The Prospecting Professor

We Like Pictures

Marketing Sherpa, www.marketingsherpa.com is a website for small and medium businesses that provides "Practical News & Case Studies on Internet Advertising, Marketing & PR." They have recently published their Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2006...real-life data and observations from thousands of email marketers.

One of their observations pertained to how we read email, especially from email marketeers. The conclusion: Human eyes read more text when email includes pictures.

You would think that the opposite would prove true...that pictures are a distraction from the text. In fact, the presence of an image, even a fairly dull one, can have a huge impact upon how much time people's eyes spend reading the copy of the ad. Although viewers don't spend a lot of time on the picture itself...the image is on our periphery...its presence raises the engagement level with the email, as well as the willingness to read much more of the copy.

We decide to open an email based upon the "from" and "subject" lines. Step #2 of the process is deciding whether we've made the right decision to view the email...that it is relevant for us. This second step happens quickly.

Pictures cause the eyes to linger longer.

"The doctor will see you now."

Interesting article in today's NY Times entitled, "Cheerleaders Pep Up Drug Sales." (See Link)

The gist of the article is that many of today's pharmaceutical sales reps who are hanging out in the doctor's waiting rooms are a) Female, b) Good-Looking, and c) ex-Cheerleaders. (Actually, many of the ex-cheerleaders, who worked the sidelines in college...are still at it. When you do a Google search of pharmaceutical sales+cheerleaders, you find links to the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, and the San Francisco 49ers.)

Indeed, the article cites a Gregory C. Webb, who runs cheerleading camps AND placement services for cheerleaders. He says that he knows hundreds of former cheerleaders who are now in pharmaceutical sales. Mr. Webb's website, www.spiritedsales.com, claims to have a database of 10,000 persons who are "self-confident, outgoing, responsible, and enthusiastic."

It is interesting to note that the pharmaceutical industry denies that sex appeal has anything to do with the reps that they hire. "Obviously, people hired for the work have to be extroverts, a good conversationalist, a pleasant person to talk to; but that has nothing to do with looks, it's the personality." So says Lamberto Andreotti, president of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

One of the not-so-funny anecdotes from the article is an exchange between a female drug rep, "the all-time most attractive, coolest woman in the history of drug repdom," and a male doctor. After her initial presentation, the doctor objected with "ten different reasons NOT to use one of the reps drugs." Her response? She gave a little toss to her hair, tugged on his sleeve, and said..."Come on, doctor, I need the scrips (i.e. prescriptions). His response? "OK...how do I dose that thing?"

As you might expect, there is a sad downside to this sexually-charged sales atmosphere. In an informal survey, 12 of 13 medical saleswomen said that they had been sexually harassed by physicians..many of them physically, e.g. touching, unwanted kisses, etc.

Finally, the article mentions that there are more than 90,000 drug reps out there. 90,000? Can this be correct? How many physicians are there anyway? No wonder that our drug costs are through the roof.

"Great geniuses have the shortest biographies."

"Great geniuses have the shortest biographies."...Ralph Waldo Emerson

You may have seen news reports on this kid...he's just completed a media tour of the States, and was recently featured in the WSJ.

Alex Tew is a 21 year-old student who grew up in Wiltshire, England and began attending Nottingham University this past September. A few months ago, late at night, he was brainstorming for "an idea that was unique and would hopefully capture people's imagination, but with the whole purpose of making money."

Faced with the prospect of a huge college debt, he was seeking an idea that would pay for his "Uni." After an hour or two of jotting random thoughts to paper, an idea popped out of nowhere.

The idea, like all great business models, is simple. He created a website, "The Million Dollar Homepage". You must view the site to get the full picture. It is pure advertising...there is no real "content". There are a million pixels on the site and each pixel costs $1. All pixels are for sale, with a minimum order size of $100 (a 10x10 box). You can put whatever you want in the box you purchase.

Pure genius. As of today, 11/25/2005, he is close to having sold 700,000 pixels. That should pay for a "Uni"...his books...and other, um, amenities.

The city of Nottingham is noted as having the "best bar scene outside of London". Party on...Alex!

If the Shoe Fits...Buy It!

Remember Imelda Marcos? She liked shoes. Reportedly, she owned more than 3000 pairs...including a pair of plastic, disco-sandals, with three-inch high, flashing, battery-operated heels.

Apparently, American consumers are now following her lead. Shoe sales are up...way up. For the past two months, sales of shoes have been up sharply, for a variety of reasons. Department stores, specialty chains, high-end retailers, low-end retailers...are all reporting big sales increases.

• At Shoe Carnival, a lower-priced chain, October sales were up 21%.
• Hawley Lane Shoes, in Connecticut, reports a record October-November.
• Footwear sales figures from the US Commerce department show steady monthly increases over the previous year...after about a year of mostly flat sales.

Why? What's happening?

1. A lot of new fashion trends are hitting the industry right now, e.g. fancy decorative shoes, Western themes, etc.
2. Because of overseas production, retailers are keeping their prices down.
3. Consumers, especially women, seem to be in the mood to buy.

Bill Boettge, president of the National Shoe Retailers Association, has a theory himself. "Women love footwear, and use if for a psychological boost." "See Washington Post article"

Speaking of the National Shoe Retailers Association, see their website for a list of interesting articles, as well as a list of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and shoe retailers in your area."www.nsra.org"

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."...Mark Twain

Selling to Women "of a certain age"

"I am woman hear me roar...in numbers too big to ignore."...Helen Reddy

Helen Reddy was 29 years old when her Grammy-winning single, "I Am Woman", hit #1 on the pop charts. She recently celebrated her 63rd birthday.

In the October 31st issue of National Underwriter, Shelly Kostrunek discusses the senior women's market in her article, "Find Strength in Numbers: Sell to Women 50 or Over." Check out these factoids:

• About 85% of women die alone.
• Currently, more than 50% of women over the age of 75 who do not have a spouse...are living in poverty.
• Studies show that women have only half the personal savings of their male counterparts.
• Among couples of all ages, the female has sole or joint charge of the household finances in 9 of 10 circumstances.
• 75% of the nation's wealth is currently owned by people ages 50 and older.

By themselves, these numbers indicate a glaring need for financial planning...especially among women. Indeed, research indicates that many women begin to think about retirement as a reality at around 50 years old.

Ms. Kostrunek goes on to point out that many women make decisions differently than men. Compared to men, women generally take longer to make decisions, but can be motivated to take action once they have been informed sufficiently . The "hard sell" is less effective with women. Women want advisors who will take the time to teach them what they need to know about planning for retirement. Women seek an affinity with an advisor, and trust is a very important element of the relationship.

Given these general characteristics, seminars can be particularly effective...with the caveat that the focus of the seminar/workshop should be on education, not on selling "products".

Finally, when considering this audience, think in personal terms. Think of your mom, grandmother, sister, or daughter. Maybe you have witnessed the serious financial impact precipitated by a death, a health crisis, a lack of planning, etc. Use this personal experience to help the senior women of today face their unique financial realities...and their need to accumulate sufficient assets and make certain that those assets are protected.

Gallup on Branding

Today is the birth anniversary of George Gallup, born in Jefferson, Iowa. Gallup attended the University of Iowa, played football, and became editor of the Daily Iowan. While editor, Gallup conducted what is believed to be the first poll in human history. He took a survey among his fellow Hawkeyes, who were asked to name the prettiest girl on campus. The winner of the poll was Ophelia Smith. George Gallup and Ophelia Smith were married on Dec. 27, 1925.

Way to go, George!

As the editor of the Daily Iowan in the mid-1920s, Gallup was a bit of a rabble-rouser. In one editorial he said, "Doubt everything. Question everything. Be a radical."

In a new book published by the Gallup Organization, entitled "Married to the Brand", the question is asked how and why consumers connect to the products they use and buy. Gallup's research contends that customer satisfaction is woefully insufficient when the goal is an ongoing exclusive relationship between a customer and the brand."See Amazon.com link"

Instead, an enduring relationship between a company and a customer has four prerequisites.Together, these add up to an emotional connection that is powerful and profitable.

1. Confidence. Consumers must feel that a brand is one they always can trust and one that always delivers on whatever it promises.
2. Integrity. Consumers must feel that the brand treats them fairly...stands resolutely behind its products and services...and if a problem arises, the company will fix it.
3. Pride. Consumers must feel proud to be associated with the brand...proud to be known as a brand owner, shopper, or user.
4. Passion. The consumer must feel that the brand is irreplaceable in their lives and represents a perfect fit with their needs. In fact, they should feel that their world really wouldn't be the same without it.

Gallup believes that these four aspects of an enduring customer relationship must be reinforced wherever, whenever, and however companies touch their customers. The relationship between brand and its buyers is visceral and emotional. It derives not just from the product and its features, but from the experience that surrounds its purchase and use.

The most important aspect of a great many purchases, one that leads consumers to "marry" a brand, is People. People may be visible to consumers, may be voices heard on the phone, or may just be names on an e-mail response. They live the brand, and in the eyes of many customers, they are the brand.

George Gallup died in 1984, while staying at his summer home in Switzerland. He had made his money...many millions...from corporate clients by researching the effectiveness of ad campaigns, and by finding out  who watches certain TV shows. Public-opinion polling, which made him famous, was always a money-losing proposition.

Gallup was also responsible for the biggest election-prediction faux pas, in 1948. His surveys had consistently shown that President Harry S. Truman was behind the challenger, Thomas Dewey. He assumed that the outcome was a foregone conclusion...and stopped polling two weeks before the election.

Truman won...and the day after the election, the president laughingly waved the Chicago Tribune headline that infamously announced, "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN". Gallup never made that mistake again.

Small Tech Buyouts: Money in Motion

There's been an interesting trend the past few years...the larger tech companies are buying up the small tech companies once they start to get some traction.

In the past, technology entrepreneurs might be more likely to consider going public as a way to "monetize" their sweat and brain equity. However, with Sarbanes-Oxley a factor, fewer startups are going public today. Who needs the hassle of running the gauntlet? Seeking venture funding is itself a full-time job.

So here's what happens. Small tech entrepreneur identifies a gap in an existing product line, or a useful feature that could be added to the existing product of a much large firm. They create a shoestring operation that is focused on the rapid development of narrow technologies...and go out and look for a deep-pocketed munificence to gobble them up.

Last month, at a conference at Harvard, Chris Sacca, in charge of new business development at Google...said as much. "Bring us your startups early", he said. In other words he is saying that we want to acquire startups just at the point where they would do a "Series A round"...venture capital parlance for the first round of real VC funding, which usually happens in the first year.

This phenomenon has largely gone unnoticed because most of the deals are too small to get attention. Last year, Mergerstat reported that the average reported selling price of tech acquisitions was $12 million, yet two-thirds of the deals were so small that the buyers didn't disclose them. In the past four years, Microsoft has purchased more than 46 companies. When you take out the $100 million+ deals, most of the acquisitions average a few million dollars.

How do financial ad visors take advantage of this trend? Attending conferences like the aforementioned conference at Harvard wouldn't be a bad start. The "Start up School" was attended by 500 fresh-faced tech entrepreneurs and hackers, who gathered to hear speakers like: Chris Sacca of Google...Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple...or Steven Wolfram, (Sergey Brin's first boss).

Similarly, you might start with building networks with the venture capitalists in your city. Or better yet, how about taking an Intellectual Property attorney out to lunch? The good ones will be completely attuned to the small tech activity that is bubbling along in your area.

Target Audience: University Employees and Executives

Although this is not comforting news for those of us who are on the hook for college tuition payments, there have been some recent reports on the high levels of compensation for university employees, researchers, and executives.

In a November 14th article in the San Francisco Chronicle, it was reported that 2,275 University of California employees earned more than $200,000 during the last fiscal year...up 30% over the past two years. 496 employees earned more than $300,000. "See article"

Many of the top-paid UC employees are administrators, yet more than half are faculty.

Of course, the other side of the coin is the apparent inequity of this compensation distribution. In recent years, the UC system has frozen the pay of many low-paid employees, raised student fees by 79%, increased class sizes and curtailed student services.

Also, in a recent report by the Chronicle of Higher Education, five university presidents now make more than $1 million in total compensation annually. All are at private institutions. The leader is Donald Ross of Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL...at $5.04 million. The compensation of leaders of public institutions is increasing as well...with 23 presidents now being paid more than $500,000. "See article"

The salary competition is being fueled by a wave of retirements of baby-boomer college presidents, and by the growing desire of governing boards to hire only presidents who have already been presidents elsewhere.

In 1776, Adam Smith first began writing about Supply and Demand in The Wealth of Nations. Apparently, this phenomena is still in effect.

Beating the Competition

Think of something that you've purchased recently...where you are reasonably satisfied with the features/benefits of this product or service. Now, think of a recent purchase where you are highly satisfied.

Are you 100% satisfied? What would it take for you to change?

Nobody is 100% satisfied with what they purchase. Moreover, nobody is 100% satisfied with the supplier and/or salesperson of this product.

This doesn't diminish the challenge of unseating the competition. Unseating the competition requires you to sell change. It involves motivating the prospect to change his or her way of doing things by developing a relationship with a new vendor (you), learning how to do business with this new vendor (you), and agreeing to spend money and effort to effect this change.

However, let's think again about a recent purchase of yours where you are very, but not 100%, satisfied. Overall, you are happy and not motivated to looking elsewhere. Why would you talk to another vendor who is offering the same product/service, with similar features/benefits, that you may or may not have?

Answer...you wouldn't. Yet, you might start to listen if a new prospective vendor:

• Concentrated on the GAP between your current level of satisfaction, i.e. 51% satisfied, 75% satisfied, or 95% satisfied...and a 100% satisfaction level,
• Focused on your desires, needs and fears,
• Identified your desire to achieve new results in order to reach the next level of performance,
• Positioned themselves as a valued resource.

Most likely, all prospects who you encounter will have an existing relationship with a competitor of yours. Raising the level of the playing field to a perceived value where there is no competition...is the best way to get the attention of your best prospects...and beat the competition.

The War to End All Wars

November 11th was originally called "Armistice Day" because...at 11:00 AM, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month...in 1918, the First World War came to an end.

It was called "The War to End All Wars" because the carnage and brutality made all previous wars pale in comparison. 9 million soldiers died, and 21 million were wounded.

The best estimate is that there are, perhaps, 30 World War I veterans who are still alive in the United States...and 150 survivors worldwide. Originally, 65 million men and women, from both sides, were called up to fight the war.

In France, 14 men of the who fought in the"La Guerre Grande", are still with us. Upon the funeral of the last French veteran, the country plans a "solemn national homage" to honor the sacrifice of the 8.5 million French soldiers who fought for their country.

In Germany, no World War I veterans remain. Charles Kuentz, the last remaining soldier, died in April of this year at the age of 108. He had refused to talk about any of his war remembrances for much of  his life. However, at the age of 100, he began to finally speak. He spent the last years of his life talking to schools about his experiences, and promoting peace. Of the 11 million men who fought for Imperial Germany, 1,773,700 perished.

In the United States, 4,743,826 enlisted for the war. 116,608 died. Currently, there are no national memorials in Washington D.C. that commemorate the dead from the WWI.

At the conclusion of WWI, many people were so sick of war that they hoped no war would ever break out again. The philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that of any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his country's pride."