You want to borrow my Corvette?

Posted on October 29, 2015 by johnmalik

Do you wash elephants or sell portable heaters in Alaska?

Stay with me please.

A few days ago we received an email from a client’s web management company. The client is a doctor, a medical professional in a highly competitive field here in the Upstate of South Carolina. The web management company sends us an SEO report every quarter and this report showed our client physician as #1 or #2 in organic search results on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

When they came to Jack Russell, they were spending a fortune on Google Ad Words in order to keep their website on top of local Google search results. Some of those clicks on their Google Ads were costing $25.00 per click. And that’s just a click on a web link which doesn’t guarantee a conversion to a phone number or a phone call. Four to five clicks, $100 to $150 a day. Oof!

If you’re not familiar with the way Google Ad Words works, it’s basically an auction.

Let’s say you’re in a competitive field in a saturated market. Suppose you sell portable heaters to first time cabin renters in Alaska. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of folks selling all sorts of portable heaters in Alaska. So you put up a website, post your heaters on Facebook and Twitter and wait for the phone to ring. Well, that’s not going to work because if you’re renting your first cabin in Alaska, you’re probably going to jump on Google and type in “portable heater, cabin rental, Alaska.”

The search results that pop up on page one are based on three things. Money, Location, and SEO, or search engine optimization. Google, Yahoo, and Bing are all search engines and we all use them to find stuff every day. Getting the right stuff to show up at the top of the results means that the search engine has been used to its fullest potential by that top listing.

The results with the little yellow “Ad” next to them are sponsored results and that’s where the money comes in. The company whose website has popped up first is paying Google to place them at the top. The more sellers (in this case, people selling portable heaters in Alaska) using those particular key words (portable heaters, cabin rental, Alaska) the more expensive each click becomes. If you’re not careful, your advertising expense can quickly eclipse your profit margins depending on your commodity.

Now let’s pretend we have an elephant washing business in Greenville, SC. That’s an industry with very little competition. Most of the year business will be quiet because there’s only a couple of elephants in Greenville. Then Barnum & Bailey rolls into town, their vet gets on Google and searches “elephant washing service, Greenville, SC” and boom, there we are. There’s no need to spend money or do any fancy SEO because there’s no competition.

Most of us aren’t washing elephants. We’ve got a product or service for sale, we have competitors and we don’t want to spend a fortune on Google Ad Words. The next best way to influence search results is with fresh web content and that comes down to either placing photos of kittens on your website every week, or a fresh blog post. And that’s where we come in. Our founder, John Malik, is a published author, a voracious reader and an award-winning writer that’s written for Air & Space Magazine, Chile Pepper, Bon Appetit Magazine, and the Huffington Post.

Our Doctor gets two blog essays a month posted to his website, people read his blog, share his essays with their friends, click through his website to read his reviews then schedule an appointment. And when our doctor gets compliments on his writing, he smiles and says “Thank you very much.” I know, we’re not doctors. Yet our essays are enthusiastic and knowledgeable, hand crafted to strike an emotional chord.

When he received that email from his web management company, he called and offered up his new Corvette to us for a long weekend.

And yes, my insurance is paid up.

At Jack Russell, we create engaging, timely, and relevant blog essays. We tag them with the client’s keywords then push them out on the client’s social media. And when someone reads a client’s blog post, the reader puts their eyeballs on the client’s website. We’re successful, affordable, and anonymous, which is why I don’t name clients in person. If you’d like to learn more, we will provide references in person. Just give us a call or drop us an email.

Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got a twisty road to explore.

Hope, and Change

Posted on June 26, 2015 by johnmalik

“I hope you had a great meal.”

Was he serious?

We had just finished paying over $400 for dinner for eight at a once great Charleston restaurant and not once had the manager stopped by our table. He never engaged us in conversation, he didn’t offer any wine recommendations, and there was no explanation of the evening’s specials other than a point to the chalk board on the wall. He didn’t enlighten us as to why their menu hadn’t changed in twenty years. He never explained the odd salad of California greens, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries when we were in the middle of Charleston’s growing season. He offered no defense of the gummy Key Lime Pie or the frozen lima beans that were offered up as the local vegetable of the evening.

He did walk through his half empty (on a Saturday night, no less) dining room numerous times and he did smile at us, yet he never engaged us.

Until we had paid the check and were scooting back in our chairs.

“I hope you had a great meal.”

Seriously?

When was the last time you took a Friday afternoon detour to your supervisor’s office and asked, “I hope I did a great job this week”?

I would hope never.

Many years ago I learned never to ask a diner at the end of a meal if they enjoyed themselves. Because what if they said a sincere “No, I really didn’t.” They’re finished dining, they’ve paid the bill and only then you find out they’re unhappy. What can you do? Not much. The appropriate thing to say at the end of a meal is “Thank you for coming in.”

A polished server or manager can sense when a group is enjoying themselves and doesn’t have to pander, search for validity or a compliment. And if someone isn’t enjoying themselves or is puzzled by a certain dish or disappointed by a slice of pie, that disappointment is most likely written all over their body language. At that point it’s time to ask a direct question; “Is your steak cooked the way you prefer? How are those lima beans? Are you enjoying that slice of Key Lime Pie?”

The same goes for anyone working in a team environment; you should know you’ve gotten the job done without having to resort to broad, tactless questions. When the time comes for a review or counseling session, you better know the outcome before you sit down with your team leader. So take the guess work out of your performance by paying attention and getting the dang job done in a timely and professional manner.

Let’s leave the hope out of it.

Now about that pie.

The Fuller Brush Man

Posted on June 10, 2015 by johnmalik

I can remember one of these guys coming to the house. If I’m before your time, let me explain. Many years ago, it was not an uncommon practice to hire a sales force, equip them with everything they needed, then send them out into suburbia where they would go door to door. It was the ultimate in cold calling. Just knock on the door in the middle of the day. This was a fairly common practice after Word War 2 when most suburban women didn’t have jobs outside of the home. In our home in south Louisiana, courtesy the travelling salesman, we were exposed to vacuum cleaners, encyclopedias, life insurance, soaps, potato chips, milk, and of course Fuller brushes. The Fuller Brush Company made brushes for hair, toilets, grills, cars, pets, etc and these guys were famously pushy. They carried their wares in a huge suitcase and would walk through neighborhoods selling directly from their case. They banked on their pushiness and a housewife would often buy just to get rid of them. They were so common that in 1948 MGM made a movie titled The Fuller Brush Man featuring comedian Red Skelton.

Red Skelton as the Fuller Brush Man

Ever heard that saying, “just get your foot in the door”? That was a tactic of door to door salesmen. Stick your toe over the threshold of the door and a sweet housewife wouldn’t dream of closing the door on your foot. And that gave you enough time to be charming, or stubborn. The Fuller Brush guy that came to our house (I was probably four) didn’t count on Mrs. Virginia Malik asking him if he wanted to retain the use of his left foot for the rest of the day. And that was our first and last experience with Fuller brushes. But when the guy from Charles Chips walked up, you bet we all screamed for chips.

The Charles Chip company went door to door in big delivery vans. They dropped off a fresh can and picked up the empty ones.

In today’s world, social media is our new front door, especially Facebook. It’s so integrated into our daily lives that our wall feels like a front door and its Messenger has replaced the telephone. If you’ve got a Facebook page for your business, you’ve probably had that front door opened up long enough so someone can stick their toe in your door. Over the last couple years, I’ve intercepted spam from all sorts of well-meaning but clueless folks. Beauty pageant contestants, charities, authors, bloggers, city officials, and in the last few months I’ve seen an upturn in businesses spamming other business pages. One of my clients is a pediatric dentist and his office gets more spam than all my other clients combined.

Here’s the deal, folks. People buy from people they like. And in business, before you stick your foot in the door, perhaps you should take some time to understand your prospect. Maybe even consider doing business with them first. Care to guess how many half-pound burgers I ate before one of my restaurant clients said yes?

And if your business is ladies clothing, why on earth would you spam a pediatric dentist and demand (“I’ve shared your post, now you share mine”) he like your page and share your post? Especially since you’ve never set foot in his office.

I’m hardly an authority on professional sales tactics. But I know what works. Get to know people first, understand their business, then figure out if you can help them. If they’re looking for something I can’t deliver, I’ll tell them so then pass their info off to a real marketing professional. If they’re looking for affordable social media, without all the bells and whistles that a full service marketing company provides (and charges for) then maybe I’m the guy they’re looking for. So today’s lesson is do not stick your foot in the door and do not spam a Facebook page. Practice good manners, follow professional sales techniques, and do so every day and you won’t get your foot slammed in the door.

How Can I Make You Happy?

Posted on May 1, 2015 by johnmalik

“Is everything OK?”

“No sir, the pico de gallo is a little old.”
“Oh. Is it mushy?”

“Yeah, it’s actually a lot mushy.”

“Alright.”

And off he went. All I could do was watch him carry on with his business of wiping down tables and refilling glasses of tea. What the hell?

I was having lunch at a local Tex-Mex restaurant that I enjoy. Their food is above-average, their offerings are much more interesting than the frozen and canned offerings served by the numerous $5.99 lunch special “Mexican” factories, and their prices are fair. I had ordered a side of black beans with my taco basket, and the beans come topped with pico de gallo. Tooth of the rooster, that’s the translation, pico is usually diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro with salt and pepper. As I lifted a fork of the beans to my mouth, I smelled something daunting, a strong aroma that was out of place. I took a small taste and as I rolled the beans and pico around, I took a good look at the tomatoes. They were covered in a pasty gray film. I discreetly used my napkin to remove said tomatoes then looked for a staff member, and waited.

How about if I bring you some fresh black beans and pico de gallo and a cold beer to boot?

The young man that had delivered my food walked past and that’s when the conversation ensued. And he shrugged his shoulders and carried on.

Why? Was he not used to someone complaining about the pico or the food? Had he not been trained in problem solving? Did he not care?

I was trying to be discreet because there were other people seated near me and I didn’t need to blurt out, “Hey pal, this is spoiled!” As I said, I like this place and I’ve had many enjoyable meals there.

A minute later my waitress walked past so I smiled and asked for a hand.

“Yes?”

“This pico de gallo is very old.”

“Oh, sorry about that.” And she kept on about her business.

Oh come on people! Make it right. Ask the customer, “how can I make you happy?” There was twenty five cents worth of pico de gallo on my $9.00 lunch and these two kids are about to blow this restaurant’s reputation. For Pete’s sake, will someone make a decision here.

A minute later she walked past and I stopped her.

“I was trying to be discreet earlier because this pico de gallo is spoiled. Please throw it out and bring me some fresh black beans with fresh pico de gallo.”

Well that got her attention. She quickly returned with what I asked for. And I also had my next blog post.

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, your front line people should be trained in conflict management and problem solving. If your promises are not being delivered, find out why, ask questions, and train your people to take care of business, right now. Give them permission to solve the problem right then and there. We don’t need to go get the manager, we can solve this right now. How can I make you happy? Let me go get you some fresh beans and pico and how about a cold Thomas Creek to go with those beans?

Don’t let a twenty five cent serving of anything derail years of hard work.

Now that that’s off my chest, how may I help you?