One and done?

Posted by Jeff Ogden on August 11, 2011

B2B Demand Generation | My thoughts

I really don’t like to talk about politics. Someone is upset.

I like to stick to B2B marketing topics, as I’m President of the B2B lead generation company Find New Customers. But since I was featured in the book by Jill Konrath, Get Back to Work Faster, I have a vested interest in my out-of-work comrades

But after years of a terrible economy, and millions still without jobs, it’s time to stick a fork in him. He’s done. Barack Obama should be a one-term President.

Iowa Voters Do Not Disapprove Of Obama, They STRONGLY Disapprove

Obama = Carter?

Both of these men are considered super-smart and charismatic. But one is considered one of the worst presidents ever.

How to gain customer trust - Insights from Guy Kawasaki

Posted by Jeff Ogden on August 11, 2011

B2B Marketing | How to Gain Customer Trust

Guy Kawasaki, Author of Enchantment, recently presented how to gain trust with your customers. His thoughts match ours, so I wish to share with our readers.

Watch Guy here.

Three things are needed to gain customer trust:

Trust others first
People will not trust you unless you trust them first.
One business example is the Amazon Kindle. You can buy a book on your Kindle and return it within 7 days for a full refund. Could you read it and return it? Sure. But Amazon trusts you not to. Zappos had the crazy idea of selling shoes to women, but they could not see them in person or try them on. But Zappos offered free shipping both ways - trust. Their business exploded!
Be a Baker and not an Eater
An eater sees a pie. I eat it and you don’t. It is zero-sum game. A baker sees an endless supply of pies - larger and better than before. Trust-worthy people think like bakers.
Default to “Yes”
This is my personal favorite. Our business tagline is Always Be Helping. The idea is to answer every request with “Yes.” Can people take advantage of you? Yes, they can, but will they? Guy said in over two decades of doing this, he could count bad experiences on his hands. It’s just not a big deal. And for the very few who do take advantage, don’t bother with them.

What do you think of these tips? Have you tried them? How have they worked for you? We love comments and people who share our content.

We humbly invite you to follow Find New Customers on Linkedin too.

Jeff Ogden (@fearlesscomp) is President of the B2B lead generation consultancy, Find New Customers. Find New Customers helps companies dramatically improve revenue results by changing the way they attract and earn trust with prospective customers. To contact Find New Customers, please call (516) 495-9350 or send an email to sales at findnewcustomers.com.

Find New Customers helps companies (with between 150 and 5,000 employees who sell complex products to businesses) to implement world-class lead generation programs. As companies struggle to create quality sales opportunities, they turn to lead generation companies like Find New Customers.

“Find New Customers can certainly help your business dramatically improve the flow of sales-ready leads to salespeople.” Paul Dunay, Buzz Marketing for Technology.

Do Car Commercials on TV Sell Any Cars?

Posted by Jeff Ogden on August 11, 2011

Am I the only one asking this question? Better yet, why do companies continue to throw money away on TV advertising?

After all, there’s commercial after commercial on TV touting the latest offer - the newest features - or the sportiness. They drone on and one endlessly, until they all blend together. Undoubtedly, car companies are cash cows for TV advertising salespeople.

But do they have any effect on buyers? Or are millions of dollars being wasted?

To answer that question, we should first look at how do people shop for cars today. I don’t have data, but I certainly know how I do it.

Here’s the process I use to shop for a car:

Check the findings at Consumer Reports. Look at reliability.
Read articles at Car and Driver (online)
See what MotorTrend is saying (online)
Ask questions on Twitter, Linkedin, etc. and ask friends in person.
Research pricing online
Go buy a car

Notice what I don’t do - pay attention to TV ads.

IMHO, millions of dollars are being wasted.

What do you think? Have you learned to tune out car ads too?

Read my blog on Kindle

Jeff Ogden (@fearlesscomp) is President of the B2B lead generation consultancy, Find New Customers Find New Customers helps companies dramatically improve revenue results by changing the way they attract and earn trust with prospective customers. He’s planning to buy a car soon too.

To learn about Jeff, please click Who is the Fearless Competitor?