March 2018
The Jon Carson Family
We are often asked why our business is called Jon Carson Consulting. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with famed TV talk show host Johnny Carson (although we’ve had many good laughs in our 20-plus years of business). We named it after our firstborn, our latest and greatest production at the time. Our personal and business lives have always been intertwined, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 1994. Though our courtship happened off screen, our marriage and the early days of our family played out on the airwaves. Claudia’s growing belly meant we needed to acknowledge her pregnancy on the air, and it was rather big “news” when our son, Jon Carson, was born. Though we tried to keep talk of our personal lives to a minimum, we heard from many viewers who enjoyed being “part of the family.” The same thing happened a few years later when our daughter, Clare, was born. Claudia and I met while working for Channel 6, the local ABC affiliate, in
Viewers watched our family grow, and it fostered an amazing connection with our audience. After our TV careers, I moved into broadcast management, overseeing several large radio groups in Boise, Billings, and Spokane. We returned to the Boise area, where we started Tester Broadcasting and BOB FM, which is still a favorite on the airwaves. Managing and starting radio groups was the best education for developing the coaching model we use today. Our consulting has brought us into contact with a wide variety of businesses. We now have clients in technology, engineering, construction, health care, education, and more. I travel the country to do coaching and consulting, but most of our clients are located in Southwest Idaho, where we have many friends and connections. Since Claudia and I were a matched set in our television days, it is not uncommon to be asked where the other is if we’re not together!
How you communicate plays a big part in successful sales, and Claudia’s part of our business focuses on that. She sees to our clients’ PR, marketing, and advertising needs. Our unique skill sets allow us to work with businesses to hire the right teams and communicate effectively, both of which lead to improved customer service and better performance. And because broadcasting is in our blood, you’ll hear or see both of us on select radio or TV projects, many involving my first love: sports! Many of the clients we consult also started their ventures with family members. Husbands, wives, sons, brothers, sisters, daughters — they all come together to make sure their businesses run properly. We’re certainly not relationship gurus, but we often talk with our clients about family business dynamics — we’ve been there! We understand how important family is both inside and outside of work. We believe that if people are comfortable enough to invite us over for dinner as a family, they can trust us to help coach and guide their business to success. Trust isn’t given lightly in this day and age, so we know how important it is to communicate with clients to create this bond. Thank you for trusting us. We are so excited to welcome you to the family. - Dave Tester
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Are Your Customers Forgetting About You?
Ways to Increase Engagement
When a lot of business owners think about customer engagement, they dwell on strategies that encourage people to buy what they’re selling. That’s far from the whole story when it comes to creating a loyal fan base that raves about your company. Customer engagement should be a constant initiative, not something that only happens when customers are thinking about buying. Engaged customers won’t forget about you. When the time to buy comes around, yours will be the first name on their lips. Engagement also drives word-of-mouth marketing. According to a recent Nielsen study, consumers rely on referrals from trusted sources more than any other form of marketing. If you give your current customers a reason to rave, they’ll spread the word. Here are a couple of ways to ensure that your customers become fans. BE PERSONAL Treat your customers like a number, and they’ll think of you the same way. Treat them like real people, and they’ll love you forever. Remember details about your customers, address them by name, and go the extra mile to develop a real bond. Mindy Grossman, CEO of Weight Watchers, says, “Our ability to create that one-on- one engagement with a customer is a point of differentiation and strategic advantage for us.” No matter your industry, you can create that advantage for your business.
MAKE PROACTIVE CONTACT If you only engage with customers when they are looking to buy, you’re a pricing company. Once a customer is shopping around, they already know what they want. They’re just looking for the best deal. Conversely, if you reach out to your customers to follow up, provide them with information, or even just share something fun, you’ll build brand loyalty. CREATE A COMMUNITY Speaking to your customers is great, but giving them a way to speak to each other can be just as valuable. Savvy use of social media is a great way to achieve this goal. Give people a reason to share their experience with your business and a forum in which to share it. Even better, incentivize. Offer customers discounts on future purchases for posting about their experience on Facebook. The more creative you are, the more engagement you’ll see. Engaged customers are loyal customers. But it’s up to you to engage them. Don’t fall into the trap of focusing only on customers who will buy in the next 30 days.
Tester-
MONIALS
“That’s one of the Seven Deadly Sins: pride. And it took my good friend and co-host, Dave Tester, to really break that down for me. Dave is one of the first outside influencers that I have ever allowed inside my inner circle, and let me tell you, I am so much better.
“Having someone who is not in my industry with an outsider’s perspective and who holds me accountable for what I’m trying to accomplish is second to none.” —Chris Spates
“You can’t go it alone. Up until about three or four years ago, I said, ‘I can do it myself. I don’t need anyone. I’m not going to open up to anyone, and I’m not going to share with anyone. I can do it myself.’
Stop the Madness in March Smart Recruiting and Customer Follow-Up This spring, our focus is on recruitment and follow-up. We offer a wide variety of services, from customer intelligence reporting to public relations training, but the zone of genius this month centers on two crucial concepts: the importance of successful recruiting and how to follow up with current customers and leads. When recruiting superstars, always ask yourself, “What does my bench look like?” In other words, who do you currently have on your team, and which weak areas do you need to recruit strong candidates for? You should always be recruiting. We will soon begin providing DISC testing, an assessment that helps you discover what drives and motivates your candidate. The average cost of a failed hire is 1 1/2 times his or her salary.
As for follow-up, our research shows that 96 percent of customers who have a bad experience will not tell you, and 9 out of 10 of those will not come back. We have also discovered that most companies fail to follow up on 8 out of 10 leads — sales teams stop after the first rejection or voicemail. Let us help you beat the odds. Those figures make us want to stop the madness in March. Reach out to us this month for your free assessment: askdavetester.com.
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Convincing Garth Brooks to Relive His Javelin Throwing Days If I Can Do It, So Can You! When I was a television sports anchor back in 1992, I was looking to not only interview Garth Brooks, but to make a splash while doing so. My plan was to play to his love of sports. I managed to persuade Steve, the longtime keeper of the keys to track and field implements, for a javelin. I made it past security and took my cameraman to the room where Garth was waiting to perform. I busted in the door and looked right at him. “We’re here, Mr. Brooks, and look what I found!”
Initially, I thought Garth might be a football player. I soon discovered, however, that he was on the Oklahoma State University track and field team, with
I had him one-on-one, and for 15 minutes, he gave me a lesson on how to throw the javelin. My colleagues were mad as hell, but I got both the scoop and the story of the week. Reading this, you might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with sales?” I hope everything. If your team gives up after the first no, you won’t be getting anywhere. In 50 percent of sales, people quit on the prospect after that first rejection, while 30 percent stop after the second. What if I told you that 81 percent of sales happen after the eighth touch or contact? Even if you ask each salesperson not to stop until after the third call to a prospect, they are in the top 10th percentile. I call this my green eggs and ham rule. Sam didn’t stop after the first no, and, in fact, it took him more than eight no’s to get a yes. But he did it. Ask your team not to stop after the first no. My philosophy is that whether you love me or hate me, you’ll never forget me — just ask Garth Brooks.
a specialty in throwing the javelin. With this, I had the key to the Brooks
mansion. All I had to do now was convince his manager to let me pull off the gig. Almost immediately, they said, “No way.” Even with that first no from management, I moved on to the green room — a
room where stars usually hang out before they go on stage. The next and final stop was the equipment room where I could make a request for a javelin.
Have a
Mom’s Mustard
LAUGH
This simple recipe is straight from my mom! Use it wherever mustard is called for.
Ingredients
• 1.4 ounces Colman dry mustard
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup mayo
Directions
1. Mix dry mustard and cider vinegar and let sit overnight at room temperature. 2. Beat in eggs, sugar, and salt.
3. Cook in double boiler until thick, stirring constantly.
4. Let cool.
5. Add mayo and enjoy!
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Tester TIME 808 W. Colbert St. Meridian, ID 83646 (208) 707-9807 www.dialingstrangers.com
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The Jon Carson Family
Don’t Let Your Customers Forget You
Focus on Recruitment and Customer Follow-Up
How I Convinced Garth Brooks to Throw a Javelin
Book Review: ‘Extreme Ownership’
‘Extreme Ownership’ : How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
Effective leadership is the most important key to success, and to say that “Extreme Ownership” will empower you as a leader is an understatement. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin use their experiences as former U.S. Navy SEALs to provide a backdrop for their views on leadership. Their stories drop you right in the middle of the action, both on the battlefield and within the confines of corporate America, in order to teach you invaluable leadership lessons. The book is divided into three main points and designed to make it as easy as possible for you to apply extreme ownership in your own life. WINNING THE WAR WITHIN Leaders are responsible for everything and everyone within their purview. Willink and Babin make the bold assertion that there are no bad teams, just bad leaders. They use examples from the battlefield and the boardroom to show that all failures can be traced back to poor leadership. LAWS OF COMBAT Simplify, prioritize and execute, and decentralize command. Applied to an office setting, these combat strategies show how simplifying plans and organizing priorities will improve your operational efficiency. While there is a need for clearly designated
leaders, junior leaders must be empowered to make their own decisions — and their own mistakes.
SUSTAINING VICTORY To drive their point home, Willink and Babin provide a plan for how to implement and sustain the concepts of extreme ownership. They highlight the importance of decisiveness and show you how to create planning checklists that enable your team to operate like one fluid unit. “Extreme Ownership” differs from other leadership books by emphasizing that there can be no leadership where there is no team. Its main points revolve around the importance of teams, not just individuals. Leaders who embody extreme ownership don’t just take the blame for mistakes — they own them.
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