Growing Mind Share = Growing Sales

April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mind Share; the percentage of a person’s brain cycles dedicated to some topic. For a sales professional, it’s the percentage of a customer’s brain cycles focused on the value your products/services can provide.

The higher your mind share gets, the more you sell.

So measure Mind Share!!!

Now an intriguing question…  Is your average mind share per decision maker greater than, less than or equal to that of the average rep?  Getting the answer to that question is a heck of a challenge, but having way above average mind share means way above average sales achievement.  So how can you begin to get a handle on it?

Start with a rough cut for your 10 most important contacts.  (Use this tool.)  Estimate the number of minutes each contact invests per year in:

  • Meeting with you face-to-face
  • Talking to you on the telephone
  • Reading text written by you (Things like E-mail, Proposals, Blog posts, Other…  Assume for now that people read about 250 words per minute)
  • Reading text written by others about the value you can deliver (Brochures, Catalogs, White Papers, Articles, Case Studies, Blog Posts, Other)
  • Listening to a live presentation about the value you can deliver
  • Listening to a podcast about the value you can deliver
  • Watching a video about the value you can deliver
  • Other

Add up all those minutes, then divide by 525,600 minutes per year.  Actually make that 527,040 since it’s a leap year.  (Just kidding…). Multiply the result by 100,000 to make it an easier number to think about; let’s call it the “Mind Share Index.”

What do you think of your answers?  How do your good customers compare to your not-so-good customers?  To your prospects?  How high does the index need to get before somebody buys?  What’s the most effective way to boost the index?  What’s the most efficient way to boost the index?

I’ll answer those last two questions for you.  Get ‘em reading more blog posts, listening to more podcasts and watching more videos.  Did I say, “e-Rep?”

Filed Under: E-Rep Tagged With: , , ,

Podcasting: Bringing Purpose And Hope To Your Audience

April 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

People follow leaders.

They want to be told what to do, how to do it, and why to do it.

The “why” is the most important. Think about the great leaders of our time.

They succeeded, they are remembered, we talk about them still only because they made it clear why they were doing what they were doing…

…and we wanted to be a part of that journey.

People love to listen to authority figures talk about how they made it, about how they exceeded expectations, and how they plan to keep blazing new trails.

We all know the Apple story. Yet we still purchased Steve Jobs when it was published. We wanted to know more about how and why he did what he did.

In the end, people love following people who tell amazing stories.

This is just another reason why you should host a podcast or a regular video series on your organizational website. You can bring these leaders, these success stories, these authority figures direct to your audience.

And in return, your audience will come to appreciate the learning and the leadership you are providing. And you will be recognized as a thought leader in your own market space.

And it is not hard to do. You don’t have to find a JFK or an MLK to find inspirational leaders.

You can look into your very own rolodex to find amazing people, leading amazing organizations, achieving what many thought impossible.

Why not recruit them to your podcast to tell their story? To share what they know? To teach others how they did it?

Not only are you providing a forum and exposure to these leaders, who in turn will appreciate the opportunity. But your audience will appreciate and value learning from someone just like them.

People love trailblazers, leaders, innovators, and they love to learn how they achieved the things they achieved. It gives them a sense that maybe I can achieve something too.

Your podcast is more than just a marketing and sales tactic. More than just content. More than just search engine bait…

Your podcast is showcasing leadership. Inspiration. Imagination. It provides ideas and hope to your audience.

And that’s not a bad way to help market you and your organization…

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Drawing by Hugh Macleod.

Filed Under: Podcasting

And you don’t have an e-Rep yet because…???

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s free.  It saves the sales or marketing professional time every day.  It never gets sick, or takes a day off, or even takes a break.  It’ll communicate with whomever, whenever, wherever, on-demand.  It establishes new business relationships.  It nurtures existing relationships; all of them.  It shortens sell cycles.  It increases close rates.

And you don’t have one???

Need something to help you get started developing and maintaining your very own e-Rep?  Your very own 24 X 7 X 365 sales and marketing assistant?  No matter how techno-phobic you are, you already have virtually all the skills required.  And this e-book will fill in the few gaps left.

Get your copy of the e-Rep e-book now.  And sign up for this free e-newsletter to further boost your e-Rep knowledge and skills.

Filed Under: E-Rep Tagged With: , , ,

Information foraging

April 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As you build your e-Rep, keep the notion of “information foraging” in mind.  That’s what readers of web content do.  (You included!)

The overwhelming majority of web content is drivel.  There is an enormous quantity of fabulous stuff out there, but it’s scattered around and surrounded by nonsense.  These facts, plus the power of Google search, are the drivers of this “foraging” behavior.  In researcher Jakob Nielsen’s words, “Instead of spending a lot of time on a single page, users move between many pages and try to pick the most tasty segments of each.”

Think in terms of a predator pursuing its prey.  And you are the prey!  You want to be the prey!

You want your prospects and customers to pick up on your “information scent” and chase you down.  They’re all hungry for relevant information, they all know how to effectively use search tools and they all eat “information snacks” at every opportunity.

So publish a lot – i.e., spread your scent around.  Make sure each bit has real value – i.e., be tasty.

Do it!

Filed Under: E-Rep Tagged With: , ,

Content Marketing: The Curse of Audience Envy

April 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment


I tell every client and prospect I meet that when it comes to their sales and marketing, they need to focus on developing their content marketing strategy.

Here’s the problem with this:

These people panic, because they think they either have to HAVE a large audience, or that they have to BUILD a large audience. And as a result, they shut down, claim that it is too hard, and do nothing.

Understanding content marketing isn’t complicated. It is generating content that tells stories about the purpose, the mission, the “why” of your business. Tells the stories of how you help and serve your market. And that content is distributed in countless ways, from advertising, to blogging, to social media, to video, and to podcasting…to name just a few.

The confusion comes with the question: “Who am I generating all this content for?”

It is an important question.

If you think you can’t host a videoTV series, or a podcast, or shouldn’t publish a regular blog without a large audience to consume the content, you are dead wrong.

Yes, it is true that consistently publishing a video series, podcast, and blog content, you will certainly grow an audience for the content over time. But this is a slow and steady process, one that takes time. [by the way, this isn't a bad thing...]

But the simple message I want to communicate today is this:

The content you create can be, should be, must be…created for a very specific audience. And maybe even for ONE person.

Your customers, your prospects, the influencers in your market space have specific questions, specific needs, or require clarity on something particular.

Create content to answer those inquiries. One piece of content – one question – at a time. And then, be darn sure that person receives a personalized communication from you linking to the content specifically made for them.

But then, something magical happens…

When you answer a question for one person, you know darn well (or will certainly find out), there are countless other people and organizations that will benefit from the same content.

And that’s how your audience is built over time…

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To learn about content marketing, sign-up for our FREE content marketing course.

Drawing by Hugh Macleod.

Filed Under: Content Marketing
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