The New Rules of Sales & Service by David Meerman Scott
"Sooner or later the world will be interested in your area of expertise." —David Meerman Scott from The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business.
But, will YOU (companies or individuals) be able to deliver YOUR expertise at PRECISELY the RIGHT time when the customer needs it?
That's just one of several game-changing concepts David Meerman Scott describes in hs latest book.
BOTTOM LINE: Buy and study it. The New Rules of Sales and Service (NRSS) ROCKS!! It's destined to become another Meerman Scott classic.
Social Media ReInvention Community Members know I'm a huge fan and student of David's teachings.
I own and constantly refer to these classic books:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History
As soon as I learned about this book, I pre-ordered the NRSS hardcover and Kindle versions. My review is based on an advance, draft copy of The New Rules of Sales and Service on which I'm basing this review.
A Rebel with a Cause
The New Rules of Sales and Service is written in David's trademark style: challenging marketing strategy's status quo (with a rebel's heart). His thoughtful, entertaining, and case study-rich content applies to Fortune 100, small businesses, and individuals who genuinely desire to competitively differentiate themselves.
Game Changing Rules in Selling and Customer Service
Among the game changing arguments David makes in numerous case studies (~10 per chapter) is how marketing, sales, and service can no longer exist in functional silos. Every employee is (and should be) accountable for marketing, selling, and servicing new and existing customers because the social tools are available online to everyone.
The New Rules of Sales and Service extend beyond it's a "cross-functional" thing. It's now an "all-hands-on-deck" thing.
Executing and sustaining an NRSS-driven culture requires top-down, CEO-driven leadership. Successful New Rules of Sales and Service practitioners instill a participative and trusting company culture. These leaders enable all employees to capitalize in social, one-to-one, real-time, customer communications throughout the entire buying process. David interviewed company leaders who trust and expect their team members (regardless of departmental function) to:
1. Acquire NEW customers and MAINTAIN existing customer relationships using social tools in real-time interactions (e.g., concepts of AGILE selling and real-time speed & engagement; Case Study: Avaya)
2. Contribute and share valuable content to educate and inform customers in the pre- and post-sale process AT THE PRECISE TIME THE CUSTOMER NEEDS IT (e.g., CONTEXTUAL & consultative selling vs. hard-selling tactics; Case Study: Kendall PRess)
3. Collect and analyze real-time customer data to support real-time content delivery, service actions, and sales interactions (e.g., salesperson comes in later in buying process OR no salesperson; Case Study:GadCAD)
4. Convey stories about the company's products / services aligning with the customer's view of themselves (e.g., buyer persona research, newsjacking; Case Study: MultiCare Health Systems)
That opportunistic mindset drives competitive differentiation at both a tactical and strategic level.
By the way, David's research confirms blogging is far from dead. Long form content may be the best social tool in authentically demonstrating one company's "truth" to a competitor's public relations "spin."
Closing Thoughts
Will more and future leaders trust their teams and David's rich teachings in NRSS? Time will tell. But, why wait? Gain the upper hand by buying and studying David's work. The hardcover book officially ships today, September 2nd.
Bonus #3: (STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS) Mind Maps of Chapters 1-7. The goal is to have the remaining Chapters 8-10 completed by the end of next weekend. I'm still experimenting w/ the XMind Mind Mapping Software to make the maps easier to read in slide show mode.
Please be patient, and I'll update this post as quickly as I can. Here's what they look like so far (I know I can't read'em either):
"A bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence or capability."
Suggested Authors / Books to Help Undergraduate Marketing Majors Land that First Job After College
These suggested authors / books are not of the "cookie cutter" or "10 easy steps on how-to land your first job out of college / summer internship in a lousy economy" variety. They share creative ideas to show a potential employer "you're more than a resume and the grades on a college transcript". Their teachings maximize the Internet's global reach and leverage search engines to your advantage.
In my opinion, if you graduated with a marketing and/or communications degree (or are currently studying these undergraduate majors), the following authors and books are REQUIRED READING.
Note: I am not an Amazon Affiliate Program Member. I respect the following authors because of their invaluable advice on how to develop a credible and professional online presence.
David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, bestselling author of eight books including three international bestsellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media.
Why The New Rules of Marketing & PR Matters
The New Rules of Marketing & PR is in its 4th Edition, has sold 300,000+ copies, and is translated in 25 languages.
Marketing and communications students will learn from this book the value of:
Thinking Like a Publisher (e.g. managing and creating content as a valuable asset)
Tactfully and Skillfully Informing the World About Your Expertise
Creating Varieties of Content Demonstrating That Expertise
Building, Understanding, and Targeting Your Audience Via Buyer Persona Profiles
Commenting on Other Blogs to Build Online Credibility and Relationships
Giving Away Your Expertise by Publishing and Distributing Free E-Books
Here's David discussing the latest release of The New Rules of Marketing & PR:
"An e-book is a PDF-formatted document that identifies a market problem and supplies an answer to the problem. E-books have a bit of intrigue to them — like hip younger sibling to the nerdy white paper."
If you click on the image captions, the hyperlinks will take you to the respective, eBook PDF download pages.
If I've said it once, I've said it 43 other times. Ann Handley is the best writer and storyteller in the New Media Business. Her writing and storytelling makes you:
Ann and C.C. share clear, actionable advice built on two (2) governing principles:
Thinking and Acting Like a Publisher
Publishing Helpful, Remarkable Content
Content Defined. Words, images, videos comprise content and can take the form of:
Web Pages
Videos
Blogs
Photographs
Webinars
Whitepapers
eBooks
Podcasts
Presentations
Social Outposts (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.)
Learning Through Great Storytelling and Writing. Great writing makes reading Content Rules enjoyable. And, studying it helps you ask the right questions about content strategy execution:
Goal Setting: Who is Your Audience? What Metrics Will Determine You're Succeeding (or Failing)?
Defining: What Content Type(s) Should You Publish?
Publishing: How Often to Publish (by content type)? What are the Platform Considerations (i.e., blog posts, tweets, Facebook updates, LinkedIn Group discussions, etc.)?
Promoting: How to Share Content (without the cologne of a used car salesman).
More importantly, they share practical advice for budget-constrained marketing teams wondering:
How Do We Start?
What's the RIGHT Content Strategy for US?
Pages 22 to 24 to the Rescue. The Content Rules of Why & Who (or Grab Your Colleagues, Tons of Sticky Notes, Lots of Paper, and Thrash Through the Following Questions):
Whom are you trying to reach (e.g., your audience, clients, customers)?
What does your audience crave (e.g., content that informs, entertains, something else)?
What do you want your audience to do (e.g., motivate it to do X, figure out the calls-to-action)?
What content do you already have (e.g. take a content inventory)?
Wake Up (because this is a long post, and I can hear you snoring)! How about re-imagining those boring bullets into something differentiating and remarkable:
Content Rules Video Update with C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley. C.C. and Ann made this September 2010 video before the book's release. It's a great example of practicing what they preach and seeing the human side of great content marketing.
Walk-the Walk and Talk-the-Talk.Inbound Marketing is the second book I studied about digital marketing strategy (The New Rules of Marketing & PR being the first). If you're a serious marketing and communications graduate (or current MAR-COMM undergraduate) and want to "rock it" in your interview, you have to study and learn Inbound Marketing's principles COLD. Published in 2010, Brian and Dharmesh's teachings preceded much of the current and future implications of marketing and digital strategy:
Foundation principles and relevance of inbound links, SEO, Google Authority, Page Rank so potential customers/clients find you (instead of you interrupting them)
The underlying principles behind “closed loop” marketing (CLM)
Inbound Marketing provides clues to what a genuine, 21st century digital-driven organization looks for in employees. Hubspot utilizes its DARC framework when evaluating potential hires:
D = Hire Digital Citizens
A = Hire for Analytical Chops
R = Hire for Web Reach
C = Hire Content Creators
If you can'tanswer the following HubSpot interview questions while simultaneously providing real-time "show-them-the-money" on-screen, digital evidence, YOU'RE HOSED. Here are example interview questions from pages 170-171 and page 173 of Inbound Marketing (within the context of your interviewer verifying your answers on her/his laptop, tablet, or smartphone):
Interview Questions Evalutating Depth of Digital Citizenship:
What RSS reader do you use? Can you show it to me?
What blogs do you read?
Do you rank first for your name in Google?
Do you have a blog? Can you show to me?
Do you use Facebook or LinkedIn? When was the last time you updated your profile?
Do you have a channel on YouTube? Can you show it to me?
Interview Questions Evaluating Web Reach:
How many subscribers to your blog? Do you talk about our industry on your blog or about personal stuff?
How many Facebook followers do you have? Do you talk about our industry at all on your Facebook account?
How many LinkedIn followers do you have?
How many Twitter followers do you have? Do you talk about our industry on you Twitter account?
Closing Thoughts
My apologies for not finishing / publishing this post by the originally stated timeline. My "day job" is crazy/hectic especially as the 2013 4Q ticks away. That's okay (because that's the job).
Please tune in for the this series's next post: a comprehensive list of online resources (i.e., websites, blogs, blog articles, etc) to help recent college graduates and current college students land full-time jobs or internships. The HUGE list will easily comprise "20+ Resources."
Please give me a couple weeks to consolidate this list, provide context, and hit "publish."
Your Turn: What is your opinion of the books listed here? Have you read any of them? If so, how did the book(s) content create an opportunity for differentiating yourself either before, during, or after the interview? What books did I leave off? What additional books would recommend?
Please let me know. It would be great to hear from you!
Note: This is post four in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships. If interested, here are links to other posts in this series:
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday. Okay, I didn't exactly hold up my end of the deal last week and this week. 🙂
The "spray and pray" approach of sending resumes online is not an effective time investment
"Applicant tracking software makes it almost impossible for [a job candidate] to stand out, at least at the initial screening step."
Recruiters say gaining an internal referral is a game changer. When recruiters see an application comes with an employee referral "that person goes straight to the top."
I often share this content on Google+ or Twitter. But, the real-time speed of these information streams makes locating content an oftentimes fleeting exercise.
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This New Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
Kirshbaum saw this publishing revolution coming (looks like around 2005).
Direct article quote from a successful author: "Publishers are selling drinks on The Titanic."
Article demonstrates how Jeff Bezos is cut from the same cloth as Steve Jobs as both a strategic visionary and an as a shark-like competitor.
2. (The New York Times) The Bookstore's Last Stand: The timing of this article's publication signals an ongoing public relations battle between Amazon and the New York City publishing dynasties. This piece positions Barnes & Noble as the last major ally the major publishing houses have against Amazon.
Publishers fear that Barnes & Noble store may become just cafes and digital connection points.
Barnes & Noble commands 27% of the eBook market. Amazon holds a commanding 60%.
A Telltale Sign: The company plans to eliminate the dedicated sections for music and DVDs within two (2) years.
3. (TechCrunch) Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book: A great article by James Altucher. Altucher goes into great detail about the many lessons he's learned both as a self-publisher and as an author who's worked directly with the aforementioned publishing houses.
The entire thesis of his article is "to pick yourself." His how-to commentary covers a lot of ground:
Why self-publish than use a traditional publisher
Why entrepreneurs should self-publish
How does one go about self-publishing (the insights on createspace.com ROCK)
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):
How can I improve the value of these weekly posts?
Is my initial timing choice for publication okay with you (e.g., middle of the week versus the end of it)? If not, please tell me.
What content are you reading?Please share your links with our community in the comments section!
The "C" in Content Represents Commitment to Customers
What do you think the "C" in Content represents?
I am inspired by Mitch Joel's blog post, My Commitment to You. In this post, he describes his personal commitment to publish the following content for his blog readers:
* 6 blog posts per week (e.g., 312 posts per year)
* 1 audio podcast per week (e.g., 52 podcasts per year)
* That's 364 pieces of content published per year — Wow!
Here's more inspiring statistics regarding Mitch's company Twist Image and the content volume they've published as of November 15, 2010:
* That's 2,608 additional pieces of content either already published online or delivered to a live audience. According to Mitch's post, the team created the blog in 2003. Therefore, the 2,300 blog posts represent the seven (7) year commitment and publication strategy of approximately 330 blog posts per year. On a weekly basis, that production equates to around 6.4 blog posts per week.
Thus, Mitch Joel honors his commitment to his customers (remember his personal commitment of 6 blog posts per year mentioned a little earlier). Here's another link to a Mitch Joel post titled, The Hardest Part of Social Media. He sums up in two (2) words the most difficult part of social media: The Commitment.
Honoring Your Commitment to Customers Drives Customer Acquisition and Loyalty
20 to 50 Blog Posts is a Magic Number. Check out this data point HubSpot conducted with a sample size of 762 customers. On slide 15 of State of Inbound Lead Generation, the data demonstrates that a company must publish at least 20 to 50 blog posts to generate a significant number of customer leads. It's safe to say that both Mitch Joel and HubSpot significantly exceed this benchmark.
Weekly HubSpot TV Podcast. Let's also not forget about HubSpot's Live TV Podcast broadcasted every Friday at 4 PM Eastern Time. So there's another, 52 pieces of customer-targeted content delivered annually. Here a link to the HubSpot TV Archives.
Integration Across Multiple Channels. And to top it off, this variety and volume of content development is carefully deployed via an integrated marketing strategy across multiple social media channels and traditional media relations (i.e., speaking engagements, news outlet interviews, television interviews, etc.).
But, that integration analysis will have to wait for another blog post …
Commitment to Customers Produces Successful and Measurable Financial Results
Here's evidence of HubSpot's commitment to customers yielding successful financial results. These recent press releases highlight its customer acquisition success and company growth in the Boston area:
Conclusion: So What Do You Think the "C" in Content Represents?
Creative content isn't enough to succeed in today's competitive marketing environment. Almost everyone has access to a computer, browser, and Internet connectivity. And many of those folks are creative content creators. But, there's hope in genuinely earning online attention and loyalty when competing with these Internet Creatives (even if they have bigger budgets and more FTEs).
Why? Because the Modern Internet permanently reinvents how to leverage personal commitment to customers as a competitive advantage. Honor your commitment to customers, and you can level the playing field.
That's why I believe the "C" in Content Represents Commitment to Customers. This is a hallmark attribute of successful businesses and individuals. You don't need to be a rocket scientist, you don't have to be a website design guru, an SEO wizard, or even The Huffington Post.
But, You Have to Have Commitment to Customers (just ask Mitch Joel or HubSpot).
So, what do you think the "C" in content stands for? Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Thank you for reading, and may you and your families have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
