I’ll bet that if you ask most CEOs and sales VPs they can list at least a dozen ways in which their organizations are doing a better job now
than they were in past years: improvements by using scientific, personality fitness assessment tools means much smarter hiring and impressively reducing sales-rep turnover, more customer-nurturing focused processes and best-practice policies means no one ever falls through the cracks again, exciting new technology platforms means stronger sales-and-marketing alignment, and so on.

But if execs are speaking frankly, most will also acknowledge there is one area where neither is making much progress:

Sales Forecasting.

And it is making things progressively muddier.

Many have installed CRMs, established sometimes quite elaborate selling processes, and invested substantially in the latest thing in
sales skills training, but are still unable to consistently deliver forecasts that senior management can feel confident about.

Forecast accuracy depends on pipeline predictability, and pipeline predictability is tough. So how does revenue get lost
in the pipeline? Some the ways:

1. Deal closing slippage―the opportunity moves back to an earlier stage in the pipeline.
2. Stalled deal― the opportunity doesn’t move back, but it doesn’t move forward either.
3. Wrong stage― the sales rep has misread the buying signals or mishandled, appropriate follow-up.
4. Incorrect revenue amounts―the rep thinks (hopes) the deal is worth much more than it really is.
5. Unrealistic timelines―progress is being made, but way more slowly than anyone on the sales side expected.

All these problems stem from a single source: the necessarily highly subjective view of the sales rep.
In any of the software, or software-as-a-service CRMs, it’s the sales rep who makes the decisions about what data to
enter―pipeline stage, revenue estimates, everything.

Even the best salespeople―often especially the best salespeople―want to believe that the deal is bigger, more solid
and much faster-closing than the facts might suggest.
But what exactly are the facts? Where exactly are the facts?
Newer CRM and upgraded versions, euphemistically called CRM 2.0 offer most of the answers to effective and dependable
sales prognostications and radically reduces dependence on crystal-balls.

Good Nurturing

Jim

“OOOOh, I get by with a little help from my friends” Janice Joplin

If you're up for it, I'd like to personally and privately answer your most pressing business questions.

We'll get on the phone - just you and I - and for 30-minutes I'll answer any and every (pre submitted) question you
give me about growing your business by nurturing, making more money from using nurturing touches in your online and social media marketing efforts,
or even just getting more free time to nurture yourself for a change... whatever!

By the time we've completed our half-hour together, I can guarantee you'll have a brand new perspective on ways to go about proactively growing your
business (and your income over the next 30, 60 and 90 days).

It’ll be like a generous feeding of Miracle-Gro applied your business garden.

Just imagine the harvests.

Interested?

Okay then, here's all I need you do:
Go to my newest blog post at www.nurturemarketingblog.com right now and subscribe and freely comment on the posts.

Read it.

Leave me a comment answering the following 2 questions:

1 – What was Your Biggest Take-away from these post?

2 - What From Here (this blog) Do You Want Me To
     Expand On For Future posts?

Then, shoot out a quick tweet about the post.

On Monday I'm going to pick one lucky reader
(who also tweeted) to receive that free 1/2 hour
one on one call with me.

I'll announce the winner in next week's post.

Good Nurturing

Jim

Question:
If someone wants to nurture sales inquiries what process would you recommend? 

Ask prospects when, under what circumstances, frequency tolerance, and in which media they want you to stay in touch. Then do exactly what they say.

Totally new dictates of customer relationship management demands that sales and marketing must work together to nurture slow-adopting prospects with relevant, timely, personalized communications and other contacts. 
Disparate technologies and a lack of sales/marketing alignment are stifling revenue growth for many organizations. 
Best-in-Class practices for nurturing the lead lifecycle all across marketing, sales, and customer service; sets a new standard for B2B marketers and deliver a sustainable competitive advantage.  

What will happen if your organization consistently does a better job with overall lead management and opportunity generation?

Good Nurturing

Jim

                                                                Fact: “As the twig is bent, so shall it grow”. So who is doing the bending for you?

I was interviewed recently to discuss nurturing. The host asked me a number of things that were fairly easy to answer but one question he asked me was “whom were my mentors” in life that shaped my focus to Nurturing Customer Relationships. Shortly after 1995, following an exhaustive market study with CEO groups across the world, the proof was becoming crystal clear. The answer to the main question I asked every group; “How Do Professional Services Providers Gain Access To and ultimately Of Influence with the CEO”.

Of all the guru’s that have greatly assisted me was Jim Rohn. His deep understanding of and his perpetual articulation of the immutable connection between Nature and Humans.
His ‘common-man’, down to earth teaching style was hypnotic to watch. In studying his many writings, I found an abundant treasure of wisdom, kindness and authentic nurturing quotes
that grace so many of my presentations. I am honored to share with you one of my top-5 mentors.

Jim Rohn was born in Yakima, Washington.

By age 25 (according to his accounts), Jim Rohn  was in a personal rut familiar to many middle-class families who were in debt, unable to see a way that would lead to his personal ambitions.

Around this time, he was introduced to John Earl Shoaff, an entrepreneur who impressed Rohn with his wealth, business accomplishments, charisma and life philosophy. Rohn joined Shoaff's direct sales organization, and began a process of personal development that culminated in his becoming a millionaire by age 31. Unfortunately, Shoaff, who had challenged Rohn to reach for this goal, died one year before Rohn achieved it.

In the years that followed, Rohn discovered a demand from people outside his industry to hear his rags to riches stories, and the personal development philosophy that he felt had led to his accomplishments. Rohn has been presenting his seminars for more than 40 years.

He has addressed over 6,000 audiences and 4 million people worldwide. He was the recipient of the 1985 National Speakers Association CPAE Award. He is also the author of 17 different books, audio and video programs.

Jim Rohn was considered a "Business Philosopher". He did not claim to teach novel truths, only fundamentals - and as he was fond of saying: "There are no new fundamentals. Truth is not new, it's old. You've got to be a little suspicious of the guy who says, 'come over here, I want to show you my manufactured antiques!' No, you can't manufacture antiques." Whoever rendered service to many put himself in line for greatness – great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.

"Asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won't laugh at you."

"Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it."

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better."

"The most important question to ask in a job is not what am I getting but what I get to become from it."

§  Philosophy - how you think

§  Attitude -     how you feel

§  Action -       what you do

§  Results -      ways you measure to see if you are making progress

§  Lifestyle -    earning the kind of life you can make for yourself out of the first four pieces

Thank you Jim Rohn

Good Nurturing

Jim

O.K. I confess, I am a sucker for this sweet day. A few years ago, I wrote an, aptly named, article on the topic and after rereading and minor edits I discovered it was as authentic and relevant today as .It was nearly a decade ago. Your comments, either way are welcomed.

        Affection; The only known, permanent Antidote for Defection is Affection”

              Creating Customer Nurturing Experiences

Jim Cecil

Valentines Day. What a rare day in many parts of the world to say Thank-You to those you love the most, certainly to your close, best customers, best friends.  
My friend, Bob Valentine, now retired President of Valco Graphics in Tukwila, Washington, had a natural way of saying Thank You.

Each year, as a high-end / high-volume commercial  printing firm, he produced an elegant, often extravagant,  valentine greeting, hand-signed and mailed it to
his best customers with a note that said some variation of,
“With a name like mine and customers like you, every day really is Valentines Day.” Then mailed using U. S. Postage.

OK. Sure, I know it’s easy enough for a guy with a name like Valentine, but here’s a question; how do you express the appreciation, respect and affection
you feel to your best customers?  On a day honored globally as a day for expressing affection?  It’s easier than you might imagine. All it takes is an intention
to mold stronger ties with key individuals +  a willing, administratively skilled-assistant to help with the details like early warning reminders and production,
and making the time and patience to sit
down and write a few simple letters.

Research has shown that frequent contact between key executives of key customers is the hallmark of a healthy and growing business relationship and it seems
to prove true across all cultures and all ethnic customs. As time grows progressively scarcer, finding the opportunity to make frequent, positive, intelligent and
personal interactions (experiences) with even your top 20 customers used to be tough.

It was one of those critical but frequently postponed responsibilities of every customer- focused executive. I advise our clients to plan a minimum of nine
‘relationship-building touches’, evenly spaced over a period of from two years to life to ensure that the fundamentals of relationship management are covered.

While Valentines Day is a wonderfully appropriate time to begin, nurturing touches are welcome all year round. I can think of at least nine letters that every executive could sign.

Start with a sincere Thank You letter and then at about 60-day intervals, send the following:

*  A Customer Satisfaction Inquiry                           *  An Article of Interest

* New Service Opinion/Preview                                * an Invitation to Event

* An Executive Book Summary Gift                          * Your 21 Best Tips

* A Referral Offer to Help                                         * Your Core Values

Like a gentle, spring shower, such contacts reinforce and respectfully articulate your interest, your values, your market position and your unique differentiation. And best of all, done in an intelligent and helpful manner.

One that says you consider them to be an “A” customer.
Q: Why not begin today? Start with a list naming the ten people whom you love the most on the planet and then a similar list identifying the key person in each of your 20 best customers,.

Say Thank You.  In your own words — tell the person how much this business relationship means to you personally and invite a dialogue on ways to even strengthen the bond.

Say How’re We Doin?   It’s not necessary to send a massive customer opinion survey. Just a sincere letter that tells them why you are asking the five questions you’d like addressed. You pick the questions — what do you really what to know? Make the scoring simple as 1 – 5 or A, B or C. Assure the reader you will personally review and act on any comments they make. And offer a summary of findings to those who respond

Say What do you think?  Ask their opinion about products or services before you change or add them. They’ll tell you the truth and will usually become your earliest adopters if you are right.

Say I thought about you today. By all means, Set a Google Alert on those you love and those customers you just can not lose.Send a relevant, visionary book or even an executive summary as a gift. A simple, brief note that says “I read this the other day and thought about you (or our customers) and wanted you to have a copy.”
(see www.compendiuminc.com )

Say How can I help?  Where does it hurt?  Offer to refer or introduce them to your contacts. Ask them to profile an “A” prospect from their perspective and allow you to suggest appropriate introductions. A basic law of Nature, a fundamental law of the harvest insists you feed before you reap and the law of reciprocity almost guarantees the favor will be returned, often in abundant ways.  

Say Have you seen this?  Stay on the lookout for articles, books, or even individual press mentions. (Google Alerts) A brief note attached to the article says volumes in a short space. It’s a relevant touch that reminds without pressure.

Say Come Join Us!  Invite your top 20 to an event at least once a year. It can be a personal and individual appreciation luncheon, a new product launch, an introduction to a VIP event or virtually any reason to ask people to join you and to feed them. It’s an ancient and proven ritual that fuses people together.

Say Here’s 21 Tips.  Every firm has developed, over time, their own unique compendium of great tips, tricks, solutions, ideas, and clues to solving major problems for their customers. Have a list of these nuggets compiled, edited and printed. They make a useful, intelligent and appreciated gift that keeps you in front of their mind often.

Say We’re here for you.  Find unique ways to express your values without your having to say them about yourself. I found a great little book called “Whatever It Takes,” (www.compendiuminc.com) and in 128 pages, there are over 300 powerful quotations on the topic of the simple value of going the extra mile. Naturally, as the sender, you get attached to the values enclosed and with every reading, you reinforce on their mind one of your key attitudes about your relationship — doing whatever it takes. Oh, and by the way, you can automate the entire process.

While every day is rarely Valentines Day, every day our key customers, employees and fans need tangible reminders that we care and that we take them seriously. Like an ardent suitor, a campaign of personalized contacts will allow you to pursue, persist and inspire customer loyalty with professional and appropriate persistence.

What would happen if you made this Valentines Day the day you commit to intentionally touching at least, your personal most beloved one, your top 20 customers, your valued employees and even your key suppliers and alliances, and make those contacts ones that matter.
If words fail you, you can find letters like these and many more at www.nurtureinstitute.com , 101 Business Love Letters, eBook. It’s a Valentine for you for Valentines day at a very sweet price.

Jim Cecil consults marketing teams on customer nurturing. For a free electronic copy of his booklet, A Cure for the Common Cold Call,

Visit www.nurtureinstitute.com or 425 698 7601

So, a warm, Happy Valentines Day to you and to natural-nurturers, everywhere

Jim

                                             “When you need a friend, it’s too late to make one” Mark Twain

What better way to nurture than to say thank you and by sending a great business love-letter. Finding the emotional acuity and the precise words to write
an authentic and sincere thank you is often the only deterrent to nurturing special client relationships.
Our Nurture Institute’s ‘Nurture Writers Guild’ collaborated on creating, finding and sharing the best words and  ideas for showing true appreciation and special affection.

We asked everybody we could think of around the world to submit for consideration, the very best business thank-you
letters they had ever seen or written or sent. Since our clientele are mostly natural-nurturers at heart, you can’t believe the number of responses we got.
The concentrated sessions of reading submissions, one after another, often created sort of a love-rush, almost like an overdose of chocolate and required frequent breaks
 due to the raw, caring expressions of appreciation and acknowledgement that just kept coming.

You can imagine the energy that was being created during the finding, reading and selecting the very best.
It was an exhilarating and rewarding exercise for the Nurture Writers Guild™ team and me.
We asked clients and friends across the globe to contribute their best examples and we wove them into a very helpful eBook.

Imagine having 101 of the best thank-you notes at your digital fingertips to select, edit and send in either eMail or hand-written form. No sudden emotional shift or sudden poetic inspiration needed. Just select from the segmented chapters, pick the letter that feels just right to you, cut, paste, edit, send. Never miss another opportunity to

Send a message that matters just for a lack of words.

Due to the natural nurturer’s natural habit of acknowledging the special emotions often evoked on Valentine’s Day, we want to make it a bit easier for you to

Published at $19.95, we are offering this always useful eBook-tool, through Valentine’s day at $7.95.
An eMail to jim@nurtureinstitute.com or phone call to 425 698 7601 will always get a prompt reply

It is one great asset to add to your nurturing philosophy and to help make a lasting impression on those you most want to influence. How many of your clients, friends, centers of influence, employees,  would benefit from having this, ‘just the right words’,  assistant at their computer.

It just might be the perfect and, oh so, appropriate Valentines gift this year.

Good Nurturing and Love

Jim

                                               “Follow not where the path may lead. Tread instead where there is no path and leave your own trail”. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Following a recent speech,  I was asked to sit for an interview for a magazine article and I requested that the writer eMail  the questions he wanted answered to me. He quickly emailed what he was hoping to get back.  As I wrote my responses, I realized, again, the importance of questions.

Have you a question or two of your own to add to these, perhaps? How about answers?

Read on.

Q1. Who are your mentors and why?       

Napoleon Hill, Discovered and explained; The ‘Ultimate Laws of Success’ to the world. 1936
Seth Godin, Discovered and teaches / coaches, blogs, Permission-Marketing. 1999
Ralph Bruksos, Coaches business excellence. Gentle, wise, caring guide. 1980

Q. What is the most helpful advice you've received to improve your business?       

“Outta’ sight is outta’ mind and outta’ mind is outta’ money, honey” Mae West 1928

Q. What is the most helpful advice you can give to help others improve their businesses? 

Identify and select a specific niche to serve and nurture.
Be or become an expert in the unique challenges that face this group.
Collect from the best experts in these issues and learn to be and be a true
‘good friend in the their business’.

Design and automate a follow-up process and campaigns for customers and slow-adopters.

Q. How do you give back to the professional community?

I write and blog (www.nurturemarketingblog.com extensively on how to do a better job of nurturing customer relationships, existing clients, slow-adopting prospects and centers of influence. My work at the Nurture Institute allows me to provide anyone, working in an environment where nurturing is truly the only philosophy given today's dramatic marketing shifts.  We continually introduce examples of other nurturers who are addressing similar issues as well.

Q. What is your favorite business book?       

‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill, 1936.       By a landslide.

Q. Which 4 basic skills or process steps do you recommend?  

1) Identify The ones you want most to get and to keep.

2) Individualize Think Dossier not Database.

3) Interact    Do it, Test it, Automate it, Delegate it or Ditch it

4) Influence.  Helping Customers Succeed

Q. In your opinion, the best nurture-marketing book is:    

Blush, blush! “Nurturing Customer Relationships”, Jim Cecil, Eric Rabinowitz, Karin Rex, Carol Ellison

Q. Your reasons for choosing this book are:

A classic masterpiece that digs deep into how buyers learn to trust sellers. A step by step workbook on ways to your nurture business garden vastly far better.

Q. What would you say to someone who asks what to do first in managing sales leads?  

I’d say to them, Just 'Do it, test it, automate it, delegate it, or ditch it!' is our methodology for success. The Nurture Institute will take you from concept to profit --
Our team will teach you how to create and distribute messages that matter and communiqués that open doors, sell your products and articulates your uniqueness and your specific services.

Q. If someone wants to nurture sales inquiries what process would you recommend?

Since nurturing is all about gaining and maintaining explicit permission to remain in appropriate contact with your audience, then appropriate,
Interesting, relevant, compelling, always valuable, sometimes even entertaining content is the best way I know to maintain this vital permission and not have your audience "tune out" and just block-sender.
Think first of helping customers succeed, and only then, when you have earned and maintained that permission, should you ever think about
trying to sell them anything, especially if you are planning a long term relationship.

Q. What steps would you suggest to measure the ROI for sales inquiries?    

Only by professionally qualifying and understanding where each lead actually is in their overall buying process can we then assess what nurturing campaigns actually do to move them forward in the process. There is authentic value, for example, in re-engaging slow-adopting, "dead" or inactive leads, but this is difficult to measure unless you have categorized prospects actual buying cycle carefully and objectively.

My Magic formula: NDIO X CR = $. 
Number of Deals In-on X Closing Ratio = $ales

Good Nurturing

Jim 

Reflections on business development: “Force yourself into more different circles. History tells that the Roman statesman, Cicero, was born into severe poverty and actually had little chance for power unless he managed to make a place for himself among the aristocrats who controlled the city. He succeeded brilliantly, by identifying, always bringing value and drove himself to mingle everywhere, got to know everyone and built by hand such a vast network of solid connections and personal contacts that he earned power.”  

Harsh-Reality now: Improving things/making something better is a vital source of value creation. And the list goes on and reinforces that a multiplier of value lies in its uniqueness. Solve a problem or improve something in a uniquely superior manner increases the value substantially.

No client today wants to see art work they want to see ROI. Everyone these days is a social media expert. Bah Humbug. All I want to see – All investors, prospects, clients, employees want to see – All clients want to see = ROI, Metrics and Analytics. That’s it. Everything else is the cherry on top. So next time you consider the pretty website you want to build and how amazing you are at sending tweets, remember to start with exactly how much money all that fun activity is going to make. Or SHIFT!
Good Nurturing.
Jim

           “The quality of my life lies in the quality of my communications with myself and others,

                   I further believe that the quality of my communications lies in the quality and
                                    quantity of questions that I ask myself and others” Anthony Robbins

One of the few marketing gurus I follow closely is Rich Schefren.   rich@strategicprofits.com
His recent post on the power of questions prompted me to try one of my own with you. Caution prevailed and suggested I send the post as Rich originally posted it and see what the statistics tell me.
Q? Does this prompt you to begin asking a few more and better questions?

Do you give Good Nurturing?
Jim

Here is Rich/s posting:

Ask yourself…….?

Can you write a valuable blog post made up entirely of questions?

I think I can, but will you give me your opinion by commenting below once you finish reading it?

Should we begin? I’m ready, are you?

How’s your business going? Is it doing as well as you used to dream it would? Do you think you could improve it right now?

If you were forced to, what could you do right now that would move your business in the right direction? Are you willing to commit to doing it today? If you are willing, will you write it down right now, so you don’t forget?

Do you procrastinate? Why do you think you do it? Do you really enjoy the activities you do instead? If you had to choose, would you say it’s a fear of failure, or a fear of success? Could it just be a bad habit?

If procrastination was just a bad habit, would you be willing to create a new habit of being action oriented instead? If so, can you commit to doing that one thing that’ll improve your business (the one I asked you to write down) as soon as you finished commenting on this blog post?

Do you think this is an interesting experiment so far? Are you getting value out of it? Should I assume if you’re still reading you are? Should I continue?

Have you ever stopped and thought about how much you already know? Can you imagine how different your life might be if you applied everything you already know? Could blog posts like these that just ask questions (instead of telling you more to know) help you use more of what you already know? If so, do you think you might see more blog posts that are made up of just questions like this one?

Do you think if you share really good content with your prospects they would immediately buy more from you? What if they already had enough? Don’t we all have enough already?

Well, if good content isn’t enough to get people to buy, what does get people to buy? Don’t you think people buy to solve a problem or problems? So, what if your content helped your prospects understand their problems better and showed them how your product or service solved it? Do you see how much more effective this sort of content would be?

Are you crystal clear on precisely what problems your product or service solves? While I’m sure you know a lot about what you sell, how much do you know about the problem it solves?

Do you know more about the problems your prospects experience than they do? Don’t you think you should?  Because if you did, couldn’t you write great content that helped your prospect better understand their problem?  And wouldn’t they trust and like you better because you knew their problem so well?

Then when you told them about what you offered and why it was the best way to solve their problem, don’t you think a lot more of them would buy it? Are you now going to learn more about your prospects problems?

Would you like to know how I learn more about my prospects’ problems? Do you want me to tell you in my next blog post? If so, will you tell me that in the comments below? If not, would you tell me what you do want me to write about in the comments below?

So, what do you think? Would you believe me if I told you this was one of the easiest blog posts I’ve ever written? Does that matter to you anyway?

Should I write some more posts like this?  Would you be willing to read them if I did?

If you had to guess, do you think more people will like this or hate this? Won’t you know after you read the comments below?

Before you go, can you do two small favors for me?

1.  Would you tell me what you think (below)?

2.  Can you tweet this, tell others, and ask them what they think to?

Should I say thank you in advance?