If you don't contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you're not thinking.
― Malcolm Gladwell
Three months ago, I insisted the 1,500 Confederate memorials peppering public spaces throughout the South should be preserved. After Charlottesville, I have changed my opinion. The monuments represent not only an eyesore to most African Americans, but a threat to public safety. They should be removed from the streets and parks where the former Confederates placed them. Enough souls―625,000―perished in our Civil War. No more need do so. RIP, Heather Heyer. What's your opinion?
Harmonize your message with customers’ notions of “truth;”
Speak authentically; and
Achieve artless clarity.
To achieve those three things, you must:
Get out of the office and talk to customers. Lots of them. Large ones. Small ones. Happy ones. Not-so-happy ones. And don't stop until you have a firm grasp of the "scene" they’ve painted inside their heads. For better or worse, that's the world they inhabit, and the only one they know.
Revise the premise of your message to conform to the customers' worldview. When you next tell your story, begin with their "truth." And when you speak, at all costs resist the temptation to challenge that worldview. Customers will dignify your message with a moment of their attention only if your message meshes with their notions of who’s sincere, honest and caring.
Tell stories.Customers spot disingenuous organizations a mile away. Your words trigger their BS detectors—even if you’re squeaky clean. They no longer tolerate the expert opinion, the reasoned argument, the manufacturer’s warranty, the “act now” deadline, or the product-claim based on the avoidance of pain. So skip the superlatives, ambiguities, unsupported claims, advertising clichés, jargon, legalisms, fine print, and fear-based sales-talk. Just tell stories. "Once upon a time..."
Speak as tersely as possible. If you keep it simple, you’re trustworthy; if you don’t, you’re not. Don't say, "Membership in the association provides professionals the opportunity to pre-register for our annual conference at the member-only rate of $495 instead of the non-member rate of $595.” Say, "Membership saves you $100 on our annual conference.”
Include context, to assure you’re understood. Don't say, "We serve more than 100,000 dentists.” Say, "We serve more than 100,000 dentists, two-thirds of all dentists practicing in the US today.”
Omit unimportant facts. Don't say, "With more than 300 programmable features, the MLX is a workhorse that directly replaces our SP-88 series.” Say, "The MLX is a powerful new workhorse, with more than 300 programmable features.”
Use plain, crisp words and lively figures of speech. Don't say, "Our exhibition is the most comprehensive and efficient way to see the industry’s latest offerings.” Say, "A day at our show gives you a year’s worth of trends, tips and technologies.”
Minimize tech- and corporate-speak. Don't say, "Our face-to-face and e-learning opportunities will provide leading-edge techniques to expand your skill set through world-class experts." Say, "Learn the latest techniques from experts in our seminars and Webinars.”
Pekowski's 113-page book is full of personal stories and anecdotes, which makes it breezy and entertaining.
At its heart are teachings only a coach could concoct:
Innovative customer service, not growth, should be your business's goal.
A servant's mentality in a CEO goes hand in hand with steady growth.
Humble leaders are strong leaders.
No matter your specialty, you're really in the training business.
Only leaders who are mentors can influence corporate culture.
Teamwork comes from setting goals specific enough to influence performance.
Plan for failures and mistakes—they're inevitable.
It's little wonder Pekowski has published this little book: teaching and coaching are in his blood (he did both before joining the event industry in the 1980s).
And teaching and coaching underpin nearly all his success formulas.
"If you can teach or coach the group or department that reports to you, then in turn, that group can go out and teach the next group and so on," Pekowski writes. "I called it 'Teach the Teacher.' If you have ever taught someone something, then you are both teaching and reinforcing what you have been taught. It is the transformation of both knowledge and culture."
In this era of narcissistic CEOs, it's refreshing to learn some business leaders still put employees and customers first.
In an interview, I asked Pekowski what he'd be doing, if he weren't running his company.
"I’d be coaching in the NFL," he said. "That’s what I really wanted to do. I just love coaching and football. After I graduated, I coached in three different schools. But it’s a tough industry—it certainly didn’t pay then what it pays today. I had an opportunity to work for the Chicago Fire—a one-season team in the World Football League—but the job paid less money than I was getting paid as a teacher, and I had two children at the time." Lessons of an Entrepreneur: How to Grow, Take Risks and Survive is available from Amazon. Proceeds will be donated to charity.
If the people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.
— Yogi Berra
Because email marketing lives or dies on opens, you need to maximize them. Here are eight ways insiders do:
Qualify. Don't induce people to join your house list who won't love you, and don't expect much from prospect lists. Use "lead magnets" that attract only target customers, not every Tom, Dick and Harry; and rent only high-quality e-lists, such as those owned by magazines. The results if you do this right? According to the Direct Marketing Association, house lists enjoy an average open rate of 21%; prospect lists, 16.4%.
Segment. Don't broadcast; narrowcast. Segment your lists based on product interests, job titles, company size, locations, etc. Segmented campaigns outperform non-segmented ones by 14%, according to MailChimp.
Synchronize. Send your emails at the time of day people will open them: 8:30-10:00 am, 2:30-3:30 pm, or 8:00 pm-12:00 am. Avoid times when people are rushing to clean out their inboxes, deleting everything in sight. (NOTE: Times may differ for C-level audiences.) Captivate. Tell or tease. Tell readers clearly what to expect in your email, if you believe it's an offer they can't refuse ("5 signs it's time to change LMS vendors"). Play to their curiosity, if it's not ("I heard you're a leader. Is it true?"). Here are more examples. Clean. Low inbox rates necessarily dampen opens. Delete complainers and inactive subscribers on your list regularly. Using a cleaning service makes it easy. Optimize. Design your emails for mobile devices. More than half are opened on them. Keep Subject lines short, too (6-10 words). Infiltrate. Avoid spam filters by avoiding practices that trigger them. Here's a list. Brand. Most readers don't open emails from senders they don't recognize. So, unless you're lucky enough to have an in-house "celeb," use your brand name in the From field.
B2B marketers―smart ones―know online must lead to offline.
Because unless prospects experience your brand, there's little likelihood of large sales.
Digital alone doesn't cut it.
Digital's too delible.
As GE's CMO, Linda Boff, told Chief Content Officer this month, "Experiencing a brand versus just seeing something in the media is more and more important. It's more indelible. We think a lot about that. How do we bring the brand to life? And how are we going to show up?"
