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Posts Tagged ‘Relationship building’

How Apple Forced Me To Buy A Nook Color

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

This post is about how loyalties can change and actions can have unintended consequences.

Until a few months ago, I did all my reading on my iPhone. I had a ton of e-reader apps: Kobo, Nook, Kindle, Stanza, iBooks and Overdrive for library books. Yes, it was a pain to keep track of what books I had in which app, but I liked the freedom to get books from anywhere.

Most of my e-book money went to Amazon because they had the best selection and usually the best prices.

Then the Sony app was rejected by Apple, who decided to finally enforce their in-app purchase rules. Everyone said the sky was falling and that there would be no e-reader apps in the App Store, and on top of that, Hulu, Netflix, Dropbox and other, similar apps were probably going to vanish as well.

Did I believe the sky was falling? No, but all of a sudden, having a bunch of apps seemed to be a pain, and uncertainty made me uncomfortable enough to consider a change.

Before all this, I was likely to have entered the tablet world with an iPad. I already knew Apple and liked their products. It was kind of expensive, but I could have justified it.

Not any more! I wanted an option that didn’t involve Apple. So, there was the first unintended consequence. Apple lost money on me.

Naturally, I looked at the Kindle since I spent most of my e-book money at Amazon. But I’ve never liked the look and feel of the Kindle. I prefer a soft keyboard to a hard one on a e-reader. And I love touchscreens.

The Sony products were beautiful but too expensive.

So I looked at the Nook. I could root it and still run the Kindle app. It supported all the other bookstores, except iBooks, and I wasn’t interested in buying from them anyway.

So I bought my Nook Color. And still haven’t rooted it. I like the stock operating system. I like the way the reader functions. I like having all my books in one place!

So I still buy a few books from Amazon, but only ones that are DRM-free, and I convert them to Nook format. I can buy from Kobo, Sony and Barnes and Noble. I can get library books, and I don’t have to mess with a bunch of apps.

So where do you think I spend most of my e-book money now? Yes, at Barnes and Noble. They are the easiest. I can buy, download and be reading within minutes. All the other stores require me to hook my Nook up to my computer. Not hard, but why bother if I don’t have to?

You know what’s ironic? I had been right. The sky didn’t falling. All the e-book apps are still available, without direct links to stores, but I never cared about that. But now I have my Nook, and I’m not going back to reading on my iPhone.

So what’s the moral of this story? Well, Barnes and Noble provided a good product that meets my needs. But that’s the small part. Understand that customer loyalty is fickle. I was loyal to both Apple and Amazon. But they didn’t meet my needs, so now I’m loyal to Barnes and Noble. But that could change in the future as well.

Customers are only loyal as long as you listen to them and meet their needs. Stop doing those, and you’ll lose them. Maybe not right away, but eventually something will make them uncomfortable enough that they will look for another option.

That’s good for your competitor. But not for you.

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Tags: marketing, Relationship building, reputation
Posted in General | 3 Comments »

Think Outside The Box!

Monday, July 18th, 2011

I met with someone last week, and we started talking about other businesses that could refer him. He said there weren’t any. I showed him that there were. In fact, I came up with several.

Strategic referral partners are tough to find. Good one are even tougher, but they are worth it. When you find and cultivate a few of them, you’ve got a mobile sales force of people looking for referrals just for you. And naturally, you’re looking for referrals for them.

But you have to get creative. Your competitors are already wooing the obvious ones. How do you find the less obvious ones? Follow the money.

Who else do your clients pay each month?

This is the easiest one to research because you can ask your clients. Talk to them and find out who else is marketing to them and what services they purchase/hire on a regular basis. Then ask for the introduction. Your client should be happy to introduce you, assuming he or she is on good terms with you and the other service provider.

Once you’ve been introduced, get to know the person. Discuss strategy. Are there any specific questions you can both ask your client to uncover referrals for the other? Make sure you are both clear on what is a good client. And what is a bad one.

Then refer each other. It may take a while to find the right people, but when you do, you’ll have a new referral source, motivated to work to find business for you.

And best of all? Your competitors are blissfully ignorant because they didn’t think outside the box.

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Tags: Referrals, Relationship building
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Managing Relationships

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Making referrals and introductions can be risky, even when you know all the parties well. Yesterday I got one of those phone calls you just dread.

“Hey, Juli. Can you give me your perspective on a mutual contact.”

Uh oh. That was code for “One of your referrals didn’t go the way I expected. What now?”

All turned out well in the end, but it was an interesting conversation. In this case, the referral was potentially a good contact but required a bit of maintenance. Should I have been up-front with that when I made the introduction? Hard to say. Remember that you are referring people, and people are unpredictable. This person doesn’t always require careful handling, and I could have sent the wrong impression if I’d given a warning up front.

What to do? Follow your instincts. Stay in touch with all parties to see how things are going. And be willing to take that phone call and intervene if needed.

When you receive a referral or introduction, always remember that you are referring a person. Not just a product or service. People have good days and bad days. Keep that in mind when things don’t got quite as you expected.

And never, ever be afraid to pick up the phone to try to work things out. Talking can ease a lot of ills!

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Tags: communication, Referrals, Relationship building
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Patience and Persistence Pays Off

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

Networking (both online and off) is not a quick fix. If you don’t have a good sales pipeline now, don’t expect networking to give you one right away.

Networking is an excellent way to plant seeds for a future sales pipeline, but you must be prepared for it to take time.

I’ve experienced this recently in my own business. I met a potential strategic partner late last year, and we’ve been exploring how to work together. Last month we had a great meeting where we worked out most of the outstanding issues, and I’ve sent him a proposal with some real numbers.

In addition to that strategic partnership, I’ve had two prospects hanging out there for some months. I’ve patiently and persistently dripped on them. One is starting this month. The other should be starting next month.

In all three cases, I was thanked for maintaining communication and working to build the relationship. I could have given up on all of them for not “closing” right away. And if I had, I would have lost all of them.

I have a section in my upcoming book on “bothering” the people in your network. It’s not bothering if you’re adding value and building a relationship. So don’t be afraid so stay in touch with prospects. Respect them and their busy schedule but find ways to add value, and most of them will eventually begin to work with or refer you.

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Tags: communication, Relationship building
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Your Changing Networking Needs

Friday, May 6th, 2011

It’s likely that your networking needs will change over time. Perhaps you were looking for a job and landed it. Or your business has grown over time and you are targeting a different market. Situations like this can lead to you needing to reevaluate your networking goals and sometimes your groups and venues.

It’s not a comfortable decision to leave a group, but it might be the right thing to do.

First, you need to be certain about your decision. Look at the contacts you need. Is this group or venue providing them? If not, check your message. What are you asking for? Have you changed your message? If not, try that first. Maybe your group didn’t realize your needs have changed.

If a change of message doesn’t work, it might be time to leave. You need to be careful. The group may not meet your needs, but you have built relationships, and you don’t want to lose them.

Consider what you say when you leave. Telling them they can’t introduce you to the right people might sound harsh. You might want to look at phrasing it a different way. It might be prudent to give a more complete explanation to key people and send a more general message to the group as a whole.

The most important time is right after you leave. If there are relationships you want to maintain, it’s your responsibility to reach out. The group will likely move on to the next new member, and without any malicious intent, you will slip in their thoughts. Identify the key relationships you want to continue and look for ways to stay in touch. Referrals are always good. Keep referring someone, and he or she will be happy to stay in contact.

Moving on from a group can be done, if you are careful and sensitive. Do it well, and you’ll keep them in your network. Do it badly and you’ll burn bridges you might need later.

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Tags: communication, Giving, Networking Groups, Relationship building
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It’s About the Relationship, Not the Sale

Monday, February 21st, 2011

One of my clients forwarded me an email last week, and it was a good example of a common mistake sales people make.

He’d met the young lady at a networking event, and she followed up with a (very thinly disguised) request for a sales presentation. Oh, it was gussied up as “I’ll evaluate your existing plan, and if it’s good, you’ll at least know that” kind of offer, but we all know what that means, right? The real kicker? A specific date, time and location suggestion for the meeting. Folks, in case you don’t know, in an unsolicited email, that’s always a sign that you’re going to be sold something.

I actually don’t fault the young lady. I know her industry, and this is what she’s been taught to do. She’s been taught to view everyone she meets as a potential client. Hopefully, she’ll survive long enough to learn some better strategies.

What’s a better way? Easy, view everyone you meet as someone who can open doors for you. Set up meetings to learn about another person, how you might refer each other and to get a feel for who they know. Then you can ask for introductions.

If you speak with passion and knowledge about how you help your clients and who you like to work with, and the person you are meeting with needs your services, he or she will likely ask about working with you. The important thing is that you’ve given the space to self-select. If they don’t need you, no problem. At best, you’ve found a good referral source. At worst, you’ve left a good impression.

So in case you still haven’t heard me, it’s about the relationship. Not the sale. Relationships will lead to sales. Sales don’t always lead to relationships. You need both to survive.

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Tags: communication, Networking, Relationship building, reputation
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Who To Refer?

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

I recently heard something very disappointing at a networking event.

Three of us were talking. For ease of writing this, we’ll call the other two people Jim and Jane. Jim expressed a real need for a service. I knew Jane had a good relationship with someone (Bob) who offered that service and I turned to her and said, “I’m sure you’ve already referred Bob to Jim.”

People, this should have been a no-brainer, and I was so certain Bob had been referred that I almost didn’t say anything. Good thing I did. Because Jane said, “Oh, Bob isn’t in my networking group anymore.”

Don’t worry. Bob did get the referral, but I kind of felt like I was guilting Jane into it.

So what’s up with this? If someone provides a good service does it matter if you’re not in the same networking group anymore? Remember that networking is about building relationships. Relationships last (or should) no matter what group you belong to.

The situation would have been different if Jane had said, “No, I didn’t refer Bob because someone new in that position has joined my group, and I referred her instead.” That would have been fine. At least someone would have been referred.

But to hear about a need, know someone who can fulfill it and say nothing? That’s counter to every principle of good networking.

This must be a common problem because I’ve had so many people tell me, “When I left that group, I never heard from any of the members again.” Regular networking meetings are a way to stay in touch. They aren’t the only way.

You want people to remember and refer you, no matter what group they are in, right? Then stay in touch with everyone in your network, no matter what groups you do or do not share.

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Tags: Giving, Networking, Networking Groups, Referrals, Relationship building
Posted in Referrals | 3 Comments »

Posts Tagged ‘Relationship building’

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