Even Non-Beer Drinkers Should Take A Swig

Even Non-Beer Drinkers Should Take A Swig


Ever wonder who thinks up some of the domain names out there…what are they thinking…or is it what they’re drinking?

Bill Fisher loved beer, so way back in the early nineties he bought the domain name beer.com. It wasn’t intended for business, just pictures of beer guts and jokes. In fact, he so loved his brew that he also bought the domain names for his two favorite beers, Budweiser and Guinness. Eventually the internet began to boom and, evidently, Bill’s pics and jokes amused the folks at Budweiser and Guinness…well, sort-of. Fisher handed over the domain names so as not to go to court for trademark infringement, though he did end up with a stash of free beer and two free tickets to Ireland. It was the simple premise of beer.com, however, that changed his life forever.

“Whoever has the clearest, simplest address, the root name, they’ve got credibility,” says Mike Zapolin, the author of Internet Warrior, and former VP at Bear Stearns & Co. “There’s this amazing opportunity to buy the name of a category from a technical person or hobbyist, put some money in it, and you might be toe to toe with a Fortune 500 company in months.”

Mike, now nicknamed “Zappy”, bought beer.com from Bill and brewed new content. This time, InBev came calling…he sold the “business” for $7M. Zappy encourages tapping the barrel of internet identification, citing that 70% of all media is consumed online. The opportunity, he says, is in advertising. Of all the internet content, only 7-8% is advertising and it’s predicted to go to 10% by the end of 2011. To put this in context, a single percentage point increase represents an additional $7B spent. And, like all successful advertising, it’s the location that ultimately determines success.

So where do you start when it comes to building an online presence? John Battelle, CEO and Chairman of Federated Media says you still need the fundamentals: you need a solid brand. You need a great product or service, strong messaging and a well focused target audience. Do you know what you stand for, what you’re selling and who you are selling to? He encourages creating a fundamental foundation before launching into cyberspace, but when you are clear with who you are and what you’re selling, there are 3 quick things you can do to cut through the clutter:

1. Engage in behavior that already exists. Google went after search; pre-existing products/services were phone books and libraries. Facebook went after connectivity; pre-existing methods were the phone, letters and parties. Match.com just took the brick & mortar bar and made it virtual. Look at human behaviors that already exist and then establish a location for them online.

2. Choose a generic domain name. Too often we want to personalize, but these internet experts all agreed that shoes.com, chocolate.com, creditcards.com, etc. were far more lucrative targets than “yourname”.com…unless of course you’re Ashton Kutcher. Only businesses with well established brands (household names) tend to see mileage from the use of their brand name. So the message: say what it is.

3. Connect. Social media platforms such as Facebook are here to stay, and the fastest and most effective way to advertise is through links and connections, now called “Friend Casting”. Friend Casting is where links are shared by friends and built-in networks, who then forward information virally. You need a social media platform from which to launch, and the entire panel agreed that Facebook is the future for connecting. In fact, Facebook gets more traffic these days than Google!

So…with over 80 million Millenials turning to the internet for, well, everything, and using their friends on Facebook for purchasing pointers and perspective, it’s time to bring your beer to the party.

10 Tips For Writing Ad-Copy That Sells

If you’re going to write an ad that generates a dynamic and powerful response, follow the ten tips below to ensure your success:

1. Highlight a Single Benefit. It’s important to create focused ad-copy so that your prospects don’t become confused and overwhelmed. Choose a single benefit of your product or service that you wish to highlight above everything else. This is your “principle selling position” or PSP.

In order to create a PSP, ask yourself how your product or service is different than your competitors. Are you faster? More reliable? Provide better customer service? Make sure to paint a picture that shows your potential clients and customers exactly how your product or service will improve their life or solve their problems.

2. Write A Compelling Headline. Today’s consumers are exposed to thousands and thousands of ads every day, so in order to process all this information, they generally skim over information. If your headline doesn’t instantly grab their attention, you’ve most likely lost them. To create the most powerful statement, base your headline around your PSP.

3. Highlight Your Strongest Selling Points. The first few paragraphs in your ad-copy are incredibly important. You want to create a strong desire for your product or service by highlighting some of the most compelling benefits. Put together a bulleted list of the benefits your customer will receive by doing business with you.

4. Write Directly To Your Target Market. Always imagine exactly who you are writing for and then right directly to them. Are you writing to women? Men? Teenagers? Individuals struggling with their weight? It’s important that your language suits your intended audience so that they are better able to relate to you.

5. Use The Power Of Multimedia. As our audiences become more and more distracted, we need to create better ways to capture their attention. Using audio and video in your ads, engages more of the senses and, as a result, creates a much more interactive experience for your potential clients and customers.

6. Create Emotional Connections. Write copy that creates emotional connections through targeted benefits. For example, imagine that you’re selling facial cream. A feature might be that it contains retinol. However, that isn’t going to elicit any sort of emotional response. Instead, you should say, “Eliminates Wrinkles!” or even better, “Use Acme Cream and Instantly Look Ten Years Younger!” You have now turned a boring feature into a strong emotional benefit linked to people’s strong desire to look younger.

7. Use Testimonials. Obviously, it’s much more important what other people say about you and your small business than what you say yourself. So, make sure to include real and convincing testimonials of clients and customers singing your praises. Ask for permission to include their full name and a link to their website if applicable.

8. Write In A Natural Voice. The best way to write is in a very natural and unaffected tone. In fact, just write it exactly how you would say it. You want to make sure that your prospects feel comfortable reading your copy.

9. Incorporate A Call To Action. End by telling the reader what to do; e.g. “Ring now” or “Click here to order now for immediate delivery!” Needless to say, ordering details must be clearly visible and simple to follow.

10. Ask For The Sale.At some point, you will need to come out and ask your prospect to purchase your product or services. When you do, make sure to incorporate one of the following three items:

- A Great Deal: “40% off!”

- A Sense Of Urgency: “Only Ten Slots Available!”

- Risk-Free: “Backed By Our 30-day, No-Questions-Asked, Money-Back Guarantee!”

So, the next time that you are faced with writing an ad (whether it be a sales letter, brochure, newspaper ad or the likes), make sure to incorporate these ten tips for the best possible results.

How the Best Leaders Build Trust

Almost everywhere we turn, trust is on the decline. Trust in our culture at large, in our institutions, and in our companies is significantly lower than a generation ago. Research shows that only 49% of employees trust senior management, and only 28% believe CEOs are a credible source of information. Consider the loss of trust and confidence in the financial markets today. Indeed, "trust makes the world go ‘round," and right now we're experiencing a crisis of trust. This crisis compels us to ask three questions. First, is there a measurable cost to low trust? Second, is there a tangible benefit to high trust? Third, how can the best leaders build trust in and within their organizations to reap the benefits of high trust?

Most people don't know how to think about the organizational and societal consequences of low trust because they don't know how to quantify or measure the costs of such a so-called "soft" factor as trust. For many, trust is intangible, ethereal, unquantifiable. If it remains that way, then people don't know how to get their arms around it or how to improve it. But the fact is, the costs of low trust are very real, they are quantifiable, and they are staggering.

In 2004, one estimate put the cost of complying with federal rules and regulations alone in the United States -- put in place essentially due to lack of trust -- at $1.1 trillion, which is more than 10% of the gross domestic product. A recent study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimated that the average American company lost 6% of its annual revenue to some sort of fraudulent activity. Research shows similar effects for the other disguised low-trust taxes as well.

Think about it this way: When trust is low, in a company or in a relationship, it places a hidden "tax" on every transaction: every communication, every interaction, every strategy, every decision is taxed, bringing speed down and sending costs up. My experience is that significant distrust doubles the cost of doing business and triples the time it takes to get things done.

By contrast, individuals and organizations that have earned and operate with high trust experience the opposite of a tax -- a "dividend" that is like a performance multiplier, enabling them to succeed in their communications, interactions, and decisions, and to move with incredible speed. A recent Watson Wyatt study showed that high trust companies outperform low trust companies by nearly 300%!

I contend that the ability to establish, grow, extend, and (where needed) restore trust among stakeholders is the critical competency of leadership needed today. It is needed more than any other competency. Engendering trust is, in fact, a competency that can be learned, applied, and understood. It is something that you can get good at, something you can measure and improve, something for which you can "move the needle." You cannot be an effective leader without trust. As Warren Bennis put it, "Leadership without mutual trust is a contradiction in terms."

How do the best leaders build trust?

The first job of any leader is to inspire trust. Trust is confidence born of two dimensions: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, motive, and intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, skills, results, and track record. Both dimensions are vital.

With the increasing focus on ethics in our society, the character side of trust is fast becoming the price of entry in the new global economy. However, the differentiating and often ignored side of trust -- competence -- is equally essential. You might think a person is sincere, even honest, but you won't trust that person fully if he or she doesn't get results. And the opposite is true. A person might have great skills and talents and a good track record, but if he or she is not honest, you're not going to trust that person either.

The best leaders begin by framing trust in economic terms for their companies. When an organization recognizes that it has low trust, huge economic consequences can be expected. Everything will take longer and everything will cost more because of the steps organizations will need to take to compensate for their lack of trust. These costs can be quantified and, when they are, suddenly leaders recognize how low trust is not merely a social issue, but that it is an economic matter. The dividends of high trust can be similarly quantified, enabling leaders to make a compelling business case for trust.

The best leaders then focus on making the creation of trust an explicit objective. It must become like any other goal that is focused on, measured, and improved. It must be communicated that trust matters to management and leadership. It must be expressed that it is the right thing to do and it is the economic thing to do. One of the best ways to do this is to make an initial baseline measurement of organizational trust and then to track improvements over time.

The true transformation starts with building credibility at the personal level. The foundation of trust is your own credibility, and it can be a real differentiator for any leader. A person's reputation is a direct reflection of their credibility, and it precedes them in any interactions or negotiations they might have. When a leader's credibility and reputation are high, it enables them to establish trust fast -- speed goes up, cost goes down.

There are 4 Cores of Credibility, and it's about all 4 Cores working in tandem—Integrity, Intent, Capabilities, and Results. Part of building trust is understanding -- clarifying -- what the organization wants and what you can offer them. Be the one that does that best. Then add to your credibility the kind of behavior that builds trust. (see the 13 high trust behaviors below). Next, take it beyond just you as the leader and extend it to your entire organization. The combination of that type of credibility and behavior and organizational alignment results in a culture of high trust.

Consider the example of Warren Buffett -- CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (and generally considered one of the most trusted leaders in the world) -- who completed a major acquisition of McLane Distribution (a $23 billion company) from Wal-Mart. As public companies, both Berkshire Hathaway and Wal-Mart are subject to all kinds of market and regulatory scrutiny. Typically, a merger of this size would take several months to complete and cost several million dollars to pay for accountants, auditors, and attorneys to verify and validate all kinds of information. But in this instance, because both parties operated with high trust, the deal was made with one two-hour meeting and a handshake. In less than a month, it was completed. High trust, high speed, low cost.

13 Behaviors of High-Trust Leaders Worldwide

I approach this strategy primarily as a practitioner, both in my own experience and in my extensive work with other organizations. Throughout this learning process, have identified 13 common behaviors of trusted leaders around the world that build -- and allow you to maintain -- trust. When you adopt these ways of behaving, it's like making deposits into a "trust account" of another party.

1. Talk Straight
2. Demonstrate Respect
3. Create Transparency
4. Right Wrongs
5. Show Loyalty
6. Deliver Results
7. Get Better
8. Confront Reality
9. Clarify Expectation
10. Practice Accountability
11. Listen First
12. Keep Commitments
13. Extend Trust

Remember that the 13 Behaviors always need to be balanced by each other (e.g., Talk Straight needs to be balanced by Demonstrate Respect) and that any behavior pushed to the extreme can become a weakness.

Depending on your roles and responsibilities, you may have more or less influence on others. However, you can always have extraordinary influence on your starting points: Self-Trust (the confidence you have in yourself -- in your ability to set and achieve goals, to keep commitments, to walk your talk, and also with your ability to inspire trust in others) and Relationship Trust (how to establish and increase the trust accounts we have with others).

The job of a leader is to go first, to extend trust first. Not a blind trust without expectations and accountability, but rather a "smart trust" with clear expectations and strong accountability built into the process. The best leaders always lead out with a decided propensity to trust, as opposed to a propensity not to trust. As Craig Weatherup, former CEO of PepsiCo said, "Trust cannot become a performance multiplier unless the leader is prepared to go first."

The best leaders recognize that trust impacts us 24/7, 365 days a year. It undergirds and affects the quality of every relationship, every communication, every work project, every business venture, every effort in which we are engaged. It changes the quality of every present moment and alters the trajectory and outcome of every future moment of our lives -- both personally and professionally. I am convinced that in every situation, nothing is as fast as the speed of trust.

Copyright © 2009 Stephen M. R. Covey author of The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything

Why Networking By Keith Ferrazzi

KEITH FERRAZZI can help: He is the world’s foremost expert in professional relationship development. He has transformed the lives and careers of clients and readers worldwide, bringing 20 years of research and experience to the art and science of business relationship development. His signature focus on success through relationships – a deeply energizing passion – has fueled his own incredible rise to prominence. Both Forbes and Inc. have called him one of the world's most "connected" individuals.

Why Networking by Keith Ferrazzi

The Art of the Introduction: Top Ten Tips

This post is by Chris Fralic, a managing partner at First Round Capital. Last week Chris gave a presentation at BootStrapperSummit in New York on the “art of the introduction” and we asked him to write a version of that presentation for TechCrunch. First impression matter, and getting the right introduction can make or break a business deal. You may also want to read out post titled Greetings! for more tips on first interactions. You can follow Chris on Twitter at @ChrisFRC

I’ve been a VC for about 4 years now, and I do a lot different things in my job. But I’d have to say that making introductions, asking for them, and being introduced is something I do every single day. In fact, I looked through the 12,403 emails I sent in 2009, and 2,603 or over 20% contained the word “intro” or “introduce” or “introduction.” Along the way I’ve noticed there are some best practices, so I’ve put together a Top Ten list here from what I’ve learned.

Some qualifiers: First, this is for email introductions only, and focused on busy people who live and work in email. Second, it helps to have a personal reputation – it’s not just the words or format in your email, but it’s about who you are and the previous experience others have had with you. In the post below you’ll see I’ve called the person asking for the introduction the Subject, the person you’re trying to reach or making the introduction to is the Target, and the person making the introduction is the Connector. So let’s get started with a practical guide to The Art of the Introduction to help you increase your effectiveness, reduce your inbox load, and have people look forward to responding to your introductions.

1. SUBJECT LINE MATTERS This one is a big one – DO NOT use just “Introduction” or “Intro” alone as email subject line. That’s the equivalent of sending a resume titled “resume.doc” – it says nothing. You should have the names and company names of both people being introduced in the email subject line.

2. WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE TARGET? Ever hear the line about everyone’s favorite radio station? WIFM – What’s In it For Me. WHY should the Target care about this introduction? Put it in the first sentence or paragraph. Another way to look at it – is there any evidence in your email introduction that you know anything about the Target whatsoever?

3. CONTENT MATTERS Are you being specific enough about what you’re asking the Target to do, and are you actually saying what your company does? If you’re looking for a job or career help, did you attach your resume? If you’re introducing your company, did you attach a deck or executive summary or at least a paragraph explaining what you do? Links are not enough – they’re generally useless if the person reading it is on a Blackberry or on an airplane.

4. MAKE IT EASY TO REACH YOU Consider having your email signature (and your reply signature) contain all of your relevant contact information. You want to be one click away from a call or email. Every deck or executive summary should contain your contact information on the first and last slide.

5. MAKE IT EASY TO HELP YOU DON’T just verbally ask someone to make introduction – the follow through rates on those are usually low, and it puts too much work on the Connector. A best practice is to craft an email from the Subject to the Connector that contains EVERYTHING and can be easily forwarded to the Target (from the road a Blackberry, etc.)

6) CREATE FIREWALLS This one needs some explanation and some caveats – if the Connector is really close to both parties or has achieved a certain level of relationship with the Target, it can be fine to introduce both parties directly. But it often makes sense to consider the benefits of using a “Firewall” – the best/easiest example is via LinkedIn where it’s easy and completely up to each party to forward or accept the Introduction. Another alternative to a direct introduction is for the Connector to forward information to the Target to see if they’re interested first.

7. “LEAN FORWARD” ON YOUR RESPONSE When someone engages on a response you can really tell – it makes a difference and gets the ball rolling (e.g. offering some quick insight into the problem or opportunity at hand, offering multiple times/places to meet, etc)

8. CLOSE THE LOOP But don’t create an endless loop – don’t copy everyone on each of the 12 emails it takes to find an open time to talk. Instead…

9. EMBRACE THE BCC Blind Carbon Copy is the most powerful and least used feature in email. One simple BCC lets the Connector know that the introduction has been received and is under way.

10. EVERY INTRODUCTION CAN BE A WIN/WIN Help people out when you can and be honest and helpful even if you can’t.

I hope you find something useful here, and I’d love to hear about the best tips you’ve learned as you practice The Art of the Introduction.

What Makes Us Happy; Seven Questions for a Client Centered Proposal

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

"If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my words." ~ Cicero as quoted in Persuasive Business Proposals

Small Font Size? -- just heard from Ray King, founder of AboutUs.org, that the font size of my insights shows up small in his in-box. Are any of the rest of you experiencing the same problem with the insights? The font size should be roughly the same as any email you receive. Please let me know -- thank you.

What Makes Us Happy? -- David Brooks, NY Times columnist, wrote an interesting peice this week summarizing what research shows makes us happy. My favorite few lines -- "The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious to happiness is commuting. According to one study, joining a group that meets even just once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income." It's the last line that particularly garnered my attention.

What About the Rest of the Executives? -- Members of various CEO organizations receive this "happiness" benefit of a monthly forum meeting -- but what about the rest the executives? Gazelles has been testing a monthly forum process with CFOs, COOs, HR, IT, Sales, and Marketing executives this past six months with 22 leading-edge growth firms. Given the initial positive feedback, we'll be rolling this out with 40 additional firms in the fall -- stay tuned.

What Doesn't Make Us Happy? -- writing proposals! Some of the very best executives, program managers, engineers, and consultants freeze up when they have to put what they know and what they're recommending on paper. You can make the best face-to-face presentation, but inevitably the client wants something in writing. And almost all major government contracts require a proposal. Tom Sant, the guru of proposal writing and author of Persuasive Business Proposals, even has research showing that sales people will often skip going after multi-million opportunities because they don't want to submit the necessary proposals!

What A Proposal Isn't? -- Tom Sant, who has taught thousands of top executives how to write winning proposals, notes "Writing a winning proposal isn't a matter of content. It's a matter of structure and process. Say the right things in the right order and you'll win." What his book focuses on is the process -- the steps to follow to develop and write a clear, compelling, persuasive proposal -- the same methodology Sant uses when he works directly with a client.

Seven Questions for a Client-Centered Proposal -- I'm a huge fan of the right questions, and Sant has seven that drive writing a winning proposal (I would get his book and go right to that section of the book for the details). Here are the seven questions:

1. What is the client's problem or need?
2. What makes this problem worth solving? What makes this need worth addressing?
3. What goals must be served by whatever action is taken?
4. What goal has the highest priority?
5. What product/applications/services can I offer that will solve the problem or meet the need?
6. What results are likely to follow from each of my potential recommendations?
7. Comparing these results to the customer's desired outcomes or goals, which recommendation is best?

Sant also has twelve questions for developing a consultative proposal -- powerful list.

The Language of Success (Email). This is the title of Sant's latest book and focuses on general business writing, especially email. The key is eliminating jargon and developing a straight forward approach to communicating your message. BTW, my one "must" re: emails -- that the subject line must match the email. Often in email strings the subject of the email changes but no one has changed the subject line to match! The other "must" is communicating just one main idea in an email. If there are several subjects, write a separate email to the same person covering each subject -- that way they can forward to and copy the people appropriate to the specific topic. And I'm more likely to get a response to a single-subject email then if I stick multiple subjects in a single email.

The Giants of Sales -- Sant also wrote one of my favorite classic sales books entitled The Giants of Sales: What Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success. Some sales fundamentals never change and Sant has gleaned the best from these four fathers of sales. At a minimum, if you're a sales professional, you should know the history and giants of your own profession and their timeless knowledge. NOTE: Elmer Wheeler's classic book Tested Sentences that Sell is another must read -- I was blown away by the insight and power of using one simple word vs. another -- particularly powerful in the internet world of sales.

The #1 Reason Why Salespeople Fail to Close

The bottom-line reason that traditional sales tactics are inefficient and ineffective is that the seller is motivated by an attitude; of “whatever it takes “to push product out the door in order to make a quick sale. Typically, the seller knows a lot about the product’s features and benefits, has a good story to tell, and persistently overcomes objections until the deal is closed. Yet many sellers seldom delve deeply enough to uncover the prospect’s true motivation for doing business, especially from the buyer’s perspective.

You can dramatically increase your closing ratio by understanding that prospects buy for their reasons—not yours. The art of the sale is in developing the-desire-to-acquire-in-your-buyer! People buy emotionally, then rationally justify their decisions. Touting features and benefits followed by applying price pressure, actually sets up sales resistance, which then leads to a frustrating conclusion for both buyer and seller.

Easily close more profitable sales and the lifetime value of a repeat customer by asking open-ended questions first. You are naturally curious to find out what problems the prospect has that matches up with the benefits of your product or service. Here are some examples of open-ended questions:

• How long has this been a problem?
• What have you done so far?
• When did the problem first happen?
• What is important for you to do right now?

Highly paid sales professionals are problem solvers positioning themselves as trusted advisors, rather than product pushers. The motivation for the prospect to do business comes when the prospect acts on your advice to immediately solve an important problem. (That’s right; the customer is buying you and your understanding of his problem first!)

Nick Murray, the famous financial sales coach, says it best: “People don’t care to know, until they know you care.”

Pain-problems are stronger motivators than gain-problems. Most sales messages are geared toward what a customer has to gain in the transaction, and are met with skepticism because the customer is afraid that she might be disappointed in the promised future result. Whereas, pain-problems demand immediate satisfaction, otherwise if nothing is done the pain will continue to get worse.

No pain—no sale.

You, the professional seller, must know your product’s features, benefits, the market it serves, and be knowledgeable about your competition too.

Nonetheless, you will be spinning your wheels, unless you develop the skill of asking the right questions to uncover your prospect’s buying reasons and position yourself as a problem-solver; not a problem-giver.