So this is my challenge to you: This book will, certainly at times, challenge the way you have done business in your space or industry. When this occurs, don’t push aside what is being suggested and automatically dismiss its merits. Instead, ask yourself the simple question, “But is it possible?”
If you do, I can promise you the information found within these pages will have a dramatic impact on your business, and maybe even your life.
So whether you’re B2B or B2C, local or national, a service or a product, or whether you’re big or small: don’t put yourself in the “different” corner.
Bring it back to the basics. Bring it back to trust.
That’s the business we’re all in.
4
The Discovery of They Ask, You Answer
So there we were, on the brink of financial ruin.
If we were going to save the company, we needed a miracle, and it had better occur fast. Unless we found a way to garner more leads and sales than we’d ever had, even though there were fewer potential buyers (because of the economy) than ever before, we were going to go out of business within a matter of months.
Despite this crushing weight, I found myself having moments of reflection about the state of business and economics in general. I believed that times were changing. The way people were buying, shopping, and consuming was dramatically different than it had been just a few years before. All I had to do was look in the mirror to see this change.
I was now turning to the Internet for everything. If I had a question, I went to Google and asked. No longer did I need to be an uninformed consumer for anything. Now I had all the knowledge I needed at my fingertips to become an expert at anything I wanted to master. If I wanted to find a product or company reviews, tips, tricks, or anything else—it was all there. It was almost as if every consumer was becoming his own salesperson and subject matter expert.
They were fascinating times indeed, and for me personally. Despite all the stress I was under, I could not stop thinking about the digital opportunities that seemed to be available to any and every business who was but willing to notice.
It was clear as day to me that the Internet was going to change the world and dominate our lives way beyond what I could even fathom. Over the previous years, I’d sensed this stronger and stronger and stronger. No longer was the “old-school” way of advertising working.
In the past, we had tried everything to generate leads at River Pools—TV, radio, newspaper, the Yellow Pages—you name it. Every year we’d spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on these media. And every year their efficacy was becoming less and less.
Seeing this changing of the guard, and knowing things would never go back to the way they were, I knew I had to do something about this problem—and do it quickly.
If my business partners and I were going to save the company, it was time to get our arms around this whole Internet thing and discover how it could save River Pools and Spas from bankruptcy.
So I threw myself in.
Every extra minute of the day I had, I started reading about how to leverage the Internet to grow our business. And as I read articles and watched educational videos (the majority of which I learned on the site www.HubSpot.com), I started to encounter certain phrases popping up, all of which were quite new to me:
Inbound marketing
Content marketing
Social media marketing
Digital marketing
Blogging
And many others
They were fancy words. And they were defined by a whole lot of marketing-speak that was frankly above this pool guy’s head. But, if I may be completely transparent here, I think that’s what saved me. I didn’t view the Internet from an MBA’s standpoint. I didn’t have years of formal business, sales, or marketing education. Rather, I saw it from a consumer’s mind-set.
“Inbound Marketing,” as I understood it, was simply the process of attracting (instead of chasing) customers.
And “Content Marketing,” was simply the act of teaching and problem-solving so as to earn buyer trust.
This basic way of thinking, in hindsight, was a massive advantage.
And to me, as I read all of these fancy words, suggestions, and strategies, it all came back to one core thought:
Marcus, just answer people’s questions.
Okay, I thought, I can do that.
After all, that’s really what I am at heart: a teacher.
And so all we had to do as a company was become a teacher of fiberglass swimming pools. Once we came to this realization, our company motto took a dramatic shift.
Little did I know that this shift, and the new motto, would go on to affect businesses all over the world.
But it did. And it still does every day.
And as you’ve likely guessed, the motto was:
“They Ask, You Answer.”
5
“They Ask, You Answer” Defined
What is They Ask, You Answer?
More than anything, it’s a business philosophy.
It’s an approach to communication, company culture, and the way we sell as a business.
They Ask, You Answer starts with an obsession: What is my customer thinking?
And when I say “obsession,” I really mean that, and it extends past “What are they thinking?” to “What are they searching, asking, feeling, and fearing?”
Some companies think they understand these questions, but the fact is most do not.
And having a set of defined “buyer personas,” at least the way many are defined, doesn’t count as sufficient either.
When an organization embraces They Ask, You Answer, they believe it’s their duty to be the teacher, the go-to source within their particular industry. One that’s not afraid to answer any and every question the prospect or customer may have. For them, it’s a moral obligation to do this, regardless of whether the question is perceived as good, bad, or even ugly.
But not only are they willing to address these things better than anyone in their space, they also allow it to dictate the direction of their business as the future unfolds. Because they are so keenly in tune with what the marketplace is thinking, feeling, and asking, they see where their business model needs to go, evolve, and head toward.
Throughout the remainder of this book, we cover—extensively—this philosophy of They Ask, You Answer. You’re going to not only see its dramatic impact on River Pools and Spas, but you’re also going to watch its impact on multiple companies from various industries (B2B and B2C) around the world. And not only that, but you’re going to see how this philosophy goes well beyond the scope of “Internet marketing” and transcends every element of your business philosophy. From online marketing and face-to-face selling to company branding—this is a way of doing business that could revolutionize everything about your company, your culture, and your bottom line.
In part 1 of the book, we look at They Ask, You Answer and its impact on your digital marketing efforts. In particular, we will be focusing on how it guides a company’s “inbound” or “content” marketing efforts. (For the sake of ease, these words are used interchangeably throughout the rest of this book.)
In part 2, we discuss how They Ask, You Answer affects the sales side of the business—from the way you sell, to your sales culture, and also the way sales departments are set up in general.
Next, in part 3, we discuss implementation of this methodology in your business, showing you the who, what, when, where, why, and how to make it all work.
And then finally, in part 4 of the book, we take some of the commonly asked questions most organizations ask upon hearing this approach to business, and answer each one so as to resolve any concerns and fill in any gaps you may still have—with the hope it will be the finishing touch to taking your business and brand—regardless of type, size, and so on—to a place of strength for years and years to come.
6
Brainstorming the Questions You Are Asked Every Day
Now that I’d discovered the core philosophy we’d be adhering to as we moved forward with River Pools and Spas, it was time to act.
My first action was simple: I sat down at my kitchen table late one night and brainstormed all the questions I’d received about fiberglass swimming pools over the previous nine years.
As you might imagine, the writing was fast and furious. After all, I sold swimming pools for a living. I heard questions from prospects and customers all day long, so the idea of simply recalling these questions was by no means difficult. After about thirty minutes, I had more than a hundred questions listed on the paper.
Wow.
What happened next is where things became very interesting. I took these questions I listed and over the coming months, late at night when everyone in my house was asleep. I (along with my two business partners) would write articles or make videos answering each of them. Most of these articles were published to our website as blog articles, with the question itself becoming the title of the post. The videos were uploaded to YouTube and also placed on the website.
For me, this whole process became somewhat of a religion. If I was on a sales appointment, as soon as the prospect would ask me a question my immediate thought was, Have I answered that on our website yet?
And remember, I’m not talking here about one- or two-sentence answers to questions. I’m talking about really answering the question, including deep explanations while approaching each with a “teacher’s” mentality—without bias and trying only to educate the reader.
At the time, I had no idea this little brainstorming activity and corresponding content production would end up being something I’d use to help guide numerous other sales and marketing teams do for their own brands and organizations. I never could have imagined that during the coming years so many other businesses around the globe would embrace their own forms of They Ask, You Answer.
The fact is, every industry has hundreds of questions about what prospects and customers want to know when they’re making a buying decision. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, everyone wants to feel like they’ve made an informed buying decision, and they certainly don’t want to make any mistakes.
The irony is that every industry has hundreds of buyer-based questions. It is the sad reality that most company websites don’t even address more than a few dozen of these questions.
It’s a digital paradox of sorts.
As consumers, we expect to be fed great information.
As businesses, we like to talk about ourselves and therefore don’t focus on what our prospects and customers are thinking about, worrying about, and asking about.
The whole thing is contrary to the very nature of that which we call “building trust.”
This brings us to the first major step of They Ask, You Answer.
Putting It Into Action
Have a Brainstorm Session
Brainstorm every question you’ve ever been asked by a prospect or customer. Focus on his or her fears, issues, concerns, and worries. State them on paper exactly as the consumer would ask (or search) them, not the way you (as the business) would state them. Once you’ve completed this list, you have the foundation for your entire digital marketing editorial calendar—be it articles, videos, and so on—to put on your company website.
Note: If you struggle coming up with these questions, there’s a frank reason why: you’ve lost touch with your ideal customer or client. If this is the case, it’s time to get with your sales team, customer service team, and everyone else, and relearn what your ideal customer wants to know to be able to make an informed buying decision.
7
The Ostrich Marketing Strategy
Before we dive into They Ask, You Answer, it’s important to note here another sales and marketing strategy, one that you likely weren’t taught in business school but is commonplace around the world today and is the literal opposite of They Ask, You Answer: I call it “ostrich marketing.”
Why is it called ostrich marketing? Look at it this way: An ostrich, when it has a problem, does what?
It buries its head in the sand (which is a myth, but we’ll go with it anyway).
And why does it bury its head in the sand?
Because it thinks the problem will go away.
But does the problem ever go away? Of course, the answer is no.
Now, you’re probably wondering what an ostrich has to do with you, your business, and the way you communicate online and offline.
Look at it this way: How many times have you been asked a question from a prospect or customer and thought to yourself, We better not address that issue on our website. Let’s just wait until we are talking face to face with the prospect and then bring it up.
My guess is this has happened to you many times. And if you can’t think of an example, you will. As you read the following pages, you’ll find many examples of subjects you have very likely shied away from talking about on your website simply because you thought it would put you at a disadvantage, and you wanted to be able to control the conversation.
But therein lies the entire problem with ostrich marketing: consumers (you and I) don’t like it. To put it more bluntly, we abhor it.
Here are the facts about ostrich marketing (or ignoring the questions of your prospects and customers):
In our digital era, the ostrich does not win.
The ostrich does not engender trust.
The ostrich does not get the phone call, the store visit, or the online purchase.
The ostrich does not get anyone filling out contact forms on his or her website.
The solution? Don’t be the ostrich. Do whatever it takes to earn their trust.
Embrace They Ask, You Answer.
8
The CarMax Effect
To truly understand They Ask, You Answer, you must see that it goes well beyond the scope of “Let’s produce articles and videos on our website to answer customer questions.”
In fact, as previously mentioned, They Ask, You Answer is a business philosophy.
It’s the willingness to be so focused on and obsessed with consumer questions, wants, desires, and needs that you’re willing to change and evolve your entire business model around these elements.
To understand this on a deeper level, let’s talk about a subject that, without fail, draws a unique emotion from consumers: buying a used car.
When you hear the phrase “buy a used car” or “used car salesperson,” what is the emotion you experience? What words come to mind?
Sleazy?
Salesy?
High pressure?
The list goes on and on. What’s even more interesting is that consumers all over the world share these same negative thoughts. Having spoken in multiple continents and to multiple cultures, I can assure you that no one ever shouts, “Trustworthy!” when I ask this question.
This phenomena begs the question: How did the used car industry get to this point?
What happened to make so many consumers around the world lose trust in an entire industry?
To answer this question, let’s look at the specifics.
If you were going to go out and buy a used car today, what would be some of your (potential) fears?
Across hundreds of global audiences, the answers are almost always the same:
You don’t want to buy a lemon. (You don’t want a car with a bunch of problems, false mileage, bad history, and so on.)
You don’t want to have to haggle with the salesperson (high-pressure sales tactics, back and forth with the sales manager, and so on).
You want to make sure you’re getting a good value and not getting ripped off.
You don’t want to buy the car and then find out it’s the wrong vehicle for you (a.k.a.: buyer’s remorse).
For years, consumers have had these fears when buying a used car, but few companies cared about addressing them. That is, until CarMax came around.
The Beginnings of CarMax and a New Way to Sell
> The story of CarMax is a powerful one. Based out of Richmond, Virginia, this company went from being doubted by an entire industry of peers to becoming what is today the largest retailer of used vehicles in the United States. Now, you may not think that this fact in and of itself is profound until you analyze what they did to reach the pinnacle of their industry.
Essentially, CarMax did two things other used car companies weren’t willing (at least at the time) to do:
Admit their industry had a problem (no consumer trust).
Ask themselves what it would take to earn that trust back.
You see, most businesses and brands never like to admit there is anything wrong with their company, industry, or the way business is generally done. Instead, much like the ostrich, they simply convince themselves it’s business as usual—ultimately ignoring needed change.
But CarMax was the antithesis of the “business as usual” paradigm.
Specifically, they did what almost no one else was willing to do.
The first action they took to garner trust back from consumers was to attack the issue of “I don’t want to deal with the salesperson” head-on by offering what they referred to as “no-haggle pricing.” In other words, with no haggle pricing, consumers were given one listed price for the vehicles, nothing more, nothing less.
For example, if you walk into a CarMax today and write a check for $29,999 on a car that’s listed for $30,000—they will not sell you the vehicle unless you come up with another dollar.
Some might argue this hurts CarMax’s ability to create a sense of urgency and scarcity with the buyer, but the opposite is true. Consumers love the fact they have but one number (price) to focus on, ultimately lowering their anxiety levels while phenomenally boosting trust for the brand in the process.
But CarMax didn’t stop there. Beyond offering one price, they set up their sales team on a flat-rate, one- commission structure as well—meaning whether they sold the most expensive or the least expensive car on the lot, they would get the same commission.
They Ask You Answer Page 3
