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Microsoft Dynamics Partners - 62 days and counting….

Today, Abra Gilman from Borek Business Solutions is writing a guest post.  Borek Business Solutions is a Microsoft Dynamics GP partner in Bend, Oregon.  Abra Gilman is their Existing Customer Sales Manager.  I used to work with Abra, and I can tell you she’s one of the best.  She’s deeply committed to her customers, and in return, they trust that she’ll lead them in the right direction. So for all you Microsoft Dynamics Partners, here are some tips for a strong year-end.

Microsoft’s fiscal year end is coming, how’s your forecast?

by Abra Gilman, Borek Business Solutions 
email: abra [at] borekbusinesssolutions.com

Abra Gilman, Customer Sales Manager at Borek Business Solutions

A timely email from my Microsoft PAM informed me there are 62 selling days left until the end of Microsoft’s FY09 year.  So, how do we keep the inspiration going from Microsoft Convergence last month, pass it along to our customers, and end this quarter with numerous existing customer add-on sales for our Microsoft Dynamics GP practice?

Through the years I’ve learned to start with the resources that Microsoft and our own staff have already created for our customers - and build upon them.  We know there are current promotions - so keeping that in mind, I did the following:

1.  I thought about the exciting news and products I saw at Microsoft Convergence that still excite me.  I’ve downloaded most of the Microsoft Dynamics GP, CRM, and SQL session material through my Convergence Session Builder. If  you haven’t done that, I encourage you to take a look.  The Microsoft Convergence site has a great overview of most of the concurrent sessions.  I picked a couple of the most inspiring sessions and looked for useful content within the powerpoints. For me this year, I found Smartlist Builder/Excel Report Builder to be of particular interest.

2. I emailed the presenter (email addresses are almost always listed on the last PPT slide), who was more than eager to send me her notes/steps to creating the actual demo portion of the session.

3.  I emailed my customer base and announced a free webinar to introduce and give Microsoft Dynamics GP Tips and Tricks using Smartlist Builder and Excel Report Builder (SLB & ERB).  We’d already told them through a ‘Post Convergence’ Newsletter that we had seen exciting features in this module while we were at Convergence - now we want to share what we’d learned with them.  We mention the benefits of SLB/ERB  to any customers when speaking to them, and add taglines to our emails for a couple of weeks to advertise the upcoming webinar to our customers.

4.  As attendees started registering, I made sure we geared the presentation to show the capabilities within those areas that SLB/ERB will extend (ie. Quantities in Inventory crossing several tables).

5.  During the presentation (which was simpler to create because I started with the Microsoft presenter’s materials), I used the current Microsoft promotion to make the product pricing more attractive.  We also offered 10% off installation/training for this module within the current month for attending the webinar (whether they already own the product or not).

Using this method, we usually get 2 sales of a product immediately. But following this example, we may also get:

• 2 customers upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics GP Version 10, or at least the latest service pack, to take advantage of the capabilities I’ve shown.
• Several hours of consulting for installation, planning, training, and implementation of the product.
• Another touchpoint with our customers through them even glancing at the webinar announcement or attending the demonstration. We’ve planted a seed throughout our customerbase of this product.
• Plus, we’ve made sure our customers know we are staying up with the latest enhancements so we are the “go to” resource for them for their ERP system.

We just met with a customer last week who wants to see a product we did this exact type of campaign for last year.  They saw it briefly and now want to plan for the implementation/rollout of it this quarter.

Next installment - using our Microsoft Dynamics ISV partners to extend our expertise and offerings to our customers…

Thanks Abra. Thanks Borek Business Solutions! 

 

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Thank your complaining customers

Don’t you appreciate having friends who will tell you honestly when you have spinach in your teeth?  I sure do!

I live by the principle that I treat people the way I want to be treated.  Consequently, I will tell complete strangers (very discretely of course) when they are suffering from a social faux pas, like having spinach in their teeth.  But everyone is not like me, and even I don’t always tell businesses how they infuriate me and send me running to their competitor - often, because I can’t.  There is no way to communicate with them. 

Frustrated Customer

Once I was so mad at Target (a store I actually love…usually) that I was motivated enough to go to the web survey (that if you’ll notice all the big box stores are printing on their receipts) - and THE URL DIDN’T WORK.  Talk about frustrating!  I had to just let it go.  The big stores are begging for feedback - because they know that they need the insight of the “complainers” to improve their offerings.

In business, people are unlikely to tell you what’s wrong.  Instead, they’ll just slink off to your competitors, leaving you wondering what you did wrong.  The good news is that for a small business, you can make it really easy to communicate.  You just have to learn to listen.  Don’t be defensive.  Be open-minded.

When people call “complaining” about service, product or delivery problems, you should THANK THEM profusely. They’re telling you, “I want to do business with you.  I care enough to tell you.”  Of course, if you don’t DO anything with that information, then your customers will be even more frustrated. 

If you’re not willing to change your business to fix the customer complaints, then you might need to find different clients.  Find clients whose values better align with what your business offers.   Know what I mean? 

How do you deal with customer complaints?  How do you think businesses should ask for your feedback?

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Seth Godin, Dave Lakhani and John Jantsch on “Tribes”

I can’t wait for Friday.  While not quite as exciting as Christmas, three of my favorite people will be on a call discussing my favorite subject - MARKETING!  More specifically, they will be discussing the marketing influence of tribes. 

Mark your calendar right this second - Friday, October 24th, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time - and Reserve Your Seat.

I’ll be shocked if phone lines aren’t jammed.  I consider all three of these men to be my marketing mentors, even if I really only know Seth Godin and Dave Lakhani through their books and speaking gigs.  I guess I must be part of their tribe. 

Seth Godin just released a book called Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, and Dave Lakhani, who was raised in a cult, has written several books on persuasion, including Subliminal Persuasion: Influence & Marketing Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know, and of course if you read my blog, you must know John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing. 

We have always had tribes - churches, schools, community groups, but they’ve been organized around place. Today we have tribes organized around ideas and the technology to tie those ideas together like never before - but who leads a community like that? How do you lead a community like that?

Join John Jantsch live this Friday, Oct 24 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time as his discusses this very relevant topic with Seth Godin and Dave Lakhani.  Best of all, the call is FREE! How can you pass up hearing from this trio of marketing superstars, when all it costs is an hour of your time?!

Can’t make the live call? Not to worry. Go ahead and register and you’ll receive a recording link when the call is over.  Spread the word!

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Orange County Earthquake and Predictable Disasters

At 11:42am this morning a 5.4 earthquake hit Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside County.

When it hit, I was on a conference call, trying to absorb Microsoft’s presentation about a new marketing program being offered to Microsoft Dynamics Channel Partners. A big jolt made me decide to temporarily abandon the telephone for the security of the door frame.  The house seemed to shake forever…..but in truth, the Orange County earthquake only lasted about 20 seconds.  It was a scary 20 seconds to be sure, but in the end, a pretty harmless 20 seconds - just enough to get my heart racing.

After I calmed down, finished that call and the one that followed it, I started thinking about the earthquake.  An earthquake is not exactly a surprise, especially if you live in California. You always know that an earthquake could happen any day, but it’s always a surprise when the earthquake hits.  Orange County earthquakes are a predictable disaster.

Isn’t the same thing true for business?  For example, you know your employees will quit. Their departure is also a “predictable disaster.” It is a fact of business.  Employees move on; no one will stay with you forever, but you don’t know when they’lll quit or how they’ll leave. Typically employees provide two weeks notice, but what if an employee were to become (heaven forbid) deathly ill? You wouldn’t get 2 weeks. What would you do? How would you handle it?

What about your clients?  What would you do if the client that basically keeps your business in the black were to move on and work with someone else? Would your business leave with them, or could you survive?

After thinking about emergencies and business, I’ve decided there is something to be said for those elementary school drills that tell you what to do when emergencies happen.  The people - the companies - that survive are the ones who are prepared for the emergency. 

Are you prepared?

1. Do you have central files where everyone stores critical client data?
2. Do you back up all your data - even remote employees’ laptops?
3. Is your back up stored offsite or online?
4. Do you have your key procedures documented?
5. Do you have a network of other people you could hire if a key employee left?
6. Do you make sure to diversify your client portfolio? 
7. Do you have insurance?

The time to be thinking of these things is now - BEFOREyour company has a predictable disaster.  And to all my Orange County and Los Angeles friends, I hope you are OK.  Let’s NOT do that again!

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They’re just words - or are they?!

I have to admit that although I’m forcing myself to work today, my mind is elsewhere – especially since two meetings were rescheduled last minute and I find myself with unexpected time available in my day.

Where’s my mind? It’s lingering back on page 880 of Ken Folliet’s book, “The Pillars of the Earth.” I read two books a month on average, and very few capture my attention to this level. I’m DYING to know what happens next. I’m completely engrossed in the characters and plot to the point where I’m more interested in hearing about their lives than living my own. Now that’s the hallmark of good writing!

But this is a marketing blog…what does a fiction novel have to do with small business marketing?

The point is that good writing makes a huge difference.  Good writing can be the crucial difference between campaigns that flourish, and campaigns that flounder.  I see too many small business owners who want to do it themselves, write the marketing copy on their own.  On one level, I understand.  Small business owners are smart.  They can generally read and write pretty well.  Why should they pay someone write the marketing copy for them?  They’re just words.  

JUST WORDS??? Don’t underestimate words! Words are POWERFUL. Words change lives. Words change history. The Declaration of Independence is… “just words.” Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is…”just words.” Your website is filled with “just words.”

Are those words compelling? Do you get leads from your website? Or do people’s eyes glaze over as they hunt for the nugget of wisdom and authenticity under the layers of marketing mumbo-jumbo?

If you are struggling to understand what’s wrong with your website or with your marketing materials and why you aren’t getting enough leads, contact us here at Tornado Marketing for a marketing or website assessment.   Our email is Tornado@TornadoMktg.com We’ll show you how to harness your power to grow your business!

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