Creative Leadership

Have you got what it takes?

Take a minute to think about the best boss you ever had. What were the qualities that they had that made them special?

I can think of only 3 in my whole career to-date and they were all very different, but they all shared one quality. Great creative leadership. They knew how to get you and their team focused and thinking about the objective. They knew how to lead a team to new areas of thinking and give confidence to the little voices of creativity that are inside all of us.

If you have the privilege to lead then make sure you are able to create an environment that nurtures creativity and celebrates new ideas and originality.

If not then you can join the long list of egocentric sad and bad asses that litter the management world, and good luck to you because your time is very limited.

What do you do best?

I’ve a new client that has a great B2B service proposition.

The service solves many problems and the cost is low when compared with the benefits. The problem is that the client wants to extend the service offer to cover more than is feasible at the moment. In a few years the possibility is that all these additional services can be covered, but right at this moment I think it’s best to focus on what can be delivered now.

We all want to do more than we have capacity for because we have a fear of  losing the client. I think it’s far better to do what you do really well, and get others to do the things that you find complicated. When I write copy for a website, I know that the best option is for me to work with a web designer and developer rather than do the whole job myself.

So if you’re going to offer a total service makes sure your ego doesn’t cloud your judgement. Do what you do best is always the best way.

My top 10 for improving competitive advantage

I’ve been reading and following up on a range of business  literature recently focussed on competition theory and what it takes to gain and maintain competitive advantage. So here’s my top 10 thoughts and nudges for you to think about. Based on what I think I’ve learnt and from what I have learnt from experience.

1. If you don’t measure against goals than you can never know anything
2. Don’t even think about requesting a view unless you have agreed the objectives
3. High customer profitability and high service have no link
4. Customer profitability is all about numbers but don’t forget the relationships that exist
5. Try to find out how your competitors treat their customers
6. Visit your customers regularly and ask them to score your service over key performance indicators
7. Don’t believe you are ever indispensable
8. Never rip off a customer because you got away with it once before
9. Don’t rely on paper contracts
10. If a customer is responsible for over 50% of your income you’re not running a business you’re running a subsidiary for them

I feel better for getting that off my mind.

Customer loyalty

Molly being loyal to her bed

It’s always exciting when you get a new client or customer. It confirms that your business is viable and you have new challenges or problems to solve. And in many cases one bit of business leads to another and then over time perhaps larger orders or tasks are started.

Traditionally new customers who become regular customers slowly become part of the business, and in many cases taken for granted. They become less important and traditionally receive less value than when they were a new face.

Take the example of a well-known breakdown service. Each year thousands of loyal customers renew at a certain rate. If they only new that as new customers they would receive a significant discount. They are being penalised for being loyal. If you phone up and point this out the inital view is that the offer is only available to new customers. If you then point out that you will not  renew this year and the day after your membership expires, you will apply for membership, they immediately cut your renewal fee.

More enlightened companies take a very different approach. Firstly renewals are always at the new customer rate, and secondly they can be lower if you are a valuable customer.

As knowledge becomes even more available the traditional model of ripping off existing customers will stop – but in the mean time, when you get a renewal notice find out how much you are probably overpaying!

A lesson I was taught years ago

There is one word which I’ve learnt to use in various ways over the years that’s probably earnt me more than any other.

It’s not a long word or particularly clever and it can fitted in to a sentence or statement very easily and can even be used on it’s own.

When you use the word it magically gives the person you are talking to the impression that you are interested in what they are saying and makes finding things out quite easy.

I never over use this word, and if you use it with the wrong inflection, you can get into trouble.

What’s this word – really.

Yes really. Someone tells you that their service is the best, you say “really tell me more.”  Clients tell you of their next project -” that sounds really challenging how can I help.”

It’s really easy to use really and I know that you will really find it very useful – really!

Which comes first the idea or the insight?

When you need a solution especially a solution that requires creativity how important is insight?

You need to gather the facts, ask the right questions, be “insightful” and then settle down to create a solution. But sometimes you instinctively know the answer, almost as soon as the problem is identified. No chance to review the facts, no need to ask more questions – the answer just happens to come into focus. My advice is to capture those thoughts and ideas and make a note of them.

Now start the traditional process of gathering all the information and then see what solutions fit. In many cases the instant solution stands up to testing and scrutiny, and you can move forward, but in all cases your instinct won’t be totally wrong.

As you get used to trusting your conscience mind you will become amazed at the accuracy and creativity you can create out of very little.

Why do we want to buy everything?

You can turn up looking a million dollars for less than a few hundred

One of the greatest changes to consumer behaviour occurred in America just after the great depression. Up until that point people were valued and recognised by what did, but then came the concept of consumerism and the cult of valuing people by what they could buy was born.

Now what we wear, our house, watches, jewellery, our car etc are essential to promoting brand us. Even our relationships tell others how we, and we  have to own everything;  The concept of renting something makes many of us feel lesser as people .

How many of us are comfortable about telling others about a choice to rent property?

Until very recently I had to own something or not have it. Then I did the numbers. Many of the things I paid cash for depreciated by 50 % the moment I took it out of the box, so I then bought nearly new. Then I realised that spending £300 on a secondhand computer was very risky.

So now I rent the latest computer and software for pounds per week, all of which is a taxable allowance. And if it goes wrong it’s someone elses problem.

When we go to important functions we like many Americans rent jewellery for a fraction of the cash value.

We have a small car which is adequate for 90% to 95% of our requirements. If I need a larger car I rent it for the day or weekend.

Employers now outsource many functions to run efficiently. They don’t need to own an employee, they just need to rent the skills when they need them.

Ask yourself – do you really need to buy everything?

Getting your messages in the right order

This week is going to be an important week for me. There will be a number of changes to the way I work over the coming months and the next 10 days will be a time of change.

Many people and organisations are going to have to play a part and in many cases one thing cannot happen until something or someone has taken place. So how do you handle such a complex situation.

What I do is name all the individual actions and activities that have to take place  and then work out what the relationships are with each other. It becomes clear very quickly which are the key actions or decisions that have to be made and when they have to happen.

Then get on with these first and the rest will fall into place.

It’s the same with messages.

Work out what you have to communicate and to who;  and then work out the relationships , and you will find that there are key messages to key audiences that have to be completed first for the process to take place.

Closing the sale

Are you still selling like this guy?

I’ve been asked to write and present a workshop on closing skills – you know, asking for the order. It’s for a general audience from many market sectors, so as it comes together here are some of my inital thoughts.

One of the most important ” techniques” is to expect to get the sale. Be really honest with yourself and if you truly believe you have the best offer and you can give the best service, then you will look and sound confident and pass that confidence on to your prospect. All to often I encounter sales presentations from people who are just winging it. They have no skills that are relevent, just a pathetic arrogance that they deserve the order for just turning up.

This is the main reason that people ask me for techniques on how to get the deal. It’s not techniques they need;  its focus on what they are good at not what they want to be good at.

Then there’s my other favourite, find out what the prospect wants, not what you have to sell. Stop selling using the 1980’s fact-finding approach, and start with asking for an understanding of the business and what the prospect actually needs. This means that you should only be talking with targeted prospects and not blasting away like an amateur on a duck shoot.

There’s so much more, but get these two right and techniques will be at the bottom of your list and not at the top.

Observations

I met a prospect today who I really hope will become a client.

They are looking for a copywriter who has commercial experience and can develop an integrated approach to marketing and business development.

They have been interviewing other writers and marketers who are all more than adequate, and they asked me what makes me different.

After a few fact-finding questions and a review of their current marketing collateral it was clear that they had chosen to communicate ego. All the copy was about what they wanted to hear and not what their prospects and clients needed to hear. I think ego might win and I said so.

Business owners need to realise that they have to understand and exceed a prospects expectations first, and  keep their ego well under control.

It’s just as well I only work with a few clients. The majority still make the mistake of falling in love with their own erections!