Are you finished before you start?
Are you finished before you start?
Understanding the impact your mindset has on sales is critical for success. Gain a better understanding of its importance as well as some tips to improve your sales mindset. Don’t be finished before you start.
Keywords:
sales mindset, belief in self, sales, success, mindset,
A colleague and I were in conversation recently when he shared a very profound statement, “You can be finished before you start.”
We were talking about the power of one’s mind, more specifically about ones sales mindset. Eugene was relaying an exchange he had many years ago when he was a pharmaceutical sales rep. He was comparing notes with another rep that was having difficulty getting in to see physicians to promote their company’s product. He wanted to know why Eugene was having so much success, and he was not.
Turns out, this other sales rep found it extremely difficult to turn the doorknob to enter the doctor’s office. He had such high self-doubt, Eugene explained, that he had lost the sale before he even initiated the call. This is when Eugene summed things up by commenting, “You are finished before you start!”
This simple statement may apply to those suffering with weak sales results. Appreciate sales is not for everyone. Being in the sales profession requires intelligence, personality, perseverance and a strong believe in ones self and belief in ones customer.
When you think about it, your objective is to help your prospect make an informed purchasing decision (or not) based on the knowledge you bring to the table. Most successful sales people are advocates for their prospects, doing what is in the client’s best interest. This typically evolves into a meaningful relationship based on mutual trust and understanding. Those that rise to the top in the sales profession also tend to have a high belief in self.
How is your belief in self? Do you experience self-doubt to the point you have trouble dialling that cold call, or making that initial visit to your prospect’s office?
This is more common in sales than we think, not just for those new to the business, it can affect experienced sales people who have fallen into the infamous “rut”. How we think and how we see our self causes this “affliction”.
How we see ourselves in our minds eye determines our belief in self. The subconscious mind is incredibly powerful. Research by psychologists Dr. Henry Murray, Dr. David McClelland, and Dr. Clayton Lafferty has determined our actions are a result of what we think.
The challenge is to recognize when one is not thinking positively about their capabilities and then develop strategies to counteract this thought process. Here are some tips you can use:
1. Remind yourself of your previous successes
2. Focus on your current strengths and future potential
3. Visualize yourself being successful several times a day
4. Record a positive belief statement you can repeat 5 times a day
5. Set and achieve realistic goals (start small), then stretch them
6. Celebrate successes along the way
In the classic book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, he makes the case it is scientifically impossible to conceive an idea in your mind, to believe you can do it, and then not be able to. The fact we can conceive something in our mind and believe we can do it, means we can.
Don’t be finished before you start. Your sales mindset needs to be the “hidden partner” that allows you to not only succeed in sales, but to thrive.
Sell With an Attitude
Sell With an Attitude
When selling a product or giving a sales presentation, you always want to convey a positive, upbeat attitude at all times. This will send a crystal clear message to your audience that you believe in the product you sell, and that they should also.
Keywords:
Sales, marketing, loan officer, mortgage, leads, telemarketing, skills, training, communication, selling
Sell With an Attitude
When selling a product or giving a sales presentation, you always want to convey a positive, upbeat attitude at all times. This will send a crystal clear message to your audience that you believe in the product you sell, and that they should also.
It is rare that you come across a person in sales that is down on his luck, moping around with his head down, and feeling sorry for himself. This person is definitely in the wrong business.
Attitude is everything in sales, from the gleam in your eye, right down to the polished shoes on your feet.
Have you ever heard the expression “smile, it’s contagious?” well it’s true, your smile is contagious, so smile when you greet your customer, they most definitely will return the gesture.
Imagine someone trying to sell you something without ever looking you in the eye, or shaking your hand upon meting you. This would be an indication to most people that the person selling the product does not believe in, or care about their product. Imagine asking them questions and being left with blank stares and empty answers. You will most likely not be doing business with this person.
The above example would be a description of someone “not” selling with an attitude.
When I say “sell with an attitude,” I don’t mean that you have to go out and buy a T-shirt that says “I have an attitude.”
An attitude can be many things, but in sales you want it to be positive. It can be nice, or laid back. You don’t have to be loud and boisterous. It is not necessary to give two handed political hand shakes, or go around back slapping to sell your products.
The ingredients to selling with an attitude are at your fingertips. In fact you were born with them.
All you need is a smile, confidence in yourself and your product, the ability to look people in the eye, and product knowledge.
Also, appearance can speak volumes about your attitude as well. So make sure you look the part. If people think that you don’t have the ability to take care of yourself, they will also think that you don’t have the ability to take care of them.
So sell with an attitude. Smile, be happy, put a spring in your step. Let the world now that you are here to sell, and that you love what you do. Remember, the better your attitude, the better your sales results will be.
This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.
Small Business overeenkomstsluitende Programma Verbeteringen Act (1)
voorzitter Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) spreekt in het voordeel van HR 3867, de Small Business overeenkomstsluitende Programma Verbeteringen Act.
Alvin Donovan Physical Rapport Alvin Donovan
Alvin Donovan Physical Rapport Alvin Donovan
Alvin Donovan has presented seminars in many different countries and met and interviewed some of the most successful people in the world. What Alvin Donovan has discovered is that they all are able to instantly garner rapport with other and make themselves more successful.
Keywords:
Alvin Donovan, Alvin Donovan
Alvin Donovan has presented seminars in many different countries and this has given him the opportunity to meet and interview some of the most successful people in the world. What Alvin Donovan has discovered is that they all are able to instantly garner rapport with other and make themselves more successful than the rest. They are strategies you can use easily and naturally to begin to Make More Money NOW: Physical rapport- The key to all persuasion
Alvin Donovan teaches in his seminars- The fundamental basis of all world class excellent persuasion skills is to harmoniously develop, coordinate and utilize all of the strength instruments you were born with (mind, body, senses, intellect, intuition), with the intention to achieve your outcome through the systematic employment of psychologically and physiologically sound and proven techniques centuries of research. To start with you must realize that you cannot not influence others through all of your behaviors and someone else cannot not be influenced by all of your behaviors in some way. It is your task to discover the most elegant means to use this knowledge to continually achieve your outcomes, or not. So you must realize:
1. The persons process of doing it is more important than what the content is.
2. You need to use your strength instruments (everything you see, hear, feel, think) to calibrate (i.e. Skin tone or color, lower lip or breathing changes) what is going on with the other person and keep cycling for intensity until you achieve your outcome.
In other words you simply:
A) Find out how they normally do it.
B) Find out how they need it to be delivered. What they want, when and how
many times they want it etc.
C) Do it that way.
Remember- Your job is to elegantly elicit and calibrate the process of how they prefer to buy and what is personally important and then cycle for intensity and get out of the way between them and your product.
Rapport- The way to easily and naturally eliminate perceived differences between yourself and the other person .
Benefits of this article:
* establish rapport in 30 seconds or less with anyone.
* build trust into every communication.
* send subliminal messages of likeness.
* improve your range of responsiveness.
* achieve personal and professional flexibility.
* establish deep bonds of trust-quickly.
* covertly calibrate that you have rapport.
* know when you have made your point so you can avoid “over influencing”.
* covertly calibrate when a person changes states.
* using your senses to develop understanding of others.
* establishing meaningful communication.
* improving your responsiveness range.
* build trust into your communication.
* verifying the current level of rapport.
* getting clients to focus on you.
Would it be helpful to have a way to get people to naturally like you? To have clients immediately bond with you? Would it be helpful to be able to speak with your clients in such a way that your message is irresistible?
How can I easily and naturally do this?
Alvin Donovan teaches to focus on building rapport through becoming as much like the other person as possible- eliminating as much perceived differences as we possibly can between us.
People like most those who are most like them.
The conscious mind is that part of your being that can best be defined by saying what it does. It enables you to shift your attention from one thing to another. Therefore, what you are aware of is that part of you that would be called your conscious mind.
Your unconscious mind is that part of you that contains your long term memories. It is also is in charge of automatic behavior-that is-reflex action.
In fact, when Alvin Donovan gives a seminar his outcome for you is for you to easily and naturally become more persuasive-automatically- by evaluating the way you automatically respond in persuasion situations, and then make strategic changes that will enhance the process.
In a study of communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 (”Kinesics and Communication,” R. Birdwhistle, University of Pennsylvania, 1970) the researchers determined that in communication, only seven percent of what we communicate is the result of words that we say, or of the content of our communication.
Thirty eight percent is a result of our vocal behavior, which includes tone of voice, timbre, tempo and volume.
Fifty-five percent is a result of our nonverbal communication, i.e. our body posture, breathing, skin color and our movement.
So you can understand that “competent” persuaders spend most of their time concerned with what they say and very little about how they say it. By the way do you consider yourself competent? Do you know what they call the guy who graduated last in his class at medical school? Doctor!
Someone who is competent is someone who has the minimum requirements. Someone who is adequate. If you are going in for brain surgery do you want the guy who is competent but the last in his class or do you want to find the best that you can.
Maybe you would even want to have someone who is world class excellent?
When Alvin Donovan was around 9 years old, the principal from our school gave a lecture to his class. She said that some of you will discover that you are naturally good at some things while some of you will be better than other at other things. What you need to do is find out what you can be the best at and continually strive to become the best in the world at that one thing.
That is what Alvin Donovan has chosen to do. For Alvin Donovan to be competent at what he does her thinks of having only the minimum level of qualifications. The outcome Alvin Donovan has in mind for you is for you to become world class excellent at what you do. Because when you are the best in the world at what you do then obviously your service or product will be much easier to sell.
You will believe more in your product and that will be communicated through your demeanor, attitude and elegance with which you persuade others to realize that your is the best choice for them.
Clients prefer to deal with the best service or product. Have you ever heard of anyone asking who the worst x in the business is? Of course not.
So anyway, you can understand that competent persuaders probably spend their time focused on what they are saying, the content of the message.
How do “world class excellence” persuaders elegantly persuade others? They spend most of their time concerned with how they say their message.
Personal training tip
This is very important information that we can already immediately use. People who are already in rapport were studied using videocameras. It was discovered that these people were mirroring each others posture, inflection, breathing rate and so on. Notice yourself, go into a cafe, restaurant or bar. Observe a pair of lovers, a group of businessmen whatever. Soon you will notice that they are mirroring each others posture.
If one is sitting forward, so is the other. If one is sitting back so is the other one. This is an unconscious pattern that people in rapport use to understand and relate to each other. So what we are going to learn to do is to do the behaviors associated with rapport to cause the other person to have rapport with you:
1. Rapport on the physiological level – Mirror everything the other person is doing, the more deeply you mirror the more deeply you become in rapport. It should be like the other person is looking in the mirror.
Mirror completely:
Whole body- the persons stance or overall position.
Body parts- any consistent behavioral shrugs, gestures, head nods, or any other types of shifts in their behavior.
Breathing- depth and/or speed and/or displacement. (The most powerful form.)
Voice- tonality, tempo, volume, intensity and intonation patterns.
Because when you mirror the persons physiology, voice and speak at their rate of breathing your message becomes irresistible because it is like their own unconscious (their own inner voice) is speaking to them.
The rate at which you breath causes your mind to cycle at a certain rate. So your breathing rate is the “speed” at which your mind is “running”. When you are breathing at the same rate as the other person you will be on the same wave length. Remember, the first step of rapport is to meet them where they are. So when you breath at the same rate they are, your mind is running at the same rate as theirs.
You will discover that when you do this well, the other person will not want to end the phone conversation or meeting and will be hanging on your every word.
Also, people understand best what you are saying at the rate at which they speak.
If you talk fast you will more easily understand someone who speaks faster whereas if you talk slow you will more readily understand someone speaking slower.
Someone who speaks fast will be a bit bored with the pace of a slow talker. A slow talker will find someone who speaks fast difficult to understand.
The rate at which you speak is the rate at which you think and therefore the rate at which you best understand others.
The key to mirroring someone breath is to look at them and/or to listen to them. If you are looking at them, try looking at them from a head on angle or a 45 degree angle. Notice the rise and fall of their shoulders against the wall behind them. Watch their nostrils open as they inhale and close as they exhale. Also, presumable when someone is talking they are exhaling and when they stop they are inhaling.
The most powerful form of mirroring:
Breathing- depth and/or speed and/or displacement.
Personal training tip- Why mirror?
Because when you mirror the persons physiology, voice and speak at their rate of breathing your message becomes irresistible because it is like their own unconscious is speaking to them.
Also, people understand best what you are saying at the rate at which they speak.
Personal training tip-
a) How it easily and naturally works in daily practice:
Pace (mirror) everything with a three beat time lag to start, rapidly narrow the time lag to zero, then lead to see if in accord. So, the other person leans forward, you wait 3 beats and lean forward. Next you mirror the person and follow 2 beats to mirror. Narrow the time lag to 1 beat and next you are doing what they are doing as they are doing it.
Think about the normal business meeting. The people greet each other and normally make 60 second to 3 minutes of small talk to make rapport. Then one of the persons makes and indication the small talk is over, both parties shift physical posture and one person will begin the business part of the meeting.
So, you pace everything the other person does when you first meet and continue to do so through the first few minutes. Then will come a time for you to change the subject, move your posture and begin your presentation. See if they follow you.
If they follow you, then lead them to your outcome.
If not, simply go back and get them. Go back to pacing until you get them one way or another. In fact, the encounters you have can become elegant dances of pacing and leading throughout.
b) Pacing and leading:
Everyone seems to like the use of the words pacing and leading so we use them here. The definition of pacing is talking about or doing things that are verifiable and true in a persons ongoing sensory experience.
The definition of leading is: doing something other than the other person is doing.
Therefore, one of the many tests for rapport is: lead by doing something other than what the other person is doing and if they follow you then you have it.
If they don’t, go back to pacing.
Remember- You are already always either pacing or leading. You might think this is something new and strange to do on a daily business. This is something that all humans already unconsciously do with each other. You will find that now that you are conscious of this behavior you can use it to your advantage to more rapidly achieve your outcomes.
c) Strength instrument calibration: Sensory acuity
In order for you to become completely successful, you need to continually calibrate your sensory acuity so that you immediately tune yourself to the non-verbal signals that indicate a particular state or a change in the person’s state.
Begin immediately to truly always notice: Skin color change- lighter or darker, Skin muscle tone change- shiny or dull, Lower lip changes- expand (lines not visible) or contract (lines visible), Breathing changes- location, speed, shallow/deep.
The key is to take a mental picture or movie of these and continually compare that picture to what you see in front of you now from moment to moment.
So: All powerful communicators (sales people, ministers, politicians, managers etc.) do three things if they are to be successful:
1. Determine the outcome you want.
2. Have your sensory acuity immediately calibrate when you have got the response that you want.
3. Have the immediate behavioral flexibility to vary what you are doing to achieve your outcome if what you are doing is not working.
Alvin Donovan, founder of the investment bank KiwiGrowthPartners.com, has presented his Make More Money NOW seminars all around the world and has co-authored a book of the same title. Alvin Donovan has also been a consultant/faculty member for several of the world’s largest management institutes, including the American Management Association and the National Management Association in the USA, the Management Centre Europe in Belgium, and IMI in Dublin
Small Business @ SXSW – CoffeeGroundz
Kara Krautter chats met JR Cohen van CoffeeGroundz op SXSW
Cold Calling: How to Warm Yourself Up Before You Start
Cold Calling: How to Warm Yourself Up Before You Start
Why do we hate cold calling so much? Why does the very thought of it send shivers down some people’s spine? But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can do it. All it needs is careful planning and a structured approach. Follow this structure and I’ll show you how you can become a successful cold caller.
Keywords:
cold calling, how to do cold calling, cold calling strategies
Cold calling … even the name is enough to strike fear into the heart of many a small business owner! What image comes into your mind? Sitting in a lonely damp office, surrounded by paper, 2 day old coffee cups and a stack of outstanding work. In other words, something not very nice!
Why do we hate cold calling so much? Why does the very thought of it send shivers down some people’s spine? Firstly, what were we taught at school and by our parents? Don’t talk to strangers! No wonder picking up the phone and speaking to someone you have never met causes such mental problems.
What about every small business owner’s fear – the fear of rejection. That’s enough to find any reason not to pick up the phone. Here’s another one – lack of self confidence and the nagging doubt that you won’t live up to the expectations you put in your prospect’s mind.
I think that’s enough! Perhaps all very good reasons why you may find it hard to pick up the phone but, at the end of the day, to be really successful in business, it’s a necessary evil. Yes, you can convince yourself that you are too busy servicing your existing customers and looking after their every need, but unless you get out and bring in new business, one day you may find yourself with a tired and sold-out customer base.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can do it. All it needs is careful planning and a structured approach. If you can see the error of your ways and understand the impact this lack of action is having on your business, I’ll show you how you can become a successful cold caller. You have got it made if you follow this structure:
Identify, Preparation, Just Do It! and Review.
Let’s consider each of these steps in turn.
Identify
The first step is to identify who you are going to cold call. How do you go about building up a list? Here are some ideas:
• Ask your customers who they think you should be talking to; who could benefit from your product? Referrals from happy clients can be very powerful when speaking to your prospective customers. It tells them that if their colleague was happy to pass on their name then that’s a good recommendation
• Go through your old database and identify companies that no longer deal with you. Unless you really messed up first time round, they may appreciate a call
• Read all your local newspapers and magazines. Is there a story which would be a great excuse to call them up? “I read about your award in the newspaper and …”
• Use networking events and any other social gatherings to make new contacts
• E-mail everyone in your mailing list and tell them that you are on the look out for new leads!
• Train your brain to spot new opportunities
It doesn’t matter how outlandish your first draft list seems, stick the name down and get thinking about where the others are going to come from.
Preparation
Having got your initial list, the first task in the preparation stage is to tidy it up. Take another look at it and pick the top 5 which are likely to end in success. Why do this? Because to be motivated to carry on with something, there is nothing like success. Failure will not spur you on, but success will. So go for the ones which are likely to yield positive results. With practice, you will be able to tackle the more challenging ones later on!
Next, set yourself an objective. What do you want to achieve out of your phone call? An appointment, an agreement to send a sample, a sale? Being realistic, the best you can hope for is an appointment. Be clear on what your aim is. This will help you focus on the outcome during the rest of your preparation.
The most crucial part of the preparation stage is your research. Find out whatever you can about both the company and person you are going to call. What exactly do they sell? Who are they buying from at the moment? How many employees do they have? Do you know of any problems which you could resolve? What is the perception in the market place? What can you learn from their web site?
All of this information will help you in the next part of your preparation – your opening statement and subsequent words. Actors don’t go out on the stage without thoroughly learning and rehearsal and neither should you. Write out your opening statement, which says who you are, which company you are with and what you do. Keep it short, focused and punchy. Remember that many businesses receive cold calls all the time, so what is the benefit in the person spending some time with you? Think of a clear benefit statement to include in your remarks.
As in any selling situation (which a cold call is after all), you are very likely to be met with objections – can’t see you, too busy with a rush order, its Audit time, too many staff on holiday etc. Try and think of every objection and write down what your response will be. Being this prepared will keep you ahead of the game.
Bearing in mind your end objective, how are you going to go in for the kill? What are you going to say to get that appointment?
Going through all this preparation will give you a much needed confidence boost, ready for the next step.
Just Do It!
If you have identified a number of names, set aside a whole morning or afternoon to make your calls. It’s easy to say to yourself that you will do one call today and another tomorrow. Athletes know that you perform better when you are warmed up, so doing a number of calls in a row means you will get better each time – remember what I said earlier about success breeding success. Put the time in your diary and stick to it!
When should you call? Some people will say it’s better to avoid Mondays and Fridays. On Mondays, people are recovering from the weekend, they are too busy planning their week, or clearing up the mess from the weekend! On Friday’s people are winding down and are recovering from a hectic week.
But think about it – if people are planning their week, wouldn’t Monday’s be a great time to call? If people are winding down on Friday’s, they may be in a good mood with the weekend approaching, so more willing to talk and agree an appointment. The bottom line is that there probably is not an ideal time – just do it!
Now you are ready to go. Before picking up the phone, relax your body and muscles, take some deep breaths and ‘see’ yourself achieving your objective. What does it feel like to have achieved your goal? What are you doing to celebrate all those appointments you have got? See yourself as a success!
Now you are ready to go. Pick up the phone, ask for the person you want to speak to and in a confident, crisp and clear voice, start off with your opening statement. Be warm and friendly. Don’t switch off into your own ‘self-talk’, really listen to what the other person is saying; listen out for those inevitable objections. When they come, answer straight back with your prepared answers. The standard objection is that they are too busy to talk now. If so, agree a time when you can call again as this will avoid telephone tag, where you keep missing each other. In the end you will become a nuisance and you want to avoid this at all costs.
At the end of the call, summarise what was agreed so you are all clear on what will happen next. You don’t want any potential costly misunderstandings.
Review
You will be glad to know that the final step is a review of what took place! After you have put the phone down, sit back and write up your notes, put the agreed meeting time in your diary. Think about what went well; what could have gone better; how you could have approached things differently. Do you think you sounded confident? Did you anticipate all the objections? Did you successfully handle the ones which were thrown at you? Did you meet your planned objective? If so, then celebrate!
Armed with all this new information, pick up the phone and dial the next person on the list.
You may feel cold calling is a bit of a chore. But if you follow these steps then you will very quickly find yourself having too much new business to cope with. What a great problem to have!
Nowe metody i Zamówień Small Business wykonawców (7)
pan Mark Leazer Forms & Supply, Inc Charlotte, NC w imieniu Krajowego Urzędu Produkty Sojuszu
Equipment Ownership 101: Tools Of The Tractor Trade
Equipment Ownership 101: Tools Of The Tractor Trade
A growing number of American families are getting back to nature and purchasing rural spreads–their own “little pieces of heaven.”
Keywords:
Equipment Ownership 101: Tools Of The Tractor Trade
A growing number of American families are getting back to nature and purchasing rural spreads-their own “little pieces of heaven.” And in the beginning, they may feel they can handle all of the related outdoor tasks. But work and school schedules often leave only the evenings and weekends for chores, so it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the property maintained.
To that end, many homeowners with acreage to maintain recognize that compact utility tractors are some of the handiest machines available to efficiently tackle chores ranging from mowing and blading to hauling and cultivating.
“We thought we could handle all of our outdoor tasks by hand, but our place was starting to look ratty,” explains Mike Hepworth, who, with his wife Nikki, bought a home and three acres in Prineville, Ore. “It was then that we decided we wanted one piece of equipment that would do what we needed around our home. That’s when we started looking at compact utility tractors.”
In recent years, the marketplace has exploded with a flood of products from dozens of manufacturers, which can make finding the right tractor a daunting task. However, keeping a few key criteria top of mind when considering your next compact utility tractor can make the buying decision much easier and more enjoyable.
Your Acreage Can Have
The Answers
Before looking at tractors, take a look at your property. What type of work needs to be done? Tougher tasks demand more horsepower and versatility. Other chores, covering more acres, require a larger tractor for greater efficiency. Making a list of current and future chores you want to tackle around your property can help you determine exactly what you need.
Not Just A Purchase
Skimping on quality to save money may be more costly in the long run. Make sure the tractor is capable of the work you demand of it. Otherwise, you may put extra strain on the machine, risking expensive repair and downtime.
“The upgrade from our old tractor to the John Deere 2210 enabled us to have more power to do our chores more efficiently without causing strain on the tractor,” explains Mike. “And because the John Deere provided more implement options, we were able to cut down on the amount of equipment we had in our shed and rely more on our tractor as a universal machine for our chores.”
See For Yourself
Long hours can seem even longer when you’re working with equipment that doesn’t work with you. What appears to be your perfect match on paper may not live up to the task, which is why it is important to test-drive any tractor. Pay attention to comfort and ease of operation. If it’s not easy to use, chances are you won’t use it often.
Go Behind The Scenes
When you purchase equipment, you engage in a partnership. Get to know your dealer and their commitment to you. Find out what services they provide from financing, warranties, maintenance and hands-on advice.
“We rely on our tractor to do almost every heavy-duty outdoor chore, which is why it needed to be durable, dependable and reliable,” says Mike. “We found peace of mind in John Deere’s long history in the tractor business. In addition, our dealer was awesome to work with, and supported us even after the sale was made.”
ESG Analyst Jon Olstik on Brocade’s IP Networking Service
Networking service offerings and performance improvements.
Guerilla Versus Gorilla – Small Companies Can Win
Guerilla Versus Gorilla – Small Companies Can Win
We make our living as guerillas – not the bad kind, but more of a freedom fighter. By using the term ‘guerilla’ I mean EMJ (now a division of SYNNEX) fights for business against big gorillas (other distributors) in the field. Our competitors are almost 100 times our size; EMJ is a Canadian-based, $165 million per year distributor. We have made an operating profit for the past 80 consecutive quarters. So even though we are up against the big gorillas as a distributor, we must …
Keywords:
Guerilla marketing, Gorilla, positioning, brand, branding, marketing, business strategy
We make our living as guerillas – not the bad kind, but more of a freedom fighter. By using the term ‘guerilla’ I mean EMJ (now a division of SYNNEX) fights for business against big gorillas (other distributors) in the field. Our competitors are almost 100 times our size; EMJ is a Canadian-based, $165 million per year distributor. We have made an operating profit for the past 80 consecutive quarters. So even though we are up against the big gorillas as a distributor, we must be doing something right.
If you are in a business where some of the competitors are much larger, you may be able to benefit from using guerilla tactics. The principles of running a guerrilla organization differ from running a gorilla organization. As a guerrilla, we hide from our competitor; we do not try to crush them. I even go so far as to examine what they do well and let them do it. At the same time, I look for under-serviced markets and get to these markets fast.
A gorilla takes all competitors head on, trying to crush the competition. Sometimes this takes the form of a price war. Sometimes it takes major prolonged, drawn-out investment. This works as long as you are the same size, or larger than the competition. Even then, such a long battle can sap power and ultimately profits.
Companies that die often believe they were gorillas. It is certain death for a business to fight gorillas unless they can withstand the siege. Any time we hire someone with a gorilla-company background, we watch and coach that person to make sure they are indoctrinated with the appropriate tactics. We have to make sure they understand out business model.
My 8 favourite guerilla tactics are:
1 – Act fast. I use my company’s size for my advantage. I can act lightning fast. In the computer business, this is a huge asset. Things change so rapidly that moving fast and being first to market is a huge advantage. Larger companies do not react quickly. Develop a reputation for being first – it gets the attention of customers.
2 – Welcome smaller opportunities. Gorillas tend to say ‘no’ to manufacturers who don’t think they can do significant volume with. But a small opportunity rejected by a gorilla can be a very profitable opportunity for a guerilla. For EMJ, a million dollar per product line is an opportunity big enough to get the attention of my first string. In your business, look for the right-sized opportunity for you. Frequently, it is the smaller opportunity that has the best promise. The gorillas will leave you alone. There is always a right-sized opportunity for a company of any size. Knowing your rightful place in the market can help you to thrive.
3 – Get focussed. Higher focus means we know more, stock more, and sell more product of fewer manufacturers. The smaller our product listing, the more powerful we become. We know a lot about a little. That means we know the products we sell better than a gorilla, and we become a sales tool for the reseller, not just an order-taker. Could you become more focused and specialized in a business area by giving up on a part of your business?
4 – Be more flexible. We can adapt more easily to our customers and suppliers. We try not to be ruled by policy. The bigger a company gets, the more likely they are to have policy and some of it is required. As a small distributor, we can be more flexible. Are there areas that your competition is ignoring that by being more entrepreneurial, you can capitalize on?
5 – Be smarter. This sounds too simple, almost embarrassing to write. Since we are smaller, we can look at the business we do more carefully and make sure it makes good business sense. We don’t pick up another manufacturer just to increase the size of our line card. That’s just not good business sense for us. That’s the way we have to think – and so should you.
6 – Lower your overhead. For some reason, most companies seem to choose more expensive offices and furnishings as they grow. This expectation tends to increase costs in all areas of the company that distribution, at current margin levels, can ill afford. At EMJ, we buy quality used furniture. We are on the outskirts of Guelph where the cost of land and taxes is less. Our capital base is even high enough that our cost of capital is less than some of the gorillas. Are there areas that you can be lower overhead than the gorillas in your field? Costs always add up on the bottom line.
7 – Foster staff loyalty – one major advantage guerillas have over gorillas is the ability to attract, motivate, and keep good people. Primarily this is because guerillas can be more flexible, easier to work for and give people more of a sense of accomplishment because what they do contributes more directly the company’s bottom line. I have always found there to be great power by being smaller and treating my people with respect and not just as numbers. Gorillas can try to do this but it is tough for them to copy you.
8 – Just BE a gorilla. We like to enter market areas that we can dominate and specialize in. We may not be the biggest but in certain specific niches, we dominate. As long as we are the biggest in an area, we can act the part. We can under-price and over-service the competition forever. Anyone who enters our markets learns that it is expensive and often impossible to unseat us.
9 – Be personal. One thing a smaller organization can do is to be more personal. People buy from people. You can foster relationships that will help you sell. Part of the way we are personal is by showing our customers what markets and products ARE profitable. There is nothing that cements a customer relationship better than making them money, because you’ll be making money for them AND for you!
10 – Be opportunistic – to sum up guerilla strategy is simply to be opportunistic. Take advantage of opportunities that the gorillas cannot do. There are many companies that remain profitable by being opportunistic.
In summary, unless you are huge – think guerilla. Appropriate guerilla tactics for your size will win any battle.
