead the customer to it and if need be guide them in how to drink from it. The business lion will always follow back to ensure that the customer’s thirst has been quenched.

If there is nothing available to quench the thirst of the customer, then the lion knows it has found a new opportunity to fulfill an unmet need. Helping the business grow and create a new class of customers the business lion can lead.

By taking the extra step to find a means to meet a customer’s need the business lion knows that it has gained a new member to its pride. It has learned about new needs that have never been met. It has built a bound of trust that will strengthen the business the lion is part of.

There are always new watering holes and other means to fulfill a customers needs. Customers value the integrity a business has in helping the customer fulfill their needs, even if it something a business cannot do. Businesses that act this way, that discover new watering holes for the customer, never go out of business. Managers and executives do not understand this. A business lion never forgets it.

Are you a business lion? Do you know of any business lions?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

How Old School for the 21st Century

Recently I was approached over the phone by a company that wanted me to purchase keyword advertisement for life.  The idea being that my company would have preferred ad placement when someone searches for specific keywords like business coaching, corporate coaching, etc.  That a few grand up front would have a longer ROI than the horror of pay-per-click when one gets the bill from Google. (I learned to quickly control the content portion of ads after my first bill.)  A pretty straightforward proposition from this company, which is using cold calling as a sales technique to get the business.  Great proposition; bad sales approach!

Being a former “sales guy” I am always eager to be sold to.

There are mountains of papers, books, pamphlets, newsletters, and blog posts about how horrible cold calling is.  It sucks.  Cold calling is not the preferred methodology when it comes to sales.  People hate it when they have to do it and when it is done to them.  Yet, at some point in every business, it happens.   So it happened to me.

“Give him money and watch it burn a hole in his pocket.”

Person To Person Sales In The Andes

Being a former “sales guy” I am always eager to be sold to.  I am looking for a reason to part with my cash.  As my father said, “Give him money and watch it burn a hole in his pocket.”  So very true at times.  The real reason I like to be sold to is that I get a chance to learn from someone else.  I get to listen to their probing techniques; I learn how they handle my objections, and how they swoop in for the close. It is a great chance to receive a sales education.

The sales person did not to build a relationship, which is hard to do over the phone, yet they did not even try.

So that is why I was heart-broken when I told this particular sales person my objection to buying their products/services that they just hung upon me.  This sales person did not try to clarify why I objected (price was the biggest issue), nor did they try to find a way to make me a better offer, and the left me felt feeling… inadequate.  That I was not worthy of being a customer, which my money is not “good enough” to be fought for.  The latter really ticks me off.

For this company I was not the ideal customer most likely, yet when they got their target list for their cold calls I fell on it somehow.  The sales person did not to build a relationship, which is hard to do over the phone, yet they did not even try.  There was no effort to understand what it is my business does and how their services could be of value to me.  All of these are fatal flaws of the cold call.

The result for this company has been to insult a person, who may not be an ideal customer, but who is now motivated to blog “negatively” about the experience.

How can your business avoid this fatal mistake?

• Train your sales team to be ready for push back. Objections are part of every sales call.  There are millions of them.  In fact if you do not get an objection it really means that your customer is not listening or you are not selling.  Why?  Objections mean the customer is engaged with what it is the salesperson is presenting.  It means that the customer is looking for a reason of value to purchase the goods and services you are offering.  It means that – shhh, don’t tell anyone the secret of sales – a conversation is taking place (perish the thought!)
• Cleanse your call file. Just because you have a territory, call list, or computer generated targets does not mean that you have the right customers to call on.  You just have the right names that met the criteria used to find these “clients”, that is all.  You have to make sure that they meet your ideal customer that your business wishes to obtain.  If they do then you pre-call plan how to engage in conversation, visualize how the call will go, and what you expect to happen.  You provide the four steps to ideal customer service during the call and afterwards.  This little bit of effort before the call will result in a tremendous amount of success and long-term sales.
• Train your sales staff to be human. Most people will say that they are “not a sales person” or cannot “be pushy” to be in sales.  That is not what sales is about.  Sales is a conversation between two or more representatives from different businesses or between a business and consumers.  That is sales.  Unless you cannot carry a conversation, most people engage in some of sales whenever they ask for something, then you can perform sales.  While much money has been spent testing scripts, phrases, charts, benefit statements, and pretty pictures by the marketing team, it is up to the salesperson to communicate that information.   Please do it as a human! I beg you! We all beg you!  Which means put the script down, be true yourself and have a conversation!
• Avoid cold calling at all costs. It is a horrible way to do business and its long-term effect is negative perception for short-term gain.  If, heaven forbid, you are forced to go this route, then train your staff to research their targets and build business rapport before even thinking about asking for the business.  Or you’ll get blogs like this.

This most likely was not the intended outcome the company that called me wanted.  Yet this is what they get in return when they do not train their sales team effectively.  You get to learn from their mistakes.

What cold calling stories do you know that have left you freezing?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Social media is the buzz these days for businesses both large and small.  As a medium it allows, for an investment of time, companies to engage with customers and potential clients.  Whole departments are being built and new companies are being founded to help guide messaging into the social media realm.  The focus is on listening to the customers, engage with them, and then convert them into a sale, a referral, or a fan.  There are lots of ways to build plans to do all of this.  Yet, in all of those methods none of them, so far, has addressed the customer experience.  What do they expect the experience of the customer to be?

I am going to grant you that they expect the customer to make a purchase, become a client, or even become a fan.  Those are actions that these marketing departments and social media consultants are seeking their audience to make.  Those might be the end result of the experience but they are not the entire customer experience.  The customer experience is much more than that… you have to visualize what that will be.

Does Your Team Have This Goal?

If you have ever played sports then you know that you have to visualize what the game will be like.  How each play of the game will unfold for you from the first whistle to the last. How each catch you will make will lead to success.  How you will rise to the occasion during a key moment.  How you will be the one that brings glory to the team.  Top athletes do this for every competition.  They can see themselves and the experience they expect for each moment of the game.  Businesses – more importantly you – should do this when it comes to social media.

The sad fact is that most do not, so this is an exceptional opportunity for you to fill the void and build a successful social media campaign.

A recent experience with Best Buy that Amber Nashlund had demonstrates that large companies have not thought through the customer experience on social media.  While the Best Buy twitter presence was able to answer Amber’s questions, Amber still left with an experience that felt disconnected and managed from afar.  End result: Amber purchased her product from someplace else.

Erika, of RedHeadWriting, discusses one of the major drawbacks that Twitter can bring to the customer experience in one of her latest rants.  The result: a hollow and empty experience which can lead Erika to miss an opportunity out of frustration.

So how can your business fill the void?

• Remember that you are engaging with people. Even if it is over the web, there is someone else on the other side of the engagement.  You would not have a sales representative or customer service representative just shout nonsense at you customers in person.  That would be insane, not to mention annoying.  You need to build any social media plan around the fact that it is people talking to people.
• Before you even make contact, envision what the conversation will be like. If you have the imagination – role-play what the conversation will be like.  This will help anticipate questions and listen.  As opposed to trying to offer solutions right out of the box when you start your conversation.
• You must measure the customer experience as part of your metrics. Once you visualize how you expect each social media engagement to go with your customers, you need to add that in how you measure the success of your social media plan.  Measuring clicks, conversions, etc. is important, as is the experience your customers will have.
• Journal your own customer experiences you have had. Incorporate it in your social media plan.  Improve upon the ones you liked and avoid like the plague those that sucked.

All things being equal customers refer, purchase, and follow people they like.  That is because the customer experience is one most important factor in that equation.  If the experience sucks, customers will flee.  Embrace social media but do not forget the experience you want your audience to have.  That is what Domino’s Pizza in Chicago has done and it has been a success!

What are you doing for your customer’s experience?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

There are tons of how-to’s out there when it comes to Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Foursquare, etc.  Most of them written by much more knowledgeable people than I can possibly be on such a quickly shifting medium.  I am in need of step-by-step instructions just like the next person when it comes to setting up the accounts and posting items online.  (I – dread to even consider the notion – am slowly turning into my parents when it comes to new technologies.)  With all these written instructions there is not much about how to connect with your customers.

Besides the draw of free advertising (read Shelly Kramer’s (of V3im) article on why Social Media Is NOT Free to kill that notion) that social media brings to businesses both large and small, it is the ability to connect with customers outside the point of sale that is leading to the embracement of the medium.  If you have been reading my posts (Mom you don’t count) then you know that having a plan for any business action is a must.  So it is the same when it comes to how you are going to connect with your customers online.  Here are three steps you can use to connect:

Adopt A Personality That Fits

It Is All In The Software Code

It is important that you understand I am not talking about being a “sock puppet” when it comes to creating an account.  What I am talking about is adopting a personality that fits with your company’s culture and its representation to its customers.  As an example look at Pfizer, Inc. (PFE), they have a reputation of being professional, well dressed, dark suited, and extremely polite.  If they have an online personality through twitter or Facebook, they would not be giving “shout outs” and posting “Hey Dude!”  That would not be consistent with the public’s perception of them as a company.  They are expected to be consistent.  Whereas on the converse side of things, seeing tweets or status updates from Starbucks I would expect to find information about coffee and their locations in a barista’s tone of voice. Which would be completely different from the straight laced Pfizer.

The same will be for your business.  Make sure you have a personality that fits with how you work with your customers at the point of sale.  The customer no matter where their interaction with your business may occur expects consistency.

Be Genuine – Be Real

There are a few stereotypes when it comes to social media.  The first, everyone is spouting nonsense about his or her cats. (Guilty! Except it is my dog @KooikerExpress.)  The second, people only use it to shout out their products and it ends up just being noise/spam.  There is truth to both of these items. Let’s break it down into why your business will be different and how to get past the clutter.

The first stereotype about people blabbering on about their pets or whatever… get over yourself.  Everyone likes to talk about himself or herself.  Even you.  Heck! I love to

A Genuine Interaction

talk about me.  The reason you and your business are entering into this foray is that you want to talk about what you are doing, your product and services, and how you help clients/customers.  You are talking about yourself. The difference is: knowing when you are being boorish.  Which you do!  That means that you are willing to listen to your customers, potential clients, and whoever enters your online presence talk about themselves.  There is a reason we come with two eyes and two ears and one mouth.  If you take the time to listen you will learn so much more about your customer, their habits, and their needs and how you can meet them.

That leads into how you can avoid the second stereotype of being seen as shouting on a soapbox in Hyde Park, aka spam.  By listening and engaging with your audience you will be seen as providing value and build a bond of trust.  You will be able to break through the noise.  This means that you need avoid the temptation of scheduling tweets and only talking about your business.  This means that you have to be real and genuine in your communication.

That can be uncomfortable for some businesses.  Being genuine and real allows for you to acknowledge the bad that comes across your stream.  It means knowing that not everyone is going to care about what you offer.  It means that you must convey a real person behind each tweet and/or status update.  It means you are going to have fun!  (Which translates into a bit of a headache for the legal department but heck that is what they make the big bucks for right?)

If there is one lesson that can be learned here is from Jeffery Gitomer that, “People buy from people.” Social media is a medium of connecting people.  Authenticity will rule the day.

Be Willing To Invest In The Marathon

A Twitter Toast

Engaging in social media is not a fly-by-night process.  Nor is it a shooting star moment of the internet.  Facebook is the fastest growing platform for generations Y & Z, Twitter has maintained its growth, and Google is trying to muscle into the action with Google Buzz.  The technology sector of the global economy is investing in social media.  It is going to be here for quite some time.

It will take time to build relationships and trust in the various online social networks.  Which means that you and your business must have patience.  That does not mean you do not measure results and it does not mean that you are passive in engagement with your audience.  It does translate into being a pursuant of quality in the participation.

When it comes to your business this is a marathon, not a sprint.  Which means you have to plan for the investment of time to see a return.  Otherwise you will fall into one of the two stereotypes mentioned above.

What are your thoughts?  What did I miss?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

If you have been sitting on the fence or simply putting your toes in the water when it comes to social media, I am here to tell you that it is time to jump in.  The water is warm – heck it is actually hot! You should dive right in!  You need to for your business to survive.  Why?  That is where your customers and influencers of customers are.

Now… that being said… you need to understand the realities behind social media and control your expectations.  Here are 9 realities you must know before you begin your dive into social media:

9.  You Can’t Build Without Reading The Instructions

Directions Help

Unless you are my engineering friend who tends to through those pesky instructions out and always ends up with pieces left over, the rest of us have to read them.  The same goes for social media.  Learning where to be and how to interact is important or you run the risk of being frustrated.

Amber Naslund, who writes the Altitude Branding Blog, has done a lot of the hard work and rounded up a Best Of Social Media Learning post.  I recommend this as a must read before you even begin.  You will have better results and a better return on your investment of time.

8.  You must have a plan

Using social media for marketing your business and building a strong relationship with your customers requires that you have a plan.  Your largest investment in setting up the accounts and participating is your time.  As the old adage goes, “Time equals money.”  Just like if you were to buy advertising in a newspaper or on television, you are going to have a plan when it comes to engaging with people on social media.   This article written by Lon S. Cohen on Mashable.com, discusses seven items any enterprise should consider, makes it clear that you should have a plan.

This article by Cindy King, gives you seven ways to plan your social media so you can avoid the time wasting trap.

7.  You Need To Be Where Your Customers Are

Well it seems that you cannot escape a truism when it comes to business: Location, Location, and Location.  Just like it matters where you put your store, it matters where you choose to allocate your resources when it comes to social media.  If you are in the waste disposal industry should you be on Twitter? Well, it depends on the message

Should You Be Here?

that you are communicating, but most likely not.

This article by Redhead Writing asks the question “Should You Be On Twitter?” She has got some important questions that you must answer before you even get started.

6.  You Need A Blog

First, a blog that is tied directly into your main website is a great way to feed the search engines and helps your SEO.  (Any SEO marketing company will tell you this.)  Second, a blog helps build your authority in your particular marketplace and the products/services you sell.  You know them better than anyone so why not write about them?

If you are a small business, there is a ton of data that demonstrates how blogs help your business.  Such as:

Small businesses have a larger reach on twitter through blogs

Active business blogs increase organic search (free) by 7 times over non-blogging businesses

Businesses that blog experience a 126% increase in leads

The above articles are from HubSpot.  Before you begin blogging, you should ask yourself if you are ready to blog.  When you determine that you are, make a plan and write.  Do not worry about topics as once you start writing you will find that there are a ton of topics you write about when it comes to your business.  This article by Denise Wakeman gives you thirteen ideas for getting topics and sparking your creativity.  She also has a post that shows you how easy it is to set up a blog in ten easy steps.

5.  You Need To Measure Your Activity

Activity Is Up, But What About Profits?

Like any marketing plan you want to measure the results of your activity.  There are number of tools you can use and most of them are free.  You need to make sure you are measuring the right metrics.  Are they conversions?  Are they site hits?  Are they comments to your blog?  The list can be endless and you can end up measuring the wrong ones.  The good news is that this article by Tom Webster Social Media Monitoring 201, helps you sort out the right metrics.

4.  You Need To Incorporate Video

Most of social media is written.  Tweets, blogs, and posts to Facebook are typically written.  Yet one of the most powerful mediums that can engage a very wide audience is video.  It does not require much capital and can help your product, business, and/or brand explode into an untold number of potential clients.

Coke and Lego have embraced the power of video as they continue to engage with their customers.  This article by Peter Wylie, gives you five ways to make a video a social experience.

3.  You Will Have Costs

Social media is currently seen as a free means to advertise.  It is not free at all.  You are going to invest time.  Whether it is your time or an employee’s time, you are going to invest it.  That time equals money.  While you are not paying to place information online, you are paying.  Once you understand this, then you will be in a better position to engage with your customers.  This article by Shelly Kramer, demonstrates how a company, like Starbucks, understood this principle and increased sales.

2.  You Need To Participate

Advertising is about perfection.  Delivering the perfectly crafted message to the perfect audience at the perfect time.  The medium interrupts, speaks out, and provokes a response by the audience.  Yet, it does not engage the audience.  This article by Molly Cantrell-Kraig discusses how social media is not advertising, but instead a forum to participate in a discussion between the brand and its customers.  By participation this means that there needs to be a person behind the tweets, posts, and blogs.   This means that your company has to be open to both the accolades and the complaints.  This means that you are not going to have total control but you will learn and build up a huge balance in your relationship account.

1.  You Will Not Immediately Make Millions

Participating and engaging in social media is not a get rich quick scheme.  It is a means to build respect, authority, and a strong relationship with your customers.  Social media allows you to showcase your talents.  Social media allows you to find customers that really want to buy your services.  Social media in the end is a community that you are part of and if you are a value to… you will make an impressive return on your investment.  Like anything else it is going to take time.  Just to measure your expectations against reality you should read how Amber Naslund made $100k with Twitter.  Then you should read the 25 realities behind social media by Tom Nixon.

Are you ready to jump in?  The water is hot enough!  Your business will thank you and your customers will become loyal fans that will rave about you.  Weigh your expectations against reality and engage your customers in the social media realm!

I am sure there are other realities about social media.  What have I missed?  How would you explain the realities of social media?  What other resources are out there?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

What are the most successful businesses?  What is that they do that makes them unique?  How are they able to ride out a crisis after another crisis?

The first answer most likely is… they offer great products and services. I’d agree with that.  The second answer is… they compete in a unique market space or after a specific niche.  I’d say that is part of the answer.  The third answer is… they execute their plans to perfection.   Hmmm, okay I’d give you that one as well.  Here is a fourth answer:  These businesses have built up a tremendous amount of wealth in their relationship accounts.

What Is A Relationship Account

How Are Your Deposits?

It is the trust your customers and everyone outside your organization has in you, your brand, and your business. This account is built slowly over time and cannot be rebuilt on a dime.  The relationship account represents your integrity, your outward perceptions, and your value to the community.  A relationship account lets you get the benefit of the doubt in troubled times.

…value is delivered free through service, information, and time.

A relationship account is one of the most valuable tools for any business – heck any individual.  It begins to be built up over time through the consistent offerings of valuable products, services, and information to customers.  What compounds the interest on relationship deposits is the continuing delivery of value to anyone that passes by.  This has traditionally taken place through volunteer activities, participating social gatherings, and being involved in the community.  That value is delivered free through service, information, and time.  Now with the interconnectedness of social media you and your business can provide more value to a larger audience.  This will bring exponential deposits to your relationship account.

How Do You Build Up Your Relationship Account

Your interactions must be sincere.

You make every communication you exchange, whether it be in person or online, about your audience and not yourself.  You provide valuable information and resources that

How Much Is Your Account Worth?

your audience can use immediately.  You listen to your audience, you engage them in a meaningful way, and you thank them for their time.  Your interactions must be sincere.  You will have to be consistent in treating each member of your audience as the individuals they are. You will build a foundation of authority and credibility.

How Do You Use Your Relationship Account

It depends on the situation but it comes down to two types of withdraws from the account:

1. One you choose to make by asking for business/favor
2. One taken by the general community during a time of crisis

The first withdraw you get to choose when to use it.  It can be that you ask your customers or the general audience to follow you, purchase a product/service, or stand-up for you and your business.  If you have built up enough capital in your relationship account your audience will help you cash in.  If you have not, they will walk away and any good will you had tried to build up will quickly vanish.

The second withdraw you have no control over whatsoever.  Your audience and the general public control it during a time of crisis.  If you have worked diligently, sincerely, and openly to build up your relationship account then withdraws will be minimal keeping your reputation in good standing.  Your audience and your customers will rally around you, your brand, and your business.  If you have not spent the time to build up your account, they will be at the barricades with the pitchforks and torches.

Building a relationship account takes and time.  It is a process that is continual and must always be maintained.  Each business plan, marketing plan, and sales plan must take your relationship account in mind.  They must work to build deposits into your account.

Do you know what your relationship account status is?  How do you build up your account?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.