Cutting through the noise to connect with and convert a prospect to a customer is one of the biggest challenges facing sales and marketing teams today.  The noise is everywhere.  Visual.  Auditory.  Olfactory.  Textile.  Intellectual.  Social.  Emotional.  Prospective customers are being targeted and solicited at every turn. 

Billboards.  Bus benches.  Newspapers.  Magazines.  Radio programs.  Street signs.  Social media ads and advertorials.  Online retargeting ads.  Jingles.  Search engine ads.  Packaging.  Emails.  Directories.  Fence banners.  Flags.  Wrapped vehicles.  Digital signs.  Scents in retail locations.  Podcasts.   Commercials.  Coupons.  Skywriting.  Junk mail.  That’s just the tip of the selling iceberg. 

Salespeople will do just about anything to close a sale.  They will brave cold calls to hardened gatekeepers.  They will send email after email after email to prospects hoping to elicit a response.  They’ll attend networking events and social functions trolling for clients.  They’ll schlep displays, banners and premiums to trade shows to engage attendees.  They’ll offer gifts and enticements hoping to cut through the noise.  And, they will schedule Zoom meetings, teach seminars and deliver webinars to provide value and build rapport.  It can be a daunting task to do all that work just to receive 99 “No, thank you” in the hopes of getting one “Yes.”

The worst part is that those prospects are often being solicited when they are busy or distracted, and just don’t have the bandwidth to give their full attention.  And the shelf life of those time-consuming sales efforts is short.  Staying top-of-mind with prospects long-term beyond the call, conference or class is very challenging.  Those warm leads turn cold again quickly.

Overcoming Price’s Square Root Law

Productivity is defined as “the measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (the output) against the inputs used to produce those goods and services.” So if a company with 100 employees generated $20M in profits that year, that means each employee’s output generates an average of $200K in profits per year.

But Price’s Law (a theory put forth by Dr. Derek J. de Solla Price, a Yale professor) says output is not generated equally. Price’s Law postulates that “in any productive community, 50% of the output will be achieved by the square root of the total group.” This applies to a host of settings and situations. So, in a company of four employees, two employees (the square root of four) produce half the work and the other two produce the other half. In that scenario, everyone is generating an equal amount of work. But, in a company with 25 employees, it means that 5 employees (square root of 25) are responsible for 50% of the company’s output and the other 20 employees generate the other 50%. That’s not great. But it gets worse the bigger the organization. In a business with 100 employees, 10 employees (square root of 100) are responsible for 50% of the company’s output and the other 90 employees generate the other 50%. If the company were generating $20M in revenue, 10 people were responsible for generating $10M and the other 90 generated the other $10M.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Productivity is a measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (the output) against the inputs used to produce those goods and services.”  That is important because productivity is the driving force of all organizations, whether for profit, non-profit or government.  Productivity is king.  So, understanding what impacts productivity is vital to anyone running a department, division, company or other concern looking to harness resources in order to achieve results.  For a business owner trying to generate a better bottom line by increasing efficiency and effectiveness, it is vital to have a keen understanding of forces impacting productivity.

What’s a person to do when there is uncertainty ahead? The economy is always in flux.  Right now, inflation is high and interest rates are rising. Big tech and social media companies are laying off employees by the thousands.  But there is always a reason for employers and employees alike to be a little nervous about business. 

When there is uncertainty, some would advise people and companies to scale back and lay low. Hunker down like a turtle.  Downsize payroll. Tighten up expenditures. Reduce risks.  Hide and wait for the economic turbulence to pass. That’s a common reaction to fear.  But fear hinders innovation, kills dreams, and hurts productivity. Fear decimates focus. Fear urges flight, not fight.  It pushes people into knee-jerk responses.  

Ask 50 people what is the single most important task or behavior a person can do that is required to be successful and you will likely get 50 different answers.   Last week, we looked at one skill that many highly-successful people agree is key to success.  That skill was communication.  And then we considered what behaviors are essential to achieve success.  Top on the list was consistency.  Consistency is an essential building block for any kind of achievement.   But those two are not enough.  There are at least two additional ingredients needed to do well and get ahead.  Third on the list is focus.

Ask a business coach, mentor, or entrepreneur what it takes to be successful and you’ll hear an earful about all kinds of skills, traits and behaviors that feed success.  They won’t hesitate to expound on what a person has to do and be in order to succeed.   Some common traits connected to success include having:  a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, passion, energy/hustle, being open/coachable, honest, dependable, and curious.  Skills linked to success include:  lifelong learning, planning, good time management, creativity, critical thinking, adaptability, clear communicator, and team player.  And behaviors tied to success include goal setting, effort, willingness to go above and beyond, resolve / tenacity, self-control, initiative/go getter and willingness to take risks.   That’s just the tip of the success iceberg.  The list is long. 

It’s November.  Marketing departments are working on their customer appreciation messages and gifts, while HR departments are crafting their employee tenure rewards programs.  It makes sense.  Leaders know that it is important to acknowledge devoted employees and customers alike.  And those leaders – if they are genuine and smart – know that it is not enough to inwardly appreciate dedicated staff and faithful customers for their ongoing support.  They must also take the time to recognize that longevity and loyalty in a meaningful way.  But not all recognition programs are created equal.  Some work and others don’t.  When and how should an organization express gratitude to their devoted employees and faithful customers?  Here’s what the research says.

Proximity Bias and Remote Workers

Workplaces are rife with hidden biases.  It’s part and parcel of the way that our human brains work.  These biases are shortcuts the brain takes in order to be able to deal with the rapid pace of life. 

Many of the biases we looked at over the last two months were present during the recruiting and hiring process.  But Proximity Bias is one that not only is present during recruiting and hiring, but also during ongoing management of staff.  Proximity Bias is the brain’s tendency to favor people and ideas that are familiar over those that are unfamiliar.  

Attribution Bias

In psychology, attribution refers to the process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events.  Cause and effect are very important in business because we want to know exactly the cause that produces a particular outcome in order to replicate it or avoid it, depending on the situation.  For example, sales managers seek to understand just what specific behaviors and information result in a sale.  Based on past experience and a lot of data analysis, a Sales Manager might deduce that outgoing, positive, extroverted sales people are more likely to connect with customers and generate sales.  He will look to hire people with that disposition. Or hiring managers might want to know what type of employees are most likely to stay with the company a long time.  So one HR Director, looking at research and her own record, might deduce that younger employees tend to change jobs more frequently and decide to hire middle aged employees in order to reduce turnover.  For most business decisions, attribution is key.