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Nine Life And Career Hacks We Can Learn From US Presidents

February 17, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Nine-presidential-life hacks-for-presidents-day

You gotta love a federal holiday in honor of our presidents.

Today we celebrate our nation’s most hard-working leaders… by taking the day off! It’s a wonderful tradition.

This year, due to the worst winter in recent history and more than usual snow days, schoolchildren are making up what would have been a day off. Pity.

For those of you poor schmucks slogging through another dreary February workday: Good for you! Hang in there. (I’m with you!)

Last category: if you took the day off, but you’re not a government employee; then your customers must be Federal and State employees.

In any case, we spend the day honoring presidents past.  I’m repurposing an old blog post with these nine POTUS (and potent) tips:

 

1.   Learn to dance. George Washington connected with average people, high society and heads of state by dancing an impressive minuet as well as popular country dances of the day. He enjoyed it, and people loved him for it!

You don’t really have to learn to dance to be awesome. Just like you don’t need to play golf to excel in business. Sales aren’t really made on the golf course. No one brings a contract and copy machine out to the links.  Golf is just an opportunity to spend time with clients and colleagues away from the office — and, like dancing, most people can at least hack their way through it.

The point is to have fun with your customers. Reveal your personality, hobbies, quirks. 

 

2.   Ask your spouse or best friend for their opinion. John Adams relied on his wife Abigail throughout his life and presidency. Her opinion was the first he sought when he had to make tough decisions, which was most of the time. Abigail was as practical as she was gentle. Their regular correspondence guided and grounded him while his work took him overseas and out of town, and hints at the collaborative bond they shared in affairs of the state.

A patient family member or friend makes a great sounding board. If they’re smart, it’s a bonus. Share a problem, get some perspective, and clear your head.

 

3.   If you must play second fiddle, do it well and learn all you can. Fourteen presidents held the job of Vice President preceding their own terms as Commander in Chief. You can’t always be top dog, but if you’re a competent second, opportunities are everywhere.  

Excellence comes in all capacities. Support your colleagues.

 

4.   It doesn’t matter where you come from, what your background is, what you look like, or what motivates you. Our presidents were inventors (Lincoln), bar owners (Lincoln again), peanut farmers (Carter), and movie actors (Reagan). They were handsome (Ford was a model), fat (Taft), and skinny (Lincoln). They were men of few words (Coolidge) and men who loved to speak. (Harrison’s inauguration speech was so long, he died a month later from the pneumonia he contracted while delivering it in the dead of winter, sans hat and coat.)

What counts is the drive, passion, ideas, creativity, and hard work that moves people to greatness.

President Harrison’s sad ending also earned him two dubious achievements: longest inauguration speech and shortest term (just 32 days). This leads to the next piece of practical advice:

 

5.   Stay healthy and active. Doctors said that McKinley’s bullet wounds might not have killed him, but he died anyway because he never exercised. On the other hand, John Quincy Adams swam (nude, if you must know) in the Potomac every morning and lived to the respectable age of 81. Exercise helps you live longer with less incidences of common diseases and illness like colds and flu. Furthermore, you’ll just feel good.

 

6.   You are not bullet-proof. Whatever you think you know, no matter how many deals you’ve done, no matter how many sales you’ve closed, no matter how respected and protected your position; there’s always something or someone out there who can take you down. A healthy dose of paranoia, or just good instincts (if you happen to travel sans secret service) serves you well.

 

7.   Along those lines, always have a “Plan B.” Don’t assume anything is a sure bet. If you get complacent about your standing with your customers and co-workers, you begin to slip. And if you are not looking ahead to offer future products or not talking to future customers; eventually your well runs dry. Abraham Lincoln comes to mind: he failed at so many professions and attemps at public office, to list them would add too many words to this post. But he never gave up or stopped re-inventing himself.

 

8.   Use current technology to reach your customers. Barack Obama tweeted his way to the White House and made use of the Internet to dazzle young voters. FDR is famous for his Fireside Chats, which made full use of the new media of the time – radio waves. If you’re not using appropriate media and social channels available to keep your customers engaged, then you’re stepping over cash. Grow your email list. Ask their opinions. Share more. Meet your customers where they are. 

 

9.   Assemble a “kitchen cabinet” of advisors, as Andrew Jackson did. Working with a team is almost always better than working alone. Even if your “cabinet members” are working on different accounts and projects; get in the habit of sharing strategies and building bonds with smart, successful peers. When you seek out people whose strengths differ from yours and arrange a weekly phone call with each of them, your cabinet will prove to be an invaluable resource!

 

 

Filed Under: Freelancing, Inspiration Tagged With: career hacks, famous presidents, Federal holiday, Life hacks, life tips, Lincoln, lives of the presidents, Obama, president, president life, presidential tips, Presidents Day, presidents' lives, sales tips, snow day, US holiday, US president, US presidents, Washington

The Number One Threat To Your Customer’s Objections

February 12, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan 2 Comments

LOVE. 

LoveThat’s it, baby. All you need is love. 

What is an objection, but an assertion of fear?

Fear that they’ll make the wrong decision, spend too much money, buy the wrong color, type, or size.

Fear that they’ll lose an opportunity, lose face, or the chance to buy something better in the future.

Fear that they don’t know what they’re getting into.

Fear that they’ll blow it, break it, lose it, crash it, fail…

The customer’s objections always stem from some kind of fear.  

 

And what is the opposite of fear? LOVE.

“What’s love got to do with it?” you ask. We’re in it to win it. The goal of marketing is to find good leads to a sale. The goal of a sale is to make money, earn a living, grow the business, earn the respect of our customers and competitors. Sales are crucial. (If only we could get past those peaky objections!) 

When St. Paul sat down and wrote to the Corinthians, he penned a challenging list of ways to live. Do you think some Corinthians had any objections? Of course!  But the good news includes this bit about love, and if you want to counter objections steeped in fear, the best way to do that is to drop down to the basics. 

Love is patient.

You can’t exactly show patience in a blog post or video, but you can craft your content to effectively speak to your perfect percentage of the world. If you do get the chance to talk in person, just listen to their objections. Listen with patience. Don’t interrupt, or you might miss out on the juicy bits that help you understand what’s brewing beneath the surface.

Sometimes I get off the phone and wish I could remember more of what the other person said, than what I yapped about. Shoot, what a missed opportunity! Too little, too late. Don’t make my mistake. Just listen patiently and…focus on understanding.

Love is kind. 

Learning how to listen patiently is a skill. The next part is processing the knowledge before speaking.

When a customer objects, she’s exposing her soft underbelly of doubt. This is not the time to pounce, but to show gentleness.

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to take time to ask questions, a natural part of a copywriter’s job. Part of that goal extends to the business side, listening to prospects and deciding in real time whether to even make an offer of my services. Sometimes it’s just not a good fit.

Just yesterday I talked with my friend Jenny in London who had a phone call with someone who was considering her services. This prospective customer showed hints that she wasn’t ready to fully benefit from Jenny’s service. Did Jenny bend her will and force a situation that didn’t feel right? No, she didn’t even make an offer. That was admirable and kind, don’t you think?

It’s just as kind as countering an authentic objection from someone who is truly ready for the outcome you can provide. If your product or service is genuinely going to help your customer and bring a level of peace, clarity, happiness, delight, service, or utility to her life; then you’re doing a disservice NOT to offer what you’ve got. Recognizing and overcoming an objection comes from kindness.

Love is not boastful.

The only thing boasting does is put distance between you and your customer. Boasting says “I’m up here. You’re not.” That’s not going to win him over. There is a time for graciously accepting those roses everyone’s throwing at you, but a fist pump in the face of an objection doesn’t cut it. Think of an objection as a chance to offer a solution. If you take it as an opportunity to leverage yourself and your ego, you blew it.

Love is not proud.  

Wait, let’s dissect that word right there. Proud. You’re supposed to proud of your work, your reputation, your company, your service. What’s wrong with pride? The wrong kind of pride interrupts your ability to deliver on your promise. If you’re really “that good,” chances are you’re a little humble about it. Pride can blind you to the chance to improve, even just a little. And our customers continually challenge us if we let them…

Let them.

Love does not dishonor others. 

So what’s a little objection, anyway? It’s true, not everyone is our ideal client. But everyone is worthy of being served. Objections often enlighten an entrepreneur of unsolved problems, and new creative solutions. Honor every objection with a sincere goal of helping your prospect make the right decision. You might find you benefit from it as well. 

If you consider it a privilege to serve on all levels, then you might offer additional services to support someone after a sale. That could mean maintenance, follow up, service plans, or even alternate products. A heartfelt objection could trigger a new evaluation of your products line or markets.

Honorable sales is meeting your customer where she is in the moment. and showing them where she could be.

Love is not self seeking.

If you come from a place of service, everyone wins. If you’re thinking at every moment that a sale is at stake, then your thoughts are swirling around what you stand to gain. When that starts to happen, then any objection might even personally offend you. (Not good enough? Not comprehensive enough? Not desirable? Overpriced? Not status-y enough? How can this person not see the value?) 

Your customer wants to know the most important thing: “What’s in it for me?” (That’s why they’ve given you their valuable time.) If you start feeling self conscious or inadequate during the moment of an objection, then the sale is already lost.

As you write your copy, visit with customers, or make phone calls, you stand squarely between your commitment to your customer, and her desires and needs. Being able to anticipate an objection with open eyes, the whole self-conscious aspect of selling dissipates. That icky feeling goes away.

Love is not easily angered. 

Well, this one is tough. Most times an objection is not a challenge to a duel. But if you feel angry, maybe it’s only because you didn’t lay out the terms properly. If anger rears its ugly head, then look at the way your’e doing business and change it. Make sure you don’t let yourself become a doormat.

As a young sales person selling semiconductor equipment in Silicon Valley in the 90s, I made the mistake of bending over backward every time a certain customer called, even to the point of partnering in a research project together. I was just sure I’d get this account’s business, so I put everything on the line. I enlisted the help of some busy engineers at my company, and moved heaven and earth to obtain and transfer sample wafers between our two companies. When the sale went to our competitor, I was devastated. Givers make this mistake and get burned out if they don’t know how to protect themselves (a topic for another post).

In business, anger usually stems from the feeling that something is not fair, or that you’re being used. An objection that triggers anger means you should step back, re-evaluate your offer, and then move on.

Love keeps no record of right and wrong.

If you keep getting an objection — but no decision — then it’s time to give your prospect his freedom.

Some objections are just stalling, not true objections. On the other hand, try not to place a value on them, and address each one without judgment. Just as there are no wrong questions, there is no good nor bad objection. If someone raises a good point, acknowledge it and direct attention to your overarching value.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. 

You want your customer to be happy because a happy customer makes a happy business. Deception will only make you and your clients miserable. Stand up for yourself, but also know your limitations. The truth will set you free.

Acknowledging how you’re NOT a certain way, can be the key to bringing your customer over to your side. Long ago, I went shopping for hot tubs. The internet was just getting going, so I hoofed it around to the local shops in search of information. At one store, the tubs were so shallow, I thought they weren’t as good as the others. In my mind less water meant an inferior tub. Only when the sales person countered my objection did I realize that mine was one objection he actually enjoyed getting!  He pointed out my small stature and how people my size tend to bob at the top instead of ease down into the seats. A shallower tub didn’t have that effect, and besides, less water meant lower heating costs…who knew?

Love always protects…

Do you want a relationship with your customer? Protect her decision to buy with a guarantee, a commitment to stand by her, to support her decision to say yes, or no. An objection is often a question about support. (E.g. If this happens, then how am I protected? If I don’t like something about it, then what? If it doesn’t fit, will you take it back? If It stalls in the middle of the desert, who will come get me?)

Put her worry to rest. Make sure she know’s you’ve got her back.

Always trusts…

An objection is a chance to put your customer in the driver’s seat. You answer with honesty and turn the decision back over to her, making the sale a two-way street. Trust allows you to enter into a relationship with a customer on even footing. And it may even pull your contracts and/or terms into better shape. If you’ve been burned a few times (as all new business owners and entrepreneurs have been at some point), then you know the value of being able to trust your customer in the same way that they trust you. Build trust into your offer and you both win.

Always hopes…

Have you ever wanted to ask, “How many more objections can you possibly have?” Do you ever feel that the whole sales process is getting wobbly because you both have lost sight of the big picture, the big transformation?

Sometimes, too many objections or ‘nitpicky’ objections are just an indication that your prospect doesn’t have clarity about the real value your provide. Don’t go down that dark path with her. It’s your obligation to steady the pace. You know who you are and how you help, so when you see that the conversation is taking a turn for the bleak, then lift it up. The transformation still exists for your customer, but you must point the way. Bring it back into the light.

Always perseveres.

You win some, you lose some. Every “no” gets you closer to the next “yes.” In the world of content marketing, you don’t often get the chance to directly counter objections, but you always have another chance to position yourself in a new or different way.

Wrong person? Inopportune timing? Not in a position to make a decision? It’s okay; your content can be shared in another way, on another day, with the right person. Consider putting out a fact sheet with a list of the most common customer objections (FAQs). If you persevere, you’re always ready for the next objection because you’ve anticipated it.

Don’t let fear of rejection cause you to freeze when your customer raises a bona fide objection. It’s a natural part of the sales process and a precious opportunity to earn a happy client. Follow the rules of “love” and enjoy it.

St. Paul’s mission was to spread Christianity all over the land with the powerful sales technique of love. It might work for us, too.

Filed Under: Copywriting Tagged With: anticipating objections, Bible quotes, Christian business, Christianity, Christianity in business, confronting customer objections, confronting objections, copywriting, Corinthians, customer objections, customers, entrepreneurs, fear, God in business, Kingdom business, love, Love is kind, Love is patient, overcoming customer objections, overcoming objections, sales, sales tips, small business, St. Paul

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