I developed this for the ACCE conference in OK City as a follow up to my presentation "Selling the Intangible". Whether you work for a Chamber of Commerce or not, this applies to anyone who sells a product or service. And let's be honest: we are all in sales.

1. 21
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Things you
MUST know
about your
customer

2. THE MARKETPLACE
IS
CROWDED &
COMPETITIVE

3. Add to that noisy,
complicated, complex, overwhelming,
always changing....
You get the picture.

4. In order to compete in this
environment, you must know and
understand your audience.
Here are 21 ideas to get you started.

5. MeetCINDY
C.E.O and President of Blue Print
Communications, an international firm
specializing in small to mid-sized
businesses who outsource their
communication technology services.
She has a staff of 45 employees, with
20 of them working at the home office
in your community. She established her
business in 1999 and moved her home
office to my community just eight
months ago.

6. MeetCINDY
At the end of this presentation, I will
apply all 21 principles to Cindy and her
business to give you an idea of how
important it is for me to have a
complete profile of her before I meet
with her to offer her the opportunity to
become a chamber member.

7. 1-10The
BASICS

8. There are 10 basic demographics you
need to consider when you
start to build your profile
of your client.
All of these work together to help
your customer make decisions
and impact the
way they see the world.

9. SEX:
Male or
Female

10. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives

11. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION

12. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME

13. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE

14. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE
TITLE
IN
ORGANIZATION

15. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE
TITLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
ROLE
IN
ORGANIZATION

16. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE
TITLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
ROLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
CULTURAL
BACKGROUND

17. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE
TITLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
ROLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
CULTURAL
BACKGROUND
BUSINESS
MODEL

18. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE
TITLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
ROLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
CULTURAL
BACKGROUND
BUSINESS
MODEL
SIZE OF
BUSINESS

19. SEX:
Male or
Female
GEOGRAPHY:
Where he/she
lives
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
INCOME
AGE
TITLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
ROLE
IN
ORGANIZATION
CULTURAL
BACKGROUND
BUSINESS
MODEL
SIZE OF
BUSINESS
These ten demographic categories allow you
to think about the individual and the
organization in which
the individual is working.

20. Remember....
Demographics are simply
generalizations about a person or
group... They only take us so far.

21. 11-21 will challenge you to dig deeper
and get to know your client beyond
surface issues...

22. 11.What does she
WORRY
about?

23. 12.What are
her CORE
values?

24. 13.Where is she
OVERWHELMED
in her life?

25. 14.What makes her
“Show Up”?

26. In junior high, my youth minister was
always trying to get us
to bring our friends to church.
His sales pitch?
“Tell them we have free donuts”
He knew teenagers would show up for
the free donut.
What does your client “show up for”?

27. 15.What are
her GAPS
in
knowledge?

28. You are an expert in your field.
That means you know things
that most people don’t know. Those
are “gaps in knowledge”.
If you can fill a gap and make
your client faster, smarter,
more competitive, etc then
you have a client for life.
Fill Gaps!

29. 16.WHO does she
hang out with?

30. Knowing who your client hangs out
with will tell you a lot about them.
For example, executives tend
to not network with
non executives. Why? Because their time
is highly valued and they want to
be around people where
“steel sharpens steel”.

31. 17.Is she a
RULE
BREAKER?

32. Rule Breakers and Conformists
make decisions differently.
Look around their office--does it
conform to the standard office or
does it feel different? How are
people dressed? Do they have
all the social media boxes checked off?
There are signs, you just have to
look for them!

33. 18.What
GENERATION
is she from?

34. Do you remember Good Times? Me too.
But there are professionals in the
marketplace who don’t because they were
not even born! Generations bring
different values, life experiences,
and expectations to the table.
They also make decisions differently.
Understanding that will benefit you
in getting the business.

35. 19.Is she
PLUGGED
IN?

36. Customers who are plugged in to
facebook, twitter, linked in,
instagram, pinterest, and other
places gives you the chance
to “touch” them a lot of different
ways than just face to face.
If they are there, why aren’t you?

37. 20.What is the last
book she read?

38. The books people read tell you a
lot about what they care about
and where their needs lie. It can also
help you find common ground if
you have read the same book. If they
read books, it also tells you they
value their continued education
and learning....

39. 21.
What turns her on?

40. People gravitate to different things.
Social, educational, etc. What is it
that gets them fired up and excited?
Knowing this allows you to offer them
the right kinds of programs and events.

41. CINDY?
Let’s see these 21 principles in action
as they apply to Cindy.
REMEMBER

42. FEMALE
Lives in
Dallas, TX.
Originally from
Northern
California
B.A. in
English
Upper
Middle
50‘ish
C.E.O and
President
Oversees Largest
Client Projects and
works on site with
client regularly.
Grew up in Northern
California. Based on
conversation leans
toward a more liberal
mindset.
For Profit, Little hierarchy,
diverse work force--leans
toward 25 to 35 year old
employee, offices throughout
US. Approximately 40% of
staff are contract employees.
43 employees with 20
working in the home
office. Others work
from home.
THIS IS CINDY
After meeting Cindy at a United Way function and engaging in a
five minute conversation, I sent her a linked in invitation. I also
went to her company website and read more about her on the
about page of the site.
My overview of her demographics is based on these things.

43. WORRIESCindy is worried
about three things:
1. Maintaining the integrity of her brand
and services as the company grows
and moves into new markets.
2. Continued education for her staff. As
the company grows she knows it is
essential that her staff keep up their skill
set to be competitive.
3. Establishing her presence in the
community where the company’s home
office resides.

44. Cindy’s THREE CORE
Values are:
1. Integrity. More than anything she
strives to maintain her integrity as a
professional and the integrity of her
business.
2. Opportunity. Cindy is self made and
she believes that those who work and
do their best will be given opportunities.
3. Justice. Cindy champions the
underdog and will fight for those she
believes do not have a voice.
CORE VALUES

45. OVER
WHELMED
Right now, Cindy is
1. Wrapping up the largest project in the
history of the firm. She has been
traveling non-stop for the last six
months to the client site to oversee the
implementation of new technology.
2. Without a sales manager. Her sales
manager left for a new opportunity and
she can’t find the time to fill the
position.
3. Struggling to Respond and React in a
timely manner to existing clients and
potential new clients.

46. SHOWING
UP
Cindy will show up...
If there are people of influence in the
room. Cindy wants to get in front of
decision makers for small to mid-sized
firms and make connections with them.
She does not have time for low level or
mid-level people who might love her
and what she does but cannot make
decisions. She is not ugly about this,
just strategic in how she uses her time.

47. GAPS?
Cindy does not
know...
The movers and the shakers in her new
community. She wants to get
connected quickly to the right people.

48. Cindy hangs out
with...
Cindy is involved in a number of national
level women’s organizations, specifically
those for executives and entrepreneurs.
You learned that she does not have a
membership with any chambers. She is
just getting involved with the United
Way but has not taken on any
leadership roles with them. She is the
outgoing chair of a national level women
in technology organization.
HANGING OUT

49. Cindy is...
Compared to her industry, Cindy
appears to be a rule breaker in a few
ways. One--she is a female working in
a historically male dominated industry.
Her business card looks nothing like
your “typical” card--it is creative and
interesting, suggesting that she may not
play by the “this is how we have always
done things” rule. After reading her bio
on Linked in and laughing at the line
“will work for a great bottle of wine” you
suspect she may be different....
RULE BREAKER?

50. BABY BOOMER
Cindy is...
Cindy is a Baby Boomer. Baby
Boomers are shaped by *Anti-War &
Anti-Establishment | Equal Rights
Equal Opportunity | Education is the
door to success | Friends with their
children | Don’t trust adults | Ambitious
& Materialistic | Adapt-able | Live to
work | Education is a birthright
Buy now and pay later | Work 60+
hours | Women can bring home the
bacon and fry it up in a pan | Want to
make a contribution to the greater good
| Defined by their careers | Know they
must change to survive (technology as
an example) | Age is just a number

51. PLUGGED IN?
Cindy is!
Cindy’s organization has a great
presence on Linked In,
Facebook, Twitter, and Slide
Share too. After we met, Cindy
actually sent me a friend
request on Facebook--
suggesting she does not draw a
thick black line between
professional and personal.

52. BOOK?
Cindy reads books...
Visiting with Cindy at the United Way
function, I mentioned a book I was
reading and her eyes lit up. “Have you
read Made to Stick?” she asked. I have!
I enjoyed sharing my favorite anecdotes
from the book with her. On her Linked
In Page, she has a section of her
favorite business books.

53. Cindy reacts to:
I remember when I was talking with
Cindy at the United Way event that she
likes smart people. She said “I really
like smart people. In fact my mentor
told me a long time ago that if I am the
smartest person in the room then I am
not in the right place.”
TURNED ON...

54. Now that I have taken the time
to get to know Cindy, I can develop
my pitch to her to join the chamber.

55. Cindy agreed to give me about 15
minutes of her time this Friday at her
office. She is in town but has to leave
that afternoon. Knowing that,
I want to develop a five minute
pitch on why she should
join the chamber.

56. To keep myself disciplined,
I developed five talking points to
share with her based on
my profile of Cindy.

57. 1.THE CHAMBER IS THE HEART OF
THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
“Cindy, I know it is important to you to establish your presence in this
community where you have opened your home office. The chamber can help
you do just that. From small, to mid-sized, to large corporate businesses, the
chamber is where they go to stay plugged in to what is happening right here
and right now in our community. If you attend just one event a month at the
chamber, you will quickly get connected to the right people who are decision
makers in this community.”

58. 2.EXECUTIVES CHAMPION OUR
PROGRAMS
“Our executive round table meets monthly, early morning, because we have found
that most executives get an early start to their day. Our executive round table is a
place where your peers gather to discuss timely and relevant issues that impact their
business success. I know you are looking to connect to like minded executives and
our round table is the place to do that. Every month, we have attendance that
exceeds 50 people. I know you will also appreciate that this group is by invitation
only. This one aspect keeps the quality of the group at it’s highest.”

59. 3.WE PROVIDE QUALITY TRAINING
AND DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUR
STAFF
“The chamber is committed to providing high quality, timely and relevant, and
convenient training and development to our chamber members. Every month we
host three events that bring in a speaker to provide training on a topic that our
members have told us matters to them. We have a breakfast event, a lunch event,
and an after hours event too. Last month, our topic was “Storytelling that closes
deals” and it was the best attended topic of the year. I know your staff would benefit
from these events. We also offer an online, monthly series called ‘Book Smarts’ which
features a popular business book. Our membership asked for an online program in
2010 and ‘Book Smarts’ has been a big success. The coolest thing though is that
once a year, we bring in a BIG name person to do a half day workshop. I remember
you told me you loved Made to Stick right? Well they are on our short list to speak at
this event in 2014. In the past we have had Sally Hogshead, Micheal Gerber, and
Gary Vanyerchuk. No kidding. They were incredible”

60. 4.THE CHAMBER HELPS YOU FIND
YOUR NEXT BEST EMPLOYEE
“Cindy, I remember you told me you were looking for a new sales manager and you
were feeling the pressure of finding the time to find the right person. I want to
connect you to Sam Peterson who own “Executives in Action”. He is one of our stand
out chamber members and his organization finds talent to fill positions like the one
you need to fill. Sam can do all the initial leg work to narrow it down to three quality
people and he arranges interviews for you to make the final decision. His reputation
is impeccable. We used him last year to fill our special events position and we are
certain we would not have found Jason without his talent search.”

61. 5.THE CHAMBER WORKS ON YOUR
BEHALF.
“Year in and year out, our chamber staff is working on your behalf with the lawmakers
in our city, state, and nation to help small business be successful. We know and
understand that small business is the engine that keeps our economy running. We
are your advocate and we work behind the scenes to maintain the integrity of your
business and to make sure that the laws and conditions under which your business
run are pro-business.”

62. As you can see, I don’t have to
“throw up” on Cindy and tell
her everything I have ever known
about the chapter.

63. My pitch is strategic based on the
homework I did. This is not
rocket science, but far too
many people do not take the time.

64. You should take the time....

65. WANT
MORE?If you “get it” but you struggle to do this on your own,
consider a half day or full day workshop for you
and your staff.
Email me at
lspears@bravocc.com
for more information.