This past year has been the toughest on most small businesses. Besides With massive layoffs, real estate foreclosures, and the bank bailouts, it’s no wonder that many small businesses were unable to survive. (If you want to keep the sentence starting with “besides” then the second half of the sentence needs to change…just take out “it’s no wonder that” 2009 was a rough year for me too.I have a small boutique Public Relations (PR) firm and that was thePR was first thing that most businesses cut out. But, when I read ROAR! Get Heard In The Sales And Marketing Jungle by Kevin Daum with Daniel A. Turner, I became more motivated and realized that I could have done things differently to stand out from the crowd.ROAR! is about two men. Ryan Miller, who is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Wolfson Furniture and Lenny Bernstein, Founder and CEO of Golden Box Packaging. Ryan and Lenny were old time friends and recently met again at Penn Station.
Surprised that Lenny became a Hasidic Jew, Ryan told Lenny that his business was hit hard with the economy and Lenny claimed that his sales were better than ever. Ryan wanted to know Lenny’s secret so for theover the next few weeks, they met and Lenny explained. the secret of the 3500 year old. (What is the 3500 year old?) Maybe just say…and Lenny explained his secret.The first lesson Ryan learned was to implement a V.P., which is a Value Proposition. He was impressed that everyone at Lenny’s box company had the same story about what they did. No matter if he asked the sales person or the janitor, everyone had the same answer.
My takeaway was to get everyone telling the same story. The more the story is told the more believable it becomes.The other lessons that Ryan learns are about buyers of services. For example, Lenny tells him that there are four types of buyers and each buyer needs to be sold to differently.The four buyers are: (Maybe you want to explain what each of these are?):
The Wise Buyer – someone who does their homework before making a purchaseThe Cynical Buyer – someone who trusts no one and is sarcastic and stubbornThe Simple Buyer – someone who knows exactly what he/she wantsThe Buyer Unwilling to Ask (which usually converts to one of the three above) – someone who doesn’t seem to be paying attention to you.
These buyers come directly from a prayer in a Jewish handbook, which says:Blessed is the one who has given the Torah to his people Israel, Blessed is He.Concerning four sons does the Torah speak: a wise one, a wicked one, a simple one and one who does not know to ask.Each chapter thereafter talks in depth about each buyer and the ROAR factor. (ROAR stands for Recognize, Observe, Acknowledge and Resolve.)I was impressed with the way authors Kevin Daum and Daniel Turner discussed each buyer and was able to understand the process with ease and clarity.
In chapter 10, Lenny gets a great lead for Ryan and decides to come with him to the new business appointment. There were four people that the men met. Each was a different type of buyer and Ryan needed to address each individually to win them over.In the last chapter, the author pulls away from the characters and brings the concepts back to the reader. Questions are asked about the readers Value Proposition and how to tell what type of buyer a customer is.
When I first saw the book, I didn’t think I would be interested. But after reading it, I’m glad I picked it up I was. Authors, Kevin Daum and Daniel Turner engage the reader by offering a story while teaching the reader how to look at their own businesses differently.My only criticism is this, sSince Lenny is an orthodox Jew, the two meet in Kosher restaurants throughout the city. Although the restaurants aren’t real, according to the book, I didn’t really think it added anything to the story line. I was more interested in how my business could benefit from this method than what and where the two ate for lunch.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to any small business owner looking to increase sales, especially in a down economy.
