SOCIAL MEDIAHire an Intern to Make TikTok Videos
Marketers have long turned to young people to help them navigate new tech. TikTok is no different. But according to a story in the New York Times, it helps to cut them a lot of creative slack, and even allow these youngsters to become the face of your brand if you’re not comfortable with the app, given its often confusing mix of song clips and unique vernacular. “The best way to do it is just to hire college interns,” the report quotes one small business owner as saying.
MANAGEMENTKeep the Lines Open
Once your business gets big enough, you hire someone to answer the phones. That’s great for efficiency, but it also adds a layer between you and your customers. And it’s not just you — it’s managers and anyone else who no longer answers phones. But there’s a real benefit in maintaining that contact, marketer and business author Seth Godin says, explaining that everyone on staff should spend time each month working the customer service line and answering questions. On top of learning about what people are searching for or are unhappy about, you establish a human connection to them.
GROWTHNo Regrets
How to reframe a bad decision? You were given incomplete information. The future was unknowable. What is there to regret? And if you can view such “mistakes” as chances to learn and grow or teach, you’ll be even better off, Dan Pink says in his latest book, The Power Of Regret.
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WORKFLOWGet Unstuck
If you’re procrastinating on a project, it’s often because you don’t know the next appropriate action. In such cases, it can help to ask yourself what it is that you need to find out, decide or do. “Usually the roadblock is one of those three things,” productivity coach Liz Sumner told INC. “What information do you need to locate? What decision is up in the air and what are the choices? What needs to be done so that the rest of the pieces can fall into place? Nine times out of 10, these questions will get you moving again.”
SALESPrice First, Features Second
When asked, “How much?” the first digit of a number should always be the first syllable out of your mouth. That’s the advice of sales pro Gene Chamberlain. Start with a sales line like, “You have excellent taste in cat trees” followed by a list of the features and the person stops listening. Start with the price, followed — without pause — by the features, and all of those things you list make the price seem lower and lower.
MANAGEMENTFreeze!
If you want to foster ideas from your team, don’t tell them to “be creative.” That just causes people to freeze up. A much better approach, according to a recent Businessweek article on brainstorming, is to say: “Do something only you would come up with — that none of your colleagues, friends or family would think of.” In experiments, this approach has been shown to yield twice as many creative responses.
HIRINGBeyond ‘What Are Your Weaknesses?’
In the sci-fi novel Engines of God, the code-breaker Maggie Tufu says, “Tell me what a person admires and I’ll tell you everything about them that matters.” It’s profound and true, and a great interview question.
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SALESTime to Tune In
Talk less, listen more. We know you’ve heard that before. But professionals who are smart and know what they are talking about are often the worst listeners —even those who write about communication for a living! Best-selling business author Tom Peters, for example, calls listening “the bedrock of leadership excellence,” but at the same time admits he’s a terrible listener and “a serial interrupter.” So, to help him stay focused on the other person, he writes the word “Listen” on the palm of his hand before walking into meetings. “The focus must be on what the other person is saying, not on formulating your response. That kind of listening shows respect for the other person, and they notice it,” he says. Keep it in mind — or on your palm — the next time a customer is telling you what is wrong with their beloved pet.
MANAGEMENTRead the Classics
Look for books relevant 30-plus years later. “They have stood the test oftime for a reason,” author and venture capitalist Naval Ravikant points out.
