Greg's Right FIT Newsletter #108

Techniques for FIT

• The saying, "A starving man doesn't care about a dirty plate," applies to management too. A desperate manager doesn't care if an employee is soiling the cubicle and dragging down co-workers. Find a cure for the desperation. 

• When a manager is desperate, it's not a reflection on the management talent of the manager. Desperation comes from a perceived lack of options. If we can help identify options, managers can do what's best for the business. 

• It's easier to manage when talent is itching to step in and take their shot. Talk to an NFL veteran about what keeps them sharp, and they'll admit to being pressed to greatness because if they stopped, someone is ready and waiting to take their spot on the roster. 

• Next week, if you have a manager struggling to get employees to exhibit behaviors in line with your strategy, find more recruits. Build up their bench strength. It encourages everyone to focus. 

Being Human - It's very complicated

“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” Plato

We're having more and more discussions about measuring the marketing team's results. With cross-device tracking, biometric matching capabilities, and massive databases in the cloud, it feels like we should be able to track everything. That leads to requests for metrics and KPIs. That leads to new money being excitedly spent and new tools being deployed. 

Which eventually leads back to me. You see, when a team spends money and doesn't see a change in those KPIs or metrics, I get called in. "What are we missing?" they ask. 

One thing, I reply. You're trying to be data driven, instead of data informed. 

As great as our tracking technology is, it's not perfect. And even if it were perfect, our prospect's decision making is so chaotic, it defy's technology's attempts to paint a clear picture. So don't focus on that tracking bulls-eye, instead, widen your focus to account for changes at the macro level. 

If the bulls-eye is what we can attribute to a prospect by tracking across all devices, IPs, and CRM entries, that's only a fraction of what trips our measurement devices. And what trips our measurement devices is only a fraction of what actually happens. 

So focus on the outer cirlcle where all new business comes is registered. That's accurate because it's money in the bank. Take note of the sales you can attribute to tripping some triggers. Then consider the bulls-eye, those sales you know you can track 100% to multiple touches. Let that information help you make decisions, but don't assume it tells you everything you need to know. Be data informed, not data driven. 

(And consider this, by the time the robots have it all figured out, they'll be selling to each other.)

Random Stuff

It's college decision time

My youngest is in the midst of his college search, and since this is my third one through the process over the decade, I've noticed some things. 

When my first child went through the process, it felt like she was rewarded for attending the in-school visits, making good with the recruiters, and expressing an interest in the school. The recruiter and the student were in cahoots to make everything work. 

When the second one went through, it felt like the private schools relied on marketing and relied on techniques like anchor pricing. Convincing me that $50,000 is worth the investment and then aggressively discount to come in around $7-10K more than the state school. Not as much emphasis on the recruiter. 

Now, according to my youngest, it sounds like the recruiters rarely stop by the schools. There are thick catalogs, fancy "application status" websites, and emails. Tons of emails. Each one with their own tracking code, leading to it's own algorithm, and building out its own potential student score. 

"We consider each and every application very carefully," says the website.

[bleep bloop - user 4653 from IP 54.954.91.0 clicked link SCLSP] 

I said to my oldest, "be there in front of them." 
I said to my middle, "call them and express interest."

I'm telling my youngest, "click early, and click often."

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