There's an interesting little snippet in the February Harvard Business Review (http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/web/2009/hbr-list/dynamics-of-personal-influence) that
points out that a person's influence increases as the degrees of separation decrease. The example given is that a person connected directly to a smoker (one degree of separation) has a 61% risk of smoking. By the third degree of separation the risk is down to 11% and goes to nil at four degrees of separation. This may seem obvious at first but the author, Nicholas A. Christakis, points out that this fact is useful to consider when targeting customers in order to build on influencers with specific connections.

The notion isn't new, it was covered comprehensively in Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point several years ago; but Christakis' point is in regard to behavioral influence which, in terms of the predilection to use a product or service, can be a useful tool for product dissemination and marketing. The extent to which the adoption or use of a product is based on behavioral characteristics (Christakis uses obesity, smoking, altruism, voting and happiness, to name a few) is the measure for the successful use of this strategic approach.

If your marketing/sales efforts are already based on this concept and are proving effective and you'd like to share some of your experiences and ideas, please let us know at the Centre. We'd like to hear about some success stories in this area.

SHA

Here's a thought for those who depend on in-store sales staff... make sure to train them well!

I had a an interesting experience of the unpleasant variety this weekend. I had been mattress shopping. Saturday was to have been my reconnaissance of what the local market has to offer but, had I found the right item for the right price, I was prepared to take the plunge. I went into a well-known store (let's call it Mattress Store X) that sells beds and bedroom furniture.

I was the sole customer and the heads of four salesmen whipped around toward me as I entered, much like the T-Rex in Fantasia on scenting the poor doomed brontosaurus. One separated himself from the herd and began to stalk me. He timed his steps so that they were slightly longer and faster than mine and as I added speed, he began a flanking maneuver that brought us together at the end of one aisle that terminated in a beautiful mahogany dresser and a NO EXIT sign.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Well..." I began, "I have trouble sleeping and have some problems with my joints and..."

He cut me off before I could finish my sentence. "We have 25 different mattresses here and surely one of them has your name on it."

Hmmm, I thought, wouldn't it be easier to sell me a mattress if he let me tell him what I was looking for?

The salesman, we'll call him Matt, bade me lie down on every horizontal bedding surface (without changing pillows, ugh, no thanks) and tell him which was most comfortable. I assured him that it would take more than a thirty second lie-down to make a four-figure decision and that I wanted some information to go along with the free sample. Matt then launched into a long monologue on pocket coils, continuous coils, pillow tops, isoform, viscoelastic, microfiber, pressure points, contours and a host of other mattress jungle jargon.

"But I don't understand when you say that this mattress has more pressure points and this one is more plush...how does this translate to which will work best for me with my sleep issues?" I asked.

Matt didn't seem to be terribly concerned with my sleep issues. But he definitely wanted to sell me a mattress. Any mattress. When he scented another customer wandering aimlessly around asking to be prey, he rushed off with a parting peremptory, "...try them all and let me know which one you want!" his talons catching and scraping on the hardwood floor as he achieved traction for the turn and leap.

I decided to do a bit more research on-line and look at a few more stores before making any major monetary decision without sufficient knowledge. As I was leaving Matt dashed over, sides heaving and sweaty browed, and said, showing a bit more tooth than I wanted to see, "So, have you decided?"

"Well, I'm not sure, perhaps I'll be back. Are you open on Sunday?"

"Yes, but I'm not here on Sunday, perhaps you could come during the week," Matt roared.

How perfect an example of NOT paying attention to customer needs at any level. This T. Rex didn't care what I wanted or when I wanted it. He only wanted his kill. I had been prepared to part with a goodly sum of money in exchange for a promise of many nights of restful and uninterrupted sleep, but we were on such different levels that there was simply no possible connection. What a waste of an hour of my life that I could have had for so many other more useful pursuits, like lawn bowling or decoupage.

Later that day, a friend told me about a book she was reading that she thought everyone involved in sales should have on their required-reading list. It's called "Integrity Selling for the 21st Century" with the subtitle "How to Sell the Way People Want to Buy" by Ron Willingham. (http://www.amazon.ca/Integrity-Selling-21st-Century-People/dp/0385509561 ) I borrowed it and spent the better part of Sunday afternoon re-learning important information about how to create positive exchanges in an ethical and helpful way. The book isn't a brilliant innovation, it's simply a cogent collection of thoughts about selling as doing something FOR people, not TO them. Willingham balances achievement drive with value creation and shows how it's not about you, but about the customer.

As women in the entrepreneurship development industry, we advise that a practical, holistic and ethical approach to making our businesses successful is the best way to build the lasting customer relationships. That teaching is totally in synch with Willingham's message and I'm happy to pass it on.

Meanwhile, I'll sleep on rocks before I return to Mattress X.

SHA

Wow, looks like we sank into the dreaded 'Blog Bog' for a while there!

Many apologies to those who follow the doings of the Women's Enterprise Centre and its devoted minions. Our website work has taken longer than we thought it would and we definitely got stuck in a bit of a rut.

To those who have had similar experiences building and maintaining a web presence for an organization or business, I can only say...forge on, if you hit obstacles and challenges, get professional help (thank you Modern Earth!), if you run out of things to say, read a newspaper, if you don't have a thought in your head because it's summer, well, who can blame you...see you in September.

However, a new day dawns here at the Centre and with it new energy to get the word out about our favourite topic, entrepreneurship and women. And anything else that strikes our fancy here that we can cull from the prodigious amount of reading , research and discussion that goes on in our hallowed halls.

We can't promise daily thrills and chills, but, hopefully, some semi-weekly thought-provoking ideas, links, insights, the occasional video clip, some reading recommendations and suggestions on good places to go to watch sunsets, hear music or learn something you didn't know before.

Welcome back, thanks for being patient.

SHA