Business Insanity

December 27, 2008 by · Leave a Comment

business insanity

With a new year upon us, it is a natural time to reflect on the year in review and look ahead to the prospects of a new year.  We live in an unprecedented and exciting era of change.  As we, at AscendWorks, reflect on our perspective of business and the new economy, here are some observations we have made:

  1. Mindsets Are Everything: There are two prevailing mindsets we see.  The growth mindset and the fixed mindset.  The old economy played to the fixed mindset types of workers.  Keep the status quo, build organizational structures and refine.  It is not so today.  The only true mindset which prevails is the growth mindset.  It is the attribute of people who are on a continual journey of learning.  Technology is now a commodity.  The main factor now is utilizing talent and knowing how to put the ingredients for success together.  Talent comes from people who have a growth mindset.  Everyone else is pretending and scared.  They are in the wake of the talented people making new rules and new pathways.
  2. Iteration Trumps Perfection: The new generation of entrepreneurs and knowledge workers grew up thinking in terms of options.  Generation Y does not use manuals.  They pick up a new cell phone and start figuring it out.  They can do that with any technology.  It is because their brains are trained on failing fast rather than getting it right and being perfect.  Getting perfect takes too long and is impractical.  It is required in fields for precision, but less important where results and movement are critical. Today, you can build new marketing approaches, strategies and systems quickly.  If it does not resonate, you can tear it down and build a new one.  It is an art form.  Knowledge workers are equipped to be artists rather than technicians today.
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  3. There Is No Secret Sauce: It is amazing how much money people will throw at gimmicks which promise to be the thing that works for their business and life.  The lure is the illusion of some well of prosperity; many think “if a new technology is bought, many new customers will buy.”  I always challenge customers to think, “If there was a secret sauce, wouldn’t everyone be using it?”  If it did exist, then others would find it and copy.  The truth is that there is a big difference between 90% and 99%.  If you drive a finely tuned sports car compared to a practical sedan, there is an entirely different driving experience and value between the two.  Sports cars are built with 99% precision.  Sedans get you transportation.  To win in the new economy requires sweat equity and savvy thinking.  Most people can get 90% of the answer.  Very few will pay the price to discover the 99% answer.
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  4. Winners Are Few, Whiners Are Plenty: Everyone has access to the same tools and technology.  There is an overwhelming amount of technology coming online every year.  It is easier to create it today than it was ten years ago.  What runs your business or changes with it next year takes foresight, leveraged thinking and know-how.  The difference lies in the talent you hire or tolerate.  Everyone is not talented.  Winners solve problems.  Whiners lament at problems.  Winners seek to deliver value.  Whiners seek to just keep their job.  Your business will thrive or struggle based on the talent you align yourselves with.  Poor talent with world-class technology will produce a poor and costly result.  The eight ball is talent, not technology.

As a new year approaches, think through how you are growing your business and skills.  If you work hard at ineffective or outdated methods, you are merely busy, not productive.  To be strategic today requires agile and bold thinking.  Everyone’s market is being affected by the incessant tides of speed, technology and culture acting upon us as buyers and sellers.

Who you align with is more important than what tool you pick.  Having a mindset committed to continual refinement, iteration and failure is necessary to winning in the new economy.  Your success largely lies in your ability or inability to see the game being played today.

We wish you much success in this coming year as you commit to being a player in the game.

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Defending Mediocrity

December 19, 2008 by · Leave a Comment

Desperately Selling

Customers today ignore boring products.  Old brands which do not inspire passion or luster are not guaranteed to be around, for customers increasingly value what is novel and stands out rather than what was promoted to be safe, common, and routine.

Many of the institutions we see (yours may be one of them) are intrinsically designed to resist change.  When they sense it from new technology and processes, they dig their heels in.  They settle on mediocrity.  They risk going extinct quickly.

Change is happening everywhere around us.  From presidential elections to old models of corporations, others are getting ahead because they understand how the new economy works.  The rest are hoping the 1980′s would return.

Making good products does not cut it.  We all want great.  We want spectacular, not gaudy.  Our expectations as consumers are for a memorable experience, not an emotionless transaction.

The funny thing is that all the tools are available for a company or individual to transcend mediocrity, beat their competition and grow their business.  However, old mindsets will be the death of those who defend mediocrity.  We see it every day, and it is happening at a faster pace than ever.  The reason is that the “rules” have changed dramatically.

If people see your company, your product and your way of doing business as a commodity, you will lose.  There are others who know how to be great rather than just good.  If you are an employee that does not stand out, you lose.  Jobs are continually being cut left and right.  The customer – your employer – has to see you as great, not just good.

If you are wondering why you don’t have the business or life you would like, ask yourself these key questions:

  1. What vision do I have for my myself and my business? If you struggle to articulate this, then your aspiration has already been defined.  Great businesses and people envision more than just doing a job or getting an order or a paycheck. They see purpose and help others see this as well. Think Starbucks, Disney and Facebook.  Want to just be mediocre?  Then take heed about Sears – old school and irrelevant.  Doing business the old way will kill you.
  2. How do I connect with my fans? Many people will never be your friends.  Many businesses will never be your customers.  They don’t “get you” nor do you “get them.”  However, those that should be your fans, how do you connect with them?  Are your communications systems set up for them to collaborate with you and with each other?  Do they feel like they connect with you?  Generation Y gets it.  Everyone else is trying to.  That is where the game is today.  It’s not the tools, it’s you.  Can you connect?
  3. Can I see the new economy? People are exchanging millions of dollars in commerce every day in your industry.  If you are not getting your share, it is likely you are lagging.  There are people who have moved on and are not going back.  Someone did move the cheese.  Do you know where it is and are you willing to go after it?  Your customer is buying completely differently than ten years ago.  If you insist that cold calling, mailers or any other old, irrelevant and ignored mechanism still works you do not understand the new economy we live in.   If you think having a pretty website is the answer, you are still five years behind.  Observe and ask better questions, or you risk losing massive opportunities because you are not even in the game.

B.B. King said a wise thing, “Some people…if they don’t ask, you can’t tell them.”  If you are not getting the results in your business you desire, then it would make sense to ask yourself good questions.  Otherwise, you risk accelerated obsolescence.  Rather than fear change, how about trying to understand the game being played and learn to structure your business, approach and systems to connect rather than try to desperately sell?  Ask the right questions to help you get on your way.  Need answers?  Then ask us.  Click here.

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When You Are A Stranger

December 12, 2008 by · 1 Comment

Stranger

When You Are A Stranger
Do you look forward to hearing your phone ring?  If you are receiving a sale, the answer is, yes.  If someone is trying to sell you, then you might not be so eager.  We are all doing one of two things every day – buying or selling.  Depending on which side of the equation we are engaged in, our posture changes.

There used to be days when the salesman would visit with their suitcase full of goods to a country home.  They were welcomed with lemonade on the front porch and the seller and buyer would sit and talk.  The stranger became a friend.  That was under different circumstances:

  1. There were less choices
  2. There was less accessibility to information about goods and services
  3. The salesman became a source of information to educate
  4. The buyer had less to do
  5. Time moved slower
  6. Trust was built through connecting personally
  7. Sales was a social event

Fast forward to our modern society and our behaviors and the dynamics between buyers and sellers have completely shifted:

  1. There are too many choices of what you offer
  2. Information is a button click away
  3. The web is a source of information.  People love self-service.
  4. The buyer feels interrupted.  There is too much we all have to do.
  5. Time blurrs together
  6. Trust is built on positioning and credibility of social networks
  7. Sales is an experience.

It can be argued that today’s successful salesperson may not fare so well in the society of yesteryears gone by and vice-versa.  However, the challenge still remains the same.  How do you become a friend to your customer?  People buy from people they like and people they trust.  The good old days afforded more luxuries to allow people to connect and build trust.  The new economy demands that:

  1. It is easy to do business with you
  2. You stand out
  3. You make the buyer feel important
  4. You deliver a sales experience, not a sales transaction
  5. You help the buyer buy
  6. You do not sell
  7. You do not make someone feel sold
  8. You are always changing
  9. You have systems not sweat
  10. You are strategic not tactical

In our business, we see people who are continually lost in the wake of the new economy.  They think they can do business like the good old days; however, everyone else around them is buying and selling with a whole new interaction, process and approach.  Irrelevance threatens their business staying-power.

While the principles remain the same – we want to connect and buy from friends we trust – the techniques to make this happen today are completely different.  If you try selling as a stranger, you lose.  When you cold call, send mass mailers or advertise without permission, you are a stranger.  You are not selling the way the new economy works.

To connect and become a friend requires much more strategic systems, thought and know-how.  This is what the winners do.  Everyone else is just busy and not wanting to think about the shortcomings in their approach.

The truth is that millions of dollars get exchanged in your market or industry every day. If you are not capturing a larger share, look at how effective you are at turning strangers into friends in your sales process.  Therein lies the battle.  Want to know how to put it all together?  Take a next step and connect with us.

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Desperate Times Do Not Call For Desperate Measures

December 5, 2008 by · 2 Comments

Desperate Times

In baseball, it is known that major league players, though they are at the highest echelon of their profession, always go through slumps.  They may go through a drought of hitting whereas they had had streaks of success in the past.  It is in those times that baseball players get back to the fundamentals.  They start thinking through the micromovements of their swing, stance and approach.  The fundamentals were what made them successful in the first place; they cannot violate natural laws for long without having to realign with them.

This is true for golfers, basketball shooters and business people.  Yes, in the game of business and life, there will be slumps.  Many are due to macro effects.  Some are due to ability and talent. [Read more...]

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