By Toby Dahm

Let me warn you, if you’re a salesperson, you’re not going to like this. Here’s why: the point of this article is that not all sales are good ones. There are some clients that just don’t fit, and forcing a square object into a round slot will result in failure.

The cost of this mistake is nearly impossible to measure, but it is very real. Some of the resulting consequences include:  (a) stress on your people (b) damage to your reputation (c) an inordinate drain on your resources, and (d) elimination of job satisfaction. I could list others, but you get the idea. An ill-fitting client is a drag on your company in many ways. It will slow you down, drain your energy, and remove much of the satisfaction that comes from serving a customer well.

What are the reasons that a client doesn’t fit? One common reason is a personality clash. This may be due to two individuals, but be careful that it’s not the result of strong cultural differences between your organizations. If it is purely personalities, this may be solved by changing the staff assigned to the account. This is easier done in larger organizations that have greater flexibility in this area. In my experience, if you are in a contentious relationship before closing a sale, you’re headed for trouble. This is the honeymoon stage, and the relationship will only become more strained once the deal gets closed and the marriage settles into the daily give and take of a business relationship.

Another reason is that you are incompatible with the prospect. If your skill set or processes are not conducive to the needs of the client, both parties will experience frustration. Among the issues that will surface is fear of the unknown. As a lender, if I have to step out into areas where there is unmanageable risk, or where I am ignorant, I become fearful. A fearful business partner is not what a client wants. If processing is the problem, the result will either be an inordinate amount of resources required to service the client or lower service levels than are acceptable to the client, or some degree of both.

I could go into greater depth on this subject because in nearly 30 years of business, I must admit that I’ve made my share of mistakes in entering into relationships that I shouldn’t have. There are many reasons and varying degrees of adverse consequences, but all of them were failures, resulting in either a measurable or unmeasurable loss to my company.

In this ultra-competitive economy, with sluggish growth and fierce competition, it is very difficult to let go of an opportunity. We must, however, remember the cost that comes with ignoring the problem of having a potential client that just does not fit our company. The pain of walking away now is far less than the agony of living in a bad business relationship.

Toby Dahm serves as SVP and ABL Portfolio Manager and assists in business development and is responsible for underwriting and managing of all asset-based loans.

By Daron Powers

Has your heating or cooling system ever failed? Mine did and with it a valuable lesson in marketing your business.

I poke around the Internet and send out six emails for a quote. I ask for a follow up call.  The next day I get one email, and two calls from three separate businesses. What about the other three? Are they so swamped with business they don’t even bother to return an email or call? Economic times have changed. However, for some businesses it seems that old habits linger.

How to Leave the Wrong Impression
The company that fixed my furnace wasn’t the cheapest however they were in the ballpark. After writing the check I ask the technician, “Do you have any leave behind materials for your heating and cooling service?” He left the invoice and a typical business card. Really? Your business got into my home. You fixed my problem. You picked up a check and that’s the best your company can do?

Sadly, it’s a missed opportunity. This is a lesson for any type of business. The furnace company could have easily left a longer lasting impression. More ever, they could have achieved it with far less advertising waste. But how you ask?  It all comes down to how you seize your marketing moments.

The Most Powerful Marketing in the World
The best Super Bowl ad, the biggest highway billboard, the flashiest of websites or brochures could not command the level of attention my technician had while in my home solving a real problem. As a representative of his organization, he was directly in front of his target audience who just became a paying customer!

An Expert Follow Through Strategy
Let’s pretend the owner of this heating and cooling company brings in a competent marketer. He collaborates with a professional to develop an effective strategy that positions his company as experts or the “go-to” authorities. An “expert” strategy easily applies to most industries or businesses of any size. Next step is that his organization develops…

• Leave behind marketing materials that connect with clients, educate, and help them make an informed buying decision. Could be a brochure, checklist or a link to online video instructions.  
• Visualize this company trains all technicians, staff and reps how to use the marketing materials and communicate the message in a concise and compelling way.
 
Can you picture how an extra two to five minutes of follow through like this could easily yield another service call and more referral business? With a little imagination this exact strategy can be carried out in most any industry.

Develop a follow up strategy with well-crafted marketing tools that inform, set you apart and lead to more business after the initial sale. Then make sure everyone inside and out of your business are on the same page and trained to promote the good things your business does throughout the selling cycle.

Here’s my point. Today there is less wiggle room for substandard marketing. Value every opportunity to serve your customers and clients. Seize your marketing moments.

Daron Powers consults and speaks with professionals, small, midsized and fortune 500 companies and collaborates with businesses to develop and refine marketing strategy/plans, content for websites, article writing, online videos, web marketing, sales presentations, selling tools, etc. Visit his two websites: DaronPowers.com and OnlineVideoPower.com. Email: info@OnlineVideoPower.com. Phone: 248-470-8379

Copyright 2014 Daron Powers

Michigan opts in 2015 for No Employee Choice on SHOP

In best interest, the state of Michigan decided against employee choice on the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) for 2015. State Insurance Commissioners were given an opportunity to submit a written recommendation to the SHOP that employee choice not be implemented in that state in 2015 if the State Insurance Commissioner determined that not implementing employee choice would be in the best interest of small group market consumers in his or her state.

Background: On May 27, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule taking the next step in implementing “employee choice” in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).  “Employee choice” offers an employer the opportunity to allow employees to choose any health plan at the actuarial value, or “metal,” level selected by the employer.

Small business markets vary from state-to-state.  To ease the transition to employee choice, HHS provided states with additional flexibility by allowing State Insurance Commissioners to request that the SHOP in their state not implement employee choice in 2015.

For example, the No Employee Choice option is chosen if the State’s Insurance Commissioner determines that implementing employee choice would instigate issuers to price products and plans higher in 2015 due to issuers’ beliefs about adverse selection.  This transitional policy applies to 2015, as HHS expects that states and issuers will be able to learn from the experiences of issuers in those SHOPs that have decided to implement employee choice in 2015 to prepare for 2016. HHS is committed to implementing employee choice in a way that learns from early experience and ensures its success.

Insurance Commissioners in states with a Federally-facilitated SHOP were required to submit their recommendation letters to HHS by June 2, 2014.  Please see link below for a list of all states with a Federally-facilitated SHOP and provides information on whether each state will implement employee choice in 2015 or instead allow for transition relief.  

Link to all states decisions
Link to Michigan’s Insurance Commissioner decision

Please contact our government relations team with any questions at Bbochniak@michbusiness.org or by phone: (888) 277-6464 ext.401

Source: CMS.gov

By Tom Nixon
Chief Marketing Alchemist
Alchemy

This is the time of the year when most companies begin to plan their business, sales and marketing strategies for the coming year and beyond. It’s not uncommon for leadership to use the turn of the year to devise new service models, revise pricing plans, or launch fresh marketing schemes.

This work is generally done within the confines of the board room, with department leadership coming together to inform senior leadership about the state of the company and to brainstorm new ideas to move the company forward. Which leaves out a valuable — perhaps the most valuable — input: that of the market you’re looking to influence.

“What if we charged X for Y, but then included an up-charge for Z?”

“What if instead of being in the product business, we introduced a service-based model and monthly fee?”

“How can we convert this type of customer into the type of customer that actually makes us more money?”

While well-intentioned, this type of brainstorming begins and ends with the service or product provider’s interests in mind, and not the customer’s. As a result, what follows all too often is dismay and despair a year later (when it’s time to start the planning anew) in discovering the program didn’t go as planned. The up-charge never happened. The service model never connected. Our customer conversion plan actually repelled existing customers, rather than attracting new ones.

Now what?

Getting Into the Hearts and Minds of the Consumer

So how is a company supposed to know what the market actually wants, rather than simply guessing at what senior leadership hopes is the next big thing?

Answer: You ask them.

It sounds simple, intuitive and obvious, but very few companies take this seemingly natural first step before doing their year-end planning.

Perhaps they think it’s too time-intensive, and there’s no time to waste. (Funny, though, that — absent this approach — a whole year might go by before they understand whether their planning worked to begin with.)

Perhaps they think it will be too expensive. To which, a logical response might be, “How expensive is the trial-and-error approach?”

Perhaps others are afraid of what they might hear if they research the market’s drivers and de-motivators, or what the market really thinks about their product or service, or that the market prefers either the competition, nothing at all, or something no one has thought of yet.

No matter the inhibitions, it should be painfully clear that a company doing future forecasting and planning would want to know all of this stuff before they put their next plan into motion.

Taking some time to step back and respond to actionable intelligence actually (and naturally) saves time. Listening and responding directly to customer feedback intrinsically saves money. And, as for being afraid to hear what the market actually wants, wouldn’t you want to have that information before your competitor does?

But, of course, I’m open to other opinions. What do you think are some valid reasons for not working hard to understand your target market before planning your company’s next big thing?

Tom Nixon serves as Chief Marketing Alchemist for Alchemy, a Troy, Michigan-based brand strategy firm helping companies identify and maximize market engagement strategies. He can be reached at: tnixon@alchemygp.com.