THIS ISSUE INCLUDES: •  What's New? •  Going, Going Gone! •  Resource Referral •  Lessons Learned •  Tips & Tricks •  Community Leaders •  Member Spotlight •  Community Stats •  Your Account Summary •  Special Thanks •  Last Laugh

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WHAT'S NEW?

Dear Askers & Answerers,

I am writing from the road. I'm visiting my sister, Viv, in San Jose, who may be the only person in the Silicon Valley without any sort of Internet connection in her home. So I've learned to rely on the local library, Kinko's and, yes, the kindness of strangers, to put the newsletter together this week. It was a fun change of pace.

Speaking of change, I have new features to announce! First, remember the diamond-shaped icons I described last week? They show up next to questions asked by our paying subscribers. This week we made it so the diamond questions will remain on the KHE mainpage for 48 hours before shifting down the list. All other questions are listed chronologically and usually remain there for less than 24 hours. We also added a note defining the diamonds. (It shows when there is a diamond question on the mainpage.)

We made another change to that "Most Recent Questions" list. Now questions that are closed are NOT displayed there.

Next, I've been receiving notes from members who had forgotten they had open questions to close. To help with that, we added a "My Open Qs" link to the right navigation box. You need to be logged in to see it. The resulting page will give you a shortcut to any open questions you currently have. It's pretty cool. Try it out.

Finally, we're developing some quick hints to help people use our search engine. We understand its functionality is a bit limited, and we do plan to enhance it in the future. But in the meantime, we thought some instructions might help. I posted a discussion on this topic in KHE. Please add your thoughts if you have suggestions!

That's all for now. Have a terrific weekend!

Happy exchanging,

Val Frazee
Moderator, Know-How Exchange
MarketingProfs.com

GOING, GOING, GONE!

Here are KHE's 10 oldest questions. They're likely to close soon. Have an idea to offer? Better do it now!

1. I want to start up a meal replacement bar
2. high vs. low barrier to entry in the PC business
3. How do we get major advertisers interested in our valuable ad space?
4. Email Satisfaction Survey
5. The Customer brand. Any unique approach to marketing virgin territories?
6. What would you include in a Branding Basics Workshop Content?
7. Name My Interactive Agency
8. Any advice on using LeadClick for email list rentals?
9. Use of Company Logos
10. What is the exchange process?

RESOURCE REFERRAL: MPLANS

One of the questions that comes up time and again in KHE is: "Where can I find a marketing plan template?" I often see our Answerers suggest a link to MPlans.com, so I decided to check it out. The site belongs to Palo Alto Software, creator of Marketing Plan Pro, Business Plan Pro and other some other software packages. So as expected, you'll find promo material about their product offerings at MPlans.com. But you can also access some pretty nifty free resources, such as the two below.

Sample Plans: http://mplans.com/spm/index.cfm?a=mc

Marketing Glossary: http://mplans.com/gm/

I highly recommend the site, if you're looking for a refresher on marketing plans.

LESSONS LEARNED: TELEMARKETING

Recently telemoxie posted this question: "Have you ever received a business-to-business introductory phone call that stood out as pleasant, courteous, appropriate or well done? What was it about the manner, approach or technique that you liked?" Here are some excerpts from the resulting conversation.

• Vevolution: There have been occassional calls that have introduced me to a person or product of value. The caller handled these interactions as a conversation, sort of like we are two businesspeople who happen to be thrown together on an airport shuttle bus. Typically there is a BRIEF introduction, then it moves to "small talk" to establish rapport. After that they casually slide into why they are calling and ALLOW ME TO ASK QUESTIONS! Almost all telemarketers are trained to DRIVE information into people, when its a million times more effective to get them to ask questions that invite the person called to provide information.


• Pepper Blue: Absolutely yes, and it was when they began the introduction with: "Your colleague Mr. John Smith suggested I call you. He is familar with me and our company and thought that maybe we can help solve your problems like we solved his." Then they begin a nice conversation asking me questions and LISTENING to my answers and questions. But, the key to getting my attention is that somebody I know suggested they call.


• Jett: I received a call from a competing laboratory in effort to have me send our samples to them instead of our current lab. The caller was unobtrusive, down to Earth, repectful of my time, took "no" for an answer, and did not try to pressure. She gently countered with an offer to take me to lunch and a promise to meet and beat all curent pricing AND provide free equipment. I said sure, and we ended up switching. Had she been cheesy, flirty, pushy, etc., she would have lost me.


• km2000: Nope, unfortunately. While I don't get a ton of calls, those that I do get generally begin as follows. I answer the phone to hear lots of background noise (or worse, that dead air just before the computer dialer kicks you to the human). And then a voice, usually with a heavy accent, proceeds to try to pronouce my last name. I generally try to correct the mispronunciation by stating "Yes, I'm ----". After they've heard the word "Yes," they begin their pitch, talking over the rest of my sentence. I can't tell you what happens after that. ... I politely end the call.


• Deremiah, *CPE: I received one call from a telemarketer that really stands out. His voicemail message was so positive and upbeat concerning the opportunities he felt he could bring me based on what his company had done for others that I was moved to call him back. 1) He got my name right, which very rarely happens. 2) He left a short voicemail telling me what his company had done for others in my industry and why he felt that would be helpful toward my career development (i.e., what's in it for me). 3) He added that even if I was not interested right now, he would be more than happy to talk with me at a later date when I was ready.


• SteveB: I have my fair share of telemarketing experience targeting business executives, so I pay attention to the telemarketing calls I receive at the office. Usually they are not very good. Occasionally, a call will stand out. ... I think the standard should be “FIRST DO NO HARM,” meaning don’t negatively brand your company through telemarketing. Smart informed messaging with terrific personal tone goes a long way to avoid negative vibes.


• amandavega: I would say I am more liberal with taking calls since I feel there's some karmatic-nature to it all, meaning one day I'll need to make some marketing research calls on behalf of my clients and so I should help when I can. I DESPISE when people call me who have no idea who we are. They ask, "What do you guys do?" or even worse, "Who are some of your clients?" That is unacceptable, and I can tell you, (and this is the NYer coming out in me) that that type of interaction with a company would make me stay away from them forever, even if their product was better. I LIKE when people have done their homework, period.


• cal: The "pleasant" part isn't necessary with me. It's usually a bit of an irritant, as I'm often busy when they call and it takes up time unnecessarily. Even if I'm not busy, it's usually a bit of an irritant. I want them to get to the point ASAP. But I'm a strong INTJ personality. We're usually like that.


• DavidatHaley: I think the calls that I "like" best have a few consistent elements. The caller: 1) Is courteous. 2) Respects my time. 3) Is honest about the reason for calling. 4) Speaks slowly. 5) Avoids "I want to sell you something" language. 6) Is following up on something he already sent. 7) Gets my name right. 8) Doesn't make assumptions about my needs. 9) Doesn't sound like he's from NYC. (Sorry New Yorker's, but NYC telemarketers always sound like pushy stockbrokers when they call).


• Mirna: The key for success is NEVER the script. It is the callers themselves. Have you ever had a conversation with someone and wished it would never end because he/she was so pleasant? These are the people you should recruit and work out a script for - collaborating with each one of them so the script matches their personalities. Another golden rule is to keep the introduction SHORT. Finally, I would suggest that male operators speak with female prospects and the other way around.

The Discussion: Have You Ever Received a "Pleasant and Courteous" B2B Telemarketing Call?

TIPS & TRICKS: BUY POINTS

Do you have an important question to ask - worthy of 1000 points - but you don't have time to earn that many points before you post the question? Not a problem. You may not know this, but you can boost your Question Points total with a quick purchase transaction.

You can buy 250 Points for $5, 1000 Points for $15 or 2500 Points for $25. You can pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, and you will receive the points immediately.

Buy Points: https://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/auth/index.asp (You need to be logged in for this link to take you directly there.)

Certainly, $15 would be a small price to pay for the attention your question will receive. Just consider the value of attracting ten or more experts to your discussion thread. And there's no risk. If you don't receive the helpful responses you're hoping for, you can always ask me to refund your Question Points.

Keep in mind, these purchases give you the points you need to ask questions in the forum. They do not change your ranking in the community (rank is determined by Expert Points - which must be earned by answering questions).

Have a question? Ask the experts.

Post a brief synopsis below, and invite other members to offer their feedback.

My Question Title

COMMUNITY LEADERS

As of this week, these are our superstars! The Most Inquisitive are those who have asked the most questions. (Where there's a tie, we broke it based on number of points they offered for their questions.) The Most Expert are those with the highest number of Cumulative Points (given to them by question authors for offering helpful answers).

NOTE: These are our top members as of midday July 22, 2004

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEET ASVP/CHRISB

You may know Chris Blackman as a Brit-turned-Aussie. But did you also know ASVP/ChrisB is an avid pilot? (This is something Chris and I have in common.) Read on to learn more about this week's featured KHE member.

Where are you based?
I'm based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. I've lived here for 20 years, prior to which I've lived and worked in New York, Amsterdam and London. I'm originally from Surrey in the United Kingdom.

What do you do in real life?
I run a management consultancy specializing in strategy development and implementation using the Balanced Scorecard framework.

Tell us about your company.
I started ASVP Consulting in May 2003 after several years with a boutique strategy and managment consulting firm in Melbourne, a number of years working as a sole practitioner in marketing consultancy and interim management, and about 15 years in corporate general and marketing management roles. In the last year ASVP has completed some significant strategy development and implementation projects for companies in IT systems, IT services, medical systems, air transport, plastics and environmental technologies. It's been a very busy first year.

How did you find KHE?
I was on the MarketingProfs site and noticed someone asking a question about assessing a market in Australia. I felt I could assist, and so I replied. I didn't seem to impress the Asker much, but that didn't deter me from offering suggestions from then on whenever I had time and saw something I thought I could genuinely add some value to. I'm not completely altruistic, however. I live in the fervent hope that some of my replies may one day prove sufficiently interesting to someone that they might be prompted to contact me via my profile page to discuss a real project.

What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most?
Questions that make me think hard. Questions where I can see other respondents may have missed something crucial or perhaps have overlooked a significant aspect.

Describe one KHE discussion you learned something from.
I think it's possible to learn something from almost all of them - even those posted by students who want their homework done for them.

Have you made any offline connections with KHEers?
Yes, I've made a few offline friends via KHE. A fellow Melburnian, Hugh MacFarlane, kindly sent me his excellent book The Leaky Funnel, which I enjoyed reading. I haven't met up with anyone, but the need hasn't arisen yet. I've certainly met some people I would love to work with, if a collaborative opportunity should arise in the future.

What is the value KHE provides to you?
It's a forum to share ideas, learn from experts and assist people who are starting off their business/marketing careers.

What is your favorite marketing book?
Two selections here: Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon. A bit dated now but it shows how to turn the whole customer service model on its head by empowering people in the front line. Also, Marketing - A Complete Guide by Malcolm McDonald and Martin Christopher. It's a treasure trove of all the stuff you learned at school and want to refer back to from time to time.

Describe one of your non-marketing hobbies or interests.
I love flying. I don't do nearly enough of it (except as a passenger, or "self-loading freight" as the airline industry sometimes calls the paying customers). But I have loved flying since my first flight in a glider as an air cadet in the U.K. in the 60s. It's great to have complete control over where you are going - weather, fuel, cost and time pressures notwithstanding!

Do you have a favorite quote you want to share?
"If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got." (unknown source)

COMMUNITY STATS

Active Unique Participants (to date): 2,074
Closed Questions (to date): 2,143
Currently Open Questions: 138
Total Responses (to date): 15,986
Subscribers to this newsletter: 7,985

YOUR ACCOUNT SUMMARY

These numbers come directly from YOUR profile. Question Points tells you how many points you have available for asking questions in the forum. Expert Points indicates your standing in the community based on answers you have posted. Visit this FAQ, if you want to know more.

Question Points: %%PointsBalance%%
Expert Points: %%PointsCum%%

Click here to buy more Question Points

SPECIAL THANKS

Thank you, ASVP/ChrisB, for providing content for this newsletter. And thanks to all the following community members who have emailed or posted suggestions, technical reports or questions in the last week. Your feedback and energy drives this community's development. We couldn't do it without you!

Jett, SRyan, ASVP/ChrisB, Jim Deveau/Catalyst, Nicolas, Ricky, kwinters, telemoxie, jose04, Frances, tjh, DavidatHaley, Steve Wasiura, TT, r_leonhart81, jcrooks, Vevolution, jverdes, Radu, brentonschmidt, blashton, Nila Nealy, SteveB, Deremiah, *CPE

LAST LAUGH

I like to end with a smile. So this space is dedicated to something amusing I find posted in our forum.

I enjoyed this question by deji8 about personal selling propositions. All the answers were interesting. And a few were quite funny. I especially liked gavin.dowling's.

The Discussion: What's Your Personal USP?

Forum Feedback: The Know-How Exchange is awfully young. So we're still refining how things work. We have a gigantic list of action items, and your feedback helps us prioritize it. So please feel free to reply to this email with any suggestions. Thanks, in advance, for your time!

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