When you buy leads from internet vendors, can anyone confirm what happens at the 6-month or annual renewal? It’s an unconfirmed rumor that they are sent, by the lead aggregator, no matter if they are insured by your company or someone else, a REMINDER TO SHOP FOR RATES. So, let’s say you insure a customer with company X. They may be getting a REMINDER to shop rates not only at Companies A,B, C, and D, but also with your Company X, and the representative with Company X may NOT be from YOUR OFFICE.

How do companies overcome this potentially devastating breakdown in loyalty perpetuated by lead aggregators? Build loyalty through relationships BEFORE they can be destroyed by reminders to start shopping again.

It means we as business owners may be looking for a relationship strategist instead of a receptionist.  It may mean we will be looking for a trust agent instead of a salesperson.  It may mean we will be looking for a Linchpin instead of a marketing account executive.  When this new wave for creating and maintaining relationships strikes, the business world as we now know it will be turned upside-down. 

Who are YOU hiring to create these systems?

1.  People are reluctant to put their name and contact information on any sheet of paper, even if it means it gives them a chance to win something of value.  They’ve clearly been called by a salesperson in the past after they’ve completed an entry form for a prize. 

2.   People are picking up less “free stuff” than they used to, possibly because they now either realize that a.  nothing is truly free or b.  they don’t want to feel obligated to someone when they pick up that pen (like we can find you when we don’t know your name.)

3.  Even though people “shop” and engage in a conversation with a salesperson, most state up front that they choose to stay where they are until their current service provider does something wrong or experiences a substantial financial hardship as a result of their prices.    

4.  It doesn’t matter if you are an independent franchise owner, when asked their specific representative’s name, many people cannot tell you.  They CAN, however, tell you the company that has their account.  The ones who can tell you their representative’s name frequently have a deeper personal connection with that person beyond the products/services they buy from them.   

5.  If there are multiple providers of the same service who represent the same company in one geographic area, most people assume you work together, share expenses, and are funded by the parent company.  To take this even further, customers and prospects directly correlate the money spent on postage for correspondence and advertising and an ”excessive” number of storefronts in a given area to a waste of spending because they think these expenses all contribute to their individual rate.   Some of these assumptions are true, but many are false.    

6.  This one isn’t business related, but I mention it because I’m a dad:  Unattended children should be given an espresso and a puppy for the ride home with their parents.  Maybe that’s extreme, but seriously, kids under 10 should not be wandering around by themselves, or with friends of the same age, even if they have a cell phone, in an uncontrolled environment like a county fair.  Technology should never replace parental supervision. 

Overall, my wife is correct in her assessment of why we should keep setting up a fair booth:  “People will notice when you’re there, but even more when you’re not.”  Funny thing is that I didn’t set out a huge stack of business cards this year and people looked relieved.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by.  If you want me to help you, I’m online.  Just Google my company, hit “locate an agent”, and shoot me an e-mail message.  Here’s my philosophy:  I won’t call YOU…I’ll call you BACK.

Eventually, these perceived advantages will get exposed…then what happens?

Maybe the quiet “worker bees” will get their shot.  Maybe the people flying “under the radar” will suddenly appear in the center of the target.  Or maybe, just maybe, the underdogs will come out on top.  Life’s a big game with a lot of rules, but if you play the game correctly, everyone’s a winner.  Isn’t that how it should be?

What happens when MOST people get irrelevant, impersonal mail?  It goes in the trash without being opened, at least in my house.  Let’s then say that stamps get to fifty cents.  There’s a nice, round number.  Fifty-cent pieces are nice, round coins. 

Imagine walking down the sidewalk and noticing a penny on the ground…Do we bend over to pick it up these days?  My kids would, but honestly, I’d walk right by.  How about a quarter?  Now THAT gets my attention.  A quarter is one-fifth the value of a soda at the local convenience store…It’s the equivalent of a 20% discount!   So, what if there was a fifty-cent piece on the ground?  Goes without saying, right?  Not sure about you, but I’m DIVING for that sucker!

At what point does a stamp become a liability?  At what point are businesses forced into alternative methods of connecting to customers and prospects?  And at what point are businesses going to tailor timely, relevant messages to specific groups of people instead of sending the same mass mail message to everyone without regard for their interests?   

While you walk around pondering those thoughts, can I follow you and pick up all those 50-cent pieces you’re throwing on the ground?

Everyone everywhere is being interrupted every second of every day…computer-screen pop-ups, television commercials, radio ads, flashing billboards, text messages, cell phone ring tones…Holy cow, it’s like technological Chinese water torture out there.  The interesting thing is that many of us ignore the fact that we actually have control over these external stimuli and go about our business every day accepting these interruptions as the “norm”.   Think about it…twenty years ago, how many of these interruptions existed?  That’s right, NONE.  We only had 3 channels on our television!    Today, we have over 300 with the ability to DVR  two shows while simultaneously watching a third. 

Priorities today are being established for us by other people, other companies, and other influences through repetitive, strategically placed messages intended to disrupt our routines and make us question our relationships.  The more attention we give to these external stimuli, the more uncertain and fearful we become about our own decisions that impact what matters most to us.  Only we can change this status-quo by taking back control of our time and important decisions and strengthening our trusted relationships.

What happens if someone detemines that one more is too many?  Do they keep it under their hat and hope that one or more members of their own organization fail so the decision-maker can save face through attrition?   Do they re-evaluate the situation and transfer one or two members to less-populous or competitive locations to allow for greater overall growth and productivity for all parties involved?  What are the criteria for determining the feasibility of a given market for a specific business purpose?   Do all of the standard models used throughout history still apply in the internet age? 

I’m interested in hearing some opinions.   For now, I’ll throw the SCUBA gear back on.

Today’s consumer is loaded with choices and armed with information.  There are fewer “product experts” because everyone has the resources to be an expert themselves.  (How many “Do-It-Yourself” stores and TV programs are there to reinforce this??)  So, how are companies coping?  Better yet, are those salespeople making adjustments to their styles or just force-feeding old-school techniques to the new-age buyer?  How’s that working for you?  What’s the alternative?

I’ve had many a dream, many a conversation with several people…family members, friends, and co-workers and a majority tell me they would set aside a few million for interest income (2% on $10 million is $200,000 a year…That’s a pretty good income)  and loan (not give) a portion of the remainder to people at risk of losing their homes or deeply in debt for other reasons.  I’m sure many of the winners out there are well-intentioned people yet we never hear those stories.  Is it because they are so overwhelmed with their newfound wealth that they freeze and don’t know what to do?  Is it because they are totally bombarded with phone calls, e-mails, and SPAM requesting donations to every charity, legitimate or not, on earth? 

Admittedly they shouldn’t have to give away the reward for their persistence in buying the numbers every week, but what if they weren’t asked to DONATE or GIVE?  How much good could be done if they simply LOANED a portion of the money to middle class Americans who need a break to get out of debt, then get the loan repaid in a similar fashion as an annuity?  Do they really need to recoup the same interest as a bank or would it be better for the economy to contribute to restoring middle-class America to a position in which they could actually begin accumulating income instead of paying it out to banks in the form of interest?