The Indispensable Librarian

transcript

Mary Ellen BatesBatesInfo.com

10 Sept 2014

QUICK POLL

How much value does the libraryadd for your organisation?• Not much value• Some value• A lot of value• I don’t know

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ARE we adding value?

Do info pros add“a lot of value”?

Info pros:55% say yes

Execs:34% say yes

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0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

Info pros Execs

ft.com/sla

Execs’ top 5 info pain points

Info overloadFiltering through retrieved infoRelevancy of infoUp-to-date infoTimeliness of info

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We need insight, not just data

ARE we adding value?

Biggest disconnects:Decision-ready informationRelationship mindsetCommunication of valueProactively ID info needs

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Seeing ourselves asindispensable

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Can you answer these???

• 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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Do you track examples of your impact?

What changed as a result of yourwork?

Do you know your organisation'sstrategic goals for 2014?

Are you visibly contributing to thosegoals?

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To reach and improve the lives ofeveryone living with cancer and toinspire millions of others to do thesame.

Macmillan Cancer SupportKate Arnold

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We provide practical legal advice, alongwith exceptional client service, and weare renowned in Australia for our down-to-earth and friendly culture.

Lander & RogersAlice Anderson

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[P]roviding effective and timely legalresults, performing as an integratedteam and drawing on proven expertise tobest fulfil our clients' needs.

Piper AldermanLynne Barrington

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Talking about value

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What’s the value of priceless?

Special libraries return$5.43 for every $1 invested

Where is YOUR compelling valuestatement?

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alia.org.au/roispecials

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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 sourcesbut we already expect that

We provide information researchblah, 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 staff make better decisions"

"We are experts in finding andorganising information" or"We make critical research findable"

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Emulate the pros

See how info companies describetheir value... their WHY

Benefit from their investment!

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Dialog helps organisations across theglobe seek competitive advantage.

LexisNexis enables you to attractmore, higher quality clients.

Elsevier helps customers advancescience and health by providingworld-class information.

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Finding theWow!“What are your biggest challengesright now?”“What’s keeping you from your biggestgoals?”“What would you change in how youmake decisions / do your work?”“What keeps you awake at night?”

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Clients only ask you

to do what

they think you can do.

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5 ways to invent information

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BYOD: BUILD Your Own Data

Search set countsCount mentions of topic over time{topic} AND 2014{topic} AND 2013{topic} AND 2012

Google Auto-CompleteWhat are lots of people thinking?Monitor your org’s reputationHow can you respond?

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Google Trends

Frequency of search queries over timeNarrow by country or local areaAlso news reference points

google.com/trends

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How would you answer this?

Show me how people’s use of theword energy changes over time

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“energy” searches 2014

“energy” searches 2007

2014 2007

duke energy energy drink

kinetic energy solar energy

xcel energy progress energy

solar energy energy star

energy drink wind energy

potential energy duke energy

renewable energy

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Pull out what's noteworthy

Create a time line

The history of turducken

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“But they don’t listen!”

Trouble-shooting guide:

• Audience—WHO you are talking to

• Message—WHAT you say

• Method—HOW & WHERE you say it

• Timing—WHEN & HOW OFTENyou talk with your market

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Telling your story

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Telling your story

It's not all about you

Benefits, not features

Results, not activity

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Telling your story

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...

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 your clients get,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 with the latest onyour donor.

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Q&A example

Do you wonder whether you aremissing key research?

Well, we have ________________

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Tell a 3-sentence story

The situation

What your client got

What happened for your client

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1. Describe your client's situation

My client was reviewing jurors for atrial.

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2. What does your client get from you?

I monitored the jurors’ social mediaprofiles and found a juror discussingthe case.

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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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