First, a customized, targeted online survey is sent to all of your stakeholders asking questions of each individual, such as: who they know, what organizations they donate to, how they get their news, and more. Secondly, each respondent is given a proprietary RAP Index score based on 1) the depth, breadth and scope of relationships they have with elected officials, 2) their willingness to take advocacy action, and 3) their sphere of influence in the community. Finally, an organization can search the results by elected official, constituency, or specific issuethis allows you to locate the best advocates for any given situation, and the most effective ways to get them engaged on your behalf.

The Feedback: Matt Dunbar - Managing Director, UCAN
The first line of this pitch is a good oneit’s punchy and attention grabbing and it has me intrigued about the “so what” I expect to follow. The second line starts off strong with the “right person/right message/right way theme” but then the message becomes murky. The pitch seems to assume a context that hasn’t yet been provided to the readerso its not immediately clear what “letters” the pitch refers to, or who “the official” might be. The next line helps bring some focus regarding the product that will be introduced, but its still not obvious who the “influencers” are who are being targeted. Its not until halfway into the second paragraph that it becomes clear that the product is designed to help identify relationships with elected officials.

Once the reader finally “gets” the context for the use of the RAP Index, the problem and solution become more clear; the description of the product then makes sense and the pitch does its work of enticing the reader to want to learn more about an intriguing tool.

One suggestion that might help make the pitch clearer and stronger out of the gate would be to start with a story about a previously unknown advocacy relationship that led to a great outcome for an organization. Once the context is set, the pitch can then turn to convincing the reader that the RAP Index can help replicate that story many times for any organization. Of course the story must be shortand it should follow the Heath brothers’ outline for “SUCCESS” from Made to Stick: “simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, stories that sell.”

Feedback:  Tim Reed - Owner, Margin Holdings
RAP Index is an actionable intelligence software service customizable and specific to a given organization, association or company. It was developed by advocacy experts for advocacy professionals and uses a breakthrough survey tool with a patent pending scoring process to decisively identify and measure the Relationships, Advocability and Political capital of an organization’s stakeholders, to find key relationships with influential policy makers and gauge their ability and willingness to engage. In short, the RAP Index finds their best messengers it makes the process much more efficient.

Another huge opportunity is the RAP index recently announced that it has secured an investment from Crest Capital Ventures. The multi-year funding allows the RAP Index to aggressively expand its sales and marketing efforts nationwide, add additional software programmers to continually develop new features, and execute its strategy to make RAP Index a must-have software solution for advocacy. In a politically charged time, this company has some great potential.

There is no shortage of activities that parents can engage their children in to help them develop these crucial skills early in life:

Most importantly, parents need to read to their children every day, ideally for no less than 20 minutes, and starting in infancy. Developing a strong vocabulary, learning how to make sounds, understanding and telling stories, and developing an awareness of print are all essential to forming a strong foundation for literacy, necessary both in business and in life. The South Carolina State Library has a number of excellent resources including South Carolina Day by Day, a family literacy activity calendar that suggests literacy activities for each day of the year that parents can do with their kids. Visit www.daybydaysc.org to access these great ideas.

Kids learn by moving, touching, and doing, making play vitally important to a child’s healthy development. For instance, singing, talking, and imitating with babies helps them learn social skills and language. By playing with sand and water, preschoolers learn math skills such as measurement. Dramatic play teaches children teamwork, creativity, and language skills- all essential to achieve success in the business world.

Creativity is a valuable entrepreneurial skill and can be encouraged in children from a very early age. Parents can nurture this key entrepreneurial skill by displaying colorful print materials in an infant’s room, providing toddlers with plenty of movement and musical activities, and answering the open-ended questions of preschoolers and encouraging them to make up stories or engage in dramatic play. Parents should let their children play freely, praise their children’s attempts at creativity, and provide them with activities that allow for a wide variety of experiences with art, music, drama, puzzles, and reading. Cultivating self-expression in young children is vital not only for the development of their personality, but for imparting important, valuable skills for business and entrepreneurship.

Constructing the foundation of entrepreneurship starts early in life and necessitates a strong start during the pivotal early childhood years. Parents, child care providers, business leaders, and other community stakeholders must recognize that the key to building a competitive workforce and a prosperous 21st century economy in South Carolina begins with strong investments in our children and a smart approach to their development during ages zero to five.

So, why are businesses red faced again? They recently discovered that 20 percent of their state unemployment taxes (SUTA) paid last year was wasted; $136 million in unemployment benefits was handed out to people who had been fi red from their jobs for cause and to people who committed fraud to gain unemployment benefits. That $136 million is nearly one-third of the total unemployment benefits paid out last year.

Think this can’t be happening? It is. Just ask the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (SC DEW), which estimates that $50 million was paid out to individuals who had been fired for cause last fiscal year And, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, $86 million was paid out last year in South Carolina fraudulently.

Senator Bryant commented by saying, “Last year the Department doled out $136 million in unlawful benefits and not a single employee at that department has been fi red for breaking the law. Instead of a mission to get folks back to work, they’ve become agents of socialism and our state’s employers are paying the price.”

The unemployment insurance system is intended to support individuals who have been let go at no fault of their own—it is not intended for those who were fi red for cause or for those committing fraud.

The documented cases of people being fi red and collecting unemployment benefits are egregious and countless, as was recorded at a recent state Senate panel hearing. In one case, an employee who was awarded weeks of unemployment benefits was fi red because he had sexually harassed employees on multiple occasions—examples that were well documented. In another case, a bank teller who stole money was still awarded unemployment benefits. And in another, an employee who was fi red for discharging his fi rearm at work was awarded benefits.

Mad yet? You should be. That $136 million in waste means real jobs lost and investments not made.

Hopefully change will come. The business community is asking the Legislature for that waste to be paid back to them in the form of SUTA credits. Senator Bryant and other legislators are working on bills that will more clearly legislate that workers who have been fi red should be prohibited from receiving unemployment benefits. And, SC DEW Director General Abe Turner and his leadership team have implemented a system to significantly reduce fraud—cross-referencing people on a payroll with those collecting unemployment benefits. If there is a match, then the unemployment benefits are ceased and subsequent persecution commences.

Senator Bryant and General Turner should be commended for their work to reduce waste. But, there is still much work to be done so that South Carolina can do what it does best: create jobs and spur investment.

But let’s take examples of this and examine them a littler closer.

First, we need to understand how we got to where we are. This is fundamental cause-and-effect by you, the consumer. The more commercial goods and high-tech products you buy at lower costs the more the production will be in lower-cost countries. And, once it goes “over there,” it does not come back.

Steve Jobs, within the year he died, told President Obama that Apple employs over 40,000 workers in the U.S. and over 700,000 in China. Why? Because the U.S. is obsessed with advanced technology but is not willing to pay the price for it. Keep in mind; we have the lowest retail prices in the world for 95 percent of the electronics that are purchased in discount stores.

The Tale of the Boot
There is a factory in Tianjin, China, a port city about 100 miles east of Beijing, which makes boots that are high quality and very affordable. This factory has been in business for over 10 years and has shown improvements in products, quality, and costs that allow you the end customers to continue to support them. The argument could be made: Why can’t we make the same boots in the U.S. and save jobs?

Consider the following:

• After 155 laborious steps, the boot sells for $15.30, with a pretax profit of $0.65
• Tianjin factory payroll is $1.30 per pair of boots (or 2.6 percent of the U.S. retail price)
• Dorm, rent and food costs $19 a month
• Even if you double all the salaries, the retail price of the boots would be $51
• What about the exchange rates? A 10 percent raise in the Yuan would only translate to a 1.3 percent increase on the retail price
• A U.S. retailer after shipping, rent and salaries will sell the boots for $49.99, with a pretax profit of $3.46
• $29 of the total cost of the boot is generated entirely within the U.S.—paying for salaries of advertisers, web designers, truckers and sales people

As you can see, the power is very much with the buyer rather than the seller. Give free enterprise a break. China has put over 400 million people into the middle class—a third of the population; Apple and the Tianjin boot factory have turned just as many into very satisfied customers.

For a more comprehensive look at the cost of boots, visit www.InsideBlackBox.com/global for expanded content.

Word-of-mouth is seldom questioned and often believed because it’s volunteered info. No one is being paid to say how great your product or service was to them.

So, with the fact that word-of-mouth advertising is free, and that it carries a lot of weight, it is an incredibly valuable tool to the small business startup.

Consider that word-of-mouth advertising can be like the weather. It’s out there somewhere. When it pours, things grow. But when it doesn’t, things dry up. Well, you can’t control the weather, but you as a business startup can at least influence and navigate word-of-mouth marketing through a little resource called Facebook and the Facebook Page.

• Facebook currently has 800 million users worldwide.*
• There are 200 million users in the U.S. alone.*

A Facebook page is simply a profile page for a business or organization. When someone “Likes” a Facebook page, they click the Like button that lets a user share your content with their friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the Like button on your site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to your Facebook page. Seeing in their Newsfeed that a friend “liked” your brand (your Facebook page) is the equivalent to old-fashioned word-of-mouth buzz.

Can “Likes” Really Create Buzz About Your Brand Just Like Word-of-mouth Advertising?
Well, consider the following:
• The average Facebook user has 130 friends and “Likes” two pages a month.
• The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events.
• For every one person that Likes a brand, an additional 34 of their friends can be reached through exposure to the “Liker”.**

Facebook Helps Generate and Navigate “Word-of-mouth Advertising” for the Startup:

• 65 percent of U.S. Facebook users said they are more likely to buy a product based on a positive friend referral.**
• Marketing that incorporates a Social Media tactic generates nearly 2.5 times more offline and online brand conversations than marketing that does not incorporate social tactics. They also yield four times as many influenced purchases. So my advice to every small business startup: get the word-of-mouth buzz going about your business by launching and leveraging a Facebook page.

*Inside Facebook Gold http://gold.insidenetwork.com/facebook/2011
**”The Power of the Like: How Brands Reach and Influence Fans Through Social Media Marketing” comScore, May 2011
***Digital Actions and their effect on Advocacy, 22squared and Consumer Insights Inc., 2010

]]> http://insideblackbox.com/how-to-make-word-of-mouth-work-for-the-startup-facebook/feed/ 0 http://insideblackbox.com/feeling-is-believing/ http://insideblackbox.com/feeling-is-believing/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 19:09:35 +0000 Business Black Box http://insideblackbox.com/?p=2076 It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since I started sharing with you what I have learned about a career in sales. Hopefully, you feel like we’ve built a relationship and become friends through rapport and trust. If so, that is by design. As you may have noticed, this series—regardless of titles—has been conversational in nature, yet it is a transfer of useful information for you, the reader. A sales appointment should be the same.

Last issue, we discussed the four basic styles of communication. Today we will focus in on kinesthetic language. My previous paragraph, while I meant every word, was designed to make you FEEL trust through communication and relationship. Many people make their decision on whether to purchase with you or a competitor based on the sincerity of what you communicate and their feeling of trust toward you.

Oftentimes, people make the false assumption that an individual who decides based on kinesthetic language is an emotional or impulse purchaser. Sometimes this is true; however, it’s not always the case. Let’s discuss how to tailor your presentation style to a kinesthetic communicator. If we review last issue, I shared an example of a sales professional who constantly said, “It’ll all come together.” A friend of mine’s father used to always say, “Are you picking up what I’m throwing down?” And one of my top-producing agents typically works to help her clients to “wrap their mind around” the home-selling process. In all of these examples, what these individuals are communicating are two things: physical contact and mental connection between two people.

If these are words potential clients of yours use, then it is imperative that you grasp this style of communication and are able to deliver a presentation customized to their wants and needs. The main reason why they purchase anything is because of the underlying belief that it will support and protect someone else. Kinesthetic individuals are driven by an inner need for security, to be understood by others, and to share a mutual appreciation with all whom they come in contact with.

Are you picking up what I’m throwing down so far?

These customers do not do business with people, if they believe they are not cared about. Thoughtful acts displaying that you appreciate their business will go a long way with these folks. Your action says clearly to them that they have nothing to worry about.

In contrast, most engineers could care less about thoughtful acts of appreciation and customer service. They care about functionality, cost-effectiveness, and being on time and under budget. This group falls into the category we classify as digital communicators, but that’s another article for an upcoming issue.

Between now, as you’re reading this article, and the next issue, I want you to do something. First, go back to Business Black Box’s website and print out each of these sales columns from the last three years. Then lay them out on a large conference room table or maybe your dining room table at home. After that, create a logic scheme with them to start and fi nish a sales cycle. In doing this, you will have learned two things: by reading this current issue you’ll have learned how to communicate with a kinesthetic person, and by doing the homework I just gave you, you’re halfway home with the digital communicator. Figured it out yet?

]]> http://insideblackbox.com/feeling-is-believing/feed/ 0 http://insideblackbox.com/just-rip-the-band-aid/ http://insideblackbox.com/just-rip-the-band-aid/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 19:03:14 +0000 Business Black Box http://insideblackbox.com/?p=2073 It’s amazing how we can for struggle days, weeks, or even months in a relationship before we’re really willing to have that critical, high-risk discussion about an offense—an area where we feel we were wronged, about a behavior we feel is unacceptable but we don’t stop and confront it with love. Instead, we treat it like the leftovers at my house that seem to stay in the fridge way too long; we pull them out, look at them, can’t imagine eating them, and stick them right back in the fridge, somehow believing they’ll be more attractive in time, or they’ll magically get better.

The truth is, dysfunctional relationships are like leftovers; the more they sit and fester, the worse they get, and when they finally begin to stink (after being passed over for better options), they get thrown away and replaced.

Life’s too short to approach business and personal relationships that way. As leaders, we owe it to those we lead to cultivate an environment that encourages “living without a net”; in other words, we have to be willing to walk the relationship high wire, take risky conversation walks with those we care about and those whom we’re assigned to lead, to quickly address frustrations and problems so everyone has the chance to be heard, understood, and restored.

My kids will fuss and whine when I suggest slowly peeling off a band-aid that’s been on so long that the underlying cut has already healed. As most parents know, most of the crying and emotional pain could be avoided simply by swiftly, quickly (and with love) “ripping the band aid” so the wound can be exposed to the air it now needs to finish healing. There’s a time to cover a wound; there’s a time it needs to be re-covered so it can continue to recover. And yes, there’s a time to let it be exposed so that the next phase of healing can begin.

Leaders recognize which is appropriate for which stage of the wound, and always has the wounded’s best interests in mind. In most cases though, we keep them covered too long—and more often than not, sunlight is the best disinfectant. And more times than not, confronting the problem openly, quickly, with love turns out to be nowhere near as damaging as the anguish we put ourselves through while we put off ripping the Band-Aid.

]]> http://insideblackbox.com/just-rip-the-band-aid/feed/ 0 http://insideblackbox.com/warming-up-cold-calls/ http://insideblackbox.com/warming-up-cold-calls/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:59:24 +0000 Business Black Box http://insideblackbox.com/?p=2070 Of the many growth strategies available, finding new customers for your products and services is an essential core competency. The key ingredient is lead generation—finding suspects who might have a need. There are lots of ways—networking, direct mail, telemarketing, advertising, industry events, speaking opportunities, referral sources, search engine optimization, social networking, door-to-door discovery calls—it’s a long list.

Then there’s the least favorite of most sales people—the dreaded cold call. It doesn’t have to be that way. Typical cold calling, where you just dial up someone who doesn’t know you on the phone, isn’t very rewarding or very effective.

A new book, Predictable Revenue, by Aaron Ross and Marylou Tyler, is the “how-to” guide to Cold Calling 2.0. What’s the secret? An intentional strategy to turn cold “suspects” into warm prospects; away to introduce yourself and become familiar to the prospect, perhaps over several months, before you make that phone call.
You know what? This works. I’ve been experimenting with Cold Calling 2.0 principles for several months, and it’s working for me. Here are the basics:

1. Start with a List. There are lots of sources of inexpensive lists—InfoUsa.com, Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet, OneSource, etc. You can slice and dice these lists by geography, business type, business size, contact title, etc., and then buy just the names you want. This is admittedly the weakest part of this strategy. From personal experience, I can tell you these lists are lousy (and that’s generous). If you’re in a vertical market where you can get lists from a trade association, that’s a great place to start.

2. Validate the List. Read the “Cold Calling 2.0” chapter. Put a three-to-four sentence email together that simply states who you’re looking for and why, then asks “Would you have an interest,” and “Are you the right person?” This is not a pitch, not an introduction—just a request for help or information. If you don’t have an email address or don’t know the prospect’s name for sure, call and ask whoever answers the phone. You’ll be surprised at how easy this is. Just ask.

3. Update the List. You’ll hear from a few that they have an interest. Those go into your CRM as new Prospects (upgraded from “Suspect”). Drop any who say they don’t—don’t bother them again. This is a numbers game. Just move on to the next one.

4. Drip Marketing. If you don’t have a monthly e-newsletter of ideas that are useful to prospects, create one ASAP. Start sending this to your updated list. The idea is to start a conversation, even if it’s electronic at first.

5. Re-Email Non-Responders. About every six to eight weeks, re-send your “Step 2” email to those who haven’t responded (haven’t said they are or aren’t interested). Remember, this is email, and lots of people will miss it on any given send. This is a numbers game, and you’re working the Law of Averages.

This is just a thumbnail sketch on Cold Calling 2.0, and it includes some of my own experience as far as what works for me. Your mileage may vary. You may fi nd ideas in the book that are different from mine, so try it both ways.

Next month— “How to Improve Your Hit Ratio on Prospecting Phone Calls by Three to Four Times”

]]> http://insideblackbox.com/warming-up-cold-calls/feed/ 0 http://insideblackbox.com/mistakes-during-the-hiring-process-can-cost-you-top-talent/ http://insideblackbox.com/mistakes-during-the-hiring-process-can-cost-you-top-talent/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:54:36 +0000 Business Black Box http://insideblackbox.com/?p=2067 U.S. companies currently have more job openings posted than in the past three years. For years I have advised our clients that businesses are always in competition for top talent, regardless of economic conditions. When candidates are considering multiple opportunities, it is more important than ever for employers to recognize the need to sell their organization to potential candidates. In my 19 years of experience in recruiting and hiring top talent for my organization and our clients, candidates often report these negative observations when making a decision on a new employer:

Lack of organization in the hiring process. Make sure that the position is clearly defined, determine the essential requirements, outline a consistent process to use for screening candidates, and agree on a timeline. Regardless of the process your organization chooses to use, it is important to organize the steps before getting started. The hiring process is the organization’s opportunity for a positive first impression on top talent.

Interviews that include inappropriate questions. Often questions about family, plans for children or proprietary information from their current/past employer come up during an interview. These questions create an awkward situation for the candidate—do they refuse to answer or do they share personal or unethical information? Train interviewers in basic interview skills including points to avoid protected classes (age, gender, race, national origin, religion).

Indecisiveness. When a candidate experiences long communication lags between interviews, it can leave the impression that the company is uninterested or indecisive. Whether you choose to hire the candidate or not, top talent knows top talent. Your organization needs to maintain a positive reputation in the market.

“Low ball” offers. Early in the process, it is important to find out the candidate’s current compensation. Only in the rarest of circumstances should a firm offer someone less than their current salary. Yes, benefits and perks factor into the equation; however, most individuals expect to be offered a new position with at least a comparable salary. For those who have been recruited due to their market knowledge, they will expect a 10 to 20 percent increase to consider a move. Once a company makes an unreasonable offer, it is difficult to overcome the feeling of being undervalued even with negotiation that results in a higher offer.

Involving the wrong people in the hiring process. Logically, we might choose to include an incumbent in the interview process due to their knowledge of the position and frankly, their desire to be a part of the decision. Unless the incumbent is being promoted or happily retiring after many loyal years of service, the benefits may not outweigh the cost. I could write a book to share examples including the underperforming incumbent who shares that the company has “impossible expectations” and the short term fi ll in who wants the job and attempts to eliminate the competition with negativity. I once knew a protective office manager who knew that “no one can do as well for my boss as well as I did” and proceeded to convince some excellent candidates of the fact!

With a little preparation, both candidates and employers can put their best foot forward during the interview process. The competitive market for top talent is here to stay.

]]> http://insideblackbox.com/mistakes-during-the-hiring-process-can-cost-you-top-talent/feed/ 0 http://insideblackbox.com/business-succession-dont-let-the-dream-turn-into-a-nightmare/ http://insideblackbox.com/business-succession-dont-let-the-dream-turn-into-a-nightmare/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:48:42 +0000 Business Black Box http://insideblackbox.com/?p=2063 You are living the American Dream. You have built a successful company. You make a great income, have paid for the vacation home and college for the kids and give generously to charities. Unfortunately, there will come a day when you are not around anymore. If you do not plan for it, your dream business may turn into a nightmare for those you leave behind. There are many issues related to business succession planning, but here are four that should be at the top of your list:

1. It really was all about you. Perhaps the most challenging business succession problem is when the owner/founder is not replaceable. They are the only one who can run the business—who know the technology, have the customer contacts, have the industry knowledge, etc. If this is the situation when the owner/founder dies or becomes unable to work, you may or may not be able to find and hire a replacement in time to keep the business alive. In too many cases, the business has to be sold for a fire sale price, or no buyer can be found before the business simply goes under.

2. New owners who can’t manage. The classic situation here is the family business inherited by children, where the children are not competent to run the business and the managers who are competent to run the business have no ownership in the company. It’s nice to have someone who can run the business, but negotiations between the new owners and the managers can be very difficult. Frequently, the managers were not being (or think that they were not being) compensated at fair market value. They were content as long as the founder was around due to their personal relationship with, and respect for, the founder, but they are not so content once the founder is gone. Some managers will seek better than fair market compensation, using their importance to the company asleverage.

3. Plan B – Preparing for a sale of the company. If the company is not prepared for business succession, the company may have to be sold. If the company is not prepared for a sale, the value of the business is likely to steadily deteriorate while the new owners look for a buyer. One typical problem is that the company may generate good cash fl ow to sustain the founder’s lifestyle, but it may not be growing or have any significant growth prospects that would make it generally attractive to buyers. In that case, the new owners may find an industry buyer willing to pay a decent price, but they will often have to sell at a much lower value than expected, assuming they can find a buyer at all.

4. Great expectations. The family business is a classic setting for the tragedy of unrealistic expectations. The children who inherit the business think that they are entitled to exactly the wealth and lifestyle the founder had. In the worst cases, they can’t even acknowledge the most basic flaws in their assumptions—if the business is inherited by more than one child, by definition they will receive 50 percent or less of what the founder had. The new owners may also be offended if the key managers ask for more compensation or ownership in the company, even if the managers’ requests are reasonable. And if the company must be sold but is not ready for sale, the children may refuse to understand that the value of the company is much less than they assumed. Unrealistic expectations can be powerful enough to destroy companies that otherwise should be able to continue operations or at least be sold at a decent price.

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