In Women We Trust

No, It's not all in our heads...

By now many guys think that customer inequality no longer exists. That women and men get the same treatment as long as the card clears. WRONG! It happens even to successful and tech smart women like Elizabeth Albrycht. Elizabeth runs her Corporate PR biz from France and recently reviewed In Women We Trust (thank you!) starting it off with a personal testimony and punch line...

The book is full of examples that I am sure most of my female readers can relate to:  shopping for electronic equipment or cars are two iconic ones.  I still seethe when I think about how I was treated at a major electronics chain a few years ago when I went there to buy a digital camera.  Standing at the outside of the square counter, with the (male) clerk behind it, I was ignored completely while he waited on at least four other men (some of whom arrived after me), then when he finally asked me if he could help with a sigh, I launched into my questions, which he really didn't listen to (he barely looked at me) and then, when he was interrupted by another man with a “quick question” that turned into a lecture on the benefits of pixels, I simply walked away, left the store, and vowed never to buy anything from them again.  And I spread the word among my female friends.  I bought the $600 camera at another store.

A) She walked away from the moment and the person and the store never knew why they lost the $600 sale. B) She "still seethes" thinking about it. C) She was kind and didn't mention the store's name in her well read blog, but she did tell her friends.

Is that what you want ? A seething customer who talks to her friends? I know, I know, it's customer service 101 and oh well... can't win them all... But that's the point. You CAN win them all, if you treat all customers with the same level of respect and acknowledgment. She didn't walk because the sales rep was busy, she walked because of his attitude towards her.

By the way, check out her full write up for the top tips that resonated with her.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for the wonderful review and also for letting other's know what's in your head.

North of the border review

I have my first out of country review by Wayne Hurlbert who hangs his scarf in Manitoba, CA and on his site Blog Business World. Wayne's the first guy who has stepped forward on book tour to comment. I talked to him the other day and he isn't the least bit threatened by this women WITH women movement. In fact, he thinks the recognition that women ARE the majority consumer is long overdue and likes the changes that it's bringing to marketing.

Thanks for your comments, Wayne, I'm looking forward to hearing more when we go live on your BlogRadio program Oct. 12 at 5 PST.

One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without

Jill Konrath the author of Selling to Big Companies is at it again, only this time she's joined hands with nine other experts in the field of business to business sales. To get your FREE COPY of One Piece of Advice that you Can't Sell Without" go here.

I like the FREE part and the fact that Seth Godin leads off with one tip - TRUST. For him that was the beginning and the end of a business relationship. (Thanks Seth, I'm glad you agree...)  He didn't give any additional tips as to how to gain "trust," just that it was the most important thing. Thankfully, Jill and the others fill in the blanks with ways to accomplish that.

It's only 35 pages, but loaded with enough advice to turn any first time sales rep into a sage before noon.

Small Business with Anita Campbell

The best part of being on this virtual book tour is the great women I've met. Yesterday, I talked with Anita Campbell the editor of Smallbiztrends and gave her 5 Do's and 5 Don'ts for selling small business owners. Anita has put together an extremely helpful site for anyone in small business - not only is the content compelling, but the way the site is organized and promoted is a marketing lesson in itself.

On the main site, Anita offers the opinions of many experts through, radio podcasts, a newsletter, articles, blog postings and much more. All of which is focused on trends and how they can be applied within the small business arena. She also has many sub-sites that tie back into the main hub section. I don't know how she keeps it all flowing so well, but she does. If you're in small business, you'll want to subscribe and bookmark www.smallbiztrends.com.

More than a Book Tour

Wow! When my publisher and friend Yvonne DiVita set up this Virtual Book Tour, I had no idea what I was in for. I had some notion that it would be like going on Jon Stewart where I'd be virtually batted around for a five minute laugh with the book mentioned at the end. WRONG! These women are want answers and they are holding my brain to the fire.

Check out Deborah Brown over on the Bizinformer, one of her questions prompted me to talk about a recent car purchase where the dealer was selected by simply being more friendly than the other online car dealers... all it took was one well worded (and sincere) paragraph. No fancy ads, no pictures, just a few hundred words at the right time and the right place.

Toby Bloomberg didn't hold back, either. She highlighted one of the push-back problems attached to this cultural shift and asked me to respond to one of her male readers. He was happy that women were joining together to support one and another, but also felt like some reverse discrimination was going on. Read her interview and find out what I said.

On Tuesday I tour with Kirsten Osolind on her blog ReinventionInc. Kirsten is playing devil's advocate in her questions and they point out a perception gap between the women at the top of organizations and what is being done to communicate with their female customers.

(It's another reason that I keep talking about what Best Buy is doing to close that gap - see last Monday's blog posting - They aren't just putting women into management to increase diversity standards, they are taking advantage of women's social skills and networking to cross link departments and solve problems in a true marriage of right brain/left brain thinking.)

After Kirsten, I go live (yikes) with Dr. Gayle Carson in the afternoon, with a worldwide audience of 1.5 million - no pressure there! Later in the week, Susan Getgood will turn the burner up again on trust factors and more. On September 5th, Anita Campbell of SmallBizTrends, wants to see a list of 5 Do's and 5 Don'ts.

It's grueling, but great fun and it continues the conversation that In Women We Trust starts. My sincere thanks to you all for your participation and thought provoking questions.

Come tour with us

If you're going to take a virtual book tour, you couldn't possibly have better guides, i.e. reviewers, than these ladies.  Deborah Brown started me out yesterday at Bizinformer (kisses Deborah! Glad you liked it). Next on the list of interviews/reviews is Toby Bloomberg, Kirsten Osoling, Susan Getgood, Anita Campbell, Elizabeth Albrycht and Dr. Gayle Carson. A huge hug goes to my publisher and high level blogger herself, Yvonne DiVita for setting up this amazing lineup of women that every business person should know. My thanks to you all for joining on!