Imus Just Keeps on Teaching

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I would like to take a minute to thank Don Imus for teaching all of us some very valuable lessons.

Sometimes I can’t wait to get to my computer to start writing this column. This is one of those times. So much has happened this past week that my biggest decision was where to start. First, let me tell you that I am writing this from an airplane bound for Brussels. I am then traveling on to Turkey to speak at the European Retail Days Conference in Istanbul. I love my job and feel so grateful to be doing what I do. That’s why I will continue to do my best to deliver the best articles I can and share them to the world. Let’s get to work.

Last week’s column about the firing of Don Imus was definitely historic. The first lesson I learned was that not everyone even knew who he was. Although the story was big news in the States, it didn’t make it to the rest of the world. Many of my readers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and even a few people in the US wanted to know who Imus was. I had assumed everyone knew him.

It is the same as when we make an assumption that everybody has heard of a brand you carry or a hot look only to find out they don’t what it is. We also assume that everyone knows our store, and they just don’t. I assumed that everyone knew Don Imus but they didn’t.

Sometimes our customers need us to define the item and what we can do for them rather than just saying this item is on sale for $9.97. I didn’t define who Don Imus was in the Imus piece and I apologize. If you advertise a brand that is selling, you just can’t assume that all of your customers know about it. Educate them first and tell them why it’s hot.

That article now holds the record for the most responses to any article I have ever written. 95% of the responses were extremely favorable but there were some that blasted me for writing it. It was a business article highlighting the effect Imus had on business. Don’t take it in a direction that it wasn’t intended to go.

That’s the second lesson I learned. State your case in the first few lines because sometimes people don’t read more than the headlines. Some people read the first paragraph and responded based on that. The lesson is to be careful when you write a headline and make sure you are clearly defining what you are selling.

If the headline is so powerful, we must be careful of the headlines we use. Did you ever try to get cute and have a headline that might infer something that isn’t exactly the way it is? Some people refer to those headlines as a misdirection. It works but be careful. It’s like the retailer that uses Complete and Total Liquidation for the headline of a sale. People are going to think you are closing your doors. You might do business now but it will only come back to haunt you later.

The other lesson about headlines is that we should all use as many headlines as possible. If you are writing the copy for your web page make it look like USA Today with a headline for just about every paragraph.

Next lesson is that controversy is GOOD. It gets people involved. It empowers them and gets people all charged up. It’s not easy to push the envelope or use negative or controversial techniques but they certainly work. Many years ago when I was a retailer, my wife and our radio rep came up with an idea for an ad that they thought was a winner. They created this scenario of two women at a wedding talking during the bridal procession. You heard the organ music in the background and these women were being “catty”. They were dishing the mother of the bride and talking about how terrible her shape was and what terrible taste she had in clothes. Then one woman said, “But I saw her in Ruth’s this week.” The other woman then said, “They’re not miracle workers there, you know.” At that point, the mother of the bride came down the isle and the women said, “WOW, she looks great! I guess they are miracle workers at Ruth’s.”

Within a few hours of running that ad, I started to get calls from every woman’s organization within 25 miles demanding that the ad be pulled. The ad had started running on Wednesday and by Friday afternoon I pulled the ad. I couldn’t handle the complaints. That weekend we had almost a 50% increase in sales and we were up against some big numbers. I will never forget one woman who said at the check out counter, “I came in here to tell you how much I hated the ad you have been running. And Yes, I’ll take that shirt as well” as she spent almost $600. I think it was Harry Truman who said “I don’t care what you say about me. Just spell my name right.”

No, you can’t be outrageous all of the time but sometimes it’s healthy. Yes, you will turn off some customers but will gain so many more. Last week I had some readers unsubscribe to this newsletter. It’s their loss but the amount of new customers I gained was incredible. The article wasn’t planned to appear around the same time as the first session in my 2007 Tele-Seminar Series but it didn’t hurt it. We broke every goal for attendance and some people couldn’t even get on the line.

I always preach that if you want word of mouth advertising, give people something to talk about. I guess I gave a lot of people something to talk about– more than I expected and learned a whole lot along the way.

Thank You Mr. Imus

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I would like to take a minute to thank Don Imus for teaching all of us some very valuable lessons.

First lesson: Having an elitist attitude and condescending manner only alienates people. The people you alienate become your enemies. Who needs enemies? They just wait for the right time to pounce on you — which they did.

Thank you, Mr. Imus, for teaching us to be who we are and not try to act like some one cool and hip. You are as much of an urban rapper as I am Olympic athlete. You are not the urban cowboy with your silly cowboy hat and no one thinks of you as a Hip-Hop artist. You reminded me to be who I am.

Thank you Mr. Imus, for reminding me how a career can be destroyed in an instant with just one stupid insensitive remark. I speak to a lot a people every year and you reminded me that respect and good taste still reigns.

Thank you Mr. Imus, for reinforcing a simple belief I was taught many years ago: you only joke about things you own. An Irishman can joke about being Irish but when someone else that’s not Irish tells that same joke, it automatically sound discriminatory. That rule applies to every group and ethnicity. If you don’t own it, don’t even consider it! If you do own, you still need to make sure it’s in good taste.

Thank you Mr. Imus, for reminding me that when we start to generalize about any group of people we are on the road to disaster. There is good in the worst of people and there is bad in the best of us.

Thank you Mr. Imus, for reinforcing one of the most important points I teach. You taught us all something about the power of compliments and criticism. Sincere compliments go along way to make someone feel good about themselves. Criticism only destroys. When you describe people in a negative way, that’s criticism and it hurts. Yes, I know I’m fat, but please don’t tell me how fat I am!

Thanks Mr. Imus, for reminding me that the American people are good people who won’t stand for trash and garbage from public figures. Thanks for reminding me that American business won’t tolerate any form of discrimination not only because it’s simply bad business but because it’s just NOT the right thing to do.

During a time when our country is divided and we the midst of waging a controversial war, you Mr. Imus, had the uncanny ability to remind us that truth, justice and the American way of life is alive and well.

Did you nobly fall on the sword for all of us? Hardly. You just triggered something that many of us thought we might have forgotten or worse, suspected we might have lost.

Many years ago my father taught me that we all can learn from a fool. You Mr. Imus, have proved his theory correct. That’s not all. You have also taught us that if any business or person goes down your path of insults and mean-spirited criticism they can expect results can be as devastating as yours were.

For any of my critics that might not look at this piece not as a business issue, I’d ask you to think again and ask the accountants from MSNBC and CBS radio about the millions in advertising revenue that could have been lost due to those tasteless comments. If you think it only applies to those in the public eye, then walk outside your store and look at your sign. That’s in the public’s eye. Your comments and attitudes will serve to help create the brand that your sign represents in the mind of the consumer. Just as the logo Imus in the Morning now represents a once powerful man that has fallen from grace. Don’t let it happen to you.

So thank you, Don Imus, for teaching me (and hopefully my readers) some lessons I will never forget.

If It Rains Lemons, Make Lemonade

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I got a great comment from a reader this week that stopped me in my tracks. He shared some criticism that he felt that my weekly article had been focusing too much on me and my complaints. It sounded as if he was getting a little tired about my whining or complaining.

My response to that is I am guilty on all counts. I first look for events or situations that take place in my life that can have universal relevance to my readers. I rarely look for topics other people are writing about because if I did that what would make me different? My personal experiences are what make me different and those stories are the things that readers and audiences seem to like the most. On occasion I will comment on the news of the day when I feel it is relevant or if nothing of any interest occurred in my travels.

As for the complaining and whining aspect of the approach, yes, I tend to do that because people relate better to wrongs that needs to be corrected. In my seminars I ask a question about what people like about a subject and will hardly get any response. But if I ask what they dislike about a situation, the flood gates open. So I suppose I have adopted the “Mad as Hell and I am Not Going To Take It Anymore” attitude.

Thanks for those comments. The points were well taken and I appreciate it that you took the time to tell me. The bottom line is I will be more aware of my examples and I will try to mix it up a little bit more.

Having said all of that, did you see or read about the Coyote that walked into the Quiznos Sandwich shop in Chicago? The thought of a wild animal in a downtown store looking for food during normal store hours, with customers in the store, is a scary thought. It might even be enough of a thought to keep customers away but read the press release that Quiznos released that not only defused the situation but actually turned a negative into a superfun positive one. This is the best example of the Laugh and Get Rich Philosophy if I ever saw one. I bet there are some boring types at Quiznos who are still saying we must treat the situation with seriousness.

Brilliant! Have a great week!

What Would You Do?

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A colleague of mine recently attended a 4-day continuing education forum on business entrepreneurism. It was attended by 650 people.  Part of the curriculum was a section on negotiating skills for smaller business owners. One of the assignments that the lead instructor gave to all of the students was to go out shopping after class. He wanted every student to try to negotiate something off the price at every place they went, at any store, hotel or restaurant.  The lucky merchants of Orlando had 650 people all trying to get a deal.

It was not about need — it was for the pure sport of it. Isn’t that exactly what your customers do to you? Calling them customers might be a stretch.  Just like Survivor on TV, they just play a game to outsmart and outwit the retailer. If the retailer is quick to reduce the price, then they ask for more using every mind-bending strategy — from being cute and lovable, the “just for me” tactic to the pure intimidation approach to try to bully the retailer into getting what they want.

What are we to do to handle this new breed of customer? Actually, this is not a new breed. It’s been around for thousands of years. It’s just that we had a period of time where price integrity meant something.  I believe we have to do the same thing that our customers are doing.

What would you do when a customer asks the dreaded question: “Can you do better on the price?”

1. Be firm and maybe even a little annoyed. Then tell them you don’t ever negotiate on the price.
2. Compliment them on trying to get a better price in an upbeat positive manner, but then be firm on the price.
3. Use the “I wish we could” approach.  It’s as if you are acknowledging that is a good idea but you can’t really do anything.
4. Joke with the customer. If the item is $50, tell them you can do better and charge them $75. When they look at you weirdly, just say, “I don’t think I could do better than that from you.” They get so confused that they become happy with the $50 price. It’s cute and can sometimes be enough to deflect the focus.
5. Be willing to reduce the price by 10%.
6. Let customers negotiate. The price depends on how long the merchandise has been there.
7. Bundle things together. Tell the customer that you are willing to make a package price if you buy 2 or more.
8. Try the “I’ll do____________( this)  for you,  if you do _______________ for me.
9. Other

Click here to provide your answer

These are just a few of the strategies you can use. Let me know what you prefer and even check off (i) and add your own. Please respond on this one because the more responses we get, the better this survey becomes. Plus I can’t wait to see what you all have to say about a topic that always frustrated me and that I was never quite sure how to handle it. Negotiate too much and you will get a reputation that you will always negotiate it. Don’t ever negotiate and look at a dog for another 3 months.
I can’t wait to see your responses. I will share them all with everybody next week.

A Problem or Opportunity …or Both?

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I received a complaint email this week that I think we can all learn from. At first I looked at it as comical. Then I started to get bit annoyed with some of this person’s comments.  But I finally realized there are some great learning points for all of us to consider.

Here is the scenario. I was speaking at the Buyers Market in Philadelphia in February and when I was finished I signed and sold my books. Frankly, I must admit I love selling books at the back of a room. It’s the retailer in me that gets pumped, plus I love talking to the audience when I am finished. As far as it being a major source of my income, it certainly is not. Most people order books online and have them shipped.

There is still something special about talking to and having an author sign a book for you. I love that when I am in the audience and I always want to buy a book from the author.

Here is the problem: How many books do you bring? If you don’t have enough, you can run out and people get upset. If you bring too many, you end up shipping books back home. The charges for shipping books both ways can cost a small fortune, not to mention that the books never quite look the same after they have been shipped around the country.

My attitude as a retailer and now as a book seller is just to be happy with what you have sold. As they say about the stock market, there is room for Bulls and Bears but there is no room for Pigs. So when someone wrote into me and said, “How could you not have anticipated the rush of people who would be waiting to purchase a book and talk to you?”

Here is the rest of the story. After that engagement I shipped back home 2 boxes of books. How can that be? I sold out of The Essential Online Solution book but I had other books to sell. What do you do or say? First, I thanked the person for the complaint. You don’t shoot the messenger. She had suggested that I pre-sign my books but that takes all the panache and excitement out of the process. I simply won’t do that.

It was also suggested that I bring a credit card machine with me to speed up the process. Actually I like to tell people to fill in their own credit card information. It shows trust and continues the theme of my presentation and that is I believe in people. In the last 15 years I think I have only been stuck 3 or 4 times ever.  But NO, I would never do it in a retail shop.

The reader also mentioned that one person lost his book during all of the confusion. He did and I inadvertently gave it to someone else. I made a mistake and when I realized what had happened, I offered to send him a free book… which I did.

So what are the lessons?

• It is far more profitable to always sell out.
• Personalize the buying process as much as you can even if it takes a few moments longer. It’s what differentiates us.
• If you make a blatant error, correct it as soon as possible regardless of time or cost to you.
• Appreciate the complaints even if you feel that they are silly.
• Here is the most important lesson of all: work to create the “Buying Frenzy.” These are the special times that the customer just gets caught up in buying your products.

The person who wrote complaining to me probably told the story to a whole bunch of people before she sat down to write to me. I call that word of mouth advertising. I am sure she probably said something like, “This man couldn’t sell his books fast enough and then he sold out.” “Do you believe an author didn’t bring enough books?” If I heard that, my first question would be, “What’s the name of the book that everybody wanted?” The next question I would have would be, “What’s the author’s name?” Then I would go online and buy the book.

As for the question of anticipating the right amount of merchandise to have, I wish it were more of an exact science. However, it can only be based on past performance and your own instincts and a little bit of luck. I have had the thrill of selling out and the agony of shipping things back. The sell out is a much better experience, even if you have to disappoint a few people. So until technology can tell us exactly how much product to have, I will lend you the crystal ball I bought today at the flea market.