How *Not* To Send a Christmas Message

You can see below a Christmas letter I received last week from a mortgage broker. We had used the mortgage broker when we refinanced a few years ago, but we hardly ever hear from her.

The Christmas message arrived in an envelope bearing the logo of the mortgage broking company (which I won’t mention here). It is a major company.

When I opened the envelope I was shocked (from a marketing perspective) to find that the sender had not mentioned her name at all. She didn’t even sign off with her name or company. No name, no company, no logo. Who is it from? I had to assume it was from the broker we used.

See what I mean…
(click image to enlarge)















I can understand the intention of the message was to provide a chatty year-in-review, New Year resolution-type of update.

However I am appalled at the thought that the sender thinks this is good client relations.

The problems:

* The message (and the envelope) never mentions who it is from.

* The opening line is confusing… do we match any?? (what are we matching?)

* Trying to sell me to attend investor seminars… inappropriate to do here. Better to send me another message specifically about that.

* Mentioning personal and family achievements is out of place, as the sender never takes time to ‘ever’ make contact at other times of year. Am I interested in what she has done with her frequent flyer points? (answer: not really)

* Signing off with “From our family to yours” is insincere… I’ve never met her family, and she doesn’t know ours. Importantly, we never hear from her at other times.

You might think I’m being a grump at Christmas time. But I’m not.

If you are going to send any message that purports to be personal, you must be sure to make personal contact. Don’t send a generic ‘personal’ note to people that you hardly ever contact.

Developing client relationships needs to be an ongoing strategy for you. Not just something you hurriedly do at Christmas time.

Lessons From The Deck Chair #2: People Don't Follow Directions - and what you can do about it.

[ Read Lessons From The Deck Chair #1 here ]

On an individual basis I bet you think you’re pretty good at following instructions.

After all, it doesn’t sound hard to simply follow a sign or basic directions, does it?

But alas… people often don’t pay attention to what they have been told, even when it is in their own interests to do so.

Why?

Maybe it’s because they get distracted with what they want to do. Maybe they’re doing something new to them, their mind is fully occupied, and they can’t take in more information.

End result… they lose focus and don’t concentrate on ‘following the directions’.

Let me give you a few examples I’ve observed on the cruise ship.

1) A young guy (old enough to know better) was sitting next to me in the computer lounge using the internet. When he finished he explained, ‘Wow, they just charged me $60 for 45 minutes’. He turned to me and asked me if that sounded right, and to check with how long I’d been there to give him some bearing on how long he had been online. He should have read the instructions and pricing plans which are clearly displayed on the screen when you log on. I guess he was using the casual rate which is much higher than buying a package of time.

2) Every time the ship enters port an announcement is made not to take foodstuffs from the ship onto shore. It’s against quarantine regulations. This announcement is made every time before you disembark. And there are signs near the gangway as well. But some people still get stopped at the security check and have to go through the hassle of having their bags checked and foodstuffs removed.

3) Playing Bingo is fun and easy – as I mentioned in the last issue. (In fact Peter from our dinner table group reckons you only need two neurons to play it.) However there are regular situations where players get confused, or don’t follow the directions for each game. As a result there are false calls of “bingo”. This is usually good – as it creates some fun as the player making the false call undergoes a little well-intentioned embarrassment, and play continues... so you still have a chance to win!

4) In many ports a shuttle bus service is provided to take passengers from the ship to the nearby town (sometimes it can be 2 to 5 kilometres away). Prior to reaching the port announcements are made on how to obtain shuttle bus tickets from the Tour Desk. However, many people still disembark without tickets and create confusion and a delay in the queue on the dock to reach the shuttle bus. If everyone obtained their tickets in advance the whole process would be so much easier and less stressful when disembarking.

Anyway, that’s enough about the real-life examples.

What does this mean for you and your business development activities?

Never assume your client (or prospect) will follow your directions the first time.

• On your website give multiple opportunities to take action.


• In sales discussions, always repeat key points.


• In your marketing, repeat key messages across your various promotional activities.


• Send a written summary to prospects after important sales meetings.


• Follow up with clients by phone, email, or letter to check they have acted on your instructions.


• Use a series of automated follow up emails to remind and prompt clients to use the information provided, or download the report you have offered.

Show a picture to make it easier for people to take action.

• On websites use a ‘click here’ style of graphic or image. Use a larger image for the most important action. (Note: research shows this works better than having all buttons on the web page the same size.)


• Use a sales process chart to explain to your prospects how you will work with them, and emphasise what they will need to do.


• Use a step-by-step guide to using your products or services – show clients what they should do next.


• Emphasise what not to do, or emphasise your point of difference, by using a simple graphic – remember the Ghostbusters logo, a ghost with the familiar red line through it (Ghostbusters = no ghosts).

Give examples of what to do.

• Relate stories about other client to create a vivid picture of what needs to be done (and why).
• Provide options for what clients can do, and give examples of when or why they would choose each option.

It would be wonderful if our prospects and clients carefully followed our instructions first time around.

But don’t expect it to happen that way. Anticipate the need to repeat your message. And use different mediums wherever possible such as images, spoken, and written words.

If you want to maximise your success pay attention to how you can help your prospects become clients, and how you can help current clients use more of your services or products.

Never assume they will act on the first message.

Lessons From The Deck Chair #1: Get Uncomfortable to Grow

Lessons From The Deck Chair #1:
Being Comfortable Is Not Always Productive

When you think of being on a cruise ship, what comes to mind? Maybe having drinks at the bar; onshore excursions; being pampered; or lazy days in a deck chair!

But it's not all that easy. Being on a cruise ship can be confronting. Everyday there are challenges to overcome.

Unless you stay in your stateroom for the entire journey you have to come face-to-face with new experiences, new challenges.

(I know... I know... some of you will be thinking "that's the point of travelling isn't it, to have new experiences"... but stay with me here)

One thing I have reflected on during the cruise is the fact that without stepping up, and stepping out of your comfort zone, you will never get the progress and success you are seeking. You will never learn and never grow.

Sound a bit heavy for deck chair thinking? Let me explain...

If you're not familiar with dinner 'sittings' on cruises, there are often two sittings - an early and a late sitting.

At each sitting it is commonplace for you to be seated with a group of other passengers. Fellow travellers who are completely unknown to you. You may be on a table of eight, with quite a few people you have never seen before - not even onboard.

And... it is expected you will converse with these strangers while dinner is served!

= = =
Think about it... how often would you walk into your favourite restaurant, sit down with a table of strangers, and start talking to them about their day, about their family, and ask "where else have you travelled"?
= = =

But on a cruise you can, and will, do this.

And once you take the leap into engaging with strangers you will be rewarded with learning about them, what they have done, and what you might be able to do too. You will make friends with some, and discover others you don't really mesh with. That's life.

However, you can never go back and undo the learning - you can't remove the experience.

Also, on the ship there is a variety of food available. Food from countries that you would not usually eat - things that seem strange and foreign. But once you try a few dishes you develop a taste for adventure, for trying more new dishes as they are offered.

You start to lose your fear of the unknown. Your boundaries expand. And you learn from that experience.

Life on board also gives you the chance to try activities you would not normally participate in, like playing bingo, which is great fun... even if you are under 75 years of age. It is such a simple, fun game made all the better by an experienced and entertaining caller who announces the numbers with humour and a great sense of comic timing, like "number 8, two fat ladies, number 8".

(I must confess. I developed an early liking for bingo. My parents used to take us to the local bingo games during summer holidays on the NSW central coast.)

The lesson here is that if, in your business or selling activities, you don't try new ways of doing things you will find it very difficult to achieve greater success.

I can tell you now, not everything you try will work out well. Just like trying an unknown dish at the restaurant - you may not like the results every time.

But you learn and move on. Making progress towards your goals.

Staying in your comfort zone may be easy, but it's not always productive.