Maverick and Company

The 10th rule Scrabble gives ou for playing the game is also good for the game of life.

Twitter, sounds so simple but where do you begin?  There are (literally) thousands of experts on Twitter who according to reports, can help you make millions and possibly become a divine entity.  Many for only $19.95. I am not an expert at social media.  (Although, as they say, “I’m kind of a big deal.”)  I am a Twitter user and fan.  Since I get a lot of questions about Twitter, I put together a simple starter kit for people joining Twitter to help them figure out the first 5 things they should do as they begin their quest for global twitter domination.  Here’s how to get started on Twitter. First some language lessons.

HOW TO SPEAK TWITTER TWEET:  A tweet is a short message, under 140 characters.  It’s like a mini-blog.  You can write your own or read the one’s posted by people you FOLLOW.

FOLLOW:  This is sort of like being someone’s friend on Facebook.  Basically it means you want to see their TWEETS.

UNFOLLOW:  What you do if you don’t want to follow someone’s TWEETS anymore.

TWITTER STREAM:  This is the running flow of TWEETS posted by people you follow.

RT: Means “retweet” and indicates that someone thought the original tweet was worth resending out to their own twitter followers. @: This symbol appears in front of a name to form a call sign and a link to the person.  You might see @AleciaHuck if someone RT’d one of my TWEETS.  This symbol can also be used to reply to someone you want to talk to, as in @AleciaHuck I like your profile picture! This would be you telling me directly you like my profile picture.  (Thanks, I have a great photographer.)  You might also reply to several people this way, as in @AleciaHuck I didn’t know you were friends with @MattDollinger (I am, he’s awesome.)

DM:  This stands for “direct message.”  When you send someone a direct message ONLY they can see it so it’s more like a private email.  #: This is a way for everyone to track and speak into a particular conversation.  For example on Fridays, you’ll see a lot of #followfriday with a bunch of @’s behind it.  This is a way of telling other people who you think is cool to follow.  So if you were following me you might see:  #followfriday @RickBakas the inventor of the bacon martini (and you SHOULD follow him by the way.  He also has a bacon smoothie but THAT I cannot vouch for.)

FLITTERING: Flirting via twitter (I made this one up.)

Now that you know some of the basic lingo…

Step 1:  Go to www.twitter.com and sign up for your very own Twitter account. Two tips:  First, use a REAL PICTURE of yourself that isn’t creepy or wierd and hopefully features you smiling.  People like to talk to people they feel they know.  It’s hard to have a conversation with a pink bunny or a logo.  Second, use your real name.  Different people have different ideas about this but your real name makes you easier to find.  Whatever you chose, it’s an astronomically BAD idea to have your name be “FOLLOWME2MAKEMONEY.” 

Step 2:  Follow some people. Twitter has a nifty feature that will search thru your online contacts to find people you know.  When you see someone you want to follow, you just click the follow button below their picture.  Then their tweets will show up in your tweet stream.  You can also go to “Find People” and enter specific names of cool people who might be on Twitter. Great people to follow @JimmyFallon, @unmarketing who always gives a lot of nice tips and things to think about w/out being pushy, @AleciaHuck cuz I’m awesome, @MattDollinger cuz he’s awesome too, @mashable for brilliant stuff, @DarthVader for fun, @ev cuz he’s a big deal, @BryanBrinkman cuz Jimmy Fallon said so on.  There’s no magic formula.  Follow people you like.

Step 3:  Sign up on www.tweetdeck.com This is another super easy to use service that will divid your tweet stream so it’s easier to follow and post tweets.  Don’t freak out, it’s super easy to use and you’ll really like it.  Just sign up and let it rip.

Step 4:  Tweet A Bit, Read A Bit Remember, Twitter is basically like a giant cocktail party.  The same rules of ettiquite apply here as in other places.  Don’t talk about only 1 thing (especially if it’s you.)  Don’t try to sell people stuff when they don’t even know you.  Be polite.  Be generous, RT (retweet) other people’s tweets when they’re good or helpful.  It’s o.k. to bring up your business or offers but don’t bore or annoy people with them.  In all, HAVE FUN, BE YOURSELF, TRY NOT TO SUCK.

Step 5:  Get Yourself a Sweet Background on www.twitbacks.com Twitbacks is one of a whole slew of nifty little sites that can help you enhance your twitter existence.  It’s also easy to use and will make you look like a Twitter Ninja even if you only have 7 followers and one of them is your mom.    Again, this is not an exhaustive list but instead is designed to get you started.  Other people will have other opinions about the best this or that, and that’s cool.  In the beginning, it’s about beginning.  Now it’s time to begin.  Send me a DM when you get on-line, I’ll say hi back.

O.k. kids, lets have some fun.  You’re great.  People love you.  You do good work.  So how come you’re not getting referrals?

The 3rd Party Problem:  Let’s say you have a client or contact who WANTS to send you referrals.  You’re the 1st Party, your client is the 2nd party and their connections represent the 3rd Party.  Between you and their connections is a giant wall that I call the 3rd Party Problem.  It’s a barrier made up of two basic problems that keep them from connecting you to that 3rd Party.

Problem #1: EVERYBODY = NOBODY  Unless you tell people SPECIFICALLY who your clients are, they have no way to differentiate between the people they should be talking to about you and EVERYBODY.  Therefore, they see a big pack but do NOT see your potential clients.

Problem #2: WHAT TO SAY  Provided your people, by luck or your brilliant referral cultivation strategy, have figured out WHO to talk to about you…they next have to figure out WHAT TO SAY.  They’ve got to come up with something clear and simple and compelling to make the connection between you and that 3rd party.  Considering that most people can’t do this for themselves, what are the odds your 2nd party people will figure out how to do it for YOU?

More specific solutions to come, for now, consider: How can I make it easier for my contacts to recognize WHO they should refer me to? What would I want them to say if they happened to know the perfect client for me? ULTIMATELY you getting referrals is your responsibility.  The more work you make them do, the less likely you are to get results and referrals.  They’ve got other stuff to take care of.  Make it easy for people to send you new business and you’ll be a lot more likely to get it.

Need some help developing your own REFERRAL STRATEGY?  This month’s (March 2009) SCREAMIN’ DEAL is a $50 First Hour.  Get your FIRST hour of help for ONLY $50!  Contact me at info@maverickandcompany.com regarding scheduling.

Many of you may be landing here because you saw my recent post to one of the more interesting conversations in the world of real estate online.  (To read the entire conversation, visit http://www.webinknow.com/2008/10/top-10-ideas-fo.html )

You’ll find some additional information on CLIENT ENGLISH, and other ideas in past blogs here.  Let me just add a few things… For years we’ve all been focused on SALES (directly reaching out to clients) and MARKETING (sending out “stuff” so that clients will reach out to us.)  A lot of the old paradigms are based on persuasion and manipluation…MAKING people buy thru elaborate techniques and sophisticated methodologies.  I am more and more convinced that the death of this old model of generating business is fast approaching.

While SALES and MARKETING won’t ever go away, it is DEFINITELY time to make them the servants of a new philosophy. After working with several hundred individual business owners and service providers, I am convinced that the smartest among us have stumbled upon a new model that we should all be working hard to understand and take advantage of.  While the language I’m about to present isn’t perfect, essentially I think the next 100 years will be less about SALES and MARKETING and more about STRATEGY and MESSAGING.

The world we sell our services in is profoundly different than when the techniques of SALES and MARKETING were developed.  Our clients are more savvy.  They have an unprecedented level of access to information.  It’s time to adapt to the world we now live in–and doing so will require more than a facebook page and a blog.

STRATEGY is about intelligently and creatively selecting from the myriad of ways we COULD connect with new business and picking the smartest methods for US and our CLIENTS.  It’s about giving up techniques to persuade and manipulate and focusing on making it easier for clients to buy, accelerating the natural processes that occur before they hire us.

MESSAGING is about learning to speak the language of our clients:  CLIENT ENGLISH.  Learning to think as they do, to understand and articulate back their problems and our solution in the language THEY are familiar with.  Learning to send out signals that they understand and are LOOKING FOR to tell them who to buy from, work with, etc. Social Media these days is seen as a magic formula for EVERYONE to get new clients, which is massively stupid.  As a tool, inside the context of a STRATEGIC plan, and one that helps you deliver smart MESSAGES, social medial is BRILLIANT.  As a magic formula, it’s a waste of webpages.

Look for more posts with more details in coming days.  You’re also welcome to agree or fight with me.  It’ll be a combination of conversations and ideas that eventually produces the best strategies for us all.  (We’re in the process of updating the site so please forgive the parts that aren’t pretty.)  Cheers to David Scott (www.WebInkNow.com) for his initial writing, Matt Gentire (Director of PR and Brand Communications at Century 21 Real Estate LLC) for inquiring in the first place and of course, Matt Dollinger (www.TheYouFactor.com) for his original thoughts to me and for not being smarter than the army of people who think a twitter account and a youtube video are magic formulas for generating clients.  (While this may be true for some, it’s mostly an impossibility for most people.)

I met with a new client today and had a chance to pull out this oldie but goodie. It’s a magic phrase that makes talking about yourself easier and makes you easier to remember.

Reason #1: People’s brains are busy trying to remember and organize billions of bits of information. Giving them 3 things means they’ll at least have a fighting chance at remembering one or two of them.  Don’t try to tell them EVERYTHING about yourself.  Just give them 3 points that actually matter.

Reason #2:  Saying “I’m so great blah blah blah” is generally frowned upon in polite society.  Saying “This is what people seem to like/appreciate/love about me” is different.  It’s giving the person you’re talking to insight into the opinion and approval of others.  It’s still about you being awesome, but the delivery isn’t snooty (Snooty, oh yeah, it’s a word.)

Reason #3:  When done correctly, this phrase will seem like magic because it’s a STRATEGIC MESSAGE, designed to highlight qualities MOST DESIRED by the type of people MOST LIKELY TO BECOME YOUR CLIENTS. That means it’s not a general, vague bunch of crap designed to appeal to everyone.  It’s a specific, strategic combination of information highlighting stuff about you that YOUR ideal clients care about. 

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE:  The real estate agent I met with today wanted to make her listing presentation more effective.  Her new presentation includes the following (shortened for convenience.) “There are 3 basic reasons people love having me list their house. 1.  I’ve SOLD 100% of the homes I’ve listed since 2005.  I will get your home SOLD. 2.  I get it and I’m easy to work with.  Most of the people I’ve worked with in your neighborhood weren’t necessarily selling because they WANTED to.  A lot of them had a death, divorce or new marriage.  I return calls right away and generally just make it as easy as it can be.  I know you’ve got other stuff going on. 3.  I may seem pretty laid back, but I’m a very strong negotiator.  Nobody messes with my kids or my clients.  Period.” In each of the examples, she is SHOWING her potential clients an important piece of her brand.  She doesn’t TELL them she’s compassionate, she SHOWS it by talking about having more important things going on and using examples of people in unfortunate situations.  When she talks about being a negotiator, she needs to SHOW that she’s strong, let herself get AND LOOK a little fierce. If you’re in a sales conversation, talking about yourself can sometimes feel a bit awkward.  Use this method to make it more natural, more memorable and more effective.

Need some extra help getting more clients?  One of the things people LOVE ABOUT ME is the SCREAMIN’ DEAL I run each month.  This month (March 2009), you can get your FIRST HOUR for $50 (a $200 savings).  (We don’t call it the SCREAMIN’ DEAL for no reason.)  So if you need some help with your strategies, figuring out what to say to YOUR potential clients or where to find them, get in touch.  alecia@maverickandcompany.com (Supplies are limited and restrictions apply–mainly, we don’t work with people who suck.)

Click the green button above to find out what Will Smith and Unlikely Prom Queens and Strategy all have to do with one another.

When the economy gets tight (whether in your household or the world’s) people start getting nervous.  When they get nervous, they tend to rush the sales process. Remember, selling is a lot like baseball.  You can’t stand on home plate and score.  YOU HAVE TO RUN THE BASES.

Ever meet someone at a networking function who handed you their card and practically demanded not only your business but also your referrals?  They’re rushing it.  And you feel rushed. I know you feel pressure to make the sale, make money and make the mortgage payment.  But rushing it is a good way to loose it in sales.  Instead of trying to instantly convert people, focus on moving people around the bases (yes, it’s kind of like a pipeline but a more fun analogy.)

First base is meeting someone and recognizing a mutual interest in knowing more. FIRST BASE TIP:  Share stories when people ask what you do.  Tell them your title and then tell a quickie story about a great client you just helped.  This helps them understand what you do and puts a specific idea in their head about how you might be able to help without being pushy.

Second base is a specific conversation about needs and services. SECOND BASE TIP:  This doesn’t mean you’re actually talking about a sale.  It means you have some resources or knowledge they may find useful.  It could also mean they begin sharing a specific problem with you.  Details are swapped.  Again, DON’T RUSH IT.  Focus on moving to 3rd base.

Third base is a conversation about the possibility of doing business together. THIRD BASE TIP:  Not everyone who makes it to third will become a sale, NOR SHOULD THEY.  At third base, you’re thinking through the details and what it might look like to work together.  You’re talking about a real possibility.  Success at third base is about BOTH OF YOU doing the work to see if you’re a good professional fit.

HOME!!! is when the sale is made, but the “selling” work isn’t over. HOME BASE TIP:  Make sure your invoice process prepares your new client for how it will look to work with you.  Give them the guidelines for how to make the most of their investment.  This is the NATURAL selling process.  It’s what happens when it works.  it can happen very quickly but you can’t really score without running the bases.

NEED SOME HELP???  Remember, this month’s SCREAMIN’ DEAL is a $50 First Hour OR $90 for 90 ($90 for 90 minutes.)  If you’d like some coaching to get new clients, call or email me today alecia@maverickandcompany.com (offer expires April 1, 2009, restrictions apply)

You probably think you speak the same language as your clients.  You may have spent hundreds or thousands on pretty brochures or a snazzy website or on ads in the paper.  Yet you find yourself frustrated with lukewarm referrals and less than snazzy sales.  One possible culprit…YOU.

Don’t be too hard on yourself.  Many people make the mistake you may currently be making.  As we become experts in our profession, as we read more and learn more and study more, we become afflicted with THE CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE (muah ah ah ah.)

The Curse of Knowledge is explained brilliantly in the book “Made to Stick” by Chip & Dan Heath.  Essentially, it is the problem that occurs when you know a bit too much.  You view things with an expert’s eyes.  You’re able to see subtleties and distinctions that most people can’t.  You’re the interior designer who sees burnt ochre while the rest of us see a red wall.Worse, when you write emails, brochures and websites, when you talk at meetings, you probably make a second deadly mistake…you try to sound smart.  We all do it.  It’s the main reason I always try to get verbal testimonials that I can write out and send to clients for their approval.

Whenever people write things, whenever they speak in front of a group they want to impress, they tend to try to sound smart.  (This affliction is known as the Impulse to Impress.) Unfortunately, marketing is not about sounding smart.When you combine the Curse of Knowledge with the Impulse to Impress you get a particularly deadly combination.  You get blank looks and missed opportunities. You get good clients who walk away from the burnt ochre because they really just wanted a red wall.It can be very challenging to set aside the Curse of Knowledge and the Impulse to Impress but effective marketing requires it.  Think about your customers and the way they talk about their problems, your solution and you.  Then talk to them in the language they speak.  It’s not about dumbing down your message.  It’s about communicating effectively in the language THEY speak and understand best.  I call it Client English.  And providers who speak it are always more successful than people who sound smart but don’t really say anything.What’s your version of the “burnt ochre” mistake?  How can you translate your expertise into “red” for the people trying to hire you?

I read an article recently suggesting that the best way to sell a service is to become an EXPERT.  If you’re the EXPERT in your field, you’re going to reap customers…right?  Wrong.

Being an expert can be a good thing.  It makes sense that people want to go to the person who knows the most for their services and information. The problem is they probably don’t want to pay for an expert. If I’ve got a clogged drain, I’m not looking for the best damn plumber in the world with the most advanced degrees and fanciest blog and 7 billion drains unclogged.  Sure I’d like to have him, but he probably costs a fortune and isn’t available (off on a tropical island, blogging on his gold-plated blackberry no doubt.) What I want is a plumber who can unclog my drain.  I don’t really want the rookie.  I want a guy with enough experience to unclog the drain, even if a weird problem comes up.  OR enough intelligence and resources to call someone who can unclog it.

When it comes to selling services like insurance or marketing or real estate, people want the same things…it’s just harder to see the direct result.  You know if the drain is still clogged, harder to tell if you’ve got a good financial plan in place.  But the same thing is true about hiring…we want to hire the right amount of expertise but don’t want to pay for more than we need or can afford. We want the expertise it takes to unclog the drain.

So while I wouldn’t tell you to be afraid of being the expert, the effort required won’t necessarily produce new clients for you in YOUR industry and in some cases will drive them away. Follow the drain rule: WE WANT TO HIRE THE EXPERTISE REQUIRED TO UNCLOG THE DRAIN. Have that much, advertise that much and get the clients.

I’ve now worked for myself for 5 years. I’ve worked with a few hundred people on their selling strategies. And I can, with great certaintly, tell you that EVERYTHING you know about sales is wrong.

I started my selling career as a door-to-door salesman. Direct was never quite so direct. I made an average of 3,000 (yes, 3,000) calls each summer for 5 summers while I was in college. In between, I went to school and recruited and trained other students. (We sold educational books with the Southwestern Company.)

So I’ve seen all the training, read all the books and tried almost all the techniques.

And I was good at them.

The problem is that the old school, direct selling, PERSUASIVE model of selling is outdated and ineffective. It teaches that selling is a numbers game. Just see enough people, do a pretty enough song and dance, say just the right things in the right order and you too can be a master salesman.

These days I find that model typically only works for people who sell products and LOVE selling.

For everyone else, it feels…cheesy. A lot of the techniques that are taught under the old model are based on the prospect being your enemy, someone you must triumph over in order to succeed.

Sometimes you’ll find a slightly less horrific version where they preach RELATIONSHIP selling. As in, build a relationship with the person before you commence pressuring them.

If you think about the customers you’ve had the best relationships with however, the people you want more of, you probably didn’t get them by pressuring or persuading. It was probably a LOT easier.

Shortly after meeting them, you probably just sort of clicked with each other. You liked them and they liked you or easily understood what you had was what they were looking for. Then you gave it to them and they paid you.

THIS is what I call the New Model of Sales (because I haven’t found a better name…yet.)

It involves working hard to help the right people find you vs. badgering everyone and praying one of them signs and invoice.

It’s about getting the messaging right so they can understand that YOU are who they’ve been looking for vs. finding a magic word that makes them get out their checkbook.

It assumes that your potential customers are intelligent people, looking to buy solutions they need or services they want vs. idiots who can and should be manipulated into doing what you think is best for them.

It’s a lot more work on the front end but makes life a lot easier on the back-end.

I say that EVERYTHING you know about sales is wrong because the techniques and methods you probably learned are based on the old model of selling–what I also like to call the “Dealin’ Doug” method. (He’s a VERY cheesy car salesman who frequently dresses up iin a Superman-esque costume to film his shouting-at-the-tv-commercials.)

You might keep some of the methods, but it’s time to shift the model. The most successful sales people and business owners I know instinctively do many things right that look like the new model. The less successful get tripped up in the old models and methods.

When you shift fully over from the dark side, you can expect to keep better customers longer and get more referrals that actually become buisness.

More to follow in the future about how to get the new model into your brain.

I welcome your comments, applause and arguments. We would ALL be well served to think through re-inventing the selling process that dominates our culture currently…which is from the early 1800’s by the way. Time for an upgrade, yes?