Killing the Competition - A Deadly Case Study

I got a call from a former client last week that really made me smile. We had lost contact over the last couple of years and he simply wanted to re-connect. During our conversation I asked him about the overall impact of the work I did for him and he was pleased to tell me that it continues to be a major driver in his companies growth.

Case Study: Batzner Pest Management

Wisconsin’s largest, privately owned pest management firm faced stiff competition in a mature market place. Clarity’s mission was to create an image and market position that will add value to the company’s services, differentiate the firm from competitors and provide a competitive edge.

I conducted industry and customer research to clearly define the main concerns and value equations for each target market. This groundwork uncovered key information including an overwhelming concern about the use of chemical pesticides. The research also revealed that there were no other pest control companies in the market who were addressing this concern. Industry sources confirmed that the industry was moving in this direction on a large scale due to customer demand.

Using this data, I worked with Batzner to re-brand the company’s main service line. Calling the service the B.A.N. System (an acronym for Balanced As Nature), I developed a logo for the service and a marketing and advertising strategy to position the company as a holistic alternative to traditional pest control.

Printed materials, a new web site, print ads, television and radio advertising were developed and implemented to promote the new company position to consumer and corporate audiences with great success, producing a growth rate significantly higher than the industry average. Additionally, we updated employee uniforms from plain, gray work cloths to tan outfits reminiscent of zoo keepers. The logo was also applied to the companies fleet of vehicles and employee uniforms.

The B.A.N. System has become a central product offering for the family owned and operated company and continues to drive growth.

Marketing and the Art of Corvette Maintenance

Lately my car isn't performing at its potential. The biggest sign something is wrong is the formation of small pools of coolant in the oil. I'm no Mr. Goodwrench, but I'm guessing that's bad. However, the problem could be any number of things – ranging from the relatively inexpensive blown head gasket to the pricier problem of cracked or warped heads to the complete replacement of the motor.

If I were to approach the problem like a typical marketing manager, I would whip out my check book and start replacing components hoping I get lucky and eliminate the problem. After a certain amount of money and time, I will undoubtedly achieve success even if I end up buying a new motor. However, since my wife insists that I stick to an automotive budget, I'm not convinced guessing is the right methodology to solve the issue.

Instead, I'm going to go through a logical process to uncover what might be wrong - with the goal of only fixing the problem that is causing the reduction in performance. I'll look at spark plugs for discoloration. I'll perform a compression test to check for a breech in the head gasket. I'll remove the heads and have them checked for warping or cracking. I'll talk to more knowledgeable gear heads to get input and advice. Once I have all the information I need to understand exactly what is happening deep inside the motor, I will have a clear picture of what is needed to solve the problem. Then I can focus my budget and efforts on only those issues.

If your marketing or sales programs are performing at sub par levels, it might make sense to take a step back and systematically evaluate each facet of your marketing and sales efforts to get a clear picture of what's working, what's not and which issues are top priority in terms of reaching your goals. Similar to a financial audit (but much more interesting), a marketing audit will give you the clarity you need to make wise decisions and help you focus only on the issues that will directly impact your success. Unless you really want that fancy new motor and money is no object. Just don't tell my wife.

When he's not restoring classic Corvettes, Pete Monfre brings clarity to B2B companies who are striving for superior growth and fiscal performance. He has facilitated over 80 marketing audits over the last two decades for many leading companies. For tips on performing the marketing audit, contact Pete Monfre at http://www.claritymarketingsupport.com/ or by calling 866-567-4050.

Video on the Web - a marketing godsend

If you would have asked me about putting video on your web site a few years ago, I would have strongly discouraged it. In fact, the subject used to come up regularly back in the late 90's when my firm was at the forefront of Internet development but it was not feasible then. Fast forward to today and everything has changed. There were two huge issues for streaming video over the Internet in years past: slow connections and the requirement that a user has to have a certain plug-in to view the video. Adding to the problem was the existence of multiple standards for on-line video with each requiring a different playback technology.

Of course, broadband has been one of the major factors in the astronomical adoption of Internet video all but eliminating speed issues but another key technology has made video almost universally accessible. Enter the humble Flash application. Several years ago, the major browsers integrated Flash technology in their software - practically eliminating the need for separate software to view animated content. Most video content you see on the Internet is actually not video - it's video converted to Flash. Thus the majority of viewers can access the content by simply clicking the play button. This is the technology originally utilized by YouTube.

Add into this equation mobile phones, televisions with Internet capability, on-line games, and the convergence of the Internet with television networks and video becomes a viable communication medium. In fact an analysis from the Dynamic Logic MarktNorms database shows that video ad formats are clearly more effective than other forms of online advertising at breaking through clutter and conveying messages. But on-line video has valuable capabilities that television doesn't have (yet). Measurement functionality can be built into on-line video content to provide metrics such as how long Web viewers stay tuned in to a video, whether they fast-forward and when they stop watching. Such metrics can help an online advertiser better understand what appeals to audiences.

In February 2008, Internet users viewed 10 billion videos, a 66 percent increase over February 2007, according to comScore, a leading Web measurement firm. Meanwhile, local online video advertising was a $400 million business in 2007, according to Borrell Associates. eMarketer expects that online video ads will pull in $1.3 billion nationally this year. Even better is the news that online video is a very viral activity, creating additional opportunities to build awareness of, and drive traffic to, web sites. A 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that 57 percent of online video users (67 percent of 18-29 year olds) send video links to others and 75 percent receive video links.

If your web site is languishing in terms of traffic and conversion, a short video can liven things up and be more effective in projecting your brand personality. This is especially true for service firms, for example attorneys, doctors, consultants, etc., where customers "buy" the people who provide the service.

I have some personal experience in the power of Internet video. About 10 months ago my son and I produced a short video and put it on YouTube. This seemingly insignificant effort has grown into a full blown commercial enterprise garnering national television appearances for my son, interest from major television networks and thousands of visitors each month to our web site www.enzoology.com. As we continue to produce web video, our traffic to the web site (and sales of DVDs) continue to build at a significant rate. And we have yet to do any search optimization - the growth has been from word of mouth (people forwarding our videos) and social media.

If you are interested in how we've leveraged video to rapidly build traffic contact me and I'll share what we've learned. It's easier and less expensive than you think.

Some straight talk about “The Recession” Part Two

I dont' know about you but I refuse to participate in any "recessions". So what is really going on out there? What are companies doing to turn the recession into an opportunity?

Based on my research and dozens of conversations with CEOs, Presidents and owners of B2B technology companies the facts on the ground don't quite align with the media's stories of impending doom. In fact, most of these companies had a great year in 2007 and continue to be optimistic about the coming year. Only a few were seeing minor slowdowns in the first quarter of 2008 but most acknowledged that it isn't unusual.

Only the larger companies seem to be cutting marketing and promotion budgets which isn't surprising since most large companies spend enormous sums of money in these areas. It makes sense that they might cut some of the more frivolous tactics and programs. (assuming they know which are generating profit and which are not). Smaller companies are staying the course either maintaining investment or in many cases, increasing spending on highly targeted, integrated marketing programs.

According to Jason Myers, publisher of Austin Business District Magazine “It only makes sense to see an opportunity when competitors are cutting marketing and promotion budgets. Strategically increasing investment in the areas where competition is cutting is proven to produce substantial returns when the cycle begins moving upward again.” The idea is to fill the void left by competitors who seem to disappear from the market when times are tough.
Be more relevant
Many smart marketers are turning back to the basics – aligning messaging with customer buying drivers or “pain points”. From fine tuning messaging to emphasis cost savings or being far more specific about the value customers can expect, marketers need to be more relevant than ever before. Increasingly companies are not assuming they know exactly what drives customer buying behavior – instead, they are going directly to customers and asking them how and why they buy.

Crank up lead generation activities
If you are closing fewer deals or the sales cycle is getting longer (as it often does during a downturn) it makes sense to increase the number of opportunities coming into the funnel. If you can increase your close rate at the same time you will most likely be able to greatly increase results. Shift marketing investments away from difficult to track tactics like branding to more quantifiable programs including direct mail email and snail mail), social media, online promotion like webinars.

Start a cold calling program
Whether you enjoy the thrill of the hunt or hate picking up the phone, the fact is: cold calling works - assuming you have a sound process and approach it honestly and with dignity. I know that isn't what the sales “gurus” and books teach. There is an art to cold calling executives and trickery will get you nowhere. Be prepared to ask powerful questions and by all means be brief and respect your contact's time. You might be surprised at how accommodating CEOs can be if you are authentic and naturally curious.

Perform a competitive analysis
Knowing what the competition is doing will help you spot holes in their marketing and sales programs that you might be able to exploit. For example, if your competitors are pulling back on advertising, you might want to step in and fill the void. If they are reducing allocations to public relations, start cranking up your P.R. Go where they aren't.
Start with your existing customer base
Talk to or meet with as many existing customers as possible. Make it clear that you value their business and welcome referrals. Don't be afraid to ask them to flip through their database or rolodex (do people still use those?) and pick out a couple of contacts that might be a match. If the customer is happy with your company they should be willing to refer you.

The bottom line is that you need to execute, execute, execute. If you don't have the manpower in-house, outsource it. But get in the game and make it happen.

What do customers really want?

by Pete Monfre
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that your customers don't really care about the latest whiz-bang feature of your new whatchamathingy. I'm also willing to bet they don't really care that much about how big you are, how small you are, how nice your office is, what your vision or mission might be or how awesome your last ad campaign was. Over the course of doing many surveys and focus groups with executives and physicians, one thing has been absolutely consistent. Customers want you to solve their problems.

This could mean reducing costs or hassles (which usually incur added costs) or increasing revenue. But promising these broad concepts isn't good enough. You need to understand your prospect's and customer's problems on a case-by-case basis. And you need to be up front about whether you can truly solve these problems.

For some of you, this might seem painfully obvious. However, take a look at all of your outward facing marketing and sales materials. Do they specifically state the types of problems you solve? Can your sales people articulate the types of problems typically faced by customers and align them with solutions?

For example, FedX solves the problem of getting packages to their destination when they “absolutely, positively have to be there overnight”. If your problem involves delivering a package within 24 hours, it is pretty clear that FedX is in the business of solving this specific problem.

Another way to look at this equation is to think of it in terms of pain. For example, when I am talking to a prospect I may explain my capabilities in terms of the types of pain the prospect might be feeling. For example:

I work with CEOs that are:
- concerned about a lack of new opportunities coming through the door.
- frustrated by spending on marketing programs that don't seem to impact revenue goals
- angry that their sales and marketing teams are at odds resulting in missed opportunities

My point here is to deliver your message in emotional language the prospect can understand and to which he or she can relate on a personal level. A list of features just isn't effective in created the gut-feel buying impulse that causes the buyer to choose your offerings over your competitors.

Whether you are selling electronic boxes or accounting services, at the end of the day your customer buys for his or her own reasons. Rarely do they buy based on logic. How can you tap the emotion of the buyer and clearly communicate how you can improve his or her condition?

The sky is falling- Some straight talk about The Recession Part One

By Pete Monfre
The sky is falling!
I used to hear a lot about the coming recession as it blared from every news channel and radio talk show within ear shot. Since I tossed a brick through my television, I hear much less inflammatory rhetoric these days, but I assume that these fair and balanced media sources continue to trumpet impending doom for American businesses. I thought it might be valuable (or at least entertaining) to bring some actual facts to the table.

Regardless of how much the economy is politicized, the fact is that all economies and markets are cyclical to some degree. Whether you call it a “chasm” or a “correction” or a “recession” history tells us that it is only a matter of time when the curve begins it's movement upward. The technical definition of a recession is when economic growth contracts to negative numbers for two or more quarters. The real question is how low will it go and how long will it last? I don't care who you are – this is impossible to predict accurately. One thing seems inevitable, the media's drum beating will only exacerbate the issues and create what I call a “psychological” recession.

It's all in your head
As “experts” enter our living rooms to give their various viewpoints we tend to believe them. After all, they are “experts” - we know this because they have fancy titles, wear ties and mouth confusing jargon that seems very serious and credible. Most of what they say goes right over the head of the average viewer who may or may not realize that media outlets go for what’s hot, what’s sexy, and what will give them the most viewers. How exciting is it to hear someone say the economy is doing well?

The more the drum beats, the more people become frightened and worried. The public’s perception of recession becomes negative, and the reaction just makes the situation that much worse. Combined with the rising energy, grocery and housing costs, people reduce spending and the effect ripples through corporate America and eventually the stock market.

B2B is invisible to the media
However if you sell products and or services to other businesses, what you see on the news may not actually apply to your situation. Almost all of the recessionary horror stories deal with consumer spending – the media rarely covers business to business markets. Certainly if consumer spending lags long enough there will be some effect however, hospitals still buy imaging equipment, corporations still buy software and most businesses can't afford to take a “wait and see” position. It's grow or die.

So you are seeing fewer opportunities recently – how's your bucket?
When it comes to bringing in new customers, there is no doubt that this dynamic is also cyclical. How dramatic these cycles are is actually within the control of the affected company. Of course we like to blame it on “the market” or “the customer” or “the competition” or “George Bush” but at the end of the day we are the ones to blame.

Can you seriously say your sales and marketing programs are as good as they could be? Would you say they approach "best practices"? Honestly? Well, don't feel bad. The truth is, every business is a somewhat leaky bucket. It's near impossible to have a perfectly sealed bucket – there will always be inefficiencies, unexpected costs, waste and other factors that leak away some profit. When times are good, and plenty of water is pouring into the bucket, these leaks and holes don't seem that significant. But when things get tight (and they will, sooner or later) what seemed like pin holes now look like gaping fountains.

So what is the typical reaction? Most companies bring out the axe – cutting jobs, programs and other expenses. Sometimes this cutting is needed. Unfortunately, many companies cut the very things that would solve their problem to begin with! “Marketing? What a waste of money. Kill it!” says the CEO. “Sales support? Too expensive.” says the CFO as he crosses line items from the budget. “Advertising?! I never liked those ads anyway – fire the ad agency!” says the CMO. It's as if these companies were on a losing streak in NASCAR and their answer was to sell the engine. It makes no sense.

A more sensible approach
It's hard to blame these smart leaders to looking cross-eyed at their marketing and sales teams when things get tight. Most marketing and sales teams are fairly dysfunctional – making up more than their share of the holes in the bucket. The marketing team is cranking out fancy, expensive brochures while the sales manager is crying out for something her team can actually use. The sales people whine that they don't have enough leads and the ones they have are crap.

Instead of tossing the baby out with the bath water, it makes better sense to step back and take a cold hard look at your marketing and sales programs. Gather the team and spend a day or two systematically analyzing what works, what doesn't, what customers really want, what the market is doing, etc. Leave no stone unturned, check titles at the door and slaughter the sacred cows. The idea is to find and eliminate waste and inefficiencies while re-focusing the team on what works. Have your sales team draw their sales process on a white board – if they can't do it there's a hole in the bucket that needs fixing. Ask your marketing team how customers define value – don't accept vagaries. Ask what the buying drivers are and how customers rank them. When they answer, ask them how they know – is their response anecdotal or empirical? When was the last time they talked to a living, breathing customer?

Cut any tactic that isn't contributing to revenue and increase investment in those activities that are working. If you can't be objective bring in someone who can. Objectivity is the key to the entire process. A good outside facilitator can make this process thorough, reasonably quick and painless while refreshing and uniting the team so they can move forward as a cohesive unit and maximize every opportunity that presents itself.

Stay tuned for Part Two where we'll get into some specifics about how to crank up your sales and marketing programs to offset any downturn you might be seeing.

Top Five Beat the Recession Marketing Missives

Look for holes – Take a hard look at your lead/demand generation and sales processes, programs, people and information. It is important that you are totally objective during this review – if you can't be objective, bring in a professional facilitator who is. Look for inefficiencies, out-dated information, assumptions being passed off as fact, broken or missing processes and be aware of people who simply won't follow the process. When times are good, you can get away with sloppiness. When the business cycle ebbs, it's time to tighten up your efforts and maximize each opportunity.


Tap the sales team – Your sales people are an often neglected gold mine of current market and competitive information. At least they should be. If they don't have the goods, you just discovered a major hole (see #1). The sales team should be talking to customers and asking questions about future and current needs as well as uncovering any potential negative issues that might impact your revenue in the coming months.


Step up direct sales – I've found the most least expensive and most efficient way to build a pipeline is cold calling. When done correctly, sales people can quickly set meetings and generate results. Keep in mind, cold calling isn't about making the sale – it's about starting a conversation. And a conversation is the first step in any sales process.


Step up lead generation programs – A recent study showed that companies are reducing branding programs and increasing direct marketing as a response to economic conditions. Direct marketing is more measurable and gets to the heart of lead generation – stimulating response. It's a good idea to combine branding with direct marketing for maximum ROI.


Get back to basics – When it comes to marketing and sales, it's easy to take your eye off the ball and get distracted in doing “projects”. Take a step back and look at the reasons customers buy from you – how they measure your value compared to your competition. Dig deep and go beyond “price” or “because we are awesome” and get to the heart of why they buy. Think about what pain you resolve. If you can't see the forest for the trees, get some help. The goal is to be more relevant than your competition.

I couldn't have said it better.

Seth Godin's Top 10 Secrets of the Marketing Process
Try these 10 ideas to get you started down the path of scientific marketing tactics:

1. Don’t run out of money. It always takes longer and costs more than you expect to spread your idea. You can budget for it or you can fail.

2. You won’t get it right the first time. Your campaign will need to be reinvented, adjusted or scrapped. Count on it.

3. Convenient choices are not often the best choices. Just because an agency, an asset or a bizdev deal are easy to do doesn’t mean that they are your best choice.

4. Irrational, strongly held beliefs of close advisors should be ignored. It doesn’t matter if they don’t like your logo.

5. If it makes you nervous, it’s probably a good idea. If you’re sure you’re right, you probably aren’t.

6. Focusing obsessively on one niche, one feature and one market is almost always a better idea than trying to satisfy everyone.

7. At some point, you’re either going to have to stick to your convictions or do what the market tells you. It’s hard to do both.

8. Compromise in marketing is almost always a bad idea. Extreme A could work. Extreme B could work. The average of A and B will almost never work.

9. Test, measure and optimize. Figure out what's working and do it more.

10. Read and learn. There are a million clues, case studies, books and proven tactics out there. You can't profitably ignore them until you know them, and you don't have the time or the money to make the same mistake someone else made last week. It's cheaper and faster to read about it than it is to do it.

Right on, Seth.

Getting to the next level. Whatever that means.

By Pete Monfre
Everybody wants to get to the next level. That elusive next level might be in the realm of revenue, customer satisfaction, efficiency or laser tag – name your game - it seems that everybody wants to get to this magical place. So why do so few achieve “Next Level” performance year after year?

Dare I say that it's a lack of a clearly defined process? (Oh, no. I've said it.) With no clearly defined process, most things related to business get messy. And messy means “expensive”. They key is to stop what you are doing and deliberately map out the specific steps and detail to achieve your stated goal. However, I've found that this critical step is rarely done with a not-so-coincidental correlation to under achievement.

I like to start by capturing the existing processes on a white board. This is trickier than you think. for example when it comes to sales process more often than not each sales person has his or her own process. They key is to establish the best baseline process (What is being done now) and then, step back and refine the process (What the process should be).

Once the big picture is mapped out some time should be invested working on the detail for each step – for example, a marketing strategy might have: tactics, responsibilities, timing, metrics, budgets, etc. For an internal process, detail might be who is responsible for the process, expected outcome (dollars or time), roles (if multiple people run the process), etc.

Whether you decide to make micro tweaks to your existing process, or you chuck the whole thing out the window and start over, you're odds of success are much greater. Because, chances are, your competitors are too busy to to mess around with boring old processes.

Not getting enough new opportunities in the door? Maybe it's your fear of commitment.

By Pete Monfre
The average tenure of a chief marketing officer is about 22.9 months at the top 100 branded companies. (according to Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm). This is due to many reasons, not the least of which is my observation that “marketing” has lost its way. Over the past decade there has been a trend in the marketing industry that threatens to destroy any credibility the discipline deserves. I call this trend “Marketing as a Project”.

Here's how it works.
Clients love projects. They like projects because they come in a neat little package that includes a defined scope, a price tag and a clear beginning and end point. Totally understandable. Marketers like projects too because they are easy to sell to clients and they generally avoid the messy realities of actually getting involved in the client's business. Fair enough.

But here's the rub. Marketing is a process - not a project or series of projects. The marketing industry has given in to the client demands for something easy and cheap – however, building a successful business is neither. The marketing firm delivers the web site, brochure or advertising campaign, collects it's check and that's it. The client is often left wondering “is that all?”.

I hear a repeating refrain from the CEOs, Presidents and business owners I work with on a daily basis. When I first meet them the refrain goes something like this: “We've worked with many marketing (guys, agencies, firms, people, etc.) and we have always been disappointed.” Ouch. As I uncover more information about these expensive disappointments the reasons fall into a a couple of distinct areas.

Misaligned Expectations
One reason for this widespread dissatisfaction with “marketing” people involves the client's expectations. For some crazy reason, the client wants to realize an improvement in their business.
However the reality is that the marketing team is working on one small part of the overall picture and it is unlikely that any measurable uptick can be traced to this isolated effort. They complete the project, cash the check and start on the next project.
Lack of Process
One of my clients revealed to me that their previous outside team would meet briefly with them, then disappear for days. Then they would return with “The Big Idea”. This approach can't possibly produce results – it is just glorified guessing. Plus it doesn't include the client team– easily the most knowledgeable people in the room with regard to how the business works.

The Great Divide
Another common mistake is to exclude examination and refinement of the sales function. While the rift between marketing and sales is legend, it is totally avoidable. Sales can provide valuable intelligence and insight to a marketing strategy – but they must be part of a fair and transparent process from the beginning.

The key is execution.
Even if you are looking for the next creative ad campaign, good decision making must be based on a logical and objective foundation of shared knowledge. And then executed fearlessly and consistently over time. I've seen too many companies start a promotion with high hopes only to kill it when it doesn't produce instantaneous results. Or the effort just slowly derail due to a lack of organization. Keep in mind that most sales cycles take time – people don't generally respond when they first hear your message – it's the fourth or fifth high quality contact that starts to move the needle in your favor.

Successful marketing and selling is a process. Not an isolated inspiration or series of projects. To achieve a dramatic outcome, a strategy must be developed and executed consistently. That is not to say that changes in direction cannot be made – just that there must be a commitment to do what it takes to achieve the goal – whether it takes three weeks or three years. You just have to do it.

What if every Entrepreneur had to tell the Truth?

By Wil Schroter

In the movie Liar Liar, Jim Carrey plays attorney Fletcher Reede, who’s been cursed with the inability to lie. Every attempt Fletcher makes to lie results in him blurting out the God’s honest truth instead. Imagine what would happen if an entrepreneur were cursed with the same affliction. What would their pitch really look like?

The Sales Pitch
“Hello, I’m Wil Schroter, and thank you for being the only client that was willing to return my phone call. I’ve borrowed my roommate’s car to get here and you’ll probably notice that while it’s the middle of August, I’m wearing a 3 piece wool suit that I bought for a $1 from a thrift store yesterday. Since this is the first time a real customer has ever looked at my product, I’d like to pitch you on every last idea we’ve ever had for the product, hoping that one of these ideas is something you’re potentially looking to purchase today. Unlike pitches I’ve given for previous employers that simply meant a bigger commission in my regular paycheck, this time I’ll be pitching for the money that pulls me out of a mountain of debt. In many ways, your reaction to this pitch will determine whether or not I can pay my rent next month, so I certainly hope you like it.

The Product
You may not realize from my fancy PowerPoint presentation that the wonderful product I’m presenting is nowhere near completion. In fact, there has been more product development done in Adobe Photoshop to make these slides look legitimate than on the actual product itself. Regardless, I’m hoping you share my excitement about the potential of this product, despite the lack of any tangible value that I could deliver today. The beauty of an intangible, undeliverable product is that I can not only make it into anything you desire, I can also sell it to you for any budget you’re willing to pay. Don’t bother holding your questions to the end of this presentation, because I can already tell you the answer – it’s “yes.” Wondering if the product is effective? Yes. Can we deliver upon your made up timeline? Yes. Are we the best possible vendor for a product that hasn’t even been proven? Well, yes, we are.

The Company
Of course you’ll want some background on our startup company, so let me fill you in on the details. The company was founded when I realized I could make more money competing against my last employer than working for them. I am taking advantage of this opportunity by draining all of my personal savings, selling every possession I have, and giving my friends and family basic “visiting hours” by which to contact me. We’re currently in discussions with some very large venture capital firms about investment. So far our discussions have gone so far as to say “who is the person I would speak with to send in our business plan?” and we’re anxiously awaiting their responses. In addition, we’ve lined up key partnerships with major companies like AT&T (when we signed up for our cell phone), American Express (when we got our credit card), and Dell computer (when we used our Amex to buy a laptop). These vendors are very excited about getting in on the ground floor of our startup company.

The Team
The Team I’ve assembled has an incredible amount of experience in just about everything but starting a company. The man standing beside me is not only our CFO, but is also my cousin-in-law who actually works at H&R block as a tax prep counselor and is on his lunch break for this meeting as a stand-in. We (and by “we” I mean “I”) have attracted top notch players to our company, especially our all-star Board. You’ll recognize many of the names on our Advisory Board, even if the people on the Board wouldn’t ever recognize ours.

The Close
In closing, I’d like to beg for you to part with even a nickel so we can land our first customer. You’d be shocked and appalled if you knew how little we really had to deliver on a completely underfunded and un-staffed product idea. We hope you’ll look past that to do business with us. We’re so passionate about what we want to accomplish that we’re completely unaware of what we’re committing to. We’re told that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about, and we assume only other entrepreneurs could be that clueless. Despite the fact that our whole presentation today is a joke, if you even hint that you’ll work with us, we’re going to be incredibly relieved. We’re going to spend every waking hour from this point forward cow towing to your every whim because frankly, we have no other choice. We want to be open and fair about how excited we are about this opportunity. Let’s face it – honesty is the best policy, right?”
Wil Schroter is the Founder and CEO of the Go BIG Network, the largest network of startup companies and entrepreneurs at www.goBIGnetwork.com. Thanks to Linda Ford for pinging me on this – I thought it was funny.

Do you profile your customers?

Profiling has had a pretty bad rap since 9/11 but that's not the kind of profiling I'm talking about. Or, maybe it is. Basically, profiling means grouping people together based on certain characteristics to predict behavior. When it comes to marketing – that's exactly what we need to do.

While marketing technology has made great strides in terms of one to one marketing, before we can even get to that point we need to know how to recognize people who are most likely to buy. This allows us to target our efforts and money to only those who fit certain characteristics – our profile.

This may seem obvious to you but do you have actual, documented profiles? On paper? Or is it only in your head? If it is the latter, I suggest that you get it down in writing. You will probably have several profiles depending on your business.

The characteristics in your profile might be: size of company (by employees or sales), location of company, title of decision maker, industry classification (SIC/NAIS), job function, age, gender, education level, income level, etc. A really good profile also includes psychographic information: needs, values, interests, pain, etc.

Keep in mind, these characteristics must be of those people who are most likely to buy. If you are selling $100K software products for electronics manufacturers you don't want to waste your marketing dollars on managers of fast food restaurants. Ok, that might be too obvious. What might not be as obvious is figuring out the right criteria for the right type of buyer.

I like to start with who is buying now. Your CFO should be able to print reports that tell you who is buying what and how much/often. Using this information you can then start grouping similar companies – A list, B list, C list, etc. You may have to do some reverse engineering to identify things like sales, industry classification, employee numbers or whatever might be missing.

Every time I go through this process with my clients we find interesting things that catch us off guard. For example a recent project found that the number of A list clients was dwindling and that a number of C and D list customers had taken their place – resulting in lower transactions, and lower profit margins.

I have a great worksheet for developing and refining customer profiles. Contact me to request a free copy. You'll be able to spot me. I'll be the short, overweight Italian guy dressed in black.

My Top Five Punch in the Face Marketing and Sales Tactics.

If you've been reading my clap trap for a while, you should be starting to get the idea that I'm not a big fan on fancy, expensive advertising and superficial marketing tactics. For most middle market companies, these are luxuries and I'd be hard pressed to connect a straight line from these tactics to revenue. I prefer tactics that punch prospects in the face – figuratively of course. Tactics that jump up and hit that part of the brain where buying happens – the buyingoblongata.

So if you have a limited budget (and who doesn't) here are my top five punch in the face tactics.

1.Cold Calling. I know, you hate it. I don't know anybody who actually likes it except my friend Amy, but the fact is – when done right - it works. How do you do it right? First, know who you are calling. Your list must be carefully targeted to only include those people most likely to buy. If you don't know how to determine this critical profile, contact me and I'll fill you in. Second, have a process so you know exactly what to say and what you want to achieve on the call. Finally, don't sound like a salesman. In fact, don't try to sell anything at all. Just have an intelligent conversation to find out if the recipient is even a match for you. Obviously there is more to this than I can cover here – contact me if you are interested in developing a painless, highly effective calling program.

2.Drip Marketing. These days it's easier and cheaper than ever to stay in front of prospects. From direct marketing and email to blogs and electronic newsletters the world is your oyster. (if anyone can tell me what that means, I'd appreciate it.) My point is this: it is impossible to know the exact moment when someone is considering buying your services or products. Our only choice is to stay in front of suspects who fit our profile (see #1 above) constantly. The challenge is how do do this in an efficient way. Drip marketing tactics are the answer. From opt in lists to good, old fashioned postcards and letters, your suspects should be hearing from you at least once a month. But don't just try to sell them something – give them good information they can use. Sort of like what you are reading right now! :)

3.Networking. You might think that “networking” consists of glad handing and back slapping down at the local chamber of commerce but that's not what I'm talking about. The most effective networking activities are highly targeted, personal affairs where the goal is to create a mutually valuable relationship and, dare I say, friendship with people who are like minded and might be able to help you grow your business. But first you have to help them. If you want to know more about effective networking check out my friend, Thom Singer's blog http://www.thomsinger.blogspot.com and while you are at it buy his books.

4.Webinars. Share your expertise via the web and people will finally understand what you can do for them. The leap from this basic understanding to paying customer is very small. Using a combination of the web and your phone, you can easily reach potential buyers in a non-threatening atmosphere. The purpose of a marketing Webinar is to build brand awareness of your company, position your company as a thought leader in your industry, and generate sales leads.

5.Sell, Sell, Sell. Spending all your time on marketing tactics while ignoring your sales process is a recipe for disaster. Marketing doesn't sell and selling isn't marketing. You need both processes firing on all cylinders to make the sales curve go up. Ask your sales people to draw their process on a white board. If they can't draw it, they don't have a good process and that's costing you money. A good sales process moves a suspect to prospect and then to customer in a logical, efficient manner. If you don't define this process, it's not going to be logical or efficient. If you think your sales process needs some work, call me at 512-868-8460 and I can introduce you to someone who can make it rock.

Of course, all of the above assumes you have a sound marketing plan and message. Without these foundational elements, nothing you do will help you move from average performance to superior growth. Marketing is a process, not a project. Get the process right and go to the bank. Get it wrong and....I'm not even going to think about that.

A Novel Idea: You Get What You Give

I wish I could remember who gave me this idea. If I could remember, I would give credit where credit is due because I didn't think of this little gem. (If it was you, let me know and I'll thank you in person!)

As marketing and sales people, we are sometimes obsessed with metrics. I know I am. If I can't measure it, I can't improve it. We like to measure things like qualified leads, conversion rates, visitors to our web sites, return on investment, number of cold calls made, etc. Those seem obvious.

But this year, I've added a metric to my own business development program – I'm tracking the number of referrals I GIVE. That's no typo. One of my primary missions is to understand the challenges my contacts are facing – even when it's not sales and marketing related. Then I make a conscious effort to connect them with people and resources that could potentially overcome these challenges.

I don't expect anything in return I just believe that the more people I can help, the more people will be willing to help me when the time comes. I give way more referrals than I receive but that's part of the process. I get a real kick out of helping someone and it feels great when they tell me how much they appreciated my help.

I'm not talking about simply giving somebody a name and number and wishing them good luck. That's not a referral. If it were, I could just hand them a phone book and say - “Here's some companies that can solve your problem – have fun.” I actively facilitate an introduction. Sometimes I do it in person over coffee with both parties, but more often than not I send an email to each person with a short description of why they might find it beneficial to meet. Sometimes I'll call them to make the introduction – it depends on my time availability and the contact's preference. I like email because it is easy to include everybody's contact information.

Already this year I've made eleven introductions. And that feels pretty good.

Is that the forest? Nope, just a tree.

I know the question you are asking yourself right now. It goes something like this: “Is Pete Monfre some kind of super genius?” While my mother might answer in the affirmative, I’m going to give you the real answer. But before I do, consider this.

Owning a business is like trying to find your way through one of those crazy garden mazes that rich people use to confuse their neighbors and keep their gardeners busy. But these mazes don’t just consist of some really tall bushes. These evil gardens are full of scorpions, snakes, biting flies and really mean birds. To transverse the maze, the intrepid business owner must plot his course, remember where he’s already been and keep his bearings while fighting off these biting, stinging and dive-bombing critters. It’s all too easy to get caught up in avoiding the stings and end up walking in circles. OK, that’s a really weak metaphor.

What I’m attempting to say is that it is so easy to get so involved in the daily details of your business that it is almost impossible to see the obvious. For example, many of my clients are searching for a better way to present their unique abilities or products. These truly smart people work very hard on the problem. They lose sleep over it. They obsess. But nothing seems to jump out at them.

Enter yours truly – I have a special ability to get to the heart of things and generally, after some careful study, I simply see The Answer. Is it because I’m some kind of marketing and sales savant? Nope. I just have a unique vantage point. I’m not caught up in the minutiae that clouds vision and blocks inspiration. I can quickly see what’s missing, what’s needed and the path to The Answer. Granted, I’ve been doing this for almost two decades and that experience helps, but I really think it’s just the nature of being a truly objective outsider. I think like your customer. It’s really that simple.

So, is this genius? Nope. Writing software is genius. Designing electronic circuits and building a better motorcycle is genius. I’m just a guy with a solid process, no preconceptions and an eye for what makes you special.

Now if I can just get out of this crazy maze.

The power of process. This is a no-brainer.

I often say that there is no business problem that can't be solved by creating, improving or tweaking a process. (I sometimes say it in my sleep, which scares my wife.) Let me give you an example.

The other day, my wife and I took our son to the doctor. We went to a local clinic and all turned out well. (sinus infection). The next day - a Sunday - I realized I better get in there too since I had a trip coming up and was getting the same symptoms as my son. So I called the same phone number from the day before and was happy to get an appointment.

The clinic is about 15 minutes from my house so, tissues in hand I left to see the doctor. When I arrived at the clinic it was closed. I called the same number with which I made the appointment and got a recording. When I called the after hours number posted on the door, I explained my dilemma and was told my appointment was at their "other" location.

I asked, "And how was I supposed to know that?" The girl on the phone said "I always answer the phone Medical Clinic Far West". "OK, but I didn't call you this morning - I talked to a scheduler who never mentioned that another location even existed" I replied. Phone girl didn't even respond to this (I was being polite...) she simply transferred me to someone else who moved my appointment an hour forward. I still had to ask where I was supposed to go.

As I'm leaving clinic number one, another patient drives up, tries the locked door and starts to look panics. Upon talking to her, she had experienced the exact same problem and was a tad pissed off about it.

Are you still with me? When I mentioned this to the receptionist at clinic number two, she said "That happens all the time. It's ridiculous." Uh.....yeah. And I bet it's killing your patient satisfaction levels too.

How simple would it be to tweak their scheduling process to always confirm the location of the appointment? Would it take about five seconds to implement this change? I know they already have a formal process for doing this sort of thing - the problem is they simply don't care.

In this long winded story, a simple process is actually damaging their business and it would cost nothing to fix it. Pure genius.

Branding is a painful experience for livestock. But is it important for your business?

Allow me to be perfectly clear about this. The answer is yes and no. In the sense that the way you represent yourself as a company, what you stand for and how you want to be perceived by the marketplace, yes - you should develop and manage your "brand". But a strong brand alone won't help you sell more. For most companies who don't advertise on television and employ scores of sales people, spending lavishly on "branding" probably won't provide a measurable return on this investment. As long as your corporate image is professional, consistent and presents you as credible - you have it covered. Branding used to be the holy grail for product companies back when there were three major networks. A company could saturate these three channels with their brand and sit back and watch the money pour in. These days, there are many media channels and pure branding isn't as effective. Further complicating things is the fact that customers have become very brand savvy. A slick presentation just isn't enough for today's skeptical buyers.

Instead, many companies are investing in creating a better, deeper understanding of their customer. By creating a dialog with customers (which is easier today than ever before) we can better understand how they buy, what they want and how they want it. We can get insight into what fuels their buying behavior, what they hate about the buying process and what their deepest fears and desires look like. Not only does this level of understanding build sales, it can create today's holy grail - customer loyalty.

Now before you start firing off mean and nasty e-mails to me allow me to be clear - your brand and positioning is still important - and if you have an unlimited budget feel free to spend lavishly on your brand (and call me - I can help). However, if you are like most businesses, you need to determine which marketing and sales initiatives will fit within your budget and still reach your goals. It's all a question of where to put the emphasis and, in my experience; most companies need to invest their limited dollars in hard-hitting, customer centric marketing messaging, tactics, and sales processes and promotion. And that will bring home the bacon.

Pete Monfre's Big Five Secrets of Marketing Success.

OK, this is where I give away the farm. Marketing your products and services is not something that only large companies with legions of staff can do. The fact is, if you get just a few basic things right, the principles of marketing can work for you.

1. Have a process. Marketing is really just a process. It goes something like this:
a. Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). Be honest here. This is not a place to fool yourself.
b. Focus on the questions that have no answers- (a gap analysis) - I.e., not sure what your customer's buying criteria is? That’s a gap. Don't know what the typical growth rate in your industry for your type of company? Gap. Not sure what your competitors are doing to steal your customers? Big gap. Figure out what you don't know and prioritize.
c. Close the gaps. Ask customers, do research, spy on competitors, search the 'net. If this isn't your thing or you don't think you can be objective, bring in someone who can - but get the honest to goodness, no holds barred answers.
d. Strategize. Most business people think strategy is the result of some brilliant flash of inspiration. The reality is not quite as dramatic. If you've followed the process, what you should do, how you should do it, what you should say and to whom will emerge from the data you collected. The answers will be obvious to everyone.
e. Just do it. I always think of that Rozeram commercial with the beaver, Abe Lincoln and the deep sea diver. The main character is a guy who can't sleep and the beaver says "So not doing anything about HASN'T worked?" You would be surprised how many of my clients have great strategies but simply cannot execute. Granted, execution is hard but it's the whole point.

2. Don't make assumptions. Sure you know your business. Sure your clients love you. Of course no competitors even come close to your earth shattering superiority. If you have not engaged in empirical study and analysis of your customers, competitors and industry you are operating on assumptions. With luck, most of your assumptions should be correct. It's the incorrect ones that transform a great business idea into a dangerous gamble. And if you want to gamble, go to Las Vegas where you know you will lose. When it comes to business, however, I prefer to minimize risk.

3. Don't confuse marketing with advertising. Advertising is the result of marketing. It is one way to get the message out. Marketing, on the other hand, is the process you can use to arrive at the correct message. The message that jumps up, slaps your prospect in the face and compels him/her to contact you and buy. (Hint: the right message is never a list of features.)

4. Don't confuse features with benefits. OK, I'll give you a break on this one. This ain't easy. Of course if business was easy, we'd all be sipping overpriced wine on our private jets while laughing all the way to the bank. Playing "feature poker" is a losing game. Competitors will always meet and surpass your features and customers don't care about features as much as you do. Figure out what specific problems your product or service solves or prevents. Now you're on the trolley.

5. Learn how to sell. Can your sales people sit down and write out their sales process? Does it resemble a logical, systematic methodology that moves suspects to qualified prospect to buying decision? Does your process put you firmly in control of the sale? If not, all the marketing in the world won't help you. (Unless you invent a cure for cancer.)

So there it is. Now you don't need me.