Life is a Surprise

I would never have guessed that our almost 16 year old dog would outlive one of the younger ones, but that is how it went down today.
Dillion II, our Springer Spaniel, died today around 2 PM. He was 11 years old. He had been in constant pain for about a week and we made the decision over the weekend. We know that it was the right decision because he was so incredibly unhappy and
sick.

We will remember all the good stuff about this dog: the fact that he would sit in front of Steve staring at him in devotion; or that if Steve was in the hammock, there should be room for Dillion, too; or that Dillion also liked to ride in the kayak trying to kiss me right on the lips when both of my hands were busy paddling. He liked to play Frisbee, but he never picked it up, instead giving way to his elder, Gable. We got Dillion and his brother, Owen, to replace Steve's first Dillion. We think that the day we put Dillion I down is the day the new Dillion was born.

It is quiet around here tonight, but it is better not to hear Dillion moaning. I'm sure he is happier.

Product Design and Target Marketing

Tom Fishburne has done it again.

While his cartoon below is actually about the lack of innovation in product design, it also demonstrates the concept of having too broad of a target market.


To network effectively, business people must narrow their focus. You can't be everything to everyone nor can you be everywhere all the time!

Also, without become an expert for some segment, you look exactly like all the other people who are selling what you sell. It makes it difficult for your consumer (customer) to decide why they should buy from you rather than just blindly picking "off the shelf." Also, you have to be a gerbil on the wheel trying to network where everyone is rather than selectively picking out the right places to be.

What's your take on this?

Does Your Dealership Speak YOUR Language?

Last week at the International Networking Day event in Pittsburgh, I met Anne Fleming, the dynamic owner of Women-Drivers.com. This is a website that among other things, rates dealerships as to how friendly they are to women.

Cool idea, right?

The website is just chock full of fun stuff and information. There is a test you can take to find out your negotiating personality. I am a Bold Babe! It says I like colorful clothing and probably the same in cars. Surprise, surprise -- my YELLOW Mini is a fav of mine!

There's also His and Her car reviews for the same car. They cracked me up because of what was important to the guy as opposed to what was mentioned in the gal review.

Check out this site and if you've visited a dealership recently, go ahead and perform a review.

Zip Ze Lips

A few days ago I was preparing for a sales seminar that I am delivering this week. I rarely teach about sales these days, preferring to focus on word-of-mouth marketing, but this is a favor for my friend John Bauer, Director of the Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs.

One aspect of the training will focus on the act of information gathering. The same day I worked on this presentation, I also introduced one of my networking contacts to another. I smiled to myself when I realized how the two (networking and selling) are very alike.

You see, back when I was a sales manager, I accompanied my sales staff to their appointments sometimes. We had an acronym that we used to help us to remember to ask the right questions. What I found with new sales people was that they would quickly stop asking questions and start SELLING the second they had gathered a piece of information that meant they could be of benefit to the prospect.

What happened as a result is that many times the prospect shut up entirely and got defensive. All of a sudden, instead of being asked all about their wants and needs, they were having to think quickly to deflect the hard sell.

In networking appointments the same can happen. If two people are being introduced by a third, it is better to let that third person do complete introductions and promotion before even opening your mouth! First of all, if you start to talk to early, you may miss an important piece of information and secondly, the introducer won't get to brag about you as much as possible.

So no matter whether you are selling or networking,

BITE YOUR TONGUE!

The calluses you develop will pay off in the long run!

A Target of Millions and Millions

Yeesh!

With all the hoopla of the Apple iPad roll out, there was one small paragraph that caught my eye. I have copied it below but you can link to the story here.

"The target audience is everyone," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president for strategy and analysis at Interpret, a market research firm. "Apple does not build products for just the enthusiasts," he said. "It doesn't build for the tens of thousands; it builds for the tens of millions."

Hmmm. I guess if you are Apple your target audience (market) can be everyone. But doesn't that go against the very definition of what a target market is?????

I have been doing a lot of reading about this very subject within the last month. One phrase from my reading has stayed with me. It is, "Specialize or Spend."

I think that says it all. The wider the target, the more you have to spend, both in time and money.

I guess Michael Gartenberg thinks Apple has an unlimited supply of both.

What are your thoughts?

Lingo Spingo

Yesterday, I gave a networking presentation where I used the term, "one-to-one." Knowing that some people might not know what I was referring to, I defined it. (A meeting between two people who are getting to know each other better.)

At the end of the talk, one person in the audience, let's call her Sharon, thanked me for the definition. She shared that she is new to networking and that at a recent event someone had asked her to schedule a one-to-one meeting.

Not being sure what it was for, she called and asked the person if they were interested in what she was selling. This person answered, "No," but didn't explain any further what the intentions of the meeting were.

Confusion.

Sharon had no idea of the reason for the meeting.

So two things were going on here.

1) Lingo was used and it was assumed that everyone knew what the lingo meant.

2) The person scheduling the appointment didn't articulate the reason for the appointment. ("Let's meet to find out how we might be able to help each other."

What this did for Sharon to make her even more afraid of networking. She felt like she didn't know the ropes, that she was missing the directions to the game. And that made her feel less than confident.

Let's play nice. Remember that lingo is lingo and that we need to define it for others or NOT USE IT. And we need to say out loud, "This is the reason we should meet."

Simple.

Giving Back

I am reading (or skimming, really) Debbie Tenzer's book, Do One Nice Thing. If you're looking for a way to give of yourself, I highly recommend this book or her website.

One suggestion she makes in the book is to teach children empathy by having them help with the elderly in the neighborhood.

Whoosh!

It took me right back to my early years in Lyndonville, NY. I had a very simple upbringing in the one mile square village. Part of that was the small town atmosphere, but equally was the way my parents infused the very concept about children helping.

Next door to us, Mrs. Smith lived in a small, rather ramshackle house. She was in her 80's and lived on only her Social Security check. She also had no phone. (Can you even imagine it?????)

My parents become her lifeline. Every Sunday they fixed a plate of Sunday dinner to take to her. (She for some reason didn't want to come to our house to eat.) They also made sure her lawn was mowed and went to the post office to get her mail. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessin' that they probably went to the grocery store too.

My dad loved to garden (the acorn has not fallen far from the tree!) and Mrs. Smith allowed him to plow her property behind her big old barn as an addition to his garden. Of course, during the growing season, she received all kinds of fresh fruit and veggies.

Mom encouraged me to spend time visiting Mrs. Smith and I can remember sitting on her from porch reading and talking about Aesop's Fables and Grimm's Fairy Tales. Mrs. Smith related that she had never read them because her mother wouldn't allow it.

In networking we constantly talk about mutually beneficial relationships. My parents demonstrated that very early in my life. Everyone gained including me. I learned how important all people were in my life.

Thanks, Mom, Dad and Mrs. Smith!