WorldWide Drilling Resource

approach, they achieve fewer positive responses. When sales activity is not foreshadowed with some market exposure or not supported by follow-up activity, you are relying only on the sales effort. To get better and more consistent positive results from any sales actions, it is a wise move to have both pre- and post-sales activity reinforcing the basic fundamental sales message and customer benefits. j Poor product/service messaging. Have you ever watched a product or service commercial and when it was finished, you were shaking your head thinking, “What was that all about?” I have, almost every day. I’m not sure how some of these ads make it past man- agement, but someone needs to wake them up - they are stupid and don’t do the product or service justice. No, I’m not going to be specific. I just want to point out, if your messaging is confusing, contradictory, or can be perceived or interpreted as negative or derogatory in any way, it will not contribute to your sales success. j Overuse or underuse of specific communication techniques. Technology wants us to believe the only way to sell to people today is with social media, e-mails, or the latest techno whiz. Yes, these are important and can often be an integral part of lifestyle today, but let me assure you “word of mouth” has not lost its impact on the buying public or process. When the average customer has a negative product or service experience, research tells us they will, on average, tell nine people. And those nine people on average will tell five people, and this process continues on. So let me ask you, howmany people over time do you think will get the negative message, and howmuch money do you need to spend on promotion and advertising to counteract this negative exposure? Just ask any organization that has lost customers, market share, and even gone belly-up due to negative press and, in hindsight, they admit they failed to anticipate the negative consequences due to this negative experience. If you think you are going to hit a home run every time with a campaign of a new product or service relying only on your investment in technology exposure, you are living in “Fantasy Land”. I can hear some of you now, “No, Tim. You are living in “Denial Land” and just don’t get how people are buying today.” Okay, you are not listening. I didn’t say you didn’t need to use these media sources to improve sales, I said you need to not rely ONLY on them. j A lack of execution integrity. Talk is cheap today. People seem to throw commitments, promises, and so many other things at cus- tomers, clients, friends, and even family members that in some ways they hope will happen, but are never 100% sure will. Ever left a mes- sage for a supplier who said they would get back to you in 24 hours, then after a week, you still hadn’t heard from them? Ever have someone tell you they will see you for lunch, a meeting, coffee at a certain time, and 20 minutes later they finally showed up? I could give you thou- sands of examples. The common thread in all of them is a lack of integrity. There are far too many reasons and contributors to this issue in today’s sales (and general relationship) environment, so let me cover one simple concept. Does this lack of consistency, integrity, or com- mitment - in your opinion - contribute to poor customer loyalty, poor customer relations, poor repeat business, poor references and/or refer- rals, poor word of mouth, and just a poor reputation in general? If you want to avoid any of these “poor” issues (outcomes, results, consequences), it’s simple. I know there are many more, but here are just five things to consider: 1. Start meaning what you say and saying what you mean. 2. Stop making excuses and just do it. 3. If you can’t do it, or are not sure whether it will happen, don’t promise it. 4. If circumstances beyond your control cause a promise or commitment to not be delivered, fix it quickly. 5. Learn from your communication mistakes. Stop repeating the same stupid behaviors that are doing nothing to improve your image and sales results, whether as an individual or an organization! In His service, Tim Tim Connor may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 26 DECEMBER 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Connor cont’d from page 19.