Telling stories is a prime way to share information. Whether "war stories" shared in a conference presentation, or "case studies" written for marketing collateral or web site use cases, stories of real people using your products and services can have a huge impact on the believability of what you offer.
SHHH! Don't Share!
Why is it then that so many senior managers and executives feel like they have to hide every little detail about how their product works, or made a customer's day, or successfully solved a serious issue? If it's factual, why not share it?
Several years ago I was working with a head of a major real estate firm at a national convention. He was nervous about his presentation, and sought my advice on how he could "WOW!" the audience (mostly made up of his peers). I suggested that he tell them a couple of stories about his best deals, and get into the specifics of how they happened. "NO!" he fairly shouted! "All the other guys will get our secrets!"
Needless to say, his presentation, prepared by his corporate marketing department and full of pretty charts, graphs, numbers, and pictures, told absolutely nothing of worth to the attendees. What could have been a highlight of the conference was, instead, an embarassment, especially to the speaker.
How Much of a Secret Are You Keeping?
Unless you're dealing with software coding, nuclear fusion, the newest mobile phone, or troop movements, there's really probably not a significant amount of information you're hiding. It's probably either been:
In other words: There's no reason you SHOULDN'T tell your story about how you did it successfully. The likelihood of someone stealing your idea is between slim and none. Even if they DO steal it, telling about it FIRST makes you seem like the expert. It is one of the hidden secrets about self-promotion.
Telling EVERYTHING Works
Just this afternoon one of my Biznik friends, a corporate recruiter and career coach, was going through a 3-step career search process with me. As she walked me through her process, I thought to myself "This would make a great Biznik article!" I suggested it -- and she said "I know! I'm going to write it later today!"
She understands the value of "no secrets". She will tell basically everything that makes her successful in what she does. Why? Because she knows:
And isn't that what marketing is about? Generating business?
Remember the story about the high-powered real estate exec who didn't tell any "secrets"? The next year one of the speakers, Jim M., had a similar assignment. Jim mostly dealt with buying land. In this group of real estate gurus, he was not considered very sophisticated. And he knew it.
About a week before the event, Jim came up to me and said "What should I do? There are all these big shots nationally and internationally, they'll all be there in their Gucci shoes and la-de-da tailored suits. What will I do?" I told him: "Jim, tell a story. Tell them what you do every day. Don't leave out any details. From the time you walk out your front door to the time you pat the dog on the head when you come home, just tell them what you do."
Cowboy Boots vs. Gucci Loafers
When Jim gave his presentation, I couldn't believe it. In a packed ballroom at a national hotel, full of corporate real estate experts from throughout the world, responsible for trillions of dollars of real estate, Jim strode to the podium wearing a blue denim shirt, a pair of nice jeans ... and cowboy boots!
The audience was stunned.
Jim was nervous... but he'd rolled the dice! He said: This is what I wear to work. I talk to landowners every day, and most of them ... well, this is what THEY wear to work!"
Then he told these "gurus" what he did, step by step. You should have seen the notebooks, the laptops, the PDAs, fly open as they took notes frantically. And Jim told them EVERYTHING he did, every little secret.
The results?
He told me later: "Several people came up to me and said "you just told me all your secrets ... but I can't replicate it, and I know nobody else in our company can. Come and work for us ... and bring your boots!"
Trade secrets. Corporate secrets. Business secrets. As long as you're not breaking non-disclosure agreements, or compromising formulas, or exposing strategies ... go ahead and tell the story about how and why you're successful! Because telling what you know, and how you do what you do, makes you the market leader! And isn't that where you want to be?
Learn more about the author, David Kuhns.
David,
I have to disagree with you. Business model secrets are quintessential to "first to market" strategies. Why disclose a model so others can become competitors? I disclose enough to peak interest and then meet one-on-one to qualify clients. There is a lot of danger with what you've written. I believe in providing information, but to disclose a secret competitive advantage is...well...ridiculous. Have I mis-understood your article?
Hi David,
I really enjoyed this article and the thought that you can safely share everything. There are two schools of thought among martial arts teachers that illustrate this point. One teacher says, "I can't teach you everything I know or you will get better and defeat me." The other kind of teacher says, "I will teach you everything I know and we will get better together." Is there some danger and some risk? I think so, but how much risk is there in not growing and learning.
I appreciate Conrad's thoughts. It reflects how most people in business think. I have seen several managers break away from their bosses, steal clients, and compete against the business that brought them up. However, most business models are transparent because you see it in their marketing, website, and execution. In most situations, I have found the secret to protecting your business model is to develop processes and systems with many innovative (creative) improvements that make the business unique and differentiated. If someone copies your business model, you are the leader, they are the second best unless you cannot execute upon your customer promises and expectations. The second best in any market ultimately creates customers for the market leader.
Once you have started your business your competitive advantage should be apparent to everyone.
I like the controversial nature of your article. Thanks.
David - Loved the article, and I can see where you're going with it. But my thoughts go along the same lines as Conrad's. Big name companies come to mind - Honeywell, for instance. Do you think they were handing out all the information and how they did things?
Perhaps it's a matter of WHAT information you share. For that matter, maybe it's a matter of what industry you're in?
Great article! A friend and I were just discussing this the other day. I told her about attending a Biznik event on Tuesday, and she said to me "Aren't you worried that someone who has more money or experience will just take your idea and beat you to the punch? I don't think I would be so free to share, if I were you."
My response was this: "Even if someone else did run with my idea, I just have to believe that we live in a world of abundance, and there is more than enough to go around. Enough money, enough clients, enough everything. There is no possible way that my company can reach every potential client in Washington, so if I have competition, that just pushes me to be a better business owner and build even stronger relationships to retain clients."
Bottom line: don't let your fear of what COULD happen stop you from telling the world about what IS happening with you and your business. Believe in abundance!
Kirk,
Maybe its about timing. A non-tech startup, let's say a consulting company with a business model that is not understood by its established consultant competitors would not want to provide a ketnote address to 1000 competitors until it has established itself in the marketplace.
I appreciate your thoughts. My differentiating point is that the article's direction is to general and there is danger in being to general.
Before disclosing competitive secrets several items should be taken into consideration.
How well funded is your company?
Is the company a startup or well established?
Who is the audience that you are prepared to disclose your information to?
How does the timing of disclosure compare to marketplace understanding?
When does a non disclosed competitive advantage vs. disclosure become more detrimental than beneficial?
Thoughts?
Here is my 2 cent's worth: If you kissed a pretty girl and kept it (and her) a secret the kiss and the girl are kept in sacred trust; however, the girl will eventually begin to wonder why you have not shared the essence of that magical moment with the world. She begins to feel cheap and that the relationship is torrid, and the fact that your appreciation of her is possibly lessened. The value of the secret becomes cheapened and gets called into question. When you play "I got a secret" you have to be careful...it can come back to bite you on the nose. It is the essence of the product or the service you are sharing when you inform your clients and customers about what you do and how you do it. Just because you share the secret of your new found love does not mean you give your buddies a demo kiss! It is the magic behind the service or product you sell that you share...not the actual blueprints!
I try to focus on communicating the benefits of my offering, not how they are produced. If someone wants to know how, and teaching them has a benefit for me, I have them sign a Non-disclosure agreement, and then I teach them. If my techniques are really unobvious and a search reveals they are unique, I then file for a patent under provisional status, and stamp the product with "patent pending" for a year. This is the practice I was taught in my course on technology management, courtesy of Boeing.
David,
I have a webcasting channel that reaches about 20,000 viewers. I believe your article would stimulate a great deal of interest. If you would like, you could run a webcast on the channel at no charge to you. It would be advertised nationwide by BrightTALK and you can also host it right on your site. You'd probably draw 100 viewers between the live and archived version. Had a fellow BizNik run a webcast last Friday on Social Networking, he can't wait to run the next one.
If you're interested, let me know. David Kalstrom 602-770-0012 www.outboundexcellence.com
I couldn't agree more, David!
The way I sometimes explain to my clients is this way: the controllable factors that determine business success or failure are skill, resources and connections. The idea is totally irrelevant except that you need to have the skill, resources and connections to bring it to fruition. Furthermore, those three elements are not easy to give away, even if you wanted to.
To Conrad, I would look at it this way: Do you really believe that a new company can have an idea that no one else has thought of? Isn't it more likely that the idea has occurred to them, and they decided it wasn't worth their time? It probably isn't worth their time - you're going to succeed because you have skills, resources and connections uniquely suited to your idea.
Great article, to assist in breaking out of the, outdated fear factor, around sharing business secrets. The more we share the more our clients or potential customers know we care!
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