Showing Up Is Not Enough

As I watched the Olympics this summer, I was struck by the enormous amount of time, effort, and dedication each athlete had invested in preparation for the Olympic Games.  They had literally arranged their lives around this preparation.  Over and over I heard stories about missing events that many of us consider milestones such as prom. weddings, and birthday celebrations.  Some moved away from home and family to train.  Others had their families rearrange their schedules around the athlete’s training regimen.  All of them devoted hours everyday to honing their skills. 

Whether they won or lost, their determined preparation commanded my respect.  

Toward the end of the games, I was prompted to compare their efforts with ours in business.  The adage “Showing up is 90%” came to mind.  Pondering that, I wondered, Is showing up enough?

Thinking about it further, I realized that just showing up is a very low goal.  If all the Olympic athletes had just shown up, how would they have done?   Perhaps their natural talent would have helped them, but they certainly would not have had the results they achieved.  They also would not have had the feeling of accomplishment after investing in hours of intense training.

Today’s customers, whether consumers or businesspeople, all feel very time-starved.  They greatly appreciate dealing with a salesperson or a company that is prepared.  They immediately recognize someone who is unprepared and know that they will spend more time, have fewer answers, and possibly not get the best outcome because of it.

Talking to or getting face-to-face with a customer without preparation is not enough.  To be successful, a salesperson and a company need to invest time and effort in preparing.  The company needs to set up systems that handle customers smoothly and thoroughly.  The salesperson needs to take time to think through a call before making it.  What does the customer want?  What does the salesperson want to know about the customer before making a suggestion?  How does what the company offers satisfy the customer’s wants?

Knowing the answers to these questions and more like them prior to interacting with a customer is preparation.  As my career has progressed, I learned to do this.  I realized that every situation is its own unique opportunity and that I would not get a second chance at it.  Thus, I schooled myself to make the most of each one.  This helped me work smarter, not harder. 

That’s why I haven’t sent you an Insight for a while.  I have been working on a new Web site and vowed that I would finish before talking to you again.  The change has taken longer than I expected, but I am excited to show you the results.  My preparation exceeds my original expectations. 

Next week I will share those preparations with you.

Remember, being prepared when you show up makes the difference in developing a customer and generating more revenue.         

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What difference has preparation made for your business?  E-mail me your answer. 

Refreshing Honesty

After Michael Phelps came in fourth in his first race the first Saturday of the Olympics, I was all set to write an Insight about it.  However, I deliberately delayed to see what happened as he swam more events.  I’m glad that I did.  From today’s perspective, I see his Olympics differently.

In an interview, Michael said that he had tightened up during that first race.  When asked about the silver that he received in the second race, he said that he had gotten sloppy recently about finishing his practice swims, and it showed up there. 

He gave a realistic assessment with no excuses.  He said that he had set goals for this Olympics and that he had achieved them.  One of his goals was to have fun.  After his intense Olympics in Bejing where he won eight gold medals, that was understandable.  He came out of Bejing on such a high that he fell into a deep depression.  He wanted his London experience to be balanced. 

He also wanted to go out on top.  For that reason, he was unswerving in his statement that this was his last Olympics.  “Your mother says she wants to go to Rio,” mentioned an interviewer.

“I told her that we can go to Rio in four years,” Phelps replied, “but I’ll be in the stands, not in the pool.”

He also wanted to set an example for younger swimmers.  After watching Michael and Alison win their races, fifteen-year-old Olympian Katie Ledecky won the 1500 meter race, one that no one thought she would win.  “You emulate and follow the best,” she commented.

Winning and success are a result of preparing and going out and doing a good job every time.  You don’t prepare to win.  You prepare to do well every time.  Of his first swim, Michael noted, “I did the preparation that I did, and I got the results that I deserved for that preparation.”

I loved Michael’s refreshing honesty.  We can all learn from his example of setting goals, preparing to do well, having fun, and setting an example.  Most importantly, we can learn to maintain our focus.  It will help us reach our goals.  Once we have reached our goals, set new ones.  Be ready to move from the pool to the stands and keep our energies flowing.

The Winner

Watching kids dressed in USA Olympic uniforms deplaning amid cheers and then entering the opening ceremonies carrying the American flag, I thought, "What is this?"

The commercial continued with kids at a press conference, a young girl in a sparkling costume about to enter the skating rink, an Apolo Ohno-type boy eyeing his competition at the starting line, four boys grabbing a bobsled for a run, and a kid poised to start the downhill course. As the sound signaled the start, the scene shifted from the child to a mother in the crowd, holding her breath. The commercials ended with this written on the screen: "To their moms, they'll always be kids."

I was choked up, and I'm not a mom. "Wow! What a commercial! Who did this?"

The P & G logo plus those of many of its brands flashed across the screen.

I enjoyed this commercial each time that I saw it in its various forms over the two weeks of the Olympics. The second week, P & G introduced a second commercial, one with moms singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" as they helped their children grow up. That one ended with "Thanks, Mom." That one, too, choked me up.

I was impressed with these commercials for three reasons. First of all, they targeted their market. Their market was moms. These commercials demonstrated that P & G knew what moms wanted, and they communicated that understanding. If these commercials choked up a non-mom such as me, I suspect that they had a huge impact on moms. At the end of each commercial, along with the logos P & G called itself "Proud Sponsor of Moms."

This was giving credit to those in the background behind the athletes, their moms.

The second reason that I was impressed was the emotional connection that these commercials made with the viewer. Eliciting emotion is not easy. Commercials which do so are rare.

They are also very effective.

Taking this emotion and tying it to the event in which the commercials aired, the Olympics, gave the commercials greater attention and memorability. As much as the Super Bowl commercials are touted to be worth watching, I cannot remember any Super Bowl commercial which tied itself to the game and did so as emotionally as these P & G commercials did. Revisiting these commercials on YouTube, I found that I was not alone. The first commercial had had almost 200,000 views.

How do you translate this to your advertising?

I understand that you do not have the budget nor the staff of P & G. However, you can apply what P & G did. First, know your target market. Know what your target market wants. Know what gets your target market's attention. Use that knowledge in your marketing message.

Second, make an emotional connection with your target market. This is tricky and difficult to do. It will require some thought. Perhaps you will not find a way to do so. If not, you can accomplish P & G's third achievement. Connect with an event and tie your advertising into that event. Perhaps in doing so, you will find your emotional connection.

Either way, following P & G's example will get more attention and memorability to your ads.

Lessons from the Olympians

Watching the Olympics the past two weeks, I have been struck by the individual stories and the lessons that we can all learn from them. Most of the situations that these athletes have encountered are reflective of what all of us occasionally find, although perhaps not in the same form. Tragedies such as that of Joannie Rochette, the Canadian skater whose mother died suddenly, have touched everyone's life. Injuries such as those experienced by Lindsey Vonn have happened to some of us. Disappointments such as Bode Miller felt in not doing well during the 2006 Olympics have been endured by us all.

As I heard story after story of these athletes, I realized that the commentators often revealed the keys to the athletes' success. Over and over, the commentators mentioned the training and preparation of the athletes. Referring to the figure skating, commentators frequently stated that "relying on the athlete's training and preparation helped the athlete skate clean."

Over and over, this proved true. The athletes who had not been training and preparing came up short. This was obvious in their performance, even to the average person. On the other hand, those who had been training and preparing did their best, and that is all any athlete can do. That training and preparation enabled Joannie to skate her best through her grief. It allowed Lindsey to take to the slopes with a bruised shin. It pushed Bode down the course and onto the medal stand three times.

They did their best because of training and preparation.

In business, we attend our Olympic events every day. Every day we want to do our best to keep our businesses profitable and our customers coming back. Unlike the athletes, however, many business people do not take the time for preparation and training. Mostly, we fly by the seat of our pants, handling situations as we encounter them rather than preparing and training for them. We are immersed in our daily routine and don't take the time to step back, look at our businesses, and make preparations.

We don't invest time, either, in training ourselves or our employees in how to do better.

Sadly, this leads most of us not to do our best. Although we may not want to admit it, most of us could do much better in our businesses. Most of us are not satisfied. Many know that their companies are not doing the best. Many also do not realize that lack of preparation and training are responsible.

Look at successful entrepreneurs, and you will find people who invest in preparation and training on a continuous basis. This doesn't happen only when they start their businesses. It doesn't occur once-in-awhile. Preparation and training are a regular part of their business activity. These are the keys to their success.

Take a look at your business. Are you investing time in preparing and training for you and your employees to do your best?

The Power of Focus

Watching the Olympics the past two weeks, I have been struck by a recurrent theme from the winning athletes: their power of focus. As he swam his way to eight gold metals, Michael Phelps received much speculation from announcers. What were the reasons for his success? Was it the space-engineered suit that he wore? Was it the five hours per day that he spent in the pool preparing for the Olympics? Was it the "fast" water in the pool at the Water Cube? His coach and Michael himself both said that his success was due to his focus. He did whatever it took to maintain it. Prior to his events, he listened to specially-chosen music which helped him focus. He only gave interviews when it fit his schedule. He laid out his schedule and his plan and stuck to it. He said, "The next few days I will eat, sleep, and swim." That is what he did. He maintained his focus.

So did Shawn Johnson in gymnastics. The final American team exercise was on the balance beam. Shawn was one of the last to do her routine. As the others were performing their routines, she turned away, mentally and physically focusing. Two of her teammates did not follow Shawn's example, instead watching the prior routines. The girls doing the routines that they were watching had big problems and fell off the beam. When her teammates got on the beam, they, too, had problems, which contributed to a lower score for the team. Shawn maintained her focus and performed a beautiful routine.

Beach volleyball’s two-time gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor kept their focus, too. They did not let getting behind shake them. They did not worry about facing a tough team. They focused on playing their game, one play at a time. When asked how you win, one announcer had said, "By focusing on one play at a time." The winners all focused on playing their game and doing their best, one race, one routine, and one play at a time.

They did not spend time worrying about what the competition was doing. Some of the losers in track and field did a great deal of glancing to the side or even to the back to check out their competition. Announcers pointed out that doing so was not productive and helped them lose the race. Instead of focusing on doing their best, these athletes were focusing on everyone else, especially someone who might be doing better than they were.

I see business people do this all the time. They get "caught up" in what their competition is doing and are constantly checking out the competition's advertising, pricing, and selection. Rather than laying out a plan for their businesses, they react to their competition. They worry about losing business to their competition. They get upset when customers go to their competition. They agonize over pricing their product, service, or information in relation to their competition.

While knowing your competition is important, giving your competition too much attention is not. Just as Kerri and Misty studied tapes of their competition before they played, you want to know your competition and incorporate that knowledge into your marketing plan. Then, one day at a time, focus on implementing your plan.

The power of focus is dramatic and profitable. Are you using it?