Bill Guertin | 800 Pound Gorilla Blog on SalesGravy.com

Do you remember your “Lunch Ladies”?

That’s the universal term for the ladies behind the counter preparing and serving the food you had in school. Everybody called them “lunch ladies”, and some even had names.

At Bishop McNamara High School, I remember my lunch ladies, especially Mrs. Hart. She and the others in the kitchen at McNamara were always there with a smile for us, even if we didn’t always stop and chat. Mrs. Hart and her co-workers just seemed genuinely glad to be there to help us, and I was glad she and the others were there.

I was reminded of Mrs. Hart and the “lunch ladies” just last week.

I was hired to be a speaker on providing great customer service at the Illinois School Nutrition Association convention in Peoria. Eight months earlier, I had seen a front-page article in The Daily Journal about Limestone Grade School’s “lunch ladies,” and how they dress up for Halloween, decorate the cafeteria for holidays, and even perform skits for kids.

During the presentation, I showed the group a copy of the Journal’s front-page “lunch lady” coverage. I then suggested that this would be a worthy goal for every one of the school lunch programs represented in the room.

“What could you and your foodservice team do this year that would be so cool that it would make the front page of your local paper?” I asked.

It was an intriguing question. Many were mesmerized in thought for several seconds; others took notes, preparing to take the question back to their teams once the school year had begun.

It was such a good question, I’d like to ask you, too.

What have YOU done that’s worthy of front-page coverage of your local paper?

I’m not talking about disasters or bad news. I’m talking about a story that’s so compelling, so interesting, and so unique that it merits at least a look from the local media as a story.
While there’s never a guarantee that a story will be picked up and run as a front-page feature, here’s a list of some of the things businesses might consider doing:

- Get behind a great cause. T.D. Pete’s Citgo stations received front-page coverage for their record-setting sales of shamrocks for Muscular Dystrophy in their convenience stores. The hundreds of shamrocks taped onto every surface in each store made for a great photo opportunity.

- Create an outrageous event or contest. WKAN Radio had an unusual contest that involved a giant rock on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Ten contestants had to “kiss” (put their lips on) the giant rock (the “Blarney Stone”), and the one that kept their lips on the longest won a big prize package. The host business received dozens of onlookers to the event, and the radio station received good newspaper coverage… and of course, 10 people kissing a rock made for a great photo opportunity too.

If you can’t think of anything yourself, pick up a Guinness Book of World Records and read some of the outrageous things that people are doing. You don’t have to do those things exactly, but the examples may spark your creativity.

- Create a list of helpful hints for consumers. If you’re a garden center, for example, you might write up a list of the best times to plant tomatoes to avoid frost. If you’re a body shop, perhaps you could create a list of things to do to avoid the sun’s glare in the summer while driving.

Be sure your list is timely, helpful, and most of all, credible. Put it in the form of a press release, and send it to the local media. (If you’d like to see the proper format of a Press Release, go to www.The800PoundGorilla.com and click on “Tools”.)

- Do a survey and send in the results. A local employment agency does a survey of local Human Resources departments twice a year regarding their local hiring plans in the coming months. They publish the results, and they receive wonderful coverage each time it comes out.
It’s credible, it’s newsworthy, and it’s very local.

One caution here, however; make sure it’s a well-done survey, with a solid number of credible responses, and your methodology is clearly spelled out. You can find help in How To Conduct Your Own Survey, by Priscilla Salant and Don Dillman. There are also some excellent survey templates available at www.surveyshare.com.

- Be a little controversial. A car wash recently decided to boost business by hiring gorgeous young women in bikinis to towel dry their customers’ cars. (Yes, it worked.) Controversy sells, but not always favorably, so use your better judgment.

- Do something nice for no reason at all. It’s good for the community, and you never know who’s watching.

It’s important to note that not all of these examples received coverage on the front page. Every one, however, did receive exposure because of their news value, as determined by each media’s management.

What will you do that’s “front-page” good? Even if you don’t get the front page, just the act of focusing your energies and doing something worthy of that kind of coverage is an excellent goal.

There are no guarantees that any of these ideas will generate the publicity you want, but the journey can be as good as the destination… and sometimes just as profitable.

“Hold on! Explain to me EXACTLY what’s wrong with my ads!”

The friend looked down at the ground and gave a heavy sigh. “Are you sure you want me to do that?” she said, looking up through the top of her sunglasses.

“You’ve been doing this advertising thing practically all your life,” the business owner said. “My ads aren’t working, and I bet you know why.”

“I think I have an idea,” she said, smiling and turning away.

The crowd cheered as the home team’s batter lined a single into left field. This was an odd place to do business, he thought, but maybe there was a method to her madness. She was, after all, one of the best consultants in the country in helping businesses turn their fortunes around. And he was in need of a turnaround.

“So what is it? What am I missing?”

She paused a few moments before she began. “Take a look around, Frank. Look at the people here in the crowd. Why do you suppose people come to this ballpark?”

He tilted his head and looked at her like he hadn’t quite heard her correctly. “What?”

“Look at everyone here. Take a good look.” She motioned with her hand from left to right to include the thousands of people seated in front of them. “Why are they here?”

He was visibly annoyed at her question, but decided to play along anyway. “I don’t know… I suppose to get away from the office for a few hours?”

“For a few of them, maybe. Look around. What else do you see?”

Directly in front of them was a father with his two sons, each probably about 10 years old. “OK, it looks like this guy’s here to get away with his kids for a day.”

“Good. What else?”

Not too far away was a group of teenage girls and boys from a suburban YMCA. “Those kids are here as part of a group activity or something.”

“OK. Keep looking.”

“Those guys down near the dugout look like they’re doing some casual business deal.” He was starting to get into this. “Those older ladies with the big hats are probably here just to get out of their apartment complex for a few hours. This old man over here with the scorecard and binoculars looks like he’s here for every game, so he’s a real fan.”

“Do you think all those people are here for the same reasons?”

“Well, no. They’re all here for different reasons. What’s your point?”

“My point is that baseball is a product, just like your product. The team sells tickets, but tickets are not actually what people buy. What people really buy is what the game means to them.”
She could see he was getting there.

“If the product is baseball, then the PRODUCT of that product is the experience of the game, and it’s different for everyone here. It could be a memorable time with family and friends… or a business relationship… or the sheer enjoyment of watching professionals play… or any of a hundred other things. It’s not the game itself. It’s the product of the game that people buy.”

His face began to change.

“I know why your ads aren’t working, Frank. You’re not telling people what the product of your product is. All you’re doing is telling them about you and what you carry, and that’s not enough. With all due respect, nobody cares about you. You must spell out what your product or service can do for them… the product of your product.”

“If you sell lawnmowers, can your mower cut a larger path so that the customer can be done mowing sooner? Can it sharpen itself so that you have less regular maintenance to worry about? Does it have a self-propel feature so that you can push it easier?”

“It isn’t enough to say, ‘This mower has a wide cutting path, self-propel and self-sharpen features.’ You must explain why it’s important to the lifestyle of the potential buyer, in ways that create desire, are easy for them to relate to, and that they can understand.”

“Advertise the PRODUCT of your product, Frank. Leave your ego at the door, and start thinking about what your customers really want.”

The crowd stood up around them and roared as a long fly ball sailed over the right field fence.
She watched the light bulb go on in Frank’s mind, and she smiled. She knew she had hit a home run too.

The call comes in.

It’s an order for a lunch pick-up. Four sandwich combo meals.

No problem, the girl says. It’ll be ready when you get here.

The customer arrives at the right time. Yes, the sandwich order is ready. Yes, the customer is ready to pay. The bags are prepared and on the counter. So far, so good.

He hands her a $20 bill, along with a Free Lunch card that he happened to win from a local radio station.

Oops. She’s not expecting this. The customer service train wreck is about to begin.

“You can’t use this today. You have to tell us you have it on the phone when you place your order.”

The customer is confused. He isn’t aware of such a requirement. All he knows is that he has a $20 bill and a Free Lunch card.

“Sorry, you can’t use it today. Your total is $24.14.”

The customer has no other money. He has a $20 bill and a Free Lunch card. He asks her if there’s anything that can be done.

Heavy sigh of exasperation. “It’s our policy. Look, those are the rules. Your lunch will be $24.14.”

$20 bill. Free Lunch card. That’s all he’s got.

He tells her that he can either walk out with no lunch, a $20 bill and a Free Lunch card from their establishment, or, preferably, something can be worked out.

Heavy sigh #2. Rolling of the eyes. Cold stare for 3 full seconds. Response, with attitude: “Well, I guess I could void it out and start over.”

I would appreciate that, he says. What he’s really thinking is why she didn’t offer that option in the first place.

True story. Local business. Local customer. Local train wreck.

How quickly do you suppose our customer will want to return to this place?

The proper response to this situation, by the way, is to let the customer know that you don’t normally do this, but you can take their Free Lunch card today. In the future, when the customer has another one of these, you would simply ask that he let us know when he makes the call, so that you don’t ring it up incorrectly and inconvenience him on his next visit.

Notice the different tone. It actually shows the customer that you can fix the problem, and that you’ve set him up with information that will help to assure a more positive transaction on his next visit. Because, of course, we expect that our service and our product will be good enough for our customer to want to return again and again.

Have you ever been served by someone who didn’t seem to want you to come back again?
Every team member that works with the public, whether on the phone or in person, should understand these few simple principles of service:

• Paychecks don’t come from the owner. They come from customers.
• Customers are the ones that keep us fed. If something can be done within reason to make a customer happy, it should be done with a smile and appreciation.
• Customers are not an inconvenience. They are the reason we’re here.
• It should be obvious to customers that we enjoy serving them. We should do whatever we can do to show our enthusiasm for them and our ability to satisfy their needs.
• When a problem happens, we should do everything we can to fix the situation right away, because every one of our customers represents the future of our business.
• Without great service today, there will be no customers tomorrow.

What can you do as a team member to bring this kind of positive vibe to your workplace?

If you agree with the principles above, share them with your team. Cut this article out and discuss it with them. Decide as a team how you will serve others greatly with each and every opportunity. Avoid hiding behind things like “policies”, “the boss”, and “that’s the way we’ve always done it”.

Because that same customer is going to call YOU tomorrow.

Bill Guertin is Chief Enthusiasm Officer of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a training and business development firm in Bourbonnais specializing in sales performance, customer service, and marketing. He can be reached at bill@The800PoundGorilla.com, or at (815) 932-5878.

There has been a significant shift over the past two years in what consumers are calling “luxury”.   Are you paying attention?

Many well-to-do Americans are re-prioritizing their lives – and their spending habits – to match the realities of the ‘new normal’ after the subprime mortgage mess and the Great Recession.   Designer clothing, cars, and jewelry are still being sold, but they’re in far less demand. 

What’s hot and what’s not?  According to a recent USA Today article, a survey by Affluence Collaborative shows that the top four brands most admired by Americans with incomes of $100,000 or more were Apple, Microsoft, Best Buy and Sony. 

Apple appears to be the new 800-Pound Gorilla of luxury labels.  Design, function and experience are the three things that people point to when comparing Apple to other high-end brands.  The iPad, Apple’s newest entry, is selling briskly mainly because of its appeal to the high-end consumer who sees the newest Apple gadget as sexy. 

Sony has created a new way to define their brand, according to the USA Today piece: “functional luxury.”  Providing a new or upgraded experience from the norm is what Sony is doing; 3-D televisions, panoramic photos, and computer-in-picture TV’s are just a few examples Sony has created.

How can you continue to grow and thrive as a business in this environment? 

• Look at how your brand helps others experience things in new ways.  Consider the ways in which your current clients are enjoying their purchases with you.  How does your brand provide an “upgraded” experience from others in your category, and how can you better tell that story to non-customers to help them realize your benefits?
• Consider re-positioning or expanding your brand in a slightly different way.  The sheer joy of ownership of a luxury item is becoming passé; designer handbag maker Coach has introduced a value-priced product line called Poppy, which starts at $198, while maintaining the average Coach purse price of $350.  (Coach sales are up 8% for the first nine months of their 2010 fiscal year.)  How can you help someone find a way to become an owner of your product or service and feel good about the value they’re receiving?
• Promote your brand as the “smart” choice.  If anything has changed in the past 24 months, it’s the perception of paying full price for anything and receiving only average value.  People are more interested in the adrenaline rush of being able to snag something good for a price point lower than they were expecting to find.  How does your brand fit in that kind of marketplace, and how can you help people feel “smarter” about choosing you?

My 17-year-old son and I enjoy a good spirited conversation.  We go back-and-forth with voices raised, making fun of each other’s position and building in volume, smiling all the way up the decibel meter until one of us either gives up or the other proves his point beyond a reasonable doubt.   Most often it’s about his schoolwork (which I usually win), or sports (which he often wins).   Our most recent conversation, however, ended in a draw.

The NCAA mens’ basketball tournament is a  hot topic at our house.  We love all the matchups and close games of the first weekend, and the #1-seed Kansas vs. #9 Northern Iowa game on Saturday was our latest subject.

With 45 seconds on the clock, Northern Iowa was clinging to a 2-point lead.  Moving down the court, the UNI offense got the ball downcourt quickly.  Almost too quickly.

Ali Farokhmanesh, UNI’s 6-foot shooting guard, found himself with the ball wide open for a 3-point shot with 37 seconds left.  Just him.  No one else from his team was even close to the basket, and the two Kansas defenders were more concerned about the area near the basket, not even bothering to pressure him or get a hand in his face.

With all that time left on the clock, no right-thinking coach in the world would have advised him to take that shot.  Kansas is just too good of a team, and if he missed, they would surely bring it downcourt and score with the time that would be left.  Besides, Farokhmanesh had missed his last 7 shots from the floor.

But this was the same Ali Farokhmanesh that two days ago had drained a 25-footer with 4.9 seconds left to win the game that had brought them here.  Ali eyed the basket, spotted up, and fearlessly let the 3-pointer fly.

The shot sailed through the hoop, sealing the win and vaulting Northern Iowa to the biggest upset in the tournament since #1 seed Kentucky’s loss in 2004.

“There’s no way to justify taking a shot like that,” Ryan argued.  ”It was the stupidest decision he could have possibly made in that situation.”

“But he made it,” I argued.  ”Doesn’t the outcome justify the decision?”

“Not at all!”  Ryan shot back.  ”It’s still a stupid decision!”

“So, you wouldn’t reward him for taking a risk and succeeding?”

“It doesn’t matter whether he made it or not.  It was still a stupid shot to take.”

Throughout human history, bold individuals have taken what would have been called “stupid” risks and succeeded.  Columbus, Washington, Lincoln, Edison, Marconi, Wright, Earhart, Goodyear, Gates, Dell, and others were at one time considered crazy for trying something that others considered out of order with the thought process of the day. 

The 800-Pound Gorillas of our world — those who are considered the dominant players in the markets they serve — have each taken enormous risks on their roads to success.

If you wish to become the 800-Pound Gorilla of whatever it is you do, my advice is to study those who blaze a trail that others have questioned.

In other words, be the Ali Farokhmanesh in the sea of basketball players.  Take the shot… for therein lies the greatest opportunity for a satisfying victory. 

Got a different opinion?  Let ‘er rip.  Post your comment below.

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company and author of the brand-new book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How To Dominate Your Market, now available from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.