Business Women Indianapolis

Has the recession affected your spending habits?

These are not questions that affect my business life or even my "balanced" life.  Ladies Home Journal cornered that market a long time ago, and People covers the dirt on public figures.  If these are questions of interest related to business, they are not gender-specific.  Could you possibly imagine an invitation to male business owners based upon questions like these?

The Forbes Fiasco comes right on the heels of Dell's incredible faux pas in launching the "Della."

But this blog is about sales and business development, so I need a link from my real anger at Forbes to some positive ideas or actions for business owners and sales leaders.  Especially women, but this is equally important for men.

In the jargon of my business, Forbes is a whale--a big company with a big reach, a big media reach.  It matters when major businesses screw up like this.   Business people around the world--owners, entrepreneurs, executives, employees, students, wannabe's--they look to Forbes for insight, support, advice, and current events, and not incidentally, the current business environment in the United States.   What is the message?  The message is that in the midst of a very difficult global economic climate, the American business women are busy standing by their men who cheat and lie, focusing on their office outfits, buying make-up and shoes, and making their daughters rich.  That is not a good message or a remotely true message!

I am an advisor to small and midsized business about how to grow by doing bigger deals with bigger clients.  It is ALL about understanding your target customer and presenting yourself in a way that is attractive to them, meets their needs, does not annoy them, and does not frighten them.  This offer I received from Forbes violates all of those criteria.

So before you make the Forbes mistake, my advice is to consult with your target audience about their business interests, their business needs, their business challenges and their perceived opportunities. 

The people at Forbes are obviously trying to get on the very popular and lucrative women-in-business bandwagon.  I applaud their motives and hope they will find a way to be successful.  But here's just a quick laundry list of topics that would be oh-so-much more interesting to business women:
 

• who are the lenders and investment bankers targeting women-owned businesses?
• how can your company get involved in the federal stimulus package?
• How are female leaders and employees responding to downsizing and outsourcing? 
• What can you do when you are downsized or outsourced?
• How can business owners mitigate the recession influence on their employees?
• what are the most promising new business fields or opportunities of particular interest to women?

1. Clearly defined responsibilities and outcomes-based performance expectations, in writing, and agreed upon in advance.
    
2. Agreement on the time line of deliverables and the consequences of failure to meet performance expectations.
    
3. Separate business conversations from family conversations.  For example, during the business day, all conversations are about business.  Family conversations are for after-hours.
    
4. Never talk to other family members about business issues until you have first discussed with each other.  No surprises!
    
5. Frequent, scheduled review of how things are working.
    
6. Identification of an agreed-upon mediator that either can call if an issue can't be resolved.

• business growth strategies
• sales development
• marketing and social media

• Molly Gordon
• Monica Flores
• Brooke Green
• Lorraine Ball

I wrote my weekly Sunday guest blog for Women on Business on the topic of what I've learned about sales from my local WNBA team, the Indiana Fever.  Had some good feedback on that post, so I'm cross posting it here.
 

...........

Just about one year ago I personally “discovered” the WNBA—the Women’s National Basketball Association—as embodied by my local team the Indiana Fever. I say “discovered” tongue in cheek, because the Fever celebrate their tenth season this year, so I can’t claim to have been out in front on noticing them or attending to the powerfully good sports entertainment they provide.

Here’s the thing. Once I went to a game, I was literally amazed by the quality of the performance by the Fever and their opponent. I promptly signed up for courtside season tickets for the upcoming season that kicks off in June. Because I’ve become a big evangelist for women’s professional basketball, they’ve named me to their community advisory board and given me lots of opportunities to be involved. That’s all good.

But it’s not my point. My point is, why was I amazed? Why was I surprised? Why didn’t I assume that the WNBA would put high quality athletic talent on the basketball court?

Seriously, I have been a vocal advocate for equal opportunities for women since the beginning of my adulthood and through several careers. I have become a friend of Lyn St. James, the first female winner of Rookie of the Year award and nine-time Indy 500 race car driver. Through Lyn, I learned a lot about how much harder it is for women to gain sponsorships for their sports pursuits than for men. But I still wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t make the connection between what I know intellectually and what I would discover “in person” until they got me into the stands to watch a Fever game.

Once they did, the WNBA and my local Fever team have had my attention. They make it easy for me to invite my friends to a game. They allow me to be a guest at NBA games featuring the Indiana Pacers. They communicate through word and I deed that my interest is important to them, and they intend to earn and keep my loyalty.

I have thought a lot about the business development and sales lessons embodied in my personal story here. And here are a few things I’ve learned:

·         Provide a first-class experience. If your product or service is not truly world-class, then inviting people to experience it first hand is not likely to influence them positively. It only works when what you have to offer is truly undiscovered and of unexpected high quality. Be certain you are ready before you take the next steps.

 

·         Give your prospects a chance to experience your product or service.   The leaders of WNBA franchises know that they have an outstanding product in women’s professional basketball. It gets better each and every year. Yet it’s not until someone actually goes to a game that she or he decides it’s a great spots entertainment venue. Their sales teams are tireless in offering free tickets in order to get people to understand the experience.

 

·         Overcome negative perceptions with positive experiences.   I wasn’t “negative” about women’s basketball; I was simply indifferent. But lots of people are negative, and no amount of talking or salesmanship is going to change their minds. They know how men play basketball, and they do not believe that watching women play could be nearly as interesting. The only way to influence that negative or neutral mindset if to offer an experience that challenges the past impression. So the sale is all about getting people to experience the product first-hand.

 

·         Understand that people are “entitled” to their uninformed opinions. There is no future in becoming bitter about those people who “don’t get it” about your product or service. It is far more promising to view them as people who simply have not had the chance to experience what you have to offer. Your positive and inviting attitude is crucial to your ability to bring people to the table.

These are good sales lessons reinforced for me by my involvement with the WNBA. I thank them for the case study. And I want to close on one more important note. America’s business women ought to be supporting this league, for our communities, for our daughters, for our businesses. The women who play are remarkable role models, and the teams are positive forces in our home towns. WNBA has teams in Atlanta, Chicago, Connecticut, Detroit, Indiana, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonia, Seattle, and Washington D. C. If you’re already a fan, take a friend to your upcoming preseason game. If you’re not a fan yet, check out your team’s website and get a ticket. It will only take one time!
 

• This book, written by a woman, about women's business successes, attracted a predominantly female network of support (kudos to men who helped as well!).
• MGM and her publicity team supported viral media with many personal contacts via telephone, email, blog visits, etc.  They were engaged and generous.
• Value proposition was delivered for supporters--to date I have had 33 downloads of the book I offered [coming soon at The Whale Hunters] with names/email addresses for each.
• MGM "celebrated the whale" -- thank you notes delivered very promptly and warmly to all who helped.

I've joined the writing team at the Women on Business blog--will have a regular column each Sunday evening.  My current post is Three Soft Skills for Hard Deals.

Blog owner Susan Gunelius has enlisted a team of business women to blog about business from the perspectives of entrepreneurs and business owners, consultants, women executives, sales persons, leaders--covering everything from strategy and marketing to equality and work/home life.  I hope you'll check it out--interesting and comprehensive.

The Women on Business Roundtable is a new service.  Submit your business question or dilemma; one will be chosen each week as a featured presentation, with the writing team and other participants offering advice and suggestions.  The first entry is from Hairzing, who posed a serious problem of unfair competition facing their company.  How can a small business handle that situation?  Perhaps the whale hunters readers can help!

Does your business have a blog?  Do you have one writer or several?  I would love to hear about your blogging strategy and how it's working as a business driver.

Seems it's not possible today to be a blogger, or a woman, or a man, anyone with a point of view about anything, to avoid an opinion about Gov. Sarah Palin's selection as the Republican VP candidate.

I don't have a political opinion to share at this moment.  I don't remember any VP candidates in my lifetime who have inspired my choice for president, and her selection is indeed historic but not unlike many other less-than-perfect candidates.  If they were perfect, they'd have the #1 spot on the ticket--right?  Yeah, right.

But this week's events do have significant implications for women, both as keynote speakers and as business owners and business professionals.  Here are the lessons I've gleaned.

Lesson #1--if you are a women seeking to land a big deal, it will be reported first and foremost about your being a woman, not the nature of your deal.  The bigger your deal and the more it involves business and politics (rather than, say, education and nonprofit agencies) the more significant your being female will be perceived, usually in a negative light.

Lesson #2--whatever choices you have made about marriage, family, career, leisure activities--people who don't even know you will be polarized about your choices.  You might as well choose what works for you and your immediate family and friends because you can't please a fickle public or press.

Lesson #3--No matter what proud title you have earned--Governor, for instance, or Mayor, or Dr. -- you will be referred to as Mrs. so-and-so, in fact whether you are married or not.  I am dumbstruck by the references to "Mrs. Palin" as if she were not one of only 50 governors of states of the U.S.  Last I checked, being Gov. of Alaska was more than a ceremonial role.

Lesson #4--saddest of all.  Some of your most severe critics will be other women.  Especially if you are not a card-carrying member of an organized feminist movement.  Can't we learn to support one another's rights to compete even if we don't agree on the agenda?

Lesson #5--when you are a keynote speaker, don't risk being funny, or confident, or assertive, or any other qualities that people associate with business and political leadership especially male leadership.

I don't know yet whether Governor Sarah Palin is an inspired choice for VP or a cynical last-ditch effort.  But clearly she is a "real person" who exhibits all of the contradictory qualities and choices that a modern American woman faces.  American business women need to give her a little room to breathe and insist that she be judged on her merits--no matter how our opinions divide on the "merit test."

Last week I went to Mickey's Camp with about 140 women.  I am a proud alum--my name badge sported a number "2" certifying that I was attending my second of two annual events.  Here's my camp picture from last year!

Mickey's Camp is sort of like a bucket list for grownups.  We have world-class instructors for a bunch of activities ranging from--well, ranging from jewelry making and decorative painting to rifle shooting, tower climbing, and self defense.  I shudder to report that this year's highlight was pole dancing.  [I abstained]  So you may wonder what this has to do with sales or business development?

A little history.  Mickey Maurer [prominent Indianapolis business leader] has been hosting Mickey's Camp (for men) for eight years.  And a lot of women leaders have leaned on him to open it to women because it's not just fun it's also networking etc. etc.  Eventually Mickey capitulated and--great decision--opened a comparable camp for women.  I mean I for one do NOT anticipate a camp in which some of my 20+ cabin mates, sharing 2 showers and 2 toilets, are men.  Not to mention how many fuses they will blow with their electric shavers.

No, it doesn't have to be co-ed.  Mickey's Camp is a great illustration of business growth strategies that are simply the outcomes of building new relationships.  It's exactly what business women have claimed for many years--being with "business people" in informal settings does in fact grow business!  Here's how:

Information.  Even around a campfire, you learn a lot about who does what and what's going on.  It's a barometer of upcoming opportunities.

Recognition.  I did not personally interact with all 140 women.  But we all have the list of names, and whenever we encounter one another in the future, we will recognize one another "by face" to match with a name.

Permission.  By virtue of the shared experience, we grant one another the right to add us to email blast lists for keeping in touch.

Pulse.  What are business women thinking?  What are they doing?  What's on our minds and in our hearts?  Camp conversations reveal core issues.

Friendship. I made a few new friends at camp--women who will become important in my life and I in theirs.  Relaxed time and exposure to new people in a stimulating environment is a recipe for some people to connect with others at a truly sigificant level.

So that's how I spent my summer vacation. What kind of "time out" experiences have also been helpful to your business growth?

In May there was an event in college women's softball. A last inning home run put the losing team ahead, but the hitter/base runner injures her knee and can't complete the round of bass.  Members of the opposing team carried her around the bases, her home run counts, her team wins.  The opponents not only lose the game but are eliminated from the playoffs.

The incident sparked a firestorm of commentary, and what began as a tug-at-your-heartstrings sportsmanship story was offered up as a reason business women don't get the top jobs.   Some comments on the WSJ Independent Street blog claimed that women have a misplaced and dangerous sense of "fairness" that undermines our ability to compete and teaches us bad lessons in sportsmanship.

Wow.  I really took those ideas to heart.  I thought the story was about selfless generosity, but what if it was just stupid?  And how can I learn from the dialog?  I'd like to think the spontaneous act of kindness will have its own reward.  I mean, I would hire them.  I would trust them.  Put them in charge of a sticky joint venture. Nurture their preference to take daily conflicts to a higher level of meaning for graceful resolution.

But what do you think?  Does this econmy hunger for more generosity, or are women just wimping out?

Videos of the Whale Hunting Women presetations are online.  Here's Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman who talked about how important business women are to Indiana's business climate.  One of her biggest whale hunts for Indiana was saving 5000 jobs at the Crane naval base.

Brooke Green related stories of her sales experiences and whale hunting journey and how she has grown in confidence by allowing herself to be scared.

I told the whale hunting story, about how the Inuit people hunted whales--engaging everyone in their village--and connected that to modern business with an emphasis on women.  The point is that women in business as well as education and community endeavors are natural whale hunters! Barbara Weaver Smith's video.

Women (and men) who attended the seminar talked on camera about the program and how it related to business women and women owned business, and especially to small business.  It's all about not being too comfortable!