by Kirby Hasseman
One of the reasons I love Delivering Marketing Joy is, I not only get to ask some of the smartest people in business a few questions each week, but they get to ask me one. We structure it this way so it’s more of a discussion.
(You can find the latest Delivering Marketing Joy on our blog page here)
I love this because these thoughtful leaders often ask me questions that I have not answered before. Or, more likely, they ask them in different ways that make me think differently.
This happened to today.
The show we recorded will not air for a few weeks, but the question is incredibly timely, so I wanted to share it here. I was asked: “What are 3 things to think about when getting a corporate branded gift to make sure it is on the mark?” Though I get asked about corporate gifts a lot, this was a different way of looking at it. So I wanted to share my answer. Oh…and of course you need to think about how much you want to spend…and how many you want to give. But so many people don’t go any deeper than that! So here is a little different thought process.
Many of us have heard the term “Who? What? Where?” These are the questions you need to answer when telling a story. They are also the things you want your clients to remember…right? But when creating a corporate gift you want to answer “Who? Where? What?” Same questions, but in a specifically different order.
Who: When creating the perfect gift, you want to think hard about WHO you are giving it to? What do they look like? What are they interested in? Are they predominately female, young, old, techy, office, etc. Who are they really?
Where: Next I like to consider WHERE I would like them to enjoy the gift. Do I want to occupy space on their desk? Are they in the office (and do they need to share)? Do I want them to use these in their home? Where do I want them to enjoy the gift?
What: Only after I get the first two figured out do I roll to WHAT I want to give them. Once I know the WHO and the WHERE, this can come together quickly. If they are a young tech-friendly crowd and I want them to use them in the office, maybe I like the idea of bluetooth headphones. You get the idea. Go through this process and you might find just the perfect gift that they might NOT get for themselves.
P.S. If you want a few cool last minute ideas, you can head to our promo site to shop online. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter. Each week we send one email with all of the content for the week so you can catch up!
by Kirby Hasseman
“Busy” is the most over-used word in our culture today. It’s become the default answer for many people about how anything in their life is going.
How are you doing? Busy.
How is the family? Busy.
How is work? Busy.
Because of that, “busy” has lost it’s meaning. What does busy even mean?
I don’t want to be busy. I want to be productive.
This may sound strange if you read this blog a lot, because I spend a lot of time talking about “activity.” The idea in this blog from yesterday, is that you need to focus on the pro-active activities that lead you toward your goals. If you focus on those, every day, you will make steps toward success.
You might be thinking, “But won’t doing that make you busy?”
I can speak from experience when I say “yes.” But more importantly it will make you productive. I was reminded of this when I went on sales calls recently with another seasoned sales pro. We visited several customers. We dropped off samples. We had great conversations. We talked about new sales offerings. It was great! After the group of meetings I asked what we needed to do to follow up with these customers. After some thoughtful consideration, the answer was “nothing.”
I wasn’t sure why at the time, but that answer made me uneasy.
Then I figured it out. There was no next step. There was no call to action. We had some great conversations and engagements, but there was nothing we had decided to do to move the conversation forward. If that’s the case, then those calls were just “busy work.”
Action is important. But action for the sake of action is not the goal. The idea is to create action that moves to an outcome. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting we had to sell something right then. I just wanted to know what was next. It might have been:
*Sending a presentation with ideas.
*Calling to set up another appointment
*Writing an order
*Sending a sample
*Or even sending a note for taking the time time meet.
There needs to be a specific next step. And here’s the thing, your customers and prospects want that too! They have just taken time out of their day to engage with you. They have plenty of other things to do! So if they have given you the thing they can’t get back (time), what was the point of it?
So the next time you create a list of prospects and customers to call on, make sure to determine what you hope to make happen. What is the goal? What is the next step? Especially if you are going to call on me. If not, I will probably be “too busy” to see you.
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by Kirby Hasseman
I stopped in the office of a friend the other day to talk to him about the latest and greatest offerings we have.
It was a sales call…and it was unannounced. I had hoped to “pop in” and chat with him quickly before moving on with the rest of my day.
But when I walked in I could tell his energy was pretty low. His eyes looked tired. So I asked him what was going on. He proceeded to talk to me about some tough things that were going on in his personal life. The more I listened, the more I realized that he did not need for me to solve anything. I just needed to listen. So we just talked. During the half hour conversation, I tried to offer some words of encouragement, but mostly I just was a person to talk to. Then we discussed getting together later for a coffee or a beer. I left without trying to sell him anything.
Sometimes as a salesperson or an entrepreneur, we can get caught up in chasing our goals and trying to create the life of our dreams. It’s a noble pursuit. But sometimes the best thing we can do to create the life you want is to just “be human.” Take a moment. Take a breath. Listen. Be a friend.
Sometimes that’s the best sales strategy of all.
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by Kirby Hasseman
If you are in sales, you need to read this. If you are not in sales, remember this…everyone is in sales.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas several years ago on education day and had stepped into a class led by Greg Muzzillo from Proforma in hopes of being educated and enlightened. Greg did not disappoint. Years later, I still remember a question he asked. “In every business there is $15 an hour work, $50 an hour work and $500 an hour work. How many of you want to do the $500 an hour work?”
Without exception, the room full of people (including me) raised their hands. “LIARS!” he yelled at us. “All of you say you want the $500 an hour work, but every day you go straight to your desk to start on the $15 an hour work.”
For me, at this moment, this was a wake up call. His point was, there is nothing wrong with the administrative tasks in a business. They are vital. But as a salesperson, you bring the most value to your organization by getting in front of clients. When you are meeting with clients, you get the most return on your time. He finished with this statement, “There is no money behind your desk! Stop looking there!”
I love this. The fact is, it is easy and comfortable (as a salesperson) to do the non-sales activities. As I said above, they are important. They need done. But they are not the activity that brings you and your organization the most value on YOUR time. And that is the key, I think, regardless of what role you play in the organization. What is the role that you do that brings the company the most return?
*If you are in billing, it might be sending invoices.
*When you are at the front desk it might be answering the phone quickly and with a smile.
*If you are in sales, it is most likely meeting (face to face) with clients.
Anything you do instead of that is costing you money. In his new book, Clockwork, Mike Michaelowicz explains a concept called the QBR (Queen Bee Role). The idea is, the QBR is the most important role in a business. That needs to get done. Everyone needs to either serve the QBR or protect it. Figure out your QBR and focus your time and attention on that.
And remember sales team…there is no money behind your desk!
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by Kirby Hasseman
I love to go to educational events. Whether in or out of my own industry, I enjoy digging in and getting new ideas…and getting inspired. So this week, when the Commonsku gang put on their 2nd Annual SkuCamp event, I was in my element!
Skucamp was a 2 day intensive event designed to entertain and inspire entrepreneurs in the Promotional Products business. I know the goal was to provide great education and networking opportunities. I know their goal was to have a packed house, with a cool vibe and an awesome environment. That’s every event’s goal, right? But the culture of people around this event might be it’s real special sauce.
The Commonsku team has created a sandbox where some amazing industry pros want to come and play. But what did I learn? The answer is…a lot.
Here are just a few key takeaways from #Skucamp2018.
There is no “one way” to do it
There are many people doing really cool things in our industry that gathered at Skucamp. But it was amazing how different each business and business approach is. Some people were super focused on e-commerce. Some business owners had no interest in that. Some businesses were diverse and some were niche. There is not one formula that leads you to success.
Vulnerability is cool
You never learn anything (or at least anything good) when you think you know everything. Skucamp was a place where a lot of really smart people admitted that they didn’t know everything. It wasn’t a weakness. It was a strength.
You Grow By Saying No
You don’t have to be for everyone. I talked about that here. Opening speaker Mike Michaelwicz talked about this in his opening talk. He discussed the idea that you don’t need to be for everyone…in fact that might be a bad thing!
Bring A Big Idea
I love this concept from speaker Caryn Kopp. She had a great session about getting the door open to companies and opportunities you wanted. But this simple idea really resonated with me. If you are meeting with a client, bring one BIG idea that could be huge for them and you. Are you doing that consistently? When I asked myself that honest question, the answer was “no.”
Nice People Finish First
In a world where we are under a constant barrage of negative, it was a wonderful reminder that good people are out there doing amazing things. One of my biggest takeaways was just that…good people are doing great. You don’t have to be a jerk. You might not be perfect (I know I am not). But you can be a good person and grow an amazing business.
Finally, it was a true privilege to get the opportunity to speak with my buddy Bill Petrie about the power and importance of Content Marketing. Thanks to the gang at Commonsku for having us…and thanks to Bill for making me look better than I deserve.
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by Kirby Hasseman
It was early in the morning and I just needed to grab one thing in my closet. The thing is, I had everything ready to go. The bag was packed to head into the office. The lights were off. But I just needed to grab a sweatshirt. I knew basically where it was because I just saw it when I picked out my shirt. So I headed back into my closet to “quickly grab” this last piece of clothing.
In the dark, I felt around for the piece where I thought I remembered it. It was a full zip, so I felt for the zipper. Found it! I began to unzip the sweatshirt in order to take it off the hanger…and it stopped. This was only a quarter zip! Damn…this was the wrong piece!
And there are I stood…in the dark.
Finally, I took two steps and turned on the light. It’s amazing how fast I was able to find the sweatshirt I wanted! I was just too consumed with doing it “really quick” so I was not using the tools that were right in front of me.
It’s absurd. It’s stupid. And those of us in the sales profession do it all the time.
We thrash around in a world where time is literally money. We try to do it “our way” or the “old way” for entirely too long. Meanwhile, our organizations arm us with CRM’s, blogs, websites, order management, email systems, and more. They spend endless time and dollars to help us increase our efficiency and, ultimately, our sales.
And much like me, looking for my sweatshirt in the dark, we stubbornly keep thrashing. We believe we are right. We think it “will take too long to learn” and keep trying “one more time.” Folks…turn on the light. Use the tools. Take the time on the front to save the time on the back. The tools are there to shine a light on your business. All you have to do is flip the switch.
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