The Chief Storyteller

What Makes You Different?

So, you’re at a networking event and you’ve just answered the question, “What do you do?” Now what?  What if there are two others in the room who do what you do?

What makes you different?  (translated as, “Why should I hire you?”) When I was a graduate student, I was taught the best way to differentiate a product or a service was to create something that would be perceived as unique.

Let’s take copy writing as an example profession, what could possibly make me unique? Think along a variety of dimensions. Quality of my product – engaging, error-free, and easy-to-read articles, bulletins, and speeches. Customer service – responsive to the needs of my editor, punctual in meeting deadlines, and a willingness to offer a choice of several submissions. Experience – require minimal supervision, coaching, and editing – in short, no learning curve.

Taken together, these dimensions help to differentiate me among the other writers in the room. The others may have more experience and may also offer quality products...my customer service is superior.

You may notice I didn’t include price as one of these dimensions. That’s because differentiation often results in a lower sensitivity to price.  By effectively differentiating your product or service on one or several dimensions of perceived value to your prospect, you have created something that is unique.

Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean So Much

A very interesting article in the New York Times Health section begins:

Psychologists have long studied the grunts and winks of nonverbal communication, the vocal tones and facial expressions that carry emotion. A warm tone of voice, a hostile stare — both have the same meaning in Terre Haute or Timbuktu, and are among dozens of signals that form a universal human vocabulary.

A couple of key points:

- The evidence that such messages can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave is accumulating fast.

- Good [sports] teams tended to be touchier than bad ones.

- Couples who touch more are reporting more satisfaction in the relationship

Just a word of caution: be careful when applying this advice in your workplace...for obvious human resource issues.

Third Annual Top Marketing Trends Survey

The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) and Anderson Analytics today issued the results of its Third Annual Survey of Top Marketing Trends. Anderson Analytics surveyed MENG's nearly 2000 senior marketing members, focusing on the top marketing concepts, buzz words, social media strategy, geographic / demographic considerations as well as the books and thought leaders that executive marketers look to for inspiration and growth opportunity.

Top Five Findings:

1. 66% of marketers are more optimistic about business opportunity in 2010; 28% view 2010 similarly to 2009 while only 6% are less optimistic about the outlook. Compared to last year's survey findings, marketers are:
a.   More likely to increase marketing budget;
b.   Less likely to reduce staff and more likely to hire incremental staff; and
c.   More likely to increase spending on innovation and R&D.

2. Social media remains hot with 70% of marketers planning new social media initiatives in 2010. Interestingly, social media, twitter and social networking ranked as the top "buzz words marketers are most tired of hearing."
a.   Regarding companies' presence on social media sites, large companies are more likely to have a presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace; smaller companies rely more on LinkedIn.

3. "Marketing ROI" moved from the third most important marketing concept in last year's survey to the number one spot in this year's survey, followed by "Customer Retention" and Brand Loyalty."
a.   "Mobile Marketing" and "Social Media" officially made the top-10 concept list for the first time this year.
b.   Of the 53 identified marketing concepts, "Developed Markets," "Multi-language," "Social Consciousness," "Offshoring" and "Long Tail" were viewed as the least important.

4. Overall marketing executives are more likely to rely on internal employees for their social media initiatives than any outside firms. Companies that are going outside for help with social media strategy and implementation are much more likely to look to social media consultants, and to a lesser degree interactive agencies, than to advertising agencies or public relations firms.

5. Not surprisingly, China was still ranked as the top geographic opportunity for growth, followed by India, Latin America and Brazil. And among the various target demographics, MENG members still feel that Boomers represent the best opportunity for customer targeting, followed by women and Hispanics. The overall importance of different demographics has not changed significantly since last year's survey. 

For a complete copy of survey results, visit MENG's online newsroom.

Milk and Cookies…Driving Stronger Relationships and Customer Satisfaction

I went to the grocery store the other day for a gallon of milk.  I was with my son and we were on our way home from a basketball game.  As is the norm in my house on weekends, we were in a hurry.

When we walked into the store, we found the milk prominently displayed in a refrigerator case at the front of the store.  As I went to grab a gallon of milk, my son pointed out the chocolate chip cookies located alongside the milk.  “Milk and cookies,” he said, “they go together.”  He was right, so I grabbed a package of cookies to go with the milk and we were on our way.  It was more than what I came for, but the smile on my son’s face was priceless.

This is an example of cross-selling or offering related items likely to enhance the customer experience.   Cross-selling offers retailers a number of benefits, including exposure for higher margin items and potentially higher customer satisfaction through the suggestion of complementary items of perceived value.

When your associates are interfacing with their stakeholders, what story are they telling?  Does their message enhance the stakeholder’s experience?  Are they offering X, or are they offering X, Y, and Z?  Cross-selling can be an effective relationship-building technique for customer service representatives in schools, associations, governments, and businesses of all sizes.

Once a customer’s reason for calling is addressed, offering suggestions on other complementary services that might resonate with the caller can lead to deeper customer relationships, higher satisfaction rates, and higher revenues.

When Nobody Is Looking, Character Still Counts: Make Your Business Stories Credible

Article Summary: Even when nobody is looking, character still counts. It is the fabric woven throughout our stories. It is the book behind the cover. As Abraham Lincoln said, “I am not bound to win, I am bound to be true.” Business stories teeming with character speak volumes on their own. Remaining true to the values of treating others with courtesy and respect is what gives our business stories lasting credibility. Most importantly, it is what compels other people to want to do business with us, over and over again.  <<< Read complete article below >>>

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When Nobody Is Looking, Character Still Counts: Make Your Business Stories Credible

© 2010. ThinkBusiness Magazine and The Chief Storyteller®, LLC. Used by permission.
Ira J. Koretsky
February 2010

A friend recently told me about a holiday shopping experience he had with his teenage son. As they were finishing their shopping, they just happened to be looking when some of their fellow shoppers thought they were not. Cutting in line at check out and making rude gestures to other drivers as they navigated crowded parking lots were some of the behaviors they observed. 

As many of us in the business world close the books on another year, what behaviors have we exhibited when we thought nobody was looking?  If you are looking for ways to strengthen your character, here are several of my favorites.
                       
Think of Everyone as the Next CEO
Years ago, when I joined ComedySportz, a professional improvisational humor team, I learned many valuable lessons for improving relationships and communication (see Treat Everyone Like a Key Decision Maker: How Improvisational Humor Training Helps You Sell).

One lesson that stood out was the concept of how people treat each other. I turned it into a business exercise with playing cards. At the end of the exercise, we talk about awareness of one’s words and actions. Invariably, many participants are surprised by how unaware they had been of their negative tone of voice and hurtful words they use.

Irrespective of where you perceive yourself to be in the hierarchy, you cannot go wrong by treating everyone as if they are the next CEO. This is particularly important for new leaders. Whether you realize it or not, everyone is watching to see how you treat people. Treat everyone with courtesy and respect and you will quickly earn trust. 

Helping Others Helps You
Duane, one of my new team members, has some great stories. While studying at The George Washington University for his MBA, one of his professors, Jerry Harvey (author of The Abilene Paradox and other Meditations on Management) had an interesting approach in his Individual and Group Dynamics Organizational Behavior class. Professor Harvey deliberately structured the final exam in a way that required a collaborative effort by the entire class.  Anything short of full class collaboration ended in a failing grade. On the day of the final, Professor Harvey arrived in the class, passed out the exam, and just as quickly, exited the classroom. Duane told me with a big smile, “There were no individual rock stars that day—only the most cohesive group I had ever worked with.”

In business, particularly in difficult economic times and results-driven environments, how often do you take the time to help your co-workers?  How easy is it to push-off requests for help from your co-workers when you yourself are stressed, particularly when the boss is not looking? Part of your success is often helping others to be successful.  
 
You Get Out of it What You Put into it
I was reminded of this lesson as I watched Conan O’Brien’s farewell on The Tonight Show. He told us that “if you work really hard and you’re kind, then amazing things will happen.” Think about the work you do, your interactions with your co-workers, and your relationships with your suppliers and customers. Are your outcomes in line with your expectations?  If not, it may be time to put a little more into your relationships.     

Why Character Still Counts
Even when nobody is looking, character still counts. It is the fabric woven throughout our stories. It is the book behind the cover. As Abraham Lincoln said, “I am not bound to win, I am bound to be true.” Business stories teeming with character speak volumes on their own. Remaining true to the values of treating others with courtesy and respect is what gives our business stories lasting credibility. Most importantly, it is what compels other people to want to do business with us, over and over again.


Ira Koretsky is the president of The Chief Storyteller®, a firm that turns your business stories and messages into results, with keynotes, workshops, training, and consulting. He can be reached at tbmag@thechiefstoryteller.com or www.TheChiefStoryteller.com.

"Making Training Fun while Selling the Value to Internal Stakeholders" Web Workshop with ASTD

I've known Brian Lambert for years as he has been an association partner and client. He now runs the Sales Training Drivers program at the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). During one of our conversations, we talked about presenting a web workshop/seminar on how business storytelling can be used to better tell the "training story" in organizations. Too often, training is one of the first line items cut from a budget. Why? Because rarely is there an internal senior leadership champion touting the many tangible benefits of training.

So we made it happen and last week I delivered "Five Ways to Use Business Storytelling: Making Training Fun while Selling the Value to Internal Stakeholders."

The team at ASTD was great. They helped make this one of the most popular web seminars for ASTD. Nearly 600 trainers from around the world registered.

I shared several key areas:
- Follow your own business storytelling process
- Know your audience
- Select the right story type for your audience
- Choose from your story inventory the right business stories
- Create interactive exercises in your training and presentations to make it more fun, have a higher memory retention, and improve educational value
- Tell your great stories

The web seminar is about 75 minutes long, free, and available at the ASTD web site here.

10 Tips for Networking at Conferences as an Attendee

A client of mine is sending five people to a conference next week. The primary goals are to build contacts and find prospective clients.

I made some specific suggestions on how to maximize their time as they attend one big business blind date.

1. Be ready for "What Do You Do?" Start every conversation with passion and a compelling elevator speech.

2. Get invited to the parties and events where your ideal clients will be.

3. Do pre-work in advance to find out what opinion leaders, influencers, prospects, etc. are attending. Then set up meetings with them while at the conference before the conference even starts.

4. Talk to strangers. Avoid talking to people you know well. Now is the time to meet new people.

5. Avoid your competitors. See if you can find out in advance where your competitors are going to be in terms of booths, activities, and events. Then, ensure you are somewhere else.

6. Sponsor your own after party. Invite partners, clients, former clients, guests, and of course, prospects, influencers, opinion leaders, authors, bloggers, etc.

7. Coordinate with your teammates. Be deliberate when attending the same events. Have game plans, check-in points, and feedback loops.

8. Keep your conversations short. Spend up to 10 minutes per person. If you make a bona fide connection, even better because ending the conversation is easier. Your goal is to network and meet as many people as possible.

9. Offer valuable follow ups. Develop a set of give-aways and follow ups to make your follow up easier (see #10). Offer (a) white-papers; (b) references to articles, blogs, newspapers; (c) copies of magazine and newspaper articles; (d) books or references to an appropriate book; (e) information on upcoming events and conferences

10. Be different--follow up. Most people do not follow up. Suggest that you only follow up with the people that you made a moderate to strong connection with, that meet your ideal client profile, and where you believe that there is future value to you or both parties.

Social Media – Are You Connected?

I have been actively Tweeting for a month now.  As of this writing, I have accumulated 35 followers and am following 37 others.  I have also posted 53 tweets.  I am now an official microblogger.  More importantly, I am connected.

Like many of you, I attend a fairly robust number of business and social networking events each month.  I also interact with people every day in my job.  One of my favorite conversation starters has become, “Are you connected?”  Invariably, this question leads to another, “Do you tweet?” And then another, “Why not?”
 
For those who don’t, and a surprisingly large number of people I meet do not, the most common reasons are:

- I don’t know what to tweet about.
- I don’t know what I could say that someone else would find value in.
- I’m too busy and don’t have enough time to do it.

If any of these concerns sound familiar to you, I may be able to help.

Before I sent my first Tweet, I wondered what to send.  I knew it had to be something more consequential than “Just took my dog for his daily walk.”  I also wondered why anyone would care about the Tweet I had just posted; i.e., the answer to the “so what?” question.  And, yes, with multiple email and instant messaging accounts to manage, I wondered where I would find the time to deal with yet another electronic messaging medium.

One month and 53 tweets later, my own experience has taught me three things.

1. Twitter is a blank slate.  You can write about anything you want.  It’s helpful to begin with a story, either business or personal.

2. There are many people who love a good story.  Make it positive and fill it with content (i.e., some interesting fact that others can use, links to articles, blogs, photos) and you will build a list of followers.

3. Scanning through a list of 140-character or less headlines while at the gym is a great way to keep current in any topic(s) you choose.

 
Get connected.  One well-timed tweet could be your next conversation starter.

Fortune’s 100 Best Companies: What Words Describe You?

Fortune magazine recently issued its list of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For.” The list includes perennial favorites like SAS, Edwards Jones, Wegman’s Food Markets, Google, Dreamworks Animation, REI, Booz Allen Hamilton, Stew Leonard’s, and Marriott International – all great places to work, for sure.

With room for just 100, there is no doubt there are other great companies out there who may have come close to qualifying, as well.  Is your company one of them?  What makes a company a great place to work?  Why is it important for companies to strive for this distinction?

To help with the first question, I sat down and compiled a list of key words that Fortune  used to describe the companies included in their list.  Words like:  trust, appreciation, collaboration, openness, opportunities, associates, culture, wellness, fun, fitness, family-friendly, retention, no-layoff, profit-sharing, sacrifice, celebration, mentors, volunteers,  diversity, leadership, and pride.

The next time you’re in a Wegman’s food market or a Marriott hotel, for example, take a moment to see how many of these characteristics you can find among the people who work there.   Next, apply these same words to your company.  How many of these characteristics did you find where you work?

"How to Succeed in the Age of Going Solo"

"Welcome to the age of going solo," The Wall Street Journal Article starts.

What follow is..."Today, with unemployment rates hovering at 10%, and all our worries about the job market rooted in the moment, we are in danger of failing to see an important longer-term trend: More Americans are working as consultants or freelancers, either having given up or been forced out of the salaried world of 9 to 5."

Columnist Richard Greenwald writes a nice piece including some background on the economics of the why and then shares four key ingredients of a successful freelancer that include: Think Long Term; Join a Network; Have Your Own Space; and Think Like an Entrepreneur.