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To the Point/April/2006

• Why they buy
It’s no accident that sales is perhaps the primary profession in the world, one of the major contributions of an innovation-driven market economy.

What’s equally interesting is the trouble many salespeople experience in making sales. A study by RainToday, How Clients Buy, may shed some light on the issue. Here are the top ten problems encountered by buyers of professional services:

While all of these are problem areas, the study revealed that certain problems are more important than others. Here are the results:

• What’s the message (or is there one)?
The current focus in business today seems to be on “messaging.” As I understand it, this is something like a 30-second “elevator” talk. When you really think about it, most companies just assume that their customers and prospects understand what they do.

If you want a good example of “messaging,” though, take a minute and go to www.kensington.com. There on the homepage is the Kensington story told in few words: “A worldwide leader in mobile computing accessories.” The “message” is clear, concise and complete.

After reading that, I often think about our own company. What’s our “message”? What do we want our customers to think about when they think about us? The insurance industry talks about “managing risk,” but that doesn’t seem very down to earth in my estimation.

There may be a number of “messages,” but here’s one that makes sense to me: “We help businesses minimize threats.” It’s our job to identify potential threats, recommend ways to avoid some and mitigate others.

If you haven’t done it lately, giving thought to “messaging” may turn out to be a helpful exercise.

• The important customer
Armed with his coupon for a free half-pound of coffee, a friend noticed there was no line at his local Starbuck’s. In he went and asked for the breakfast blend. After asking him what type of coffee maker he was using, the clerk ground the coffee, which took several minutes. Then, she handed him the cup of coffee he had also ordered. To his chagrin, there were now nine people waiting in line. As he paid for the cup of coffee, he apologized for taking so much of the clerk’s time.” Immediately, she said, “Don’t apologize. We’re shorthanded this morning. My job is to take care of you.”

• Revisiting the website
One way or another, we seem to get ideas in our heads and before we even know it, what started out as opinion has become fact. For example, owners of small businesses sometimes feel they must make their companies bigger to attract customers.

It’s the same way with websites. Several recent studies offer interesting insights. Here are a few conclusions:

• While appearance is important, how the site works is more important. Visitors like a clean looking site.

• A website should not have too many “buttons.” Fewer choices is better than many.

• Registering seems to drive people away. Visitors can find it a bother.

The KISS method still makes sense.

• Taking legal action against a customer
If you’re thinking about suing a customer for a past-due account, take into consideration that 90% of such disputes are settled in the customer’s favor, according to a study by Aceva Technologies. It also takes about four weeks to resolve a dispute, most of which is spent researching what went wrong.

• Thoughts for business (and life)
There’s a coffee-stained and crumpled slip of paper in one of my file folders that in just five words serves as a powerful reminder to avoid fantasy and remain grounded in reality. It’s from economist Paul Krugman, who recently left MIT for Princeton. Here it is: “Hope is not a plan.”

Couple those few words with those from an almost forgotten old-time radio detective show, Pat Novak for Hire. None other than Jack Webb, who later went on to Dragnet fame, played the part of Pat.

In one of the broadcasts, Pat can be heard to say, “The most trouble looks best from the outside.” Truer words were never spoken.

Sincerely,

Tom Helbach

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