When I conduct media training, we teach spokespeople to not just think in terms of sound bites, but to use those sound bites at the beginning of their answers.  That way, they’re not only more quotable, but you have a better chance that the reporter is taking good notes and gets your comment recorded for use in their piece.

Pretty much the same thing goes for presentations and Twitter today.

If you’re giving a presentation, make sure your script is full of tweetable content.  Think in terms of 140 characters or less.  As you’re preparing, literally write out those tweetable points to ensure they’ll fit with room for retweets to spare (right around 100 characters is about right).

If your goal is to share your story not just to those in the room, but their followers as well, this will ensure you’re getting maximum pass-along for yourself and your message.

Fascinating study released this week from the folks at RainToday about the problems buyers encounter when choosing a new professional service provider.  The full report is worth a quick read (no registration required), but several points stood out to me.

Probably most interesting was a chart indicating the specific problems buyers encounter when engaged in the sales process.  The top reasons boil down to salesmanship.   The number one problem buyers encounter (nearly 4 of 10 buyers) is that the salesperson “did not listen to me.” 

These were followed by 30 percent of buyers indicating that the seller did not respond to requests in a timely manner, and did not understand their needs.

These are clearly problems that every sales & marketing organization can address.  Today.

At the very bottom of the list of buyer problems?  Web site.  Just six percent of buyers reported that information on and professionalism of the seller’s Web site was a problem.  With so many organizations spending tons of time and money fixing Web sites with the assumption that it has a significant impact on buyer perception and interest, this relatively low percentage should at least give marketers pause to possibly reconsider where their time is best spent to accelerate closed business.

Buyers want you to listen.  To respond quickly.  To understand what they need.

What could you do with your sales organization today to address and improve these issues?

I can’t believe it’s already December, and 2009 is almost gone.  That means it won’t be long before the holidays are over, and we’re staring at a brand new month, quarter and year.  Before January hits you unprepared, spend time in December both catching up and getting ready.  Here are five specific things to get you started.

Read:  That backlog of blog posts sitting in your RSS Reader?  The stack of magazines on your desk?  Dig into them.  You don’t need to read every single article, but take time this month to catch up a bit on the reading you’ve wanted to do.  I guarantee you’ll find inspiration many times over.

Learn:  What skill have you wanted to learn?  What new sales or marketing strategy have you wanted to get smarter about before testing for your organization?  There’s something you’ve been putting off, because you simply don’t have time.  What if you devoted the next 30 days to reading, practicing and testing that skill?  How could that make you smarter and more successful in 2010? 

Brainstorm:  Pick a handful of important problems or challenges.  They can be things facing you personally or professionally, individually or with a group.  Feel free to brainstorm on your own, but also pull friends, family or colleagues (whichever group is most appropriate) into a room with a white board to help.  Even if you just take 30 minutes (our team takes as little as 10 minutes depending on the topic), with a bit of mental isolation and focus, you’ll come up with something highly useful.

Secret Shop:  Which competitors – big or small – are creeping up on you?  Which ahead of you might be within reach?  How can you dig deeper, directly, into how they do business to learn what they’re doing well, where they’re weak, and what you can do differently to accelerate past (or further away from) them in the coming months?

Plan:  You’ve probably done some of this already for 2010, at least for your organization overall and/or for your department.  But have you done it for yourself?  For your career, or other professional and personal goals?  What focus areas and milestones will be important to you in 2010, and what do you need to do starting in January to achieve them?  Then, what do you need to do in December to hit the ground running?

‘Tis the season to send your customers a “we’re thankful for your business” email.   I’ve been getting several of them this week.  Most are well written and sincere. 

I’ve had a couple clients ask me if these are a good idea for their customer base as well, and they certainly are.  But here’s the rub. 

Of course you’re thankful for your customers’ business, and reminding them of such this week in particular is a great idea.  But you’re equally thankful for their business the other 51 weeks of the year.  Your customers need to be reminded of that (with your words and your deeds) on a regular basis.  That’s the best way to demonstrate your true thankfulness and appreciation, ultimately.

By all means, take the opportunity today to send a thank you email, blog post, tweet, whatever.  Just make sure you’re doing the same the rest of the year.

Want credibility with a set of prospective customers?  Want to be accepted as one of them, as a part of their tribe?

It takes more than just joining their club.  It takes more than just speaking their language, and talking at them.

To be accepted today, you have to participate.

Participation means two-way communication, in an authentic manner, on a regular basis.  It takes more time, more effort, and more investment than what we used to be able to do – buy a list, get some PR, write a letter.  In other words, talk at the prospect.

Today, prospects require and expect more.  If you talk at them (in a letter, a blog post, an article in a trade publication), they expect to be able to talk and comment back.  And then, in turn, they expect you to read their response and engage yet again.

It’s more work.  And as long as your prospects keep responding, it doesn’t really end.  But isn’t that awesome?

The companies you want as your customers aren’t just reading your stuff anymore.  They’re responding, engaging, asking you questions, questioning your opinions.  They’re getting to know you, and by participating back you’re earning their trust and respect.  And if you keep participating, you can earn their business too.

The assumption that a big network – thousands of followers on Twitter, an enormous rolodex, a really big mailing list – directly translates into influence and performance is ridiculous.  Anybody can build a big list of names. 

The more important question is whether those people care about you.  Do they respect you?  Do they trust you?  When called upon, will they help you?  Will they buy from you?

The trick is translating that big list into an army of evangelists, a group of individuals who respect and trust you.

That’s how to measure the value of your network.  Not by sheer volume, but by trust. 

Trust drives influence, and influence enables action.