r e-s-p-e-c-t: effectively communicating the value of info pros
DESCRIPTION
Words like "information" and "research" no longer connote the high level of value that libraries and librarians offer to their clients. In this keynote for the Health Sciences Librarians of Illinois' annual conference, Mary Ellen looks at how to effectively and memorably communicate the strategic value that info pros provide.TRANSCRIPT
HSLI Conference
Nov. 14, 2014
Mary Ellen Bates
BatesInfo.com
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Can you answer these questions?
What are your clients’ biggest painpoints?
How do your clients describe yourlibrary’s services?
What do you do that changessomeone’s outcome?
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Indispensable info pros
What are you to the bottom line?Overhead to be controlled ORInvolved in accomplishing strategic goals
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Indispensable info pros
Do you track examples of your impact?
What changed as a result of yourwork?
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Talking about value
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“So, what do you do?"
I'm a librarianI help people find informationI provide high-end information servicesI enable the discovery of insight
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Boring messages
We save you time/money
...to do what???
We have authoritative sources
but we already expect that
We provide information research
blah, blah, blah
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Promote, don't defend!
“The web doesn’t have everything”
“The web isn't reliable”
“We give you insight, not just a searchresult.”
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When you describe yourself...
Is it a WHAT or HOW?
or is it a WHY?
"We search premium databases" or
"We provide insights from the outside"
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HOW or WHY?
"We provide research services" or
"We help medical staff make betterdecisions"
"We are experts in finding andorganizing information" or
"We make critical research findable"10@mebs
Emulate the pros
See how info companies describe
their value... their WHY
Benefit from their investment!
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BMJ Journals provide the latestinsight on clinical practice andresearch.
Ovid enables well-informeddecisions that help to improvepatient care, enhance ongoingresearch, and fuel discoveries.
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AccessMedicine helps residents,nurse practitioners, and physicianassistants with [resources] thatfacilitate decision-making at thepoint-of-care
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Clients only ask you
to do what
they think you can do.
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Finding their pain points
“What are your biggest challengesright now?”
“What’s keeping you from your biggestgoals?”
“What would you change in how youmake decisions / do your work?”
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Getting your message out
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Getting your message out
It's not all about you
Benefits, not features
Results, not activity
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Getting your message out
It's your job to sell, not their job tobuy
If they don't get it, try otherapproaches
Can your brother / neighbor / spousetell your story?
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Elevator speeches
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Die, elevator speeches, die!
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Once upon atime...
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Elevator ping-pong
A 3-second hookAED (defib) salesperson: "I sell humanjumper cables"MEB: "My business is to create my bestcompetition"MEB: "I help my clients look brilliant"
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Elevator ping-pong
A 3-second hookInfo pro: "I'm the one who squeezes thelibrary into your smartphone"
Info pro: "I find what Google can't find"
Info pro: "I make Google smarter"
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Fill in the Q&A blanks...
You know how {describe pain point, inone breath}?
Well, I {describe what happens foryour clients, in one breath}
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Q&A example
You know what it's like to walk into akey donor's office and get blindsided?
Well, I can brief you the morning ofthe appointment so you know whatyour donor is thinking about.
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Q&A example
Do you wonder whether you aremissing key research?
Well, we use resources that evenGoogle doesn’t have.
or
We offer you a better place to search25@mebs
Tell a 3-sentence story
The situation
What your client got
What happened for your client
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Tell a 3-sentence story
1. Describe your client's situation
My client was reviewing jurors for atrial.
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Tell a 3-sentence story
2. What does your client get from you?
I monitored the jurors’ social mediaprofiles and found a juror discussingthe case.
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Tell a 3-sentence story
3. What does your client do as aresult?
As a result of my work, we were ableto remove a juror opposed to ourclient.
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Our message:
Librarians have strategic info resources
Librarians are strategic info experts
Librarians are strategic assets
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and remember...
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Reluctant-entrepreneur.com
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You can reach me at
+1 303 772 7095BatesInfo.com, Reluctant-Entrepreneur.com
Twitter: @mebs
LinkedIn, Facebook, Slideshare.net:maryellenbates
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