A Facebook friend just shared some Dr. Suess quotes.  In celebration of this unbeatable author and business man, here goes: 
-Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
-Think left and think right and think low and think high.  Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you  try!
-Today you are you, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is youer than you.

I related to these comments: “They were used to me as a working mom and they know I enjoyed it. Work was what made me sparkle, and it was what I contributed to the household.  I earned money far better than I cooked dinner… I was stunned to learn that Willie made more… Living with that reality was bringing out an emotion in me that does not work for a woman in the workplace, at least not mine: anger…

I find this reality: “Research done by Herminia Ibarra at Insead business school found that men are more likely to be friends with more senior male executives by virtue of the fact that they are both male.  By contrast, women tend to be closer to women and friends outside work.” The conclusion, “you can communicate differently with someone you have friendship ties with.”

Maybe I have high ethics, but I have a hard time with this subtitle: “If you are not paid for it, don’t do it.”

This was interesting to me: “People who play  video games start coding because they want to write things for their video games.  Sandberg suggests that one of the steps we could take to get more women into computer science is to make more women-centric video games, and encourage little girls to play them.”

 

My mother recently suggested that I read this. I am a very self-driven sales professional, and was independent for about six years.

I had to remember what it takes to succeed in a large corporation. I was going to summarize this book, but there were already many in existence.

Here are a few summaries I like:

http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/3152662

http://www.westegg.com/unmaintained/carnegie/win-friends.html

 

I completed my study on visualization and got my “visualization chair” for Christmas.  I highlight my favorite content expert as Shakti Gawain.   I like her suggestion in her medication book to, “put goals or prayers in a pink bubble and release them to God.”
Here are some excerpts and exercises I found and favored as well:

“From Maria Rainier:

1. Situate yourself in a quiet, calm, and comfortable place, much like you would for yoga or meditation.

2. Relax. Make a conscious effort to feel individual parts leading to each other with relaxation—from your toes to your feet, your feet to your legs, your hips to your belly, etc. Focus on your breathing when your body has relaxed. You may have to make conscious
efforts to stay relaxed at first, but practice makes perfect.

3. To begin the visualization process, decide what goal you wish to achieve. A better occupation? Healthier lifestyle? Start smaller than these vague, grand goals into ones you can quantify. Work your way up to broader goals as you become more adept with creative
visualization and can acknowledge that it has positively affected your life.

4. Once you have a grasp on the goal you wish to achieve, picture it. Picture the object or yourself in the desirable situation as if you already had it. Do not scorn or belittle this image—treat it as a reality. Concentrate on details of this picture and try to
feel it with individual parts of your body, especially if this is a physical goal. The key here is to really feel the experience as though it were really happening right now, not sometime later in the future, but now.
5. Release yourself from this meditative state and go on about your day. Think of the image you conjured frequently, though. Visualize it over your morning cup of coffee or tea, during your lunch break, while lying awake in bed. Surround this image with positive
energy.

Like meditation or any other therapy or activity, creative visualization takes practice, dedication, earnestness, and time. Treat creative visualization as a tool on your lifelong journey, not as a pill you pop whenever you need an
energy boost.”

 

Here are some exercises I like:

1.)Healing Meditation: RELEASE YOUR FEARS by Lilou Mace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZhD88ERB4U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

2.)Finding your inner self and guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGnB3w80b8M&feature=youtube_gdata_player

3.)Body scan meditation:

• Lie on your back, legs uncrossed, arms relaxed at your sides, eyes open or closed. Focus on your breathing , allowing your stomach to rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale.
• Breathe deeply for about two minutes, until you start to feel comfortable and relaxed.
• Turn your focus to the toes of your right foot. Notice any sensations you feel while continuing to also focus on your breathing. Imagine each deep breath flowing to your toes.
• Remain focused on this area for one to two minutes.
• Move your focus to the sole of your right foot. Tune in to any sensations you feel in that part of your body and imagine each breath flowing from the sole of your foot. After one
  or two minutes, move your focus to your right ankle and repeat. Move to your calf, knee, thigh, hip, and then repeat the sequence for your left leg.
• From there, move up the torso, through the lower back and abdomen, the upper back and chest, and the shoulders. Pay close attention to any area of the body that causes you pain or discomfort.
• Move your focus to the fingers on your right hand and then move up to the wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder. Repeat for your left arm.
• Then move through the neck and throat, and finally all the regions of your face, the back of the head, and the top of the head.
• Pay close attention to your jaw, chin, lips, tongue, nose, cheeks, eyes, forehead, temples and scalp.
• When you reach the very top of your head, let your breath reach out beyond your body and imagine yourself hovering above yourself.
• After completing the body scan, relax for a while in silence and stillness, noting how your body feels. Then open your eyes slowly. Take a moment to stretch, if necessary.

For a guided body scan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obYJRmgrqOU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

4.)Wheel of emotion: http://robinnixon.com/thejourney/the-wheel-of-emotion. Start “In particular, when you are experiencing a negative mood and don’t know why, you can use my wheel as a means of working out exactly what’s affecting you, so that you can more clearly focus in on the problem (or problems) and make better-informed decisions about how to deal with your mood.”

What I like most is just letting my mind and body lead me to my personal time of choice in my favorite chair.  If I feel I want to study God’s word, I pick up a devotional book and do so.  If I feel I need to do an above visualization excercise, I do so.  If I feel I need to pick up a famous Jodi Picoult novel, I do so.  Visualization is all about maintaining your personal balance and peace, and often about connecting to the inner voice I like to call God!

 

(edited by Grammarly.com)

Yesterday I briefed the book ‘Talent is Overrated,’ by Geoff Colvin.  In his book, Geoff says that the keys to being remarkable are basically to perceive, know, and remember more than most people.  He also said that remarkable people have the ability to think in chunks and to look ahead.  He gave anecdotes:

• Best chess players see the whole board or groups of pieces
• Blocking top typists from seeing ahead results in mediocre typing

Geoff’s biggest point was to discuss stories and findings that prove “practice makes perfect.”  He explains that not all “practice makes perfect” and that simulations or focuses on relevant skills or parts of the process are what makes the biggest difference.  In an example, he talked about an athlete that did: weights to improve strength; trail running for control and agility; and sprints for the “ability to explode.”

I found it ironic that Brian Tracy (in his book GOALS) made the same points about practice and goals towards a process as Geoff did.  Brian says to, “set goals about the parts of the process of reaching the outcome, and not just the outcome.”  He gave the example that to win the order you need to 1.) focus on understanding the customers needs and 2.)listen for the customer’s main points.  Both Geoff and Brian also discussed visualization as effective at reaching goals and becoming remarkable, and here are some resources I found on how to visualize: http://www.silvalifesystem.com/articles/visualization-techniques/visualization-exercises/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-niles-phd/visualization-goals_b_878424.html, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA1T6t9tF-k.

This book brings me back to my transparency on my weakness in grammar and my goal to get better at it.  Jennifer Lazarow of UT says, “Proofreading skills and correct grammar and punctuation are crucial to building credibility and gaining respect from employers, colleagues, and customers.”  I agree with her and think my goal is part of my ultimate goal to become a leader or manager in sales or marketing.  For this reason, I continue to blog and drive
myself at this.  Here are some specific things I am working on as well as relevant links that I found on using:

• Homonyms: http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/HomonymChart.htm
  (I like the additional links on here as well)
• Titles: http://www.writingsimplified.com/2010/03/titles-when-to-italicize-underline-or.html(Words Fail Me is a book with a chapter “Are Your Eggs Ready to Hatch?” ) and http://homeworktips.about.com/od/mlastyle/a/titles.htm
• Preceed vs proceed or follow: http://www.ehow.com/how_2104863_use-precede-proceed-correctly.html
• Commas: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp
• Its vs. it’s: http://garyes.stormloader.com/its.html
• Hypens: http://oxforddictionaries.com/page/punctuationhyphen
• Forward slashes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(punctuation)
  (use a comma or the word or instead)

In writing this article, I came across some resources to
review:

• Jennifer’s Austin class: http://www.utexas.edu/ce/pdc/courses/grammar-punctuation-proofreading/
• Grammarly.com, the “world’s most accurate grammar checker.”
• @GrammarGirl offers a website (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/)
  and many books: http://www.google.com/#q=grammar+girl’s+book&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=DYWxTp2kGZPjsQLwteywAQ&ved=0CEYQrQQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=e265bf8927b22004&biw=1073&bih=589
• Leslie of Ewriteonline.com offers course and private help
• Online Class ‘Grammar and Punctuation 101’: http://www.universalclass.com/i/crn/33791.htm

 

Then of course, there is my new favorite song on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo0LbAItFLs(lol).

 

I will close this article by referring to Geoff’s discussion that the leading organizations grow their people.  This article gives an example of the goal of a passionate and driven worker.  It was helpful to be told I sucked at writing by my last employer.  It would have been more constructive to find adequate sources, like Leslie, to help me.  These circumstances taught me a lot that I will refer to when I become a manager.  I realize that people need to want to help themselves in order to be helped.  In my situation, that obviously was not the case.  Their criticism prompted me to seek out Leslie of Ewriteonline.com myself.  Remember I am also extremely A type, so it is necessary to know that Leslie says my writing is average.

I need to pick a next Audible book and I’m actually on the sales side of marketing, so maybe one of the below would be better for me to prioritize?  Has anyone read any of these?

Trust Agents

The Power of Full Engagement:

Mastering the Art of Selling (Live)

The New Rules of Marketing & PR 2.0Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions

Mastering the Art of Selling (Live)

 

I also have to pick out a new book club book and Rainmaking Conversations has been recommended.  Here are other books that have been recommended:

Sales:

The New Handshake

Zero Resistance Selling

Raving Fans!- Customer Service/Account Management

Selling to Zebras

Whale Hunting – Hunt Big Sales.

The accidental sales person

People Buy You: Jeb Blount

Secrets of Question Based Selling

Selling Against the Goal – Kendra Lee

Real Secrets of the Top 20% – Mike Brooks

No Bull Selling – Hank Trisler

Getting more new business

Rethinking the Sales Cycle

Sales 2.0

Are any Sandler’s available on the open market? The Sandler Rules Book and Close
the Deal have been recommended.

 

Sales Management:

The Optimal Salesperson by Dan Caramanico and Marie
Maguire

The Market has Changed, Have You? By Paul D’Souza

ProActive Sales Management: How to Lead, Motivate, and
Stay Ahead of the Game by Skip Miller

 

Self Development:

Nonviolent Communication” by Marshall Rosenberg

 

Marketing:

Marketing  Champions Ardath Albee

E-marketing Strategies for the Complex Sale

A Digital MarketplaceThe Buyersphere Project

Marketing Metrics in Action

Marketing 2.0

The B2B Refinery

 

Later on Audible:

The Richest Man in Bablyon

 

Other books I’ve read and added to my library as resources:

Salesforce.com

Web Analytics 2.0

The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource

My Philosophy for Successful Living

I found some time today to review The Go-Giver book with the LinkedIn group “The Sales Playbook Reading Club (http://www.linkedin.com/groupshome=&gid=3755767&trk=anet_ug_hm&goback=%2Egfl_3755767).  Here are great summaries of this book:

Amazon has a great review of this book that includes a look into the chapters: http://www.amazon.com/Go-Giver-Little-Story-Powerful-Business/dp/159184200X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319735119&sr=1-1#_.  Other favorites summaries of this book are found on http://www.thegogiver.com/extras/articles/:

1.)The
Edge, April 1,
2008
“The Physics of Giving…or ‘Why Human Beings Are Not Billiard Balls’ ”
by John David Mann

2.) BusinessWeek,
March 11, 2008
“What is a Go-Giver?”
by Marshall Goldsmith

 

Here are Audible’s summary of the Five Laws of Stratospheric
Success:

1.)The Law of Value- Your true worth is determined by how
much more you give in value then you take in payment.

2.)The Law of Compensation- Your income is determined by how
many people you serve, and how well you serve them.

3.)The Law of Influence- Your Influence is determined by how
abundantly you place other people’s interest first.

4.)The Law of Authenticity- The most valuable resource you
have to give is yourself.

5.)The Law of Receptivity- The key to effective giving is to
stay open to receiving.

 

Below are my favorite discussion comments, including my own, around some of the above laws:

1.)The Law of Value:

Chris Rollins Most of us were raised to believe that if we want to achieve real success it will require us to be “Go-Getters,” right?  The first of the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success is completely opposite of that mindset. It requires us to be more focused on GIVING value rather than getting something.  Let’s discuss how this Law differs from what most of us were programed by society to believe we must do in order to be successful.

The main key to the Law of Value for me is truly that you are ensuring that your focus is on giving value to others. It was not about giving away more money than you make and going into the poorhouse. Actually, it was well said in the book that there is nothing wrong with making money, even lots of it, it is just that making money can’t be the focus.

When I sense that someone is just trying to be a “getter” I will not do business with them. They are just focused on themselves.

As John said so well, it is not about a “strategy”.  You can’t be a true giver if you are keeping score. I realize that it is counter-intuitive to many, but Adon mentioned the Law of Reciprocity (one of my favorite subjects to teach on and one I teach my kids ALL the time).

I have been blessed to be successful in my life by most people’s standards. However, my focus in what I do is to add value toothers. I never go in to a situation trying to see what I can “get”
from it.

Ernesto in the story said that a great restaurant’s goal “is to provide a higher quality of food and service than any amount of money could possibly pay for.” Funny enough, his was the one that was always full and in the end making more money!

Keep the “challenge” in mind in the book. Agree to test every Law by actually trying it out. Not by thinking about it, not by talking about it, but by applying it in your life.

Jeff Eskow Part of the problem of basing your future success on ‘giving’ before ‘getting’ is
the very real possibility that your generosity will be taken advantage of.

I can’t tell you how many ‘free’ newsletters, reports and such I’ve asked for. These are things I’d never pay for and the sender doesn’t make a nickel off of me, no matter how many e-mails/letters he sends me moving forward.

Of course there is a value in building relationships.The trick lies in doing that – building a relationship as opposed to ‘giving something away’ and hoping down the line the favor is returned.

So when you give something away, the value has to be recognized as the recipient as more than just a ‘freebie’. How is this value determined? I’d say there are many opinions on this.

As Dan said earlier… it’s often hard to quantify.  If we spend the bulk of our time ‘giving’, we are not spending enough time asking for something (and order, and appointment, etc).

I think there is a very real truth in that sales are made when you ASK for them.  So being a “Go Getter” often really DOES become the better option…at least ‘X’ amount of hours in the working day.

Frank Keith As I read this section of the book I was reminded of a quote that I keep taped to
my computer display: Instead of focusing on being the most valuable sales person, you should focus on being the salesperson with the most value.
Everything else will fall into place over time.

The book’s message reinforces that if you approach every opportunity with a genuine and sincere desire to serve and contribute to the success of others you will be rewarded. Yes, this requires a leap of faith. And yes, you have to be sincere and genuine that you truly want to add value to the relationship.

John Patrick This section was a great reminder that … one’s money is never addressed in a eulogy, but one’s substance, character and significance always are.

Jeff Eskow … This makes me think of the strategy of giving to the practice that some marketers make of offering ‘free’ items that THEY claim have value…while the recipient perhaps thinks otherwise.

Chris Rollins The misunderstanding that I believe so many have about giving is that they feel you have to allow yourself to be someone’s floor mat. That is not it at all (I know
I have heard that philosophy many times through the years). Also, being givers
does not stop us from being receivers also, nor should it. It is simply about
our focus!

Darwin Davis “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”

Fortunately, for me, my parents raised six of us by demonstrating how to give value. Teaching Sunday School, Bible School, serving on the elder board at church, etc. While raising six kids they were never “rich” by most peoples standards, but they traveled the world, went on cruises, and enjoyed life together for 59 years. It wasn’t about making lots of money so they could take those trips. It was about influencing people in a positive way, to help improve their lives.

Because of that I really have a difficult time with “go-getters”. The people who sell me the most products are the ones who just want to build relationships. When they visit we discuss common interests, family, vacation, how business is. They don’t even leave a “gift”, it is a relationship. But when I need something I always call them first.

Barbara Giamanco …I have a colleague who charges for EVERYTHING. I mean even a 10 page e-book. For her it is so foreign to think about giving anything away knowing that down the road it comes back to you. I routinely give away my e-book or my LinkedIn “how to” guide,
which is pretty detailed and maybe I could charge for it, but I’m always thinking about the bigger picture. I firmly believe that giving to get is theway to go!

Timothy R Ward As consumers, we can put our experiences with service providers into three
categories:
* Just enough service given to justify the charges
* The most service a provider feels they can give for the price charged
* Service of a higher quality than any money could pay for

We see way too much of the first, settle for the second and rave about the rare case we experience the third.

As a provider of goods/services it comes down to living a culture fueled by passion and values. Give, give, give. Why? Because you love to – it is your way of life!

Adon Rigg, CME,CSE Timothy, I like your insight… This reminds me of the old equation P=V+S ( price = Value + Service) or V=P+S

Me: Shannon Bryant Thank you again, for this group and it’s discussions as a resource.  I
have some individual comments and questions:

@Darwin– How does a sales person come off sincere in discussing interests versus business.  I try to focus on business, but often get into personal because I genuinely enjoy people and they tend to enjoy me.  But I love this topic and would love to get your feedback…

@Barbara-How do you ride that fine line of giving your expertise for free and earning a living from it?

@Jeff- I believe you don’t have to ask for sales.  I believe sales are
made by earning them.  When you become a trusted advisor and they see you genuinely enjoy them (maybe to Darwin’s point) and care about their success, they give you their current and future sales.  They give you them and their relationship.  It’s relationships that
drive me, as they give me the most joy.  Out of context, but in response to another’s comment, I sincerely enjoy people even through just their content, and try to socially highlight them as such while I take their “free advice and content.”

In general response to the above, I find it easier sometimes in my life then others to give.  I believe I’ve noticed a time in my female cycle in which I am more sentimental then others- lol.  In general, I think in today’s society, one needs to just do something mindless without any mobile distractions, and just think about life.  Some of my favorite times are cleaning to Christian music, or taking a run.  I think about the moments I do this, and this is when I think about other people and often how I can help them.

2.)The Law of Compensation:

Chris Rollins So we learned that the first law determines how much you could earn, but the second law determines how much you do earn!

It stated that your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. I thought “of course, just increase the size of your customer base with people who are Raving Fans”…that is the essence of what we are trying to do anyway, right?

I found the distinction between what people earn and how many people they touch to be a complete eye opener! Let’s hear some feedback on your thoughts from this Law!

Barbara Giamanco Chris, I didn’t find this law an eye opener necessarily, because I’ve known for some time that to earn more means serving more people.  What I have struggled with is HOW to do it in a way that makes sense. Clearly,  if I’m the only one doing all of the service delivery, as I mostly have while bringing in contractors some of the time, I can’t get where I want to go.  Bottom line, I will have a difficult time creating massive, large scale success
unless I change that approach. By the way, I decided to do this 18 months ago and have focused my attention on attracting the right people. For me, I think this section made it clear to me how important it is to create a team made up of people working together so that all of you get mass leverage and succeed together.

Chris Rollins Barb, thanks!! I just loved the way he brought out the distinction that explained so well why so many who give great value don’t earn much compared to others.

The team that had been built which made the CEO so successful was a great way to look at it. She definitely had a great team around her that shared a common vision. Developing a team of leaders around you always leads to explosive growth!!!

 

3.)The Law of Influence:

Chris Rollins This law states that we need to build a network of people who know, like, and trust us. They may never personally buy from us, but they always have us in mind.

It also tells us to forget about the fifty-fifty rule (what I call “keeping score”) because it is a losing proposition.

Barbara Giamanco • For me, the big reminder was NOT keeping score. Most of the time I don’t, but in the spirit of total honestly, I sometimes feel that certain people keep showing up to take but they never seem to give back. What I need to remember is that maybe that person isn’t able to give back to me directly, but they know other people who they tell about me and indirectly that leads to something down the road.

How have I put this into action?  Well, I did another complimentary speaking gig as part of a panel at a conference this past Friday. This particular industry isn’t one that I normally focus on, and I accepted the offer to speak as a favor to a friend. I love talking to groups about the
tremendous power of social media to drive business success, and I saw this as another opportunity to expand my net – about 60 people were in the audience. I followed Law #1 and gave more than expected (judging from the nice comments I’ve received) and it is already paying off in unexpected ways:).

Darwin Davis Chris, what I found interesting was the network concept. I have no trouble focusing on my network of clients and trying to serve them better. But I truly have never given much thought to the network I have, that will never purchase an item from me. I look forward to seeing them from time to time, and catching up, but, I never gave any thought to how I could serve them.

Chris Rollins I agree. Most people think about their network that is going to purchase from them. Learning to truly give whether or not the person is ever, or even has the ability to, going
to pay you back is something that has to be done intentionally.

 

4.)The Law of Authenticity

Me Shannon Bryant: This morning I wrote the most heartfelt messages to one of my friends as a result of just having time to myself to think.  The message I wrote my friend was
one that only I could write.  It was a message about my personal story of quitting my career to raise my kids, and trying to keep her from making the same career and nearly marriage breaking mistake.  I gave her a part of myself and a part of my personal story, and only I could do that for her.  In giving of myself, it is so heartfelt that I tear up in writing this.  This is
genuine!  I gave her me!

 

In the closing of this discussion, Chris held a call with Bob Berg, the author.  Here is the recording:

RT@ Chris  Rollins Call in number 712-432-0199 (yes, the last digit is intentionally different from the live call number posted). Participant code 928102#

 

(edited by Leslie of Ewriteonline.com)

Jill concluded our book club discussion by asking us the top lessons we learned from her
book.  My group will probably add theirs as comments.  Here are mine:

 

1.)Clients make three key decisions when you get their time:

A.)Allow access

B.)Initiate change- Move them to commit to change.  Is the value of the change your product
brings significant enough?

C.)Select resources/select you!

 

2.)Jill reminded us that because our clients are busy, we need to add value when they give us time.   This is the only way we keep their access.  We need to get to know their problems and
discuss only relevant case studies and metrics.   We need to know their industry and trends and discuss only their needs and their desired outcome.  We need to establish credibility by referencing a referral, citing our research, and mentioning our trigger.  For instance, a voicemail would sound like, “Mike referred me because of the work we do for Halliburton.  We know in your manufacturing industry SAP does not attach to operations… We solved this for Halliburton by…”  If you get them on the phone, great questions to follow these are, “Are you finding these same challenges?  If not what are your
priorities?”  (See also, “How to Add Value Instead of Check In”: http://leads2fullcycle.com/snap-discussion-how-to-add-value-instead-of-%e2%80%9ccheck-in%e2%80%9d/).

 

3.)In this busy world what you are selling has to align with their priorities.  You also have to become a trusted advisor.  @RobertTerson gave me some invaluable time in which he told me to read this book and offered two of the best sales questions:

• What’s the problem you would give almost anything to solve?
• What’s the most important thing I need to know to be of service to you today?

The above can sound cheesy, but between Jill and Robert, you get the point of what to ask.

 

4.)Jill repeats that we have to keep our messaging simple.  How can we appear simple? We
have to make sure:

• We appear easy to implement
• We are easy to decipher and our messaging is simple
• We have to know their business and tie our product to it/know where we add value
• We have to help simplify their decision process and other processes such as purchasing
• We need to do this in phone messages, meeting plans, presentations, and proposals

 

5.)Jill talked about “becoming a decision guide.” She said painting the picture/advising them through the decision process and implementation is key to your sales success.
She says:

• Guide them on weeding through the clutter and on limiting their options and risk
• Ask tough questions and figure out their decision making criteria
• Be consultative and helpful and get them to experience you as their value ad that makes their life simpler and removes their complexities.

 

Other favorites from her book:

• Her buyer profile and value prop generators
• I liked the book she referenced on proposal writing, Writing to Win More by Sant.
• Tools she mentioned that provide invaluable information and triggers is a prospect’s investor relations page and InsideView.  A member of my book club
  also suggested Yahoo Finance.
• Some key questions to learn who all your decision makers are/who to advise include: 1.)Have you done anything like this? 2.)Who else should be involved to   implement  in a workable and manageable timescale?

Our club wanted to study and discuss how marketing can affect our job as reps. We thought that Eisenberg’s book, Waiting for Your Cat to Bark, would be a good fit for this. Here is the best review I have found on this book: http://www.wilsonweb.com/conversion/cat-bark.htm

My personal review concluded that it is somewhat elementary to me. I understand the theories, but need practice. There are other books that provide this. For instance, The Eisenberg’s start to discuss personas in their book, but Jill Conrad’s writings and exercises around personas are the more through. Steve Krug’s, Don’t Make Me Think, is a book I will choose to read if I am hired to help with a website. It shows practical applications about how to give the customer a good experience when they are using your site. In his book, he practices things such as placement of design elements on a page as relevant to user experience.

Waiting for Your Cat to Bark did include a lot of great quotes, though. I will copy my summary of favorites below. I suggest that if you don’t understand these quotes, you get the book.

· The more you reduce the friction and the more you accommodate your customer during the sales process, the more confidence the customer gains and the better their experience.

· The increased intimacy of that experience iswhat allows customers to ascribe to a deeper connection and more value to products and services. The structuring of that intimacy is the goal of Persuasion Architecture… Its focus is always to persuade the customer to take action.

· Bringing more people into a system that does apoor job of converting them into buyers is a waste of money.

· Mass marketing is evolving to brand building based on meaningful and individual relationships with consumers- relationships that go beyond product benefits to offer solutions to real and important consumer needs… Successful brands will be transformed into trusted friends and product usage will be broadened into experiences.

· People who come to you are interested in you. They are also completely in control of what they will or will not agree to experience. They decide where they will go, how they will engage, what they will spend, whether they will spend, and where they will look for their information.

· Customers broadcast their purchase intensions clearly with the words they chose to use SMB: such as keywords in search).

· The goal of branding is to plant your solution in the customer’s brain so that when the problem arises, the customer recalls your brand as the solution.

· You’ve got a potential customer out there… How do you ensure he finds you? How do you influence his perceptions? How will you market to him while at the same time marketing to yet another customer whos needs are entirely different?

· It isn’t difficult to understand that a customer would prefer to buy from someone who uses her terms and speaks her language.

· In an age defined by its extraordinary amount of information, marketers who want to get noticed need to understand how customers frame their questions.

· If your customers don’t click, communication ceases and persuasive momentum evaporates.

· When we anticipate what answers a customer may require at every step in their decision, we can help them make the decisions that matter to them…Persuasion occurs when people perceive they are on their way to getting what they want.

· The failure of business to identify and provider elevance is one of the top reasons behind the stunningly crummy conversion rates.

· Personas are the centerpiece of Persuasion Architecture… “Persona-lization” over personalization simply acknowledges the priority to speak to customers in language they appreciate about what matters to them.

· The future belongs to those that can make emotional connections in the market.

· Studies have demonstrated that when a person can’t connect emotionally with whatever task he is undertaking, he will not be able to make a decision.

· The easiest path to making an emotional connection is by focusing on the benefits- not the features- of your product and service. Benefits are based on people; features are based on things.

· Most failures in getting a customer to convert stem from a perceived lack of value, trust, confidence, security, or relevance.

· The days are over when a company could put out product marketing telling a customer what they felt was important for their prospects to know.

· Customers now place greater value on what independent third parties have to say.

· When you provide customers with relevant information, regardless of the angle from which they approach your business,you promote the feeling of intimacy with the brand.

· Each step in the sales process requires the customer to take a specific action (subscribe, download, compare plans).

· Depending on where they are in their decision,your customers need answer to specific questions before they can make a decision. You must help them resolve these questions before you can proceed with the sales process.

· Be creative, on-point, and maintain relevance at each step so that you meet the needs of the persona.

· If a customer finds it easier to identify the tv she wants through one of your competitors, she is likely not to buy the tv from you or to come back to you when she makes her next home electronic purchase.

· Anything that results in a lower customer satisfaction or a lost customer constitutes a flaw in the sales process.

· What you say, how you say it, and how well you address the information customers seek will be critical to meeting the customer’s needs and driving conversion.

To my club, I ask you to review and discuss pages 36-37 in response to this article. These pages give you examples of how the customer is in control these days. It says that today customers know more about your products then you do. They define your products and services, their price, and your brand.