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Yours,
Mine and Ours
The
Unexpected Result of CHANGE
by
Kim Peek
If there’s
one word that describes the past few months, it’s change. Recent mergers
and acquisitions brought uncertainty as well as new media kits, new benefits
and new employees to many organizations. As systems work to merge company
cultures and best practices, it’s important to remember that clouds of
uncertainty often bring with them an unexpected silver lining.
It’s
always sad to see talented people leave any company, but this time, the
world of mergers and acquisitions has done us a favor by mixing up the
industry talent pool. Today, it’s safe to say, we’ve all worked together
before, which means ideas are not “yours” or “mine,” but are now
“ours.” We’ve shared best practices that were once closely-guarded
company secrets, and the best ideas have evolved into something much greater
than the original as they’ve been passed along from company to company.
The cable
industry is one big happy family that’s been forced to grow up. Thanks to
mergers, we can all work and play well together without pride of authorship
and are no longer burdened by the “not-invented-here” mentality. Thanks
to mergers, we are likely to meet up with long-lost friends who chose an
alternate path along the information superhighway.
As one who has
been impacted by mergers and acquisitions several times over my cable
career, I’d like to share with you the following pearls of wisdom from the
many great leaders and marketers I’ve had the opportunity to work with
over the years.
- Ask
for more. Get out of
your comfort zone and ask for order sizes that are unheard of in your
market. If you can demonstrate client value, you will close more
business!
- Ask
for the order. You don’t get what you don’t ask for. If you want
to achieve sales greatness, you need to increase the number of times you
ask for the business.
- Focus
your efforts for greater results. If you want AEs to sell a
particular package or promotion, limit the sales window. Then, take the
package off the streets for good.
- Seminars
sell. Inviting
customers to a hotel room, telling the pro-cable story and asking for a
long-term contract is a popular method of generating business. But,
organizations who have done this successfully know there’s more to it
than that. See points five and six.
- Execution
is the key to all great sales promotions, sales incentives, marketing
campaigns and revenue programs.
If a great idea from another market didn’t work, you probably
skipped a step or neglected to pay attention to detail.
- Sell
the sizzle. Entertainment sells; after all, we are in the
entertainment industry. Pitch NFL dressed in a referee’s uniform, in
your studio while your customers are sitting in bleachers. Unravel the
ratings mystery for clients at a mystery breakfast, Sherlock Holmes
style.
- If
you live by the numbers, you die by the numbers. There’s a time
and a place for numbers. It’s the “proof” you need to close a
skeptical buyer, but don’t use it until you need to.
- A
great jingle strengthens bad video.
The worst production in the world can be jazzed up with a
strong musical image.
- Partnerships
work! Listen to vendors when they want to discuss their product or
promotional opportunities. You never know where your next big idea will
come from.
- Become
obsessive about customer service. Consider offering a customer
service guarantee complete with double make goods for every spot missed
and the ability to cancel—without short rating—if not completely
satisfied.
- Throw
away your media kit. A great media kit is a necessity, but don’t
rely on your media kit at the expense of consultative selling. Discover
the client’s needs and present a targeted proposal.
- You
cannot motivate employees. However, you can create an environment
where there is a shared desire to succeed.
- It’s
all in the spin. You can present an idea as “something corporate
made us do,” or you can sell it with passion and enthusiasm. One leads
to commitment, understanding and buy-in; the other leaves you flat on
your face.
- The
only good idea is an idea that is shared.
We’re all in this game together. Let’s work together to
ensure that cable wins!
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