Let’s have a loooooong meeting

A client of ours was surprised when we scheduled a 90-minute meeting with them to discuss a recent assessment we did of their retail chain relationships. Our client had expected it to be a day-long affair.

That precisely was one of the findings we gleaned from our sales channel assessment: their dealers and employees complain that the company wastes too much time in meetings, too much time talking and not enough time getting down to making progress.

A loooong meeting is probably not a great one.

Barry LaBov

LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications and Training

Fort Wayne, Indiana

www.labov.com 

A Tale of Two Brands

I just traveled and met with two iconic brands that compete head to head. They are located within a few miles of each other. Same business, same city, same product…. They couldn’t have been more different.

Little did I know, their industry market share reports were released the morning of my visits. Company #1 had fallen dramatically to Company #2 over the last quarter.

Lucky me, I met with Company #1 first and it was like walking into a morgue. Quiet, no energy.  The room was filled with their people, at least a dozen. They were preoccupied, talking in vague riddles to each other. Definitely on their heels.

I left and drove a few miles to Company #2. Lots of energy, smiles, fast paced. I met with one person there. He was excited about their goals and growth.

It might be a coincidence, but the company that was failing had an excess of people in the meeting. The one that was charging forward had one person meeting with me because others were too busy doing their jobs.

Barry LaBov

LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications and Training

Fort Wayne, Indiana

www.labov.com 

What happens when you lose your only differentiator?

It happens. You no longer offer the only one of its kind, or your price advantage is now also offered by your competitor, or now all of your rivals have a commerce website just like yours…

You now have no differentiation. What can you do? Some companies do nothing, others lower their prices, others shut it down, and others try to copy someone else.

I think the best thing to do is step back and re-assess what you are and what you offer. You may find you really offer something else just as valuable. You may find not.

Lowering your price or copying your competitors will only make failure certain. It may be the scariest of times, as if you’ve lost your best friend; but, keep your head up. You may become stronger, far stronger, going through this.

Barry LaBov

LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications and Training

Fort Wayne, Indiana

labov.com

The advantage of having a loose arrangement

A manufacturer is the clear number two brand in its market. Its dealers actually sell more of the number one manufacturer's product than theirs. To make matters worse, the manufacturer has very loose agreements in place with the dealers, allowing the dealers to really have no accountability.

Sound hopeless? Yes, unless the manufacturer takes advantage of the looseness and creates a new model—maybe they sell direct or put up company stores—whatever they think will help them grow. And since there is no binding agreement in place, they can do whatever they please. Maybe it’s not so hopeless after all….

Barry LaBov

LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications and Training

Fort Wayne, Indiana

www.labov.com 

It’s simple and that’s why it stinks

Maybe it’s because I’m an old codger, but why do we always avoid the simple stuff? We can track or measure things, we can set a clear priority list and we can make a succinct promise. But after that, it so often vaporizes into thin air.

Maybe it’s all fear—fear of being wrong, letting someone down, fear of not measuring up—whatever it is, if we have the strength to face that stuff, other things will become clearer and easier.

Barry LaBov

LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications and Training

Fort Wayne, Indiana

www.labov.com 

A Best of Barry: Building walls or bridges?

If you tell only of your successes and triumphs, you build walls. Whether you're a brand, a dealer, a small company or an individual, the more you puff up your triumphs, the greater the separation from those around you. People are smart, they know no one or no thing is perfect. There's always room for learning and improvement.


If you're vulnerable and own up to shortcomings, failings and imperfections, you build bridges. You're human. People understand, they forgive, and after all, they are human, too. 

I guess it all depends what business we're in. Are we in the wall-building business or do we build bridges?

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
Fort Wayne, Indiana
www.labov.com
Originally posted 03/29/10

A Best of Barry: Five Considerations for Thinking Small and Thinking Again

A trend with thousands of downsized companies is to save money by doing more of the work that suppliers do in house. The concept is common sense--why pay a lot of money to a supplier if you can hire someone cheaper and do it in house?

I have experience with this approach from both sides of the equation. Here are the five considerations:

1) Assuming this will save money, make sure you are not sacrificing the upside of what your supplier base would bring. A brilliant concept from the supplier could bring you thousands of sales or save you millions, an in-house replacement may not--but they might be cheaper on lower-level functions. It's tough, but be honest: is this move to merely reduce costs or is it to get great work done for less money? Big difference.

2) Instead of eliminating the supplier base, seek to work in conjunction with them in this process and retain some of their services. Why? Because, otherwise your in-house team will make decisions on whether they can do the work--of course, they will think they can--their jobs are at stake.

3) Ask the tough question: if this in-house person is so good, why isn't he/she working for a supplier, or better yet, running their own firm?

4) Cherry-pick if you must, but cherry-pick not only the supplier, but your in-house alternative. There are functions that probably can't be done effectively in-house. Face it, identify them and make sure you're covered.

5) Do the math. It sounds obvious that a $40k a year in-house employee will be a bargain over the supplier. But do you need 40 hours a week, or would you be better off negotiating with a supplier for a package price for low-end work, or even considering part-time contractors to do the work that is needed and nothing more?

Thinking small can work if you think through the process.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
Fort Wayne, Indiana
www.labov.com
Originally posted 01/17/11

A Best of Barry: It is personal

I recently spoke with the head of an up and coming marketing company. After a few minutes, I could see why they were "up and coming."

He was expressing his enthusiasm for a new client and he said how much it meant to them to have this opportunity because they took it personally that they had this account.

Today, we are taught that business is business, nothing personal. Most of us buy into that. It lets us off the hook--no extra effort, no working past closing time, no thinking of the client on the weekend, etc. The only problem with that is the great businesses do take it personally.

They find the joy in the extra effort, the personal touches, the late-night email to the client with an idea, etc.

Whether we want to face it or not, business is something to take personally...if we want to experience the success and the joy.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Originally posted 03/26/10