What will separate the banking winners from the losers over the next 10 years? A leading management consultant says there are three factors: number one, training; number two, training; and number three, training.
You would think that all organizations and managers recognize the importance of training. But, they don’t. Why? I’ve found that managers and organizations fall prey to the five management myths.
Myth 1
“Our people are experienced. They don’t need to be trained.”
This myth begins with the organization or manager who says, “Our people don’t need to be trained. They are all old ‘pros’ who have years of experience.” But there is a tremendous difference between experience and competence.
Think about it. Imagine a professional football coach saying, “Our people are all experienced, so we’re going to skip training camp this year. We don’t need it.” How do you think that team would stand up against the competition? How long do you think the coach would keep his job?
Ask yourself this question. Do you think that business is the same today as it was 20 years ago? Of course not. Business is changing. Management is changing. Successful organizations don’t do business the same today as they did five years ago, or 10 years ago, let alone 20 years ago.
Myth 2
"We tried it and it didn’t work.”
I’ve heard executives say, “When Harley Hotshot came to town, we put half of our people through his training and they haven’t sold any more than the rest of the team.” There are two very important things to remember about training. Number one: training is not an event, it is a process. And number two: in order to be effective, training must be ongoing.
Training is a little like calisthenics. If you haven’t worked out for years, and you jump right into a heavy exercise program, you’re going to be uncomfortable. So whether you’re talking about training or calisthenics, if you do it occasionally you grow sore; if you do it regularly you grow strong
Myth 3
“Our organization (or department, or division) is too small.”
It’s important to understand that training is equally important for organizations of all sizes. Consider this. If an organization has one hundred people, and if one person is not operating at maximum capacity, that’s one percent of the entire organization. On the other hand, if an organization has just two people, it may be easy to rationalize “We can’t justify training” … but, if one of those two people is not operating at maximum effectiveness, that’s 50 percent of the entire organization. So, training is equally important to organizations of all sizes.
Myth 4
“We can’t afford it.”
This is a cop-out. If you think the cost of training is expensive, compare it with the cost of incompetence! In today’s service-oriented environment poorly trained staff will drive your customer’s right into the camp of your competition.
Myth 5
“We don’t have time.
This is an absolute exercise in self-deception. If you are like most executives, I’m sure you sometimes ask yourself, “Why is it we never have time to do it right, but always make time to do it over?”
The manager who says, “We’re so busy we don’t have time for training” makes about as much sense as the woodcutter who says, “I’m so busy cutting down trees, I don’t have time to sharpen my ax.”
Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I have three hours to cut down a tree, I’d spend the first two hours sharpening my ax.”
Now, let’s address a final point. How long should you continue training your staff? The answer is how long do you want your people to keep improving?”
Cheers!
Nick Vaglio
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Brilliant marketing
I know that I just posted a few minutes ago, but you MUST watch this. Starbucks marketing at its finest! Here's the link: YouTube Starbucks Video
The Real Financial Crisis
Some people have a knack for making profound statements with little effort. Nick Vaglio, the newest member of the MarketMatch team is one of those people. While stating the obvious, Nick said that the real financial crisis isn't the credit crunch or the housing bubble, it's the lost trust in their financial institutions.
He makes a good point. Think about it. Consumers are increasingly skeptical of the financial services industry and it is up to us to help ease their mind. Business Development Officers will need to reconsider their methods and become more like relationship managers than hunters and gatherers.
I know many of you have been communicating your safety and soundness to your communities, and that's GREAT! But we need to do more. When small businesses need help with their cash management they are going to their CPA's for guidance. Are those CPA's sending the referral to you or your competition? Building those networks will take a little time and finesse but will reap great rewards.
Just remember that we do not have the same fear our customers do because we understand. Plumbers don't worry about leaks and mechanics laugh at a bad starter. Remember that your customers are not bankers. Nurture the relationships and the rewards will be yours for the taking!
Remember to be extraordinary!!
Jenna
He makes a good point. Think about it. Consumers are increasingly skeptical of the financial services industry and it is up to us to help ease their mind. Business Development Officers will need to reconsider their methods and become more like relationship managers than hunters and gatherers.
I know many of you have been communicating your safety and soundness to your communities, and that's GREAT! But we need to do more. When small businesses need help with their cash management they are going to their CPA's for guidance. Are those CPA's sending the referral to you or your competition? Building those networks will take a little time and finesse but will reap great rewards.
Just remember that we do not have the same fear our customers do because we understand. Plumbers don't worry about leaks and mechanics laugh at a bad starter. Remember that your customers are not bankers. Nurture the relationships and the rewards will be yours for the taking!
Remember to be extraordinary!!
Jenna
Saturday, November 1, 2008
A Launch Strategy That Works
If you're about to launch a new product, book, website, or whatever and don't know where to begin – then you MUST read this...
After launching multiple products over my career, there's a proven formula that works every time no matter what the actual "thing" is you’re launching. In a nutshell, it’s coordination and synchronization of multi-channel marketing efforts.
These efforts include:
--Staggered emails. These will go to you list and other synergistic lists and aim to build anticipation and a "hot list" of names before your launch. These names will then have potential to be your top buyers.
--Social media. Putting posts on blogs, bulleting boards, forums. Recording a video of yourself and posting it on YouTube. Ultimately, creating messages that have the potential to go viral.
--Pay per click. Bidding on your relevant keywords and having a mechanism and offer to collect names and build your hot list.
--Online PR. Getting your message out quickly and cost effectively. The release will get picked up by blogs, media websites, industry websites, and online news aggregators (such as Yahoo and Google) and not only increase awareness, but also give you backlinks (SEO!) as well as have the potential to go viral.
--Editorial and Article Syndication. Write articles for print and online media about the topic that ties into your launch.
All of these efforts build up slowly and culminate the day of your launch. You’re basically building momentum, that will pay off with traffic and buzz about your product.
***************************************************************************
Editor's Note:
I've been getting many emails from readers asking me about social media and how they can measure their activity. Having an Internet marketing, direct response and PR background, I find the following helpful when assessing my efforts:
Look at the "3 O's"—Outputs, Outcomes and Objectives.
Outputs measures effectiveness and efficiency, such as new subscriber sign-ups and spikes in Web site traffic during your campaign. And it measures analytics, such as referring Web site sources, visits, unique visits and visit percentages.
Outcomes measures behavioral changes such as internal customer/subscriber feedback (calls, e-mails, forum postings) on your Web site, as well as external reputation monitoring or visiting targeted chat rooms during your campaign looking to see the "buzz."
Objectives compare direct product sales during the time of the campaign to other sales that occurred before the campaign. So it establishes a baseline, giving room for sales assumptions tied to your effort.
I also use the following tools:
Google Analytics
-Check the “referring sources page” to see how much traffic was generated by LinkedIn.
-Look at overall traffic to website during same time period of your effort.
-If you have a sign up/email form, look for lead spikes during time period of your effort.
Google Alerts
-Set alert for your name, your company name, and keywords in your content. You’ll get notified via Alert if content/your messagegets picked up and goes viral.
Backlink Checkers
-Google Webmaster Tools - Check back links going to site during same time period of your effort.
-Link Popularity Check - Link popularity analysis is one of the best ways to quantifiably and independently measure your website's online awareness.
Sample free tools:
http://seopro.com.au/free-seo-tools/link-checker/ http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
http://www.backlinkwatch.com/index.php
After launching multiple products over my career, there's a proven formula that works every time no matter what the actual "thing" is you’re launching. In a nutshell, it’s coordination and synchronization of multi-channel marketing efforts.
These efforts include:
--Staggered emails. These will go to you list and other synergistic lists and aim to build anticipation and a "hot list" of names before your launch. These names will then have potential to be your top buyers.
--Social media. Putting posts on blogs, bulleting boards, forums. Recording a video of yourself and posting it on YouTube. Ultimately, creating messages that have the potential to go viral.
--Pay per click. Bidding on your relevant keywords and having a mechanism and offer to collect names and build your hot list.
--Online PR. Getting your message out quickly and cost effectively. The release will get picked up by blogs, media websites, industry websites, and online news aggregators (such as Yahoo and Google) and not only increase awareness, but also give you backlinks (SEO!) as well as have the potential to go viral.
--Editorial and Article Syndication. Write articles for print and online media about the topic that ties into your launch.
All of these efforts build up slowly and culminate the day of your launch. You’re basically building momentum, that will pay off with traffic and buzz about your product.
***************************************************************************
Editor's Note:
I've been getting many emails from readers asking me about social media and how they can measure their activity. Having an Internet marketing, direct response and PR background, I find the following helpful when assessing my efforts:
Look at the "3 O's"—Outputs, Outcomes and Objectives.
Outputs measures effectiveness and efficiency, such as new subscriber sign-ups and spikes in Web site traffic during your campaign. And it measures analytics, such as referring Web site sources, visits, unique visits and visit percentages.
Outcomes measures behavioral changes such as internal customer/subscriber feedback (calls, e-mails, forum postings) on your Web site, as well as external reputation monitoring or visiting targeted chat rooms during your campaign looking to see the "buzz."
Objectives compare direct product sales during the time of the campaign to other sales that occurred before the campaign. So it establishes a baseline, giving room for sales assumptions tied to your effort.
I also use the following tools:
Google Analytics
-Check the “referring sources page” to see how much traffic was generated by LinkedIn.
-Look at overall traffic to website during same time period of your effort.
-If you have a sign up/email form, look for lead spikes during time period of your effort.
Google Alerts
-Set alert for your name, your company name, and keywords in your content. You’ll get notified via Alert if content/your messagegets picked up and goes viral.
Backlink Checkers
-Google Webmaster Tools - Check back links going to site during same time period of your effort.
-Link Popularity Check - Link popularity analysis is one of the best ways to quantifiably and independently measure your website's online awareness.
Sample free tools:
http://seopro.com.au/free-seo-tools/link-checker/ http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
http://www.backlinkwatch.com/index.php
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Bringing Retail to Financial
I’m just brain stormin’ here.Last week, I saw an ad from Kmart advertising a forgotten concept … layaway!
Immediately, 3 things jumped to mind:
1. “Wow, they really have their finger on the pulse of the economy.”
2. “What in the world is so expensive at Kmart that you’d need layaway?”
3. “How can we bring this idea into the financial world?”
Layaway, a purchasing agreement by which a retailer agrees to hold merchandise secured by a deposit until the product price is paid in full by the customer, is an idea whose time may have returned.
Let’s face it, job loss may be up, foreclosures may be soaring, the stock market is a roller coaster ride with more downhills than up, and a recession may be imminent – if not already here – but we’re still Americans darn it! We still want more than we can afford. We still believe in buy it now and pay for it later.
Layaway is the perfect answer. Heck, you can even use layaway for online purchases now … just check out http://www.elayaway.com/.
OK, so how do we take advantage of this in our institutions?
LAYAWAY CDs
What if we offered a “Layaway CD” with a term of 3, 6 or 9 months (maybe a year if you feel lucky) where the customer can make regular deposits throughout the term but has a penalty for early withdrawal?
The CD is kinda like a layaway with interest. It has an end date goal … the customer can’t touch the money … and a CD offers what no layaway can – a fixed INTEREST RATE!
If a customer wants a big screen TV, for instance, but can’t afford it now and doesn’t want to add to their credit, they simply open a Layway CD and start putting money aside with the understanding that they can take that TV home in a few months.
What if we offered a “Layaway CD” with a term of 3, 6 or 9 months (maybe a year if you feel lucky) where the customer can make regular deposits throughout the term but has a penalty for early withdrawal?
The CD is kinda like a layaway with interest. It has an end date goal … the customer can’t touch the money … and a CD offers what no layaway can – a fixed INTEREST RATE!
If a customer wants a big screen TV, for instance, but can’t afford it now and doesn’t want to add to their credit, they simply open a Layway CD and start putting money aside with the understanding that they can take that TV home in a few months.
Maybe this will help spark an idea to help you differentiate your shop and provide a product that your customers don't even know they need yet.
Take care,
Eric
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
From the trenches: It's Ok to Say You Don't Know
First off, an apology for not writing much lately. However, since I am a practitioner and not an academic, my days have been filled with trying to address the worsening economic reality, rather than writing about it. These are the days that make me wish sometimes I was in academia, because studying this phenomenon would be really interesting.
If you are like me, and like many of my colleagues, you have been hearing one question a lot lately, probably from board members and executive staff: how is the economy going to affect our sales for the rest of the season, and how do we adjust to anticipate for the impact?
I am proud of the Arena Stage board and senior staff for taking significant steps to prepare for the impact of the market crash, but if you are in a position where you are ultimately responsible for providing accurate sales projections and models like I am, it is one hell of a task. When asked earlier this week by several members of the executive committee of our board how bad it is going to get, I responded with only three words -- I don't know. They were the only three words that I thought I could deliver with integrity and honesty.
I have been running models everyday for the past four weeks. I have extensively studied the impact of the 1987 market crash and the crash post 9/11 to find some sort of path to guide me. But I ultimately decided that there is no precedent that I could find in Arena Stage's 58 year history that could accurately guide me. Which leaves me in a place where I have to "go with my gut." I hate that. I am a math and science guy in an artistic world (I have minors in mathematics and physics). I have been trained over and over again to go with scientific models because one's gut is unreliable. And here I am with nothing in our history to guide me.
So I felt that the executive staff of the company and the board needs to know that I will work day and night to get us to a place where we have what I feel to be the most reliable model that reflects the impact of the market crash, but it will be my best guess. Even though this makes me uncomfortable, I am reassured by knowing that as this is my area of expertise, I believe my projections will be the most accurate.
That being said, at the end of the day, when asked what is the impact of what Alan Greenspan calls the "worst economic crisis he has seen" (and the man is 82 years old), I feel that the only honest answer any of us can say is -- I don't know. If you believe that this is a once in a lifetime economic failure as I do, then no one has seen the impact of a market failure of this size since my grandparents generation during the Great Depression.
Morale of post: in reporting to executive staff and board, do your due diligence, prepare conservative sales models and projections, and don't be afraid to admit what you don't know.
PostScript:
From Michael Kaiser's ArtsManager Blog: "None of us running arts organizations in the United States has experienced this level of economic meltdown. The experiences we had in more recent financial downturns do not prepare us adequately for what is happening now. And the full impact of the financial crisis has yet to be felt in many cities. I know I need to make changes to the operations of the Kennedy Center, I simply do not know how much to change and over what time frame. "
If you are like me, and like many of my colleagues, you have been hearing one question a lot lately, probably from board members and executive staff: how is the economy going to affect our sales for the rest of the season, and how do we adjust to anticipate for the impact?
I am proud of the Arena Stage board and senior staff for taking significant steps to prepare for the impact of the market crash, but if you are in a position where you are ultimately responsible for providing accurate sales projections and models like I am, it is one hell of a task. When asked earlier this week by several members of the executive committee of our board how bad it is going to get, I responded with only three words -- I don't know. They were the only three words that I thought I could deliver with integrity and honesty.
I have been running models everyday for the past four weeks. I have extensively studied the impact of the 1987 market crash and the crash post 9/11 to find some sort of path to guide me. But I ultimately decided that there is no precedent that I could find in Arena Stage's 58 year history that could accurately guide me. Which leaves me in a place where I have to "go with my gut." I hate that. I am a math and science guy in an artistic world (I have minors in mathematics and physics). I have been trained over and over again to go with scientific models because one's gut is unreliable. And here I am with nothing in our history to guide me.
So I felt that the executive staff of the company and the board needs to know that I will work day and night to get us to a place where we have what I feel to be the most reliable model that reflects the impact of the market crash, but it will be my best guess. Even though this makes me uncomfortable, I am reassured by knowing that as this is my area of expertise, I believe my projections will be the most accurate.
That being said, at the end of the day, when asked what is the impact of what Alan Greenspan calls the "worst economic crisis he has seen" (and the man is 82 years old), I feel that the only honest answer any of us can say is -- I don't know. If you believe that this is a once in a lifetime economic failure as I do, then no one has seen the impact of a market failure of this size since my grandparents generation during the Great Depression.
Morale of post: in reporting to executive staff and board, do your due diligence, prepare conservative sales models and projections, and don't be afraid to admit what you don't know.
PostScript:
From Michael Kaiser's ArtsManager Blog: "None of us running arts organizations in the United States has experienced this level of economic meltdown. The experiences we had in more recent financial downturns do not prepare us adequately for what is happening now. And the full impact of the financial crisis has yet to be felt in many cities. I know I need to make changes to the operations of the Kennedy Center, I simply do not know how much to change and over what time frame. "
Monday, October 27, 2008
Trick or Treat....Your call!
Greetings....and Happy Halloween!
Well, we are 28 hours from the start of trick or treat and my kids are excited...well, they may be feeding off my excitement! I love trick or treat. The neighborhood is alive with activity, electricity is in the air with the excitement and you see parents and kids having a great time together. Oh, and the big benefit...CANDY!
For off of us bank and credit union marketers, it is coming closer to Trick or treat time, too. It might better be known as the Budget! It is entirely up to you to build a budget preparation process that turns a potential "nightmare" into a Treat for 2009.
It is undeniably a tough time in the banking industry...however, it is also a time to capture market share, show your strength and build a point of difference for your institution. Here are 5 Key Budget tips to get you going...
- Prepare competitive research on your marketplace (budgets and SWOT)
- Match your budget to the organization's strategy objectives
- Align your strategies with each business lines objectives and tactics
- Prepare your budget as a "better" and "best" -- one a visionary stretch
- Build an ROI for every major component of your budget
A bonus Key Tip is to talk with your CFO and understand the key areas of pressure that he/she predicts for 2009...margin pressure, lending pressure, stock pressure, etc...and build a set of strategies that directly attack those pressure areas!
Your 2009 budget does not have to be a nightmare of cuts, restrictions, and extreme uphill challenges. It's up to you to make it a "Treat" by being prepared, anticipate questions, build strategies to address organizational issues, and be prepared to demonstrate the positive monetary impact and exceptional use of capital that we all know marketing delivers!
Happy Halloween and here's to a TREAT for you in budgeting!
Cheers!
Bruce
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