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Tom Peters Times - May 2007 - Mothers' Day Edition | | | Happy Mothers' Day!
Tom Peters roars about women! Period! This is the market. To honor women, especially with Mother's Day this month, we dedicate this May issue to women. Also, we have called upon two guest contributors, Jeff Halter and Gerry Myers (both active collaborators with the tompeters!company) to share their insights with us. Note new items to the Wow! Store. Enjoy the issue, and Happy Mothers' Day to all! |
 | | Crossdress Nation (And Harry Burn's Mother)! 
Originally posted by Tom Peters on 4/05/07
In the end it was, to be precise, Harry Burn's mother who made all the difference. A suffragette, she wrote to her son, age 24 and Tennessee's youngest legislator, saying, "Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs Catt ..." He did, tipped the scales on a 49-47 vote, and brought, effectively, to an end a struggle that in its most open form had lasted 72 years, 1 month, and 5 days. With Mrs Burn's urging and Harry's courageous vote on 18 August 1920, some 26 million American women were franchised in one fell swoop.
But that gets ahead of the game. Above you will find a picture of a 64-year-old male wearing a white wig and a black dress. In fact, a shamefaced 64-year-old. Said 64-year-old, M, purports to represent the spirit of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, rightfully called the Mother of the American women's rights/women's suffrage movement.
But that gets ahead of the game ...
It was a simple costume party in Dorset, Vermont, at the home of our friends Jill and Dave Sands, on March 31, this past Saturday. The idea was to dress as someone you admire—and be prepared to respond to questions as the admired personage would have responded. I thought it would be great fun, and therefore took it seriously. Franklin? Churchill? Nelson? John Paul Jones? Monty Python? No problem, I had them all pegged. And a satisfactory costume would hardly be a challenge (e.g., Churchill, cigar & brandy; Nelson or Jones, folding telescope or bits of my mildewed, 40-year-old Navy uniform).
That was 5 weeks before the party. And now was now—31 March 2007. And now, following Susan's "sartorial" guidance and that of a close friend who is an eminent women's historian, I was encased in a white wig and long black dress, courtesy a Boston costume shop, and, though tripping over my hems again and again ["Welcome to our world"—Susan], ready to go—and, courtesy a dozen books hastily ingested on a dozen plane trips, ready to respond to questions and declaim, among other things, on Mrs Burn, her young son Harry, Carrie Chapman Catt, and, of course, the angry, tenacious firebrand, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Keep reading! The rest of this post can be found here.
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| | BrandYou! Public Workshop is May 15-16
With only two weeks until the event, seats are filling up fast. As this is just around the corner, time is of the essence, so don't delay!
Designed by the tompeters!company, BrandYou: Inspired Performance presents the branding buzz in a fun but full two day format. BrandYou: Inspired Performance features a mix of engaging education, thought-provoking exercises, revealing assessments, compelling case studies, and more. Participants are led on an exciting, self-discovering quest incorporating video, audio, and the internet. Exclusive footage of Tom Peters at his best is integrated throughout. BrandYou: Inspired Performace is truly unlike any other training program available today.
For more information on this rare public offering, please visit our website here, or contact Shannon at 617-242-5522 or shannonsullivan@tompeters.com. To register for the event, click here.
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| | Selling to Men, Selling to Women
Our first guest contributor is Jeffery Tobias Halter, the author of SELLING TO MEN, SELLING TO WOMEN. He explores the critical nature of gender communication in the selling process.
Wondering why your "Women's Initiatives" aren't delivering the results you want? Is it your salesmen's fault or just really bad training?!
A few years ago I read in Re-imagine! that women control 85 % of all spending in this country. A bit later I was watching Tom on a Webinar and he made another interesting comment. He said (and I abbreviate):
- Men and women are different
- VERY, VERY DIFFERENT
- Women & Men have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing in common
- Women buy lots of stuff
- MEN ARE...TOTALLY, HOPELESSLY, CLUELESS ABOUT WOMEN
So if women buy basically everything and men are totally clueless about women, doesn't it make sense that most of the Fortune 500 would be trying to solve this problem? Well, many organizations are trying—sort of. Most have started holding the Marketing Department accountable.
Some retailers have made their stores more female-friendly. A few financial services organizations have started to talk to women about planning for their futures differently, and even the auto industry has begun to feature more women in their advertising. So what's the problem? Well, all the marketing efforts in the world fall short when the company's chief revenue generator and customer interface (call him a salesman) meets the consuming women. And he doesn't have a clue.
It is now a validated and documented fact that men and women communicate differently, very differently. Everything from eye contact to body language, to the usage of language and the processing of information is different in men and women; and he doesn't have a clue. She is seeking a relationship, and he is selling a transaction.
In all honesty, it's not your sales team's fault. Virtually all sales training programs in this country have taught people (i.e., men) how to sell to men. And at a point in time (like 1970) it made sense. Salesmen had to drive revenue, make quota, kill the competition. You know, manly things! Dialogue is for wimps; I have to overcome objections, close your sale, and move on. Importunely sales training has not changed.
One classic example is the term still used today called "handling objections." Sales training still teaches that if you get a "no" from a buyer, you should go back, sharpen your pencil, come up with a new deal, and go make the pitch one more time. Now, you have to realize that this is how men sell to men, and most sales training is taught by men on how to sell to men. The truth is that this doesn't work when you are selling to women. To women (now read this very slowly), "No means No!"
You see, women are open to multiple solutions and multiple answers. They want a relationship with your company's products, goods & services, and yes, your salesperson. The salesperson's role is to explore a host of options, create dialogue, and build a relationship long before an order is ever asked for. If you are selling to women and you get to a "no," just pack your bags and move on, there is no recovering and no amount of "handling objections" that will help you at this point.
So, for all the companies out there who question why their "women's initiatives" aren't working, look no further than your sales training. If your sales training is still teaching people how to "handle objections," well, it's time to re-think how your salespeople (the company's chief revenue generators and customer interface) are being trained to deal with the largest economy in the entire world, (i.e., American Women).
(Oh, and for all the saleswomen reading this, if you ever get a "no" from a man, go back, sharpen your pencil, and re-pitch—it's exactly what he wants you to do).
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| | Why Market to Women: The Bottom-line Case
Our second guest contributor, Gerry Myers, is a pioneer in the women's market and the first author to publish a book on the subject in 1994. She also founded the Meyers Group in 1980, which specialized in marketing and selling more effectively to the female consumer.
Many corporations have taken notice of women because they earn, control, and spend trillions of dollars annually. Additionally they make 85% of all purchasing decisions. According to Oppenheimer Funds: "In dual income families, 30% of working women out-earn their husbands." A special report by BusinessWeek Online affirmed that in three decades men's medium income has barely budged, while women's has soared 63%. The number of women earning $100,000 or more has tripled in the last 10 years, and 43% of people with assets in excess of half a million dollars are women.
How would capturing just 1% more market share impact your bottom line? What about 3%, 5%, or 50%? Are you getting your share of this market? If not, what are you doing to change that picture?
Women are purchasing agents and multitaskers
One of the most important things that marketers, retailers and salespeople need to remember is that women make the vast majority of purchases in almost every category. As wives, mothers, or single women, they purchase for their families. As business owners, women are frequently involved in buying decisions, especially when large-ticket items are concerned. Additionally, many women staff purchasing departments in companies.
As multitaskers, women frequently combine various purchasing roles into one trip. They may enter an electronics store to purchase a computer for their child, their husband, their home-based business and/or to expand equipment in an existing office.
When women enter the store, it would be advantageous if the staff knew that women spent more on technology last year than men. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, "They are involved in 89% of all consumer electronic purchasing decisions and accounted for more than $55 billion in revenue in 2003." Though this figure continues to spiral upward, more than three-quarters of surveyed women complained about being ignored, patronized, or offended by salespeople when shopping for electronics.
Women need to be part of your marketing plan
Although women are not a niche market, companies who successfully market and sell their products and services to women focus on their needs and structure programs to meet them. To do this, you should:
- Develop a concrete and comprehensive marketing plan that includes women
- Determine your investment
- Hire a consultant who knows this market and has a proven track record
- Look at innovative methods that would increase visibility in the community and attract women customers, such as an external Women's Advisory Board.
- Hold those who are implementing the program accountable for results
- Calculate your ROI
Women buy tools, trinkets and travel
Regardless of what your business is, women are having a tremendous impact on your bottom line. Whether it is a positive or negative impact is up to you.
Women buy 61% of major home improvement products according to The Wall Street Journal, accounting for 80% or more of the $70 billion market. While married women have traditionally been the buying force in home sales, today single women are buying homes at twice the rate of single men, and spending an average of $9,000 in home improvements the first year.
In sports, more than 80% of NFL products are sold to women. Susan Rothman, vice president of consumer products for the NFL, said the organization's revenues from selling women's merchandise tripled between 2003 and 2004, and doubled between 2004 and 2005.
Traveling has become less fun and more burdensome since 9/11. Security and safety are paramount in travelers' minds. Wyndham Hotels increased its share of women business travelers 59% when it implemented the Women on Their Way program and its Women Advisory Board to make sure it attracted this lucrative market. American Airlines just launched a comprehensive section on its website dedicated to female travelers.
Babes don't sell beer to women
Believing males 21-27 was the only critical market, the beer industry focused its marketing and advertising dollars on scantily-clad women. With that approach, the industry lost a valuable component to a good marketing mix—women. Its core market began slipping dramatically as men followed women's lead in selecting wine and liquor. From 1995 to 2004, sales of spirits and wine jumped (32% to 34%, and 17% to 20%, respectively) while beer fell below its once proud 50% market share (51% to 46%). Calculate what the ROI could have been for the beer companies if they had recognized and marketed to women. Don't make this mistake with your company's marketing strategies and campaigns.
Invest in the future; invest in a program for women
Focusing on this diverse and valuable consumer just makes good business sense. While budgets are a part of the business world, don't just think about the cost to implement a successful women's initiative, but consider the lost revenue if you don't.
Know your market and what your competition is doing to attract women. Remember that women are a diverse group with many similar traits, not a one-size-fits-all consumer.
To market successfully to women, you must:
- Have buy-in at every level, but especially at the top
- Understand the importance of the market
- Be an advocate within your company
- Be willing to honestly assess how your company is doing with women
- Be ready to make changes in your short and long-term marketing strategies
- Bring in a consultant who specializes in the women's market
- Design and implement programs to attract women
- Be cost effective, but spend the money necessary
Your efforts need to have a clear direction, an expected ROI, and measurable results. Allocating dollars alone without a true business strategy is foolhardy, and will likely fail.
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| | Mothers' Day Offerings  For this special month of May, we will be offering some new items at the Wow! Store. Works by our guest contributors Jeff Halter and Gerry Meyers are being featured, as well as publications by two members of the TPC team, Valarie Willis and Susan Murphy. All of the featured items focus on women: working with them, selling to them, marketing with them in mind, and above all, inspiring them.
For detailed descriptions of the books and ordering information, please visit us here. |
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