lance cashion: remote control

Cut the BS: People Demand Honesty!

I've been on a customer service and No BS tear as of late. I won't apologize because I'm sick of people being treated like idiots by sales people and companies who want our money but don't want to deliver value or service. So, the saga continues with another story of stupidity.

Back Story:

I was having a conversation with my wife this morning (who is a fantastic Realtor). She was reading a description of a home for sale here in Fort Worth. The language used by the listing agent (I won’t use their real name) describing the home painted a picture of a lovely home that was cared for and completely updated. The agent used words like “oasis” and other whimsical language to describe this home. Come to find out, the place is a complete dump. This particular agent has a habit of doing this. Why?

I mean, what does this listing agent have to gain by misrepresenting the property and wasting people’s time? It’s stupid to think that you are going to pull the wool over people’s eyes. I mean, the place is nothing like you describe it.

The agent and consumer would be better served if the agent had said;

• This home is in a great neighborhood (True)
• This home has a lot of potential (True)
• Buyers interested in updating and showing some love to a great old home (True)
• Located in an exemplary school district (True)
• This home is the perfect way to get into a great neighborhood at a discount (True)

You get the picture.

The Real Deal:

I submit that people today are looking for complete honesty and transparency. Be honest! Don’t think you can get away with misrepresenting the truth with me. I’ll research you, the home, the neighborhood, gas leases, soil content, crime rate, previous owners and your real estate company before we even shake hands. I’ll probably know more than you will. So, stop trying to fool people.

You are missing the mark with your marketing strategy, pissing people off and ruining your reputation. Buyers exist that would love to purchase this home but, you are not marketing to them. So, Stop.

Rant over!
Lance Cashion

Do you have any experiences with this type of crap?

intel: generating leads - What's more valuable?

People are constantly being bombarded with ads, solicitations, marketing materials, etc.  We get more spam, unwanted calls and junk mail than we can handle.  

In social situations or events where there is no time or opportunity to close a sale, you must connect quickly and effectively. 

At one point, it may have been good to leave a prospect with a stack of crap about your product or service in the hope that they would contact you and buy.  This is what I call 'lame marketing' and its down right lazy.

Stop doing this!

Instead, gather your prospect's information and tell them you will email them in the next couple hours. Better yet, schedule a call with them right then and there.

"Joe, it was great meeting you today, I can schedule a call with you tomorrow at 9:30am to finish our discussion."  (write time down on your business card when you part ways, send a follow-up email ASAP)

Get their info and get their permission to connect.  Do not load them down with crap.

Acquiring a potential client's contact info and permission is more effective and valuable than giving them yours!

Have a good one

Lance Cashion

American Health Underwriters

Taking Care of Your People: The Art of the Referral pt 1

It feels good when a client sends family or friends to me for help with their health or life insurance.  What does it say about me and my work when this occurs?  It tells me that the work, product and service I provide matter.  Over the last several years, a brand has emerged around what I do and the service I provide.  This is not an accident.  When people in my network think “insurance” my face and name pop into their minds.  Many have Google or MSN set as their default homepage on their PCs.  My people have 'Lance Cashion' set as the default in their minds when it comes to insurance.  I’ve built a reputation for serving people and helping them navigate the sometimes expensive, always confusing world of insurance.

Staying in constant, but non-intrusive contact with my clients is essential in solidifying and growing my brand.  Here are a few things I do to keep this process going and growing.

Thank You Cards: I hand write one to each of my clients when their policy issues.  It is a short note in sincere gratitude for the trust they have given me and the commission that will feed my family.  I always include a couple business cards and a refrigerator magnet.  As of late, I have been including a $5 Starbucks gift card (insurance agents are limited by regulations of how much we can give to an applicant).  In the note, I always ask them to share my information with anyone who could use my service.  more here...

Birthdays: I record each of my clients and children’s birthdays into my Outlook Calendar.  I set a reminder 5 days before their birthday.  My clients will receive a card and email from me.  Their kids will receive a $10 iTunes gift card or an age appropriate gift card on their birthdays.  Have you ever received a call from one of your client’s kids thanking you for something?  I have!  In today’s world, who does this stuff?  I do.......  And it has made all the difference.

Referral Reward Program: I have set up a reward program for my clients who send customers my way.  It’s very basic and very effective.  Imagine sending your brother to me for insurance help and you get a $50 or $100 Gift card in the mail.  I don’t care how much money you have, this is effective!  I’ve now sent my client and their family to dinner or paid for groceries.  Again, I always send the gift card with a Thank You card and remind them that I am here to serve anyone they may know.

To be continued….

It’s taken me several years to develop a system where MY people know they are taken care of and want to share my service with the world.  At one point, I wanted to keep my system to myself.  Now, I see that by sharing it, I can have a positive effect on the world around me.  Send me a referral and see what happens!

See you next time and let me know if you have any questions.
 
Lance Cashion

kudos to kia: Sorento Commercial

I know very little about Kias but I know that their newest Sorento commercial is one of the best I have seen in a while.  The Sock Monkey has made a huge comeback and Kia capitalized on it with a clever play on well, playing like a kid.  Kia successfully branded the Sorento as "fun" using Sock Monkey and his stuffed animal crew wrecking house while car owners are away...  Its a Vegas bachelor party for stuffed animals and those of us who have "been there, done that".  I would like to mention that the use of The Heavy's "How You Like Me Now" is a stroke of brilliance.  

Let's see who they resonated with:

1. Current Kia owners

2. Children (use of toys)

3. Young single adults (party scenes)

4. Young families (kids toys and kiddos in the car)

5. The "cool" band clique (use of a song from a lesser known group)... Note: "cool" people won't buy sorento, b/c they are too cool.  The Heavy may lose a few fans due to the commercial.  But, they probably gained massive amounts of new listeners (itunes downloads/more attendees at gigs)... maybe another record contract and we all know Kia did not pay them in Monopoly money ;)

In the end, I think it is an effective and fun commercial to watch... I still won't buy a Sorento.  I may buy the album tho ;)

Note: If you would like to see/hear some of my audio work with Multi-d-design animation please click here...

Until next time planet earth... over and out.

Lance Cashion

ps. Link to The Heavy's "How you like me now" music video... Its pretty good.

Don't paralyze your customers

A take away from the book "Switch" and business application to health insurance sales: Below is the body of the email I sent to my team earlier today.

Decision Paralysis:

-More options, even good ones, can freeze (a customer’s) ability to make a decision. (from Switch)

-A condition of not being able to decide on a matter when there is no clear cut best option. It leads to an ever longer period of gathering more information in the hope that more information will guide the decision maker to an option that is clearly better.

Providing too many options (while well-intentioned) actually harms the potential customer you are trying to serve.  Having ONE lead-off plan is the most effective way to close sales.  Remember, you are the expert.  They depend on you to decide.

Decrease options, increase potential sales.  We lead the customer through the process of buying a plan versus giving them several plan options and pushing them to make a decision after we’ve just paralyzed their ability to decide with too much information.

At the end of the day, all of my customers walk away with EXACTLY what they need.  I serve them well and they give my contact info to their family and friends.  I become a part of their world b/c they respect me enough to allow me to work for them and know that I will do a good job for them.  My clients call me throughout the year just to chat.  I love it!  Unless you are an expert, self-serve health insurance not a good idea. 

Lance

Intel: website or blog… what will it be folks?

We’re seeing a shift in the way businesses and individuals present themselves on the web.  

"What medium do you use to communicate your service, product or brand on the internet?"

Building a website can be very expensive.  Most of us have horror stories about spending thousands building a state-or-the art website only to find that it falls into irrelevancy after a few months or years because you are at the mercy of the folks who built your site.  If you need to make an update immediately, you are often hamstrung by some developer who is going to charge you $150 per hour to make a simple update or adjustment. 

What was once a powerful marketing and communication tool for organization has become a liability due to the fact that you’ve paid a ton of money for an out-dated product that you are now baby-sitting.  Let’s not mention the frustration that comes along with the typical website service. (The company who handle my organization’s websites is outstanding, but very EXPENSIVE at times due to custom features, back end architecture and functionality.  We use www.omegabyte.com).

The Blog is taking over as the preferred identity, presentation and communication tool for companies on the internet.  Unless you require specific functionality, the Blog is very customizable and will serve you well.  The best part?  You will be in the driver’s seat and in control of your message, your presence and your web identity.  Did I mention? Blogs are usually FREE!  The days of pulling your hair out trying to reach your “web guy” are over (by the way, this may be the reason why I don’t have any hair left).

Setting up a blog is simple… you can customize and add functionality as well.  Below are some blogs that I have personally used.  Currently, I use typepad.com.  But, the beauty of the blogs I suggest below is the fact that each one is different and you can choose the one that suits your needs best! 

Typepad

Wordpress

Blogger

Feel free to contact me if you need a few tips or direction.

Lance

Timing the call is Essential

We all know that working hard toward a goal will eventually produce results.  Knowing the right time to be intense about a certain task is essential to success.  If you own a coffee shop it is more effective and profitable to be open in the mornings rather than in the middle of the night.

If you are in sales or service, what you ever considered the following:

“When is the optimal time to make contact with my client or prospects?"

“What form of communication does my client or prospect prefer?”

Not being able to reach with interested parties can be frustrating and demoralizing.  You must take a step back and ask whether or not it’s the BEST time to call before you pick up the phone.  Plan your entire day around these optimal times!  Save the busy work for down times.

Just an observation from personal experience and helping my Team succeed!  This applies to effective communication in general (family, friends, etc)