This does not mean you don’t have a great photo of yourself, because you must have a good one. People still react to people and a good photo with your smile is important for the guest to feel comfortable with you.
You will also share information about yourself, but the best way to do that is through testimonials of your customers. Let them brag on you and the more credibility they have, the better for you. In the beginning get testimonials from whomever you can. As your business grows and you have bigger customers, let them talk for you and the message will be received much better.
While I could go on and on about how to build your Platform Website, the best information I can give you is to go to one of my partners and my daughter Lindsay’s website at: CelebritySites.com. What she forgot about websites and SEO is more than I know, and she has lots of free information that you can get and use when interviewing a Webmaster, or as a checklist if you are able to build your own.
The point about platform websites from my perspective is that a successful ThoughtLeader® must have a great platform to launch your content from and connect with your audience. Spend the time, money and effort to get it right. You will be glad you did. Please feel free to also go to our website for more content on building your business and your professional position as the expert and Thoughtleader® in your field.
About JW
JW Dicks, Esq., is a Wall Street Journal BestSelling Author®, 2-time Emmy Award-Winning Producer, publisher, board member, and co-founder of organizations such as The National Academy of BestSelling Authors®, and The National Association of Experts, Writers and Speakers®.
JW is the co-CEO of DNA Media, LLC and is a strategic business development consultant to both domestic and international clients. He has been quoted on business and financial topics in national media such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Forbes, CNBC.com, and Fortune Magazine Small Business.
Considered a thought leader and curator of information, he has more than forty-three published business and legal books to his credit. JW has coauthored with legends like Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins, Dr. Nido Qubein, Dr. Ivan Misner, Dan Kennedy, and Mari Smith. He is the Editor and co-Publisher of ThoughtLeader® Magazine.
JW is called the “Expert to the Experts” and has appeared on business television shows airing on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates around the country, and co-produces and syndicates a line of franchised business television shows such as Success Today, Wall Street Today, Hollywood Live , and Profiles of Success . He has received an Emmy® Award as Executive Producer of the film, Mi Casa Hogar .
JW and his wife of forty-five years, Linda, have two daughters, four granddaughters, and two Yorkies. He is a sixth-generation Floridian and splits his time between his home in Orlando and his beach house on Florida’s west coast.
CHAPTER 11
THE MAGIC OF THE LITTLE PINK SPOON
BY LAURIE A. RICHARDS
Baskin-Robbins took the ice cream industry by storm in the mid 1950’s and hasn’t stopped selling since. Each year, 300 million people stop in for a taste, and they leave satisfied. The company’s secret . . . the little pink spoon.
The iconic little pink spoon was introduced in 1953 to embrace the philosophy that customers should be able to get a taste of many ice cream flavors before purchasing. No one leaves Baskin-Robbins without a scoop of ice cream – and every customer leaves satisfied.
Baskin-Robbins makes sure of that with the little pink spoon.
Food companies and other industries have successfully embraced the give-away-samples model. We test-drive cars, try on clothes, take home little cans of paint to try on our living room walls. We read the first chapter of books, get free issues of a magazine, watch previews of movies, and get introductory weekends of premium television channels.
We listen to free bits of music and even spend the weekend with our prospective new pet before signing the papers.
Why? Because we love getting a taste of something before we commit.
SHOULD YOU GIVE IT AWAY?
Retailers typically highlight three benefits to providing samples: initial sales, customer familiarity and reciprocity.
Stated simply: samples boost sales. People will make a meal of food samples offered at Costco. Some foods increase sales 2,000 percent during sampling periods. According to Interactions, a product demonstration company providing samples for Costco, in-store samples show the highest sales lifts of any in-store sales methods.
Second, sampling helps customers become familiar with products and services. Need something to take that stain out? Try this sample of a new stain remover. Wonder if you’ll like our cleaning service? Let us clean your living area for free. Never used an eye cream before? Watch it make the years disappear.
The third benefit of sampling is the phenomenon of reciprocity: the theory that if someone does something for you, you’ll feel a strong obligation to do something for them. For example, if you give them a taste of your new soft drink, they’ll buy a six-pack. If you let them try your new aromatic lotion, they’ll buy it.
Reciprocity is arguably the strongest reason sales spike during sampling.
Taste a granola bar, pick up a box. Taste the wine, take home a bottle.
THE THREE MINDSETS AROUND SAMPLES
Sellers tend to be of three minds that span a spectrum of solidly against the practice of giving samples to generously for it.
Mindset #1:
Against Samples
The first mindset is the one that is firmly in the camp against samples.
Within this mindset, you’ll find several rationales to justify it.
“We’ve already invested enough… We can’t afford to give it away.”
“We can’t get rich by giving it away. .”
“If we give it away, people will think it isn’t worth anything.”
“Giving it away devalues it.”
The most common reason new food and drink products fail is they don’t get into the hands (kitchens) of consumers. How can we know that your bread is the best if we’ve never tasted it? And why would we spend $1 more on yours than on the tried-and-true competition?
How many inventors have hundreds—or thousands or hundreds of thousands—of widgets in their garages and storage units? These same inventors may be the ones telling that people love their product—once they use it. Instead, thousands and thousands of dollars of inventory sits…costing that inventor money for rent and space for production or other use…month…after month…after month. This happens because they couldn’t get enough people to try their product and they were stuck in the mindset that samples were a bad idea.
My friend had a great idea: small scrapers made of a patented ingredient that would help clean almost any smooth flat surface (windows, floors, mirrors, windshields, counters, flat-top stoves) without scratching. I have a couple of these little gadgets around my house, and they work wonders.
But, unless he gets it into consumers’ hands, people will never know.
My friend laments that he can’t get his special scraper into the huge retailers. Meanwhile, he has boxes of them in his basement, garage, and storage space. He’s spent so much per item, he feels as though each one he gives away is an additional expenditure.
In reality, it would be cheaper to give them away than to keep them in his garage.
Mindset #2:
Generously for giving out samples
On the other end of the spectrum is the overly generous “Give-until-it-hurts” mindset.
Some of my coaching friends live in this camp. Ask a question, they’ll regale you with their wisdom. Give them a scenario, and they’ll (loudly and proudly) share how they solved a similar problem for someone else.
Instead of asking detailed questions to learn more about someone’s specific situation, these folks will share their cure-all—for free. (In the medical field, this would be considered malpractice!) These same “coaches” will then cross their fingers – hopeful that they will b
e bombarded with phone calls from those who heard their wise words. Instead, the same people keep coming back to the proverbial feeding trough to get free tips.
Mindset #3:
Strategic Sampling
Somewhere in between the miserly “no samples” and the overly generous givers is the sweet spot of strategically sharing enough to get them wanting – and buying more. This is where you want to be. Find a smart, strategic opportunity to share your product and service knowing that some will invest and others will not.
How to design sampling for your product or service.
Designing programs to give customers a taste of what you do is easier with some products and services than it is for others. Here are five questions to consider in order to find the best way to offer a taste of your business or service:
1. What’s special about your product/service? Not sure? Find out!
That’s what your sample should highlight.
If you’re an association, give them a taste of what it’s like to be a member. Your organization offers events, education, resources, networking. Invite prospects to join you for an event or an educational seminar (not a meeting). Invite them to use your resources. Introduce them to someone in your chapter.
If your service is washing cars, give customers a taste of your add-on services by offering to do an upgraded cleaning service during this visit. Once they taste how good clean feels, they’ll ask for it next time.
For those of you selling coaching services, give them a taste of your offerings by showing them how you serve clients. Ask them questions, assess their situations. Then give them one idea (not twelve). If they like your approach, they’ll be back.
For those of you with a new gadget, how can you give people a taste of what it’s like to use it? At a craft fair, a woman once gave me a “taste” of her new three-inch double-stick tape. She cut off a 5-inch length, put paper on one side and removed the covering to expose the second side. Then she stuck a piece of lace on top, sprinkled it with glitter, removed the lace, and sprinkled another color of glitter for a beautiful, two-color sparkly design suitable for a card or scrapbook page. In just a few moments, she gave me a taste of her product. When I bought the roll of double-stick tape, she threw in a piece of lace so I could use it immediately. Giving me a taste of what I could do was certainly more valuable than showing me a roll of double-stick tape. The ‘taste’ made the sale.
2. What’s your best sampling point?
A taste of bourbon chicken will get a customer to order it for lunch immediately outside of your restaurant, but what could you do to get them to ask for the frozen dinner version at the store?
My client, a friend, my sister-in-law, and I took a trip to Japan which included the climb up Mount Fuji (a story for another day). We spent two weeks in Japan in some of the most sweltering heat I’ve ever experienced as a tourist. In the middle of Shibuya Crossing (Tokyo’s equivalent of Times Square), was a gaggle of young people handing out free hand fans emblazoned with the logo of a business that sells fans, similarly-branded umbrellas, and other goods – just steps away. For days, everywhere you looked there were fans. The right place, the right product, the right time.
3. How many do you need to sell to get a strong return?
The cost of producing and distributing samples will not be free, but the old adage holds, “You have to spend money to make money.”
The goal is to use samples to spur enough sales to cover your costs– and then some. How much does it cost to produce and distribute x-number of samples? How many products do you need to sell to cover cost? Is it realistic? Can you do it?
4. What other values can you leverage with samples? Look for high value/low cost opportunities.
People are looking for experiences, not just tangible goods. How can your samples provide an experience, complete with sights, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings? Will they leave the experience and tell their friends? Will they post the experience on social media?
What other values come with providing samples (outreach, goodwill, name recognition, charitable giving, etc.) How can you leverage these intangible, highly valuable features?
High value/low cost options are those that have low cost to you, but provide a high value to the customer. For example, a certificate of completion for your free coaching program may mean a great deal to someone trying to get a raise (high value). That same certificate costs you $15 for the certificate and a frame (low cost). A demonstration of your new gadget is of great value to a person who is buying something they are unfamiliar with using (high value).
Your cost is in the form of your time – or the time of someone you hire and train (low cost). A free taste of your barbecue sauce ensures they buy something they like (high value), and it costs you a tablespoon of sauce out of a bottle that you’ll use for more samples (low cost).
5. How do you talk about your sampling program?
If you’re an association, don’t ask people to come to a “meeting.”
People don’t like “meetings.” They like “events.” Invite people to get a taste of your association by asking them to join you for an activity or a networking event, or to hear a featured speaker.
Provide your new atomic strength bandage to the local amusement part to hand out with paid entrance fees as an “added value” to patrons.
It doesn’t have to be “free.” Maybe your audience responds better to “complimentary” or “gratis.” Some respond to “joining” you as your “plus one” or “guest.” Still others prefer “on the house” or “without cost.” If you want your audience to know your product or service is special, make sure to position your tasting experience as special. Know your audience and find a phrase that sounds valuable, worthy, and interesting.
CAREFUL: DON’T GIVE AWAY TOO MUCH
Providing a taste should be an investment – not an expense. If you give away too many tastes, you’ll run out of product and go broke. Like Baskin-Robbins, you’re offering tastes to help your customer find the one they like.
Give them a taste that will build demand and translate into sales. Establish a relationship, build trust, and gain credibility with your target market.
Here are three tips to avoid giving away too much:
1. Know your numbers. Track cost of samples, where they were distributed, and resulting sales. Give yourself enough time (and samples) to gather statistically relevant numbers, and make decisions based on data—not emotion. If your $1 sample results in a $10 sale, keep it up.
2. Set time and quantity limits. Encourage people to take one sample, and discourage them from taking three. (Announcing that you are “limiting” them to one makes you look stingy.) For services, tell people you’d be “happy to spend 15 minutes of your professional time.” Or, you’d be “happy to answer two or three questions.” When you set the limitation up front, people respect it and use the time wisely.
3. Remember your professional limitations. If you don’t have the information to provide good counsel – don’t. Like a physician, giving advice without good information would be irresponsible and ineffective.
Every time you put your product in the hands of a customer, there is another opportunity for a sale. It’s time to invest in some little pink spoons.
About Laurie
Laurie Richards is a Strategic Communication Professional and President of Laurie Richards & Associates. She helps her clients become more effective communicators, better partners, more productive managers, more persuasive presenters, and more successful teammates.
Laurie believes it’s not enough to be good at what you do—you have to be able to tell people about it. She has worked with thousands of executives, sales and marketing professionals, technical experts, and other leaders helping them effectively tell their stories and improve communication at every level. Known for her practical, interactive, strategic, and entertaining approach, Laurie helps clients execute outcome-based communication, upgrade customer service, improve customer satisfaction, diminis
h conflict, present a professional image, and improve everyday communications to directly affect the bottom line.
Laurie grew up on a farm in South Dakota where she had two terrific English and Speech teachers who taught her to always work toward effective communication and to be a lifelong learner.
Laurie began her career as a legislative correspondent for Public Broadcasting. She managed leader communications for the National Pork Producers Council—the nation's largest commodity organization and originator of the successful, “Pork.
The Other White Meat©” campaign. She has hosted radio programs, managed one of the nation’s fastest growing public relations agencies, launched award-winning public affairs programs, managed highly effective grassroots lobbying efforts, and facilitated professional development programs for notable clients.
Her clients span across the business spectrum – from individuals, to small business professionals, to association leaders, to Fortune 100 executives around the world.
Clients describe working with Richards as “life-changing.” They note her strengths as “an innate charismatic style coupled with the ability to really connect with her audience and bring practical real-life experiences we can use immediately.”
Laurie has degrees in communication and business management and is working toward her PhD in Organizational Psychology. She has a variety of certifications in micro-expressions, social styles, observation, and psychological profiling.
Laurie prefers collecting experiences to collecting things. She is an award-winning international ballroom dancer, has traveled to all 50 states, has climbed Mount Fuji, and is on a mission to travel to all seven continents.
You can connect with her at:
• [email protected]
• Twitter: @Laurie_Richards
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ResultsandOutcomesGroup/
• Instagram: LaurieR_Strategist
CHAPTER 12
Ready, Set, Go! (Special Edition) Page 10
