The final 10%

I am reminded of the importance of finishing well after watching World Cup soccer this weekend. So much of the time product marketers worry about the beginning phases of a project, the creative, the plan, the team... that they forget that it is all about the finish. It is the last 10% that makes the difference between check-box "done" and "wow" success.

I am talking about the extra time and effort to finish well such as the personal phone call to the key sales reps, the third check before you hit send, or the hand written thank you note to the key players. The last 10% is what differentiates your project from the similar one being done by your competition. It is the part that makes it yours, and makes it a project that you are proud of. What is keeping you from sticking the final 10% of your project?

You can make excuses; I am too busy, I just inherited this project, this is good enough... but is that really going to get you and your company success in the marketplace? How are you going to earn the right for the next project, if you do not finish well? Seth Godin has an excellent post entitled "Hardly worth the effort" that visits this subject.

Tell a Story

People don't care about your products or features. They care about what your product enables them to do. The best way to communicate this value proposition is a story. History has taught us that one of the most effect ways of passing on information is to use a story. We have been learning from stories, ever since childhood.

The general elements of a story are the situation, complication and solution or resolution. Good examples of this approach are found in newspaper articles. Instead of building a long technical argument that arrives at a logical conclusion, get to your point up front and let the audience decide if they want or need to read on to get more detail.

Here is a short example from my current product:

"Every organization depends on the reliable movement of files, from batch integration, to the movement of large images or catalogs, to the synchronization of remote locations or disaster-recovery sites (situation). When organizations depend on unreliable FTP, valuable IT resources are used to answer the “Where is my file” question (complication).

In this new era of rigorous security and shorter processing windows, Connect:Direct is the point-to-point file transfer software optimized for high-volume, secure, assured delivery of files within and among enterprises (solution)."

Even better if you can get a customer to tell the story, which adds credibility and can provide a personal connection point for the audience.

To learn more about building your stories, you might want to slog through the Minto Pryramid Principle. (Long read but some good logic on how to make your writing clearer)

Three questions to ask before every presentation

1- Who is the audience?
This seems obvious, but you don't know how many presentations I have sat through that were meant for people not in the room. You have to consider the audience; what do they know about the subject? What questions will they have on their mind? Why are they here? Knowing your audience will let you pick the right approach, the right content and connect with them.

2- So what?
The burning question you should have ringing in your ears throughout the presentation is your audience asking, "So what?" What does this mean to me? What am I suppose to do with this information? If you answer this question for your audience, based on the correct audience information, you will engage them like never before, and get the best chance to succeed with the third question.

3- What is the desired action?
What do you want the audience to do with what you have told them? Do you want them to buy something, think about a problem, or start a conversation with a particular audience? At the very least you should want them to share something they learned with their colleagues and friends.

Equipped with the answers to these three questions you can then craft a more compelling presentation than the last one you delivered. I guarantee it. For more tips on presentations, check out Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint.

Stop shouting and start listening

Most marketers spend months creating their message, making sure they have three points with support for each one. Then they agonize over how to creatively present that message. Then they pick a mass marketing channel and start blasting out the message.. it reminds me of trying to have a conversation during an argument. When one party is solely focused on shouting... it is time to change the channel, delete the email, or just walk away.

Today's successful technology marketing is about listening. Start by listening to your target buyers to determine what they need, how they research and find solutions to those needs, and how and where they connect with others to share their solutions.

I find so many marketers showing up in social media and they are still shouting. Start by knowing your audience. Listen to them, hang out, then contribute to the conversation. Become a trusted source and then you can talk to your friends, instead of shouting at strangers.

Many marketers assume that their target market is just like them, so they can just use themselves as a stand in instead of doing their homework. Wrong approach.

Try buyer personas as a tool to help make sure you are listening. A couple of good resources are Buyer Persona blog and Pragmatic Marketing.