I’m reading Value-Based Fees: How to Charge — and Get — What You’re Worth by Alan Weiss. In it, he discusses a mentoring program for which he charges a $3500 fee.
People ask how I arrived at $3500. At the time, it was the monthly payment on my Ferrarri. I figured that a dozen mentorees a year would pay for the car.
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One of the tough things about being around for a while is that you become generic. In the consumer’s mind, Kleenex means tissue, but tissue is tissue. So the challenge is to somehow create a new use for, or way of looking at, an old product.
In the past few weeks, media attention has shined on three interesting innovations:
1. Kleenex recently recently released Kleenex Anti-Viral , which, the manufacturer claims, will kill germs in the tissue.
2. Wizmark has taken the trusty old urinal cake and turned it into an advertising medium. The State of New Mexico is placing them in bars in an effort to reduce drunk driving. But the folks at the company want to sell advertising. If the radio/internet thing doesn’t work out for me, this could be my next sales job. Thanks to John Carlton for tipping me off to this.
3. Auto insurance is auto insurance, right? You pay your premium, and when you wreck the car they write you a check. So the companies have to fight it out in a marketplace that too often views them as generic. American Family has come up with a new service for their policy-holders: they have partnered with Drivecam to offer video cameras mounted in the car. The product is aimed at teenage drivers — or more accurately, at their parents. The logic is that behavior changes when the subjects know they’re being observed. So if a teenager knows that sudden accelleration or braking will trigger the camera, he or she will be less likely to drive unsafely. It’s only offered in a few states right now.
I’ve been a Farmers customer for years. Their service has been good, and I’m too lazy to shop premiums. But my older son totalled his car, and my younger son will be driving in a couple of years. If Drivecam comes to Oregon, and American Family is the only company that offers it, would I drag myself off the couch to switch?
You betcha.
It’s not generic anymore.
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It came in the middle of a Michel Fortin teleseminar on copywriting. Fortin was interviewing the legendary direct-response writer John Carlton, and he let Carlton do most of the talking. But in passing, and without elaboration, he mentioned his philosophy on the sales process.
The most important word your customer, said Fortin, is “Why?”. And from attention to interest to desire to action, there are five “why’s” that need to be answered. In the client’s voice:
1. Why me?
2. Why your product or service?
3. Why from you instead of a competitor?
4. Why at that price?
5. Why now?
A few examples (elaborations are mine):
If you do home remodeling, your prospect needs to be dissatisfied with something about his or her home; decide that new windows or a remodeled kitchen will improve the situation; become convinced that you are the best one to do the job; believe that your work is worth the money you charge; and that now’s the best time to get started.
If you’re a Ford dealer, your customer must be convinced that he needs a new car or truck; that a Ford is a better choice than a GMC, Dodge or Toyota; that your store is a better place to buy than another Ford dealership; that your price is a fair one; and that now is the time to buy.
If you offer anti-aging medical services, your customer needs to decide she needs to improve her appearance; that mesotherapy is a better choice than liposuction; that your practice is the best place to get the procedure; that your price represents the best value; and that now is the time to get it done.
It’s not enough to tell your customer each of these things — you need to show that customer why.
Although advertising will begin the process and move it along, in most cases it won’t completely answer all of these “why’s” by itself. The rest of the process will happen when your customer calls, or walks into your store or office. But before your prospect pulls out wallet, credit card or checkbook, all of the “why’s” need to be answered — and answered to the customer’s satisfaction, not yours.
Make sure you know where you are in the sales process with each customer. Which “why” do you need to answer next?
When you work on a marketing campaign, it’s natural to want to make sure you’re targeting “the right people” with your message – the people who are most likely to do business with you.
Media people have access to a variety of research tools to make some educated decisions about the kind of people who are listening to, reading, watching, or logging onto our media. And a lot of time, effort and money are spent in trying to pick the vehicle that reaches The Right People.
If you promise not to tell, I’ll pass along a dirty little secret of this business:
The Right People are listening to my radio stations… and my competitor’s stations. They watch TV (a whole bunch of channels, too). Some of them get their information from the newspaper, and some from the internet.
Further complicating the picture is the fact that very few people make decisions by themselves. People talk to each other and influence each other’s choices. The end user may or may not be the person who decides what to buy.
Examples?
In large companies, office equipment may be used primarily by administrative personnel. But the sales order may be issued by someone in the purchasing department. And orders over a certain size may need the blessing of the controller or even the CEO. All of those people may even seek advice from colleagues at other companies.
Here’s how the Phi Beta Kappa college honor society solicits members, according to the Wall Street Journal: “You get a letter during junior or senior year, with congratulations and a request to pay an initiation fee (generally $50 to $90). If you don’t respond, some chapters send a follow-up letter to your parents.”
Who makes the decision to enroll in Phi Beta Kappa – the student or the parents? And when you’re marketing office equipment, what target do you choose?
You can spend a lot of time agonizing over the question. The beauty and the curse of marketing is that there’s no one right answer. The odds are pretty good that whatever media choice you make (“Cheney for President” on a Progressive Talk station being a possible exception), you’ll reach a significant number of The Right People, and you’ll miss some others.
Make sure that the people you do reach hear your message often – the more often you talk to someone, the better the chance he’ll give you a call when he has a need.
Then, using the time you saved by not agonizing over your media choice, agonize over your message. Make sure that your story matters to your prospects, and that you tell it well.
I can help you with that.
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The Oregonian’s Sunday print story on the issue was solid. It presented views from principals, chaperones and students. It also touched on the history of skirmishes between parents/educators and teens about their dancing — which, apparently, dates back at least to the nearly 1900’s and the Turkey Trot.
[This last tidbit came from Julie Malnig, a social dance historian at New York University. I had no idea that there were jobs available as social dance historians.]
It seems as if the Oregonian knows they’re supposed to be using this web video thingy, but they can’t quite figure out how or why. Below the subhead, the O once again tries to lure you to their web site to see “video from last weekend’s Blackboard Music dance in Beaverton.” The pitch is accompanied by a color photo of teen torsos. Don’t listen to the carnival barker, folks. There’s still nothing interesting under the tent — it’s the same poorly-lit, substance-free video that was on there yesterday.
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