"Cargo Cult"

So I came across the term "Cargo Cult" and I decided to research it and find out what it was....I did my wiki search and it was fascinating to read about these cults near Papua New Guinea. Basically they are tribes/cults in this area that are waiting for cargo to fall from the sky. Cargo did fall from the sky anciently when the US army would drop cargo during WW 2 in the area and the tribes would benefit greatly. The tribes would also benefit from visits of missionaries and other humanitarian aid.

These tribes believe that this "Cargo" comes from the sky and their previous ancestors and it is a spiritual manifestation. Because of this belief the tribe will erect items that will bring this cargo to them and wait. This includes airstrips, fake airplanes, and radio tower.

How many of us are a "Cargo Cult"? When we think that things will magically appear if we do things that are similar to what is necessary to produce the cargo ourselves. Instead of producing the cargo ourselves we wait for the cargo to drop from the sky.

Art of War 3

So I didn't plan on doing a lot of Art of War posts here on the blog, but I keep coming up with great quotes from the book. Here is the latest...

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious."
Sun Tzu

If you can identify your strength's, weaknesses, and readiness then you will be successful. Sometimes you need to pick your battles in your company because you have limited resources and need to select the best opportunity.

Enjoy!

Art of War Numero Dos

Here is another interesting quote from Art of War...

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles
is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists
in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

This reminds me of a political axiom which states "If you are explaining you are losing" George Will. If you need to explain things after a situation has already happened then you run the risk of not communicating properly, misunderstandings, losing credibility, and losing a client. People want to keep things simple and work with people who will simplify things and make them easy to understand.

This brings us to a second quote..I actually would credit to myself.."I would rather troubleshoot than problem solve because it is a lot less painful"

If you can go into a situation with a potential sale or client and you can create reasonable expectations and identify potential difficulties then the experience will go a lot better. When you are trying to troubleshoot the challenge will be to win your client's trust and have them believe you about potential problems.

Art of War

Sun Tzu's Art of War is quickly becoming one of my favorite books it was written in the 6th Century BC as a military strategy book. There are so many good insights on how to formulate strategy and overcome an adversary based on common sense and experience. One thing I have done lately is to see how I can apply many of the quotes into my business. One of the interesting quotes I came across is:

"If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss"

I don't think it is a good idea to think of your customers as enemies, but if you truly understand your customers needs, wants, compliments, complaints and understand them, you will be more effective.

Now the hard thing is to understand how to understand yourself and customer.

Company Self Presentation

How does your company present itself? You may have the best product or service in the world, but if you lack image then you won't get anywhere. There are three things you need to establish with your new clients.

1. Trust
2. Credibility
3. Rapport

Each of these items will allow your company to become a company that will impress your potential customers and help them want to work with you.

As mentioned in the video, one way to build trust is to tell a story. One thing you may consider is to tell a story that will illustrate the benefits of your product or service.

Social Intelligence

After reading the book Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman I discovered that Social Intelligence can be more important than IQ.  People care more about their relationships with others than their book smarts. 

There are basically 2 sections of Social Intelligence that  improve business.

Social Awareness:

1. Primal Empathy
2. Attunement
3. Empathic Accuracy
4. Social Cognition

Social Facility

1. Synchrony
2. Self Presentation
3. Influence
4. Concern

If you master these steps you are more effective in the work place, with potential clients, and future clients.

How are you?

When people ask me how I am doing I give one of two answers with a smile on my face ...

1. Really Good
2. Really Well

These answers create interesting results. First people stop me and ask me what I am doing to feel really well. Secondly, they are suprised by my answer because it isn't one of the normal answers they hear such as.

1. Fine
2. Good
3. OK

Lastly, they smile or laugh. I found people want to be around someone who is positive and confident. They want to know my secret and get it for themselves. I don't usually buy into the hype of just think positive and things work out, but for some reason these simple answers to "How are you doing" just makes people curious.

Marketing Vs Sales

To maximize sales in your company it is important to create collaboration  between the marketing and sales team.  The first step to this symbiotic relationship is to understand the functions of each.

Marketing:

1. Develops Product
2. Creates Product Mix
3. Identifies Target Market
4. Develops Marketing Mix
5. Places, Promotes, Prices, Places ( Distribution)
6. Modifies Marketing Mix to address needs of target market

Sales:

1. Builds Rapport
2. Provides Value
3. Closes the sale

Each team could not exist without the other. A good marketing plan creates a product that is desired.  This makes the life of the sales team easier; however, marketing does not close a sale.  This requires a professional sales person equipped with people skills, confidence, communication skills, and follow up.  By understanding each function and developing  respect between the marketing and sales team, sales can be maximized.

Following Up

After someone has visited your web site, signed up for your service, or asked to receive more information it is now time to follow up with them.

Key Points to Following up

1. About 1 time per month
2. Provide Valuable Content
3. Provide an offer or discount
4. Direct people back to web site
5. Have tracking system to see if e-mails are opened
6. Intriguing Subject Line
7. Talk about success of company

Things to Avoid

1. Too many e-mails
2. Poorly scripted e-mails
3. Non-Deliverable e-mails

By following up the correct way your web strategy is more effective

Building Trust in your web site

While building a web site for your company it is easy to get wrapped up and spend all your resources on complicated non-essential components; however, sometimes the basics are all you need to build trust. Here are some quick tips to create a reliable web site.

1. Simple Designs
2. Good Color Scheme
3. No Grammar Mistakes
4. Customer Testimonials
5. Secure Payment Methods
6. No Clutter
7. Uploaded videos
8. List of awards
9. Membership in Associations

By incorporating these items you can build trust with your current and potential customers. Remember to not lose sight of the principles that will make you successful.

Web Site Content

 The saying less is more also applies to web sites. ...Sometimes people try to make a web site more than it is.  They develop the web site according to their own interests and get caught up with flashy new gadgets that sometimes distract from the main goal. Here are some ideas to create a web site that attracts customers.

1. Define your online goals
2. Look through a potential customers eyes
3. Provide valuable content or something of value
4. Make web site sticky
5. Eliminate unnecessary wording and content.

By incorporating these concepts your web site will be more effective and accomplish your goals.