Friday, January 22, 2010

"Plans are nothing: planning is everything."


Plans are nothing; planning is everything...Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Normandy Landings on D-Day, June 6, 1944, were the largest amphibious invasion in history. Dwight D. Eisenhower had planned the invasion, and had been arguing for it ever since America got into the war after Pearl Harbor. Most British military commanders thought it was too risky. Winston Churchill was particularly nervous about the idea of invading France.

But Eisenhower finally won the argument, and the Allies built dozens of airfields in Great Britain, stockpiled millions of tons of weapons and supplies, built tent cities along the ports of the English Channel where tens of thousands of soldiers would live.

June 6, 1944, was a foggy morning. Sometime after dawn, the English Channel was full of ships—a huge armada—1,200 fighting ships, 10,000 planes, more than 150,000 troops, a little more than half of them American. The plan was to bomb the beach to create craters in the sand for foxholes, and then send the ground troops up the beach.

The most important thing that I have ever done for myself professionally, and for the thousands of people who I have coached…is to develop a 6-Step Planning Process that I call: Thinking Big, Focused and Organized.


Step 1: Vision/Mission/Purpose
Where do you see yourself? Think as big as possible. Build a ‘first draft’ version. It doesn’t have to be faultless. In this case, “Done!” is better than “Perfect!” Remember, the purpose follows from the vision. Purpose is the answer to the question, “Why do you want to achieve your vision?” Purpose provides motivation and inspiration.

Step 2: What’s Your Plan?
In devising your plan, I would suggest only one thing, K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Sweetheart! Trust your instincts. You do the rest!

Step 3: Goals
Your goals are synonymous with your objectives and/or priorities. Write them down. Don’t think it…Ink it! They should be S.M.A.R.T. goals that you keep visible for consistent, high-level motivation, i.e. Smart, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Trackable with Time-Frames. As said before, they don’t have to be perfect…a first-draft is acceptable. However, they DO have to be in your plain sight. Out of sight is out of mind. (I know one advisor who seals his goals in plastic and posts them in his shower!) Divide your goals into three time-frames: Short, Intermediate, and Long-term. Finally, your goals can be a ‘stretch’ but they must be realistic. Goals that aren’t realistic are de-motivating.

Step 4: Next Steps.
Visualize the first steps. The next steps may not be obvious. I would liken this to taking a cross-country road trip at night. You won’t be able to see the distance entirely coast-to-coast, but you will be able to see the distance of your headlights. This is all that’s needed. The Next Steps will take you to the next logical place.

Step 5: Organize
Get on top of each day, and each week. (Plan your work. Work your Plan) Start each day completely focused and ready-to-go. Identify your top time-wasters and all those things that interrupt, distract, and divert you from your plan. For a good reference book on organizing your day, I highly recommend David Allen’s, “Getting Things Done Fast.”

Step 6: Be Accountable
Do what you say you will do. Establish a process, or someone, to be accountable to. If necessary, find a coach who will encourage you, and will help you accomplish what you intended and decided to do.

When the troops reached the shore, they saw that the bombers had missed all of their targets. There was no protection on the beach. The landing craft were hit by a barrage of bullets. In less than a half an hour, more than two-thirds of the first company to reach the shore was killed. At first, the American commanders thought that the invasion had failed, but the first troops made some progress, and the second wave came in and slowly took over the fortified positions above the beach. By nightfall, more than 150,000 Allied troops had landed in France. 

The Germans had tank divisions that could have driven the Allies back into the sea, but they got conflicting orders from the high command and didn't start to attack until late in the afternoon, almost ten hours after the invasion had started. The German commander said at the time, "If we don't succeed in throwing the Allies into the sea, we will have lost the war." The German tanks got to within three miles of the shore and then were driven back by Allied tanks and anti-tank guns, and no German unit ever again got so close to the beaches. Many historians saw that as the turning point of the war.

by Mark Riesenberg

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Snail Mail: Not Dead Yet


Last year, the U.S. Postal Service lost $3.8 billlion...despite a cost-cutting effort that eliminated $10 billion. Total mail volume in the US was 177.1 billion pieces, a decline of more than 25 billion letters sent during the prior year.


It's not hard to figure out what's happening. E-marketing is much more affordable, easy, and immediate. (More than 210 billion emails are sent out daily, worldwide.) In addition to email, there are all of the other electronic communication mediums. Interestingly, among many in Generation Y, or the Millennial Generation, email is passe. Amongst these trendsters, texting and Facebook is the only way to communicate. If that isn't enough for the beleaguered USPS, Snail Mail poses real environmental concerns.

Notwithstanding this perfect storm of bad news for the Postal Service, they are not dead yet. Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last week, entitled, "Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing - Despite Prevalence of Digital Media, Entrepreneurs Find Old Fashioned Direct Mailings Still Key to Winning Customers."


The article tells a number of anecdotes about smaller-sized business owners who continue to find Snail Mail effective. One such story is about Peter Taffae, an insurance broker in Los Angeles. Every six weeks or so, he would send out a colorful, satirical movie-themed postcard to his mailing list of 2000. (See example) Last year, Mr. Taffae decided to discontinue this postcard campaign, in a cost-cutting move. Within a matter of weeks, he fielded more than 20 queries/complaints wondering if they had "been taken off the list." Thinking that if 1% of his list cared enough to call his office, this must be an indication of a larger percentage who are thinking about it...Mr. Taffae re-started his postcard campaign in November.

More than simply being a retro-throwback, Snail Mail can be effective because it can be: more noticeable than email, more appealing than junk mail, personalized, creative, and selective. The key is finding a message, and a style, that stands out from the crowd. Research has indicated that, on average, the typical American is bombarded with more than 3000 advertising messages over a 24-hour period. With this daily marketing onslaught, it isn't hard to understand why run-of-the-mill is not good enough.


Speaking of old-fashioned, it's hard to beat the story of Amos Miller, an Amish entrepreneur who runs Miller Farm, located in Bird-in-Hand, PA. Miller Farm specializes in nutrient-dense foods, e.g. grassfed beef, milk-fed pork, pastured chicken, and 16 varieties of cultured veggies.Being Amish, Amos Miller eschews many of the conveniences that we take for granted. Consequently, his remarkable success has happened without the following:
  • No computer,
  • No internet,
  • No cell phone, 
  • No texting,
  • No CRM,
  • No Blackberry,
  • No Facebook,
  • No email newsletter,
  • No fax machine, 
  • No copier,
  • No car.
Mr. Miller has built a national food retailing business based on mail order and the conventional phone line. His main concessions to modern life are: a generator for refrigeration, a land-line to take orders from distributors and mail order customers (717-556-0672), and FedEx for special orders.

In just four years, Mr. Miller has turned his father's Pennsylvania farm into a $1.8 million national food retailer.

Not bad for someone who doesn't use electricity!

Cheers!

by Chris Holman

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Introductions Made Simple


One of our observations, as coaches, is that advisors can make the Referral Process too difficult for the potential refer-er to respond appropriately. (We much prefer using the term "Introduction" as opposed to "Referral". In our view, "referral" is old language that doesn't work anymore...sounds too commoditized.)

When asking for Introductions, advisors often preface their ask by saying something like, "Who do you know that...blah, blah, blah." One of the problems with the "Who do you know..." ask is that it presents the person that you are asking with Unlimited Choice, which is too much work for a lot of people. This is actually a problem for all of us. When presented with Choice Overload, we get confused...and confused consumers freeze up, and (often) take no action. We see this all the time. When asked "Who do you know..." the response often is something like, "Hmmmm, that's a good question. Let me get back to you." Of course, they never do.


This dilemma is illustrated in a good post on the Word of Mouth Marketing blog, "3-Minute WOM Lesson: How to get your fans to take action." Take a look at their first point. "Be Specific. Get fans moving by giving something specific to act upon. Rather than asking for general support, ask for specific things like reviews, volunteers, testimonials, feedback on a new product-whatever. By keeping your requests specific, your fans will know exactly how you need help."

When asking for an introduction, we see much better response rates if you mention another person...specifically. Moreover, you can greatly increase your chances of success by introducing a subtle twist to your ask. When your broach the topic of obtaining an introduction from a good friend or acquaintance, ask for their opinion too. Here is how this might sound:

"I have heard you speak very highly about your good friend, John Jones. I wanted to ask you if you think that John and I would be a good connection. Knowing what you know about John, and myself, would John and I work well together?"

Do you see what's happening here? Not only are you mentioning a specific name, you are asking your friend for their advice on this possible connection, between John Jones...and yourself. In a subtle way, you are asking your friend to "buy in" to the concept of making the right introductions.

There's another really important aspect to asking for this sort of introduction. Know what this is?

As a listener, you are compelled to listen to your clients and friends, and be alert when they mention specific names within their own personal circle or network...so that you might refer to this person at a later date. In this way, you aren't so much ASKING for introductions as you are LISTENING for introductions.

I trust this helps. All the best.

by Chris Holman