When YOU say it, in most instances it comes off as either self-serving and therefore unbelievable, or the messaging is ignored because it just isn’t perceived as relevant to your audience.

Which, by the way, is why advertising as it is typically employed rarely works for the solo sales professional or service-based business owner.

So, how can you influence your audience to do the bragging for you?

Here are 3 powerful ways the brand DRY Soda proactively ignites the Word of Mouth Engine to get their customers and prospective customers singing their praises for them.

What can you do similarly in your business?

1.  Differentiate Yourself

DRY Soda is flavored carbonated water.

Whatever you want to call it — club soda, seltzer, sparkling water, soda water – it’s still about as exciting and ubiquitous as toilet paper.

That is the same reaction, by the way, people have when you tell them at a networking event the title of what you do.

Not only do they have their own presuppositions of what it is lawyer, business coach, or aerobics instructor does, the title itself tells them nothing about how you are different from every other lawyer, business coach, or aerobics instructor in the room.

How does DRY Soda differentiate?

In all their communications, they share that it’s the “better for you diet, low sugar, all natural soda . . .in 7 unique flavors,” each containing just 4 ingredients.

DRYSoda bills itself as the “re-imagining of what soda can be.”

Without resorting to maligning the competition, DRY Soda offers a refreshing way to differentiate itself.

Less Sugar.  Healthier.

What’s not to like about that?

2.  Engage with Your Audience

DRY Soda really shines in the Engagement Department.

Though DRY Soda is already sold in some Portland, Oregon (Where I live) restaurants and grocery outlets, last Monday the company hosted the Portland Launch Party at Hotel Lucia in Downtown Portland.

Marketing Director, Kate Thompson, mentioned to me that most of the attendees (including me) hadn’t heard of DRY Soda before but learned of the event on Facebook or Twitter.

(Are your potential customers or clients on social media?  Are YOU?)

DRY Soda hosted the venue, food, and cocktails with DRY Soda flavors as mixers.  (Free food and alcohol is always a draw! LOL)

All of the staff actively come up to initiate conversations with the attendees, including the fabulous founder and CEO of DRY Soda Co., Sharelle Klaus.

The DRY Soda van was a highlight for me, as we were given tastes of all of the natural flavors (made from extracts, the recipes of which are “proprietary information”….which basically means they aren’t spilling the beans!) by Hunter, the fabulous DRY Soda Sommelier and an education on the product.

How might you create your own “Launch Party,” inviting your clients and potential clients?

As a solo business professional myself, throwing a DRY Soda-style gala is a little out of the budget, but a few years ago, I threw a Virtual Open House Party, complete with guest speakers, music, and prizes.

At DRY Soda bus/van. it was also nice touch to have the event photographer ask us to take a photo, and I celebrated with the discovery that ”Cucumber” is my flavor.

Speaking of “my flavor,” that (and the photographs) is another brilliant engagement tool in the DRY Soda toolbox.

When I returned home from the event, I found DRY Soda Co.’s Facebook Page and was greeted with a landing page that asked “What’s Your Flavor?  Click a DRY Soda bottle to vote!”

Talk about engagement!  What a brilliant idea.

And the very next day, photos from the Launch Party PDX were uploaded, so of course, I went in to tag myself, my partner, and others who were in attendance.

(You can see pics of me by clicking on the DRY Soda photo album entitled Hello Portland! Launch Party at Hotel Lucia, July 25, 2011)

The DRY Soda bus/truck/van is on tour in Portland for the next 6 weeks, so naturally DRY Soda is engaging folks both on their Facebook Page and on Twitter (#DRYTour) so that all of us groupies can get our fix.

Are your wheels turning?

How might you emulate DRYSoda in your own engagement campaigns?

3. Find an “In” with your customers

Building Rapport is the first step in the stages every entrepreneur must go through before anyone is going to even think about doing business with you.

It’s human nature to soften and begin to have an affinity toward someone when we discover they have something in common with us, especially if that something is a source of price.

How could a Seattle-based company really tap into the heart strings of native Portlandia, when her people are often skeptical of what comes out of Seattle?

Well, Hunter (the DRY Soda truck guy) skillfully new what to say.  He mentioned in between tastings that DRY Soda is bottled right here in Portland.

Woah.  Well, that’s interesting.

And what’s more, he told me, the water that is used to produce DRY Soda is from the Bull Run watershed, located about 90 minutes east of Portland in Mt. Hood National Forest.

Now, THAT’S huge.

I immediately mentioned this both to the CEO Sharelle Klaus and the Marketing Director Kate Thompson.  Not only is DRYSoda created with only 4 very pronounceable ingredients, it’s got Portland stock in it!

In fact, when I tweeted these facts, it got the attention of the Portland Water Bureau, who asked DRY Soda for permission to brag about their use of Bull Run water.

Here’s DRY Soda’s response:

DRYSoda Jul 27, 11:48am via HootSuite

@tshombe @portlandwater Thanks for sharing the DRY love, Tshombe. We love that DRY is truly a PacNW business!

Wonderful example of being the best without actually screaming it from the mountaintops, don’t you think?

So, How might you creatively uncover what you have in common with your customers and prospects to create instant rapport and affinity?

About 9 months ago, I wrote an article about how we can stand out in the marketplace by cultivating better listening skills.

Many would-be sales have been lost because the service provider or sales person offered advice or a diagnosis before listening deep enough to uncover the prospects REAL desires and needs.

Sadly, it’s often the case that the salesperson isn’t even aware that their own lack of sufficient listening was the culprit.

That’s not to say that listening deeply to what your prospects are telling you will always result in making a sale, but when you truly listen (instead of simply waiting for a break so that you can get your turn to speak), magic happens.

Let me illustrate what powerful listening looks like.

A few years ago, a client and I were meeting with a wedding officiant in West Seattle who was a candidate to perform the client’s wedding ceremony.  The officiant holds a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies (MAPS).

I now have a basic understanding of what Pastoral Studies is, a rigorous graduate program rooted in Christian (Catholic) theology, history, and bible study.  However, at the time I did not, so I asked the officiant what Pastoral Studies is.

She gave an intriguing answer, one I was not expecting.

She said there was lots of intense study, research and writing in pursuit of the degree, but in the end “What I actually received was a degree in listening.”

A degree in listening?

Yes, she said.  She gave examples.

The officiant works in a clinic that offers couples counseling.  When in these sessions a spouse or partner is grappling with despair, she listens for the hope.

When a partner is intensely angry and is perhaps yelling and screaming, she listens for the silence.  It’s often what’s said after the silence — the pause — that reveals the feelings behind or underneath the anger.

How amazing, don’t you think?

I’d characterize it as inspiring.

In what specific ways might you use this in your marketing and sales of your products and services?

When might you be tempted to offer a solution, but instead ask another question or even simply remain silent for a few more beats?

I dare say you don’t need to get an MA in Pastoral Studies to work this caliber of magic with your prospects and clients.

You only need to listen.

But, if you’re in it just for the quick buck, that one buck may be all you get!

What I’m talking about is considering at all times the lifetime value of your client or customer and always looking for ways to add value to their experience with you.

It makes good economic sense, and it also makes good “Karma” sense.  When people feel good about doing business with you, you’re magnetic.  They cannot help but return again and again for that lovin’ feeling

On the flip side, I’ve spoken about on this blog how being short-sighted can cost both a client and your reputation, as disgruntled customers spread the word of their dissatisfaction far and wide.

Gary Vaynerchuk offers a very real example of this in the preface to his new book, The Thank You Economy.

But before I tell you that story, let me mention how I came to remember Gary’s story in the first place.

I live in North Portland, just about 4 or 5 blocks south of a local grocery store called New Seasons Market.  They definitely do not have the least expensive products in the city, but everything is always of high quality and they pride themselves in being The Friendliest Store in Town.

So, today I go to New Seasons to make several purchases, including two frozen burritos.  I get home, put everything away and proceed to get work done on my business and around the house.

While I’m cleaning up, I discover the receipt for my purchases in the bottom of my backpack and find that the New Seasons clerk accidentally charged me for 3 burritos instead of 2.  I lament this to my partner, who says “Oh, they’ll give you your money back.  They’ll believe you.”

And, I know it’s true.

(Though I’ve somehow lost the receipt altogether now!)

When we moved here to Portland just over two years ago, I bought some delicious looking Fuji apples from New Seasons.  Excitedly, Chad (my partner) and I bit into the apples to find they were rotten!

Nothing like that to spoil the moment (and the appetite)!

I bring them back to the store, and I barely get inside when a clerk runs up to me apologizing over and over, taking the apples from me, and offering to refund the purchase price.  I opted for new apples, while declaring “This IS the friendliest store in town!”

Chad recounted that when he worked the Customer Service Desk at a grocery in Ft. Collins, CO, they also had a policy to always believe the customer and take back whatever they brought in.  They figured the average customer spent hundreds of dollars a month in their store.

Refunding a couple of dollars for a spoiled carton of milk is a small price to pay for the loyalty of a customer.

These experiences reminded me of the genesis of Gary Vaynerchuck’s The Thank You Economy philosophy that he writes about in the preface of his book. Things didn’t go as well as my New Seasons experiences, unfortunately.

This was back when Gary was 20 years old, working in his father’s liquor store.

A man comes in who had just purchased a bottle of wine for $5.99, but when he got home, he realized he had a coupon for $4.99.  The customer asked the store manager if he would honor it, since he had both the coupon and the receipt.

The manager declined, saying that the man would have to make an additional purchase in order to redeem the coupon.

Obviously, the manager was looking out for the interests of the store.  Unfortunately, he also lost an opportunity to connect meaningfully with a potentially loyal customer by making him happy.

Worse still, Gary recounts how the gentleman returned to the store to inform them he would never shop at that liquor store again.

Quite likely, the man told all his friends how he was treated.  Wouldn’t you?

If this had happened today, the whole Twitterverse and Facebook World would know about the stingy, money-grubbing, so-called family-run liquor store incident!

The moral of the story?

Yes, remember you are in business to earn money and make a profit.

But, also remember to think long-term.  Build relationships.  Be Magnetic.

Create experiences that compel people to want to offer you their loyalty and their business.

What’s the lifetime value of your clients?

In a community that small, news travels pretty fast.  Everyone either knows everybody else, or at least knows OF everybody else.

In the Age of the Internet, we ALL live in Weed, California.

Bad service in a restaurant?  Your complaint is instantly tweeted to the world.

Hotel pissed you off?  In a blink of an eye, all your Facebook Friends know about it.

Having trouble getting your promised refund from a service provider in town?

Everyone searching Yelp can read all the gory details in full color you posted right there on The Web for all the world to see.

Of course, proactive entrepreneurs can use the magic of the Internet and these social media sites to connect with their fan base and potential clients and customers.

(You are monitoring your business name and industry and engaging with your prospects, clients, and JV partners online, aren’t you?)

Just yesterday, I mentioned the hypothetical example Gary Vaynerchuck gave about how a coffee shop (Starbucks was the example) could “Wow” a customer who tweeted they were just in a car accident by immediately responding that they were bringing them a cup of coffee to make their wait for the tow truck less stressful.

So, clearly the small town nature of the world today can just as much enhance your brand as tarnish it.

By and large, people understand that it’s impossible for anyone to be perfect.

Reservations get misplaced.  Phone calls get dropped.  People get sick and drop the ball.  Any number of SNAFUs happen that contribute to a less-than-stellar customer experience.

The key is both engagement and responsiveness to the needs of your clients and potential clients.  That means (pro)actively showing you care that people are spending money with you and you truly appreciate them.

The March issue of Entrepreneur Magazine featured a new feedback platform that promises to help in the effort to avoid online reputation disasters from happening in the first place.  It’s called Skweal, and the idea is to give businesses the opportunity to keep negative reviews from appearing online.

Most people simply want their issue solved without hassle at the moment the problem is happening, and as the founder of Skweal Tyler Crowley discovered through interviews with people who had complaints they posted online.  ”But nobody has time to be stuck ing a phone tree, dig for a customer service e-mail or fill out an impersonal comment card.”

What’s your social media strategy for listening to and engaging with your audience that shows your care?

If it weren’t for my good friend and mentor, Lori Richardson, I wouldn’t have known he was going to be in town. (Thank you, Lori!)

Gary was in the middle of a book tour to promote both his new book The Thank You Economy and the philosophy (and practical strategies to implement that philosophy) he details in the book.

There’s a saying — you’ve probably heard it — that people will not remember what you do or what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

What that’s certainly true with my experience interacting with Gary (which is why I took notes!).  His core message is around what he calls the “humanization of business,” and the importance of engaging with every single person.

He’s a man who walks his talk because, after I stood in the line at Powell’s to meet him and have him autograph my copy of his book, he not only thanked me (It is The Thank You Economy, after all!) for laughing at appropriate points in his discussion, but as I was getting ready to leave, he asks ME if I want a picture with him.

Wasn’t that my line?

(After all, I’m definitely NOT the celebrity here.)

My point is that to Gary in that moment, I was not just a number.  (Or, at least he knows how to pretend pretty well LOL)

And, you can be sure that whatever he got from the book I purchased wouldn’t buy him one measely skin off a squashed grape, let alone a bottle of his favorite wine (The 92 Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and 87 Opus One were two that he mentioned, by the way.).

If the purpose of engagement is to seek and fulfill on regular opportunities to touch the emotional center of our customers (and both I and Gary believe this it is), then Gary certainly hit the mark with us at this event.

Coincidentally, the March 2011 issue of The New York Enterprise Report, did a short interview with Gary Vaynerchuck.

In both the article interview and at our event at Powell’s, Gary offered that the old way of doing things (He/she whose advertising is the loudest or spends the most money) isn’t working any longer.

Today’s consumer’s loyalty belongs to the businesses that go for their heartstrings.

How do you do this?

It’s all about scaling the one-to-one engagement concept, making sure every lead, prospect, and customer feels you love them.

The example Gary gave in the article was a perfect way for any company to monitor the needs of their customers and deliver the unexpected that absolutely surprises and delights:

Suppose, Gary offers, you get into a car accident and you send out a tweet of what just occurred.  Starbucks replies back to you that they are just around the corner from you and are rushing some coffee over to you right now to make your wait for the tow truck a little bit better.

Who does that?

Well, you do, if you buy into “the humanization of business” that is The Thank You Economy.

How will you apply this in your business?

She perceived herself as open and giving and wondered why she so often found herself taken advantage of.

Her troubles began melting away when she began to set boundaries. Lisa describes the shift in her thinking: “I’m supposed to show up understanding my greatness and allow you to celebrate it with me…I’m the example; I’m the first example how the world’s supposed to love me, and I have to give them the best example ever.”

I see sales professionals make this same mistake.

They think it’s a badge of honor to essentially be open 24/7, available at any hour of the day to help and support their clients.  Sometimes, they tout this as a competitive advantage, something that separates them from their competitors.

I was talking with one real estate agent who said that it was when she started working as an employee for someone else and only working part-time (primarily by referral) that her clients began to respect her and her time.

The reason?

She now had clearly-established boundaries that she communicated.  She could say with confidence that she was only available certain hours of the day when she wasn’t working or sleeping.  Clients honored that.

When she worked full-time as an agent, she reported that she was at her clients’ beck and call, every single day and every single hour of the day.

In her words, “People would actually get mad if I didn’t call them back right away; they’d get offended.  They’re like ‘I called you like two hours ago,’ and I’m like, I can’t believe this. I just talked to them at midnight!”

I almost laughed it was so ridiculous when the agent said, “And If I do want a vacation and will be gone like 4 days or a week, they’re like ‘What about my house?!  You can’t leave!  What about this?  What about that?’ ”

The change that appeared to come over her clients when she got a full-time job in addition to her real estate business in actuality didn’t have anything to do with the clients.

It all had to do with the agent’s change in posture and self-esteem.  When she didn’t have a boss to answer to, she felt that there was somehow some truth in her clients’ expectation that she should be available all hours of the day (and night!).

She felt guilty, that she was somehow making excuses for not being available.

Sound familiar?

Fear also fueled this behavior.  “Clients are not a dime a dozen”, said this agent, “and so it’s hard to tell people ‘No’ even when you know you need to do that.”

According to this agent, however, when you’re part-time and the clients come to you by referral, you don’t have to jump though hoops just to keep a client.  “They are so much more respectful because they feel they know you’re good.  They’re not trying to find out IF you’re good.”

The clients-by-referral advantage is a valid point, but the validity is true whether an agent is a part-time or full-time agent.

The moral of the story is:  Know that if you do not honor your time, neither will anyone else.  Make it your mission to be ‘the first example how the world’s suppose to love you.’

(And release the nonsense that being available to your clients 24/7 is some sort of competitive advantage!)

Most of us think we are.

Dr. Scott Williams of the College of Business at Wright State University, agrees.  In an article he wrote on the subject, he refers to the study W.V. Haney reports on in his book Communication and Interpersonal Relations that surveyed more than 8,000 employees from various and diverse occupations.

Nearly everyone said “they communicate as effectively or more effectively than their co-workers.”

Well, that’s interesting because the book Business Communication:  Strategies and Skills declares that the average person listens at only 25% efficiency.

Since you can’t have communication without listening, clearly there is a discrepancy between what most people believe about their ability to listen and what the stark reality is.

That’s why I had to laugh when I read this quote:  “Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses”!

It also goes to show, if you REALLY are a good listener, you will absolutely stand out in the crowded world of business, sales, and marketing.

Don’t you think it’s worth it to assume you are probably among the average, and to specifically seek ways to improve your listening ability?

People will remember you for it.

Sadly, people will remember you for being a terrible listener, too — especially if you’re the only one oblivious to the fact.

That’s why I offered at the top of this post the question “Are you a good listener?” because I want for you to be magnetic to those who need and want what you have to offer.

What a disservice to both you and them if you are inadvertently repelling those who otherwise would feel compelled to buy and benefit from you!

Here’s a challenge for you for this week:

Pay attention to how you listen in your conversations.  Are you hearing the words and the feelings behind the words of the speaker?

Or, are you running your own script in your head about the weather, what you are going to do today, or thinking about what you are going to say next when the other person is finished speaking?

Just listen and observe.

You might even decide to write down your observations.  If you choose to accept the challenge, share your observations here in the comments.

How does it feel to be present and to consciously listen?  How does the other person respond?

What emerges as you listen more intently and purposefully this week?

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flickr image license: Some rights reserved by practicalowl

Last week, I read a blog entry by Web Consultant, Jim Kukral, The Difference Between Users & Customers.  Using Social Media versus Apple as examples, he quotes Jason Calacanis as asserting the following:

“Facebook and Twitter have users. Apple has customers.  The difference?  Customers give you their credit card number.”

He was himself reporting on and offering an opinion on what someone else had written, so I’m getting this at least secondhand. But Jim’s conclusion I received firsthand:

“At the end of the day, it’s all about $$ and not users and engagement. The companies that focus on getting the credit card will always be more valuable in bottom line.”

Can I be frank here?

This is the silliest argument I’ve ever heard, and it’s terribly simplistic.  Treat people only as a means to complete a transaction and see how long that lasts.

You want your customers to be users, and if you plan on attracting and retaining them, you better be thinking about how to engage them on a regular basis.

I can’t believe Jim and the person he quoted used Apple of all companies to support their point of view.  How do they think Apple got customers to ‘give them their credit card number’ in the first place if they had not nurtured, developed and engaged them as users of their products?

It’s precisely because Apple is all about providing a premium customer experience that it doesn’t have to be “all about $$.”

Apple’s loyal fan base loves all things Apple (as do I.  They know their customer so well, they even anticipate their needs, about which I’ve previously written.), and is more than happy to hand over their cash.

As for Twitter specifically, the jury’s out on how it plans to monetize itself, though it’s clear Twitter’s already established deals with Google, Bing, and Yahoo, which you can be sure amounts to far more than mere chump change. It’s well-known that Facebook has in place a robust advertising revenue model.

I’m not sure Jim or Jason thoroughly thought this out, but the point is that trying to explain the difference between Users and Customers is entirely the wrong question.

What each of us should be asking ourselves is whether and to what extent we are creating users of our products and services and how meaningfully we are engaging them.

Only in this way will they happily give you their loyalty AND their credit card number.

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Image “Bull Shoals Ferry Arkansas,” License:   Some rights reserved by DR Ranch

I, for my part, am a Sun Worshiper, so I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the sun’s rays….especially given the LONG winter we’ve had here in the Pacific Northwest.

We were talking about taxes and how my parter and I were surprised, having recently moved to Portland, that income tax is assessed on ALL income, no matter where in the world it is earned.  For example, both my partner and I have employment outside the State of Oregon but because we live here, we must pay taxes on all of our income.

This was not a small surprise, thankyouverymuch.

The conversation led to my landlord (his name is Michael) relating to me a story that reveals how short-sighted entrepreneurs can be, rather than looking at the lifetime value of a client.

He was looking for an accountant.  My next-door neighbor recommended one in Lake Oswego, an affluent suburb of Portland.

Michael secured an initial appointment with the accountant, who, for an hour-and-a-half counseled him about how high the taxes were in Portland and that the first thing Michael needed to do was move himself and his business out of the City of Portland.

It was a lot to digest, so after the consultation he went home.

Several days later, Michael received a bill in the mail for $250.  Shocked, he called the accountant’s office to ask why he’d been charged for a free consultation.  There must be some mistake.

“Only the first 1/2 hour is free.  After 30 minutes have elapsed, you are billed at our regular rate.”

“What?  Why wasn’t I informed?  Besides, it was you who kept me that long in the office.”

Round and round they went, and — completely disgusted and fed up — my landlord eventually sent them the $250.

What an unfortunate experience.  Caught up with demanding this one-time $250, it obviously didn’t cross the accountant’s mind to calculate the lifetime value of this client.  Additionally, didn’t he realize this was a referral?  Landing him as a client was practically in the bag!

I’m not saying that a professional should give away their expertise.  In fact, some folks are of the opinion that you should never (or very rarely, at most) give free consultations.

But, clearly mistake #1 was lack of clarity about what was free and what carried a fee.  Have you similarly run into problems because you were wishy-washy, unclear, or didn’t even know your own policies with regard to fee versus free?

Even if in this instance it had been Michael who had been mistaken, this accountant lost a potential client-for-life (including any referrals my landlord might’ve sent him) by failing to look at the larger picture.  By making Michael wrong and subsequently losing his business, the accountant made mistake #2.

Not only will my landlord think twice about listening to my neighbor in terms of who she refers, but she herself will probably be reluctant to send referrals to this accountant again.

Oops.  Mistake #3:  tarnishing the reputation of the source of the referral.

Had Michael actually told me the name of this accountant (as most people who have bad experiences with service providers usually do), even more damage would have resulted from his short-sighted Ego-driven behavior.

As it happened, Michael merely cautioned: “Don’t do your taxes with anyone in Lake Oswego!”

Where in your business have you inadvertently made similar short-sighted mistakes?

When you choose to be concerned about the dollars and not the pennies, you’ll naturally seek to honor and add value to your referral partners, to your clients, and to your potential clients.

- – -
flickr image by Chris Halderman, Attribution No-Derivs 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

I rode my bike downtown today (Portland’s Pioneer Place) to purchase a new power adapter for my now pretty old school 17″ PowerBook G4.

When I walked in the store, it was PACKED.  I don’t think I’ve seen an Apple Store so packed with loyal disciples!

So, I walk through the crowd and before I get to the counter, one of the awesome Apple People ask me what I’m looking for and how can they help me.

When I tell him, he asks a couple of specific questions to make sure he understands what I need and then he goes in the back to get it for me.  While I wait, I drool over everything Apple staring me in the face.

He shortly returns and tells me he can take care of me right there.

What?  No cash register or computer terminal?

He pulls out an iPhone and I stand in awe as he swipes my card and completes the entire transaction right there!

“Would you like me to email you your receipt?”

Can this service get any better?

“May I get you a bag for your purchase?”

“Yes, that would be great, ” I begin.  And then I remember.  “Oh no!  I’m on my bike and I forgot my . . .”

“Oh, we have backpack bags.”

You.  Have.  Backpack bags.

It takes me a minute to pick my face off the floor.

“I Love Apple!” I tell him, wanting to kiss the ground he walks on.

Why didn’t I come to Apple in the first place?

Instead, I search high and low for the best deal on the Internet and wait for UPS to deliver it, only to discover the power adapter they sent didn’t even work.

Damn.

To add insult to injury, I had to report that it was faulty or defective or whatever, package it all back up, and send it back.

Some deal.

At first glance, $79 for a power adapter from Apple appears pretty steep.

For the love I always get whenever I go to the Apple Store (not to mention the fast and friendly service), $79 is the real bargain.

_ _ _

image by Terry Johnston, used with permission under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License