Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
THE LOW COST TRAP
I’ve known business owners that have made a strong marketing case for becoming and/or being the low cost provider… but it’s been my observation that the low cost position can kill a business.
The great low cost providers are vulnerable from multiple angles. Just when the system for lowering costs has been fully refined… somebody else always comes up with a better system and cheaper suppliers. And as if this problem isn’t enough… these business owners find it virtually impossible to inspire their employees due to limited budgets, meager surroundings… and a constant need to recruit under-paid and under-appreciated workers.
Always remember, your clients and consumers can almost always find a cheaper way to get your products and services, and few efforts are less rewarding than trying to compete with the cheaper ways of those bottom-dwellers.
Stay away from the rock bottom.
ARE YOU A RAINMAKER?
There’s been a lot of discussion around our office lately around the topic of being a RAINMAKER. The term RAINMAKER is more strictly defined as one… specifically someone in sales, who consistently brings in large clients and significant streams of revenue.
Clearly this term is also used more loosely to describe those that seem to rise to the top, as opposed to those that settle for mediocrity. I’ve taken a few of hours this morning to run a comparison analysis… on the differences between a RAINMAKER and an AVERAGE EMPLOYEE. The following comparisons are based solely on my own experiences and observations.
A RAINMAKER: does whatever it takes to get the job done right & on time.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: settles for delays, poor performance and inferior standards due to justified obstacles and personal setbacks, and typically cloaks their laziness with the appearance of virtue.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: identifies problems.
A RAINMAKER: introduces solutions.
A RAINMAKER: measures success by the progress itself.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: measures success by an honest effort towards progress.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: says… “I hope we don’t fail.”
A RAINMAKER: says… “Failure is not an option.”
A RAINMAKER: has a spirit of urgency, and says… “Let’s get to it now.”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: has a spirit of hesitancy, and says… “There’s always tomorrow.”
A RAINMAKER: strives to “give” first, and “gain” later.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: wants to define “gain” first, and then decide whether to “give” later.
A RAINMAKER: learns and executes the goals & priorities of the company, over those of their own.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: ignorantly executes his personal goals and priorities first.
A RAINMAKER: takes leadership and initiative without being asked.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: waits for a directive, title or personal gain before acting.
A RAINMAKER: is passionate, enthusiastic, insatiably positive winner.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is defeated, un-energetic and chronically negative.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: sees the obstacles.
A RAINMAKER: sees the opportunity.
A RAINMAKER: constantly evaluates his performance, tactics and strategies for the purpose of improvement.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: chooses to blindly walk through life, neglecting to evaluate… for the fear of discovering or acknowledging that he might be flawed.
A RAINMAKER: says… “We can!”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: says… “Can we?” or “We can’t!”
A RAINMAKER: can’t wait to cross the finish line.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: can’t wait for the whistle to blow, and the work day to end.
A RAINMAKER: offers no excuses, and takes full personal responsibility for his actions for his mistakes and losses.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: offers excuses, justifications, and takes little to no personal responsibility.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: takes more than he gives.
A RAINMAKER: gives more than he takes.
A RAINMAKER: inspires others.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: meanders about virtually unnoticed.
A RAINMAKER: can seem to accomplish the impossible.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: will sometimes fail at that which is easily possible.
A RAINMAKER: effectively manages large sums of stress.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: can barely manage small to moderate sums of stress.
A RAINMAKER: sees the prize.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: sees the price.
A RAINMAKER: lives for tomorrow’s successes.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: chooses to relish in yesterday’s victories and rest on their laurels.
A RAINMAKER: insists on having and being the very best.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: believes “the best” is unattainable.
A RAINMAKER: is an asset, and is sought after by others.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is a liability, and is warned about to others.
A RAINMAKER: is a speeding blur, viewed by his competitors from behind.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: typically has his view impeded by the “Rainmakers” that are racing past, and that are in front of him.
A RAINMAKER: embraces challenges and overcomes.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is resentful and defeated by challenges.
A RAINMAKER: craves freedom, and a higher financial ceiling.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: craves financial security, and a higher guaranteed floor of income.
A RAINMAKER: embraces change.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is threatened by change.
A RAINMAKER: asks… “What can I do for my company?”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: asks… “What can my company do for me?”
A RAINMAKER: chooses progress over pain.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: chooses comfort over progress.
A RAINMAKER: speaks with his actions.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: speaks with empty promises.
A RAINMAKER: serves his team and those around him.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: waits to be served by others.
A RAINMAKER: seeks wisdom and knowledge.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is intimidated by those more wise and knowledgeable than himself.
A RAINMAKER: leads others.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is typically led by other “Rainmakers.”
A RAINMAKER: measures themselves against the best, even when it hurts.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: inflates their self-worth & value, and personal accomplishments, due to insecurity… and the inability to see themselves as they actually are.
A RAINMAKER: will surround himself with others that are better, smarter & more talented than himself.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: will surround himself with only those that are inferior.
A RAINMAKER: says… “I could do more.”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: asks… “Haven’t I done enough?”
WHEN MARKETING… MAKE THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE!
Tags: Branding, Business, Charles Schwab, Colonel Sanders, Dave Thomas, Henry Block, Joel Hyatt, Marketing, Wolfgang Puck
Potential buyers are hesitant to consider products and services that they cannot see, so they emphasize what they CAN see. As a result… visual symbols of a service become important.
Many services recognize this principle… that services are simply relationships amongst people. Visualize the following business leaders that focus on the person behind it. Charles Schwab, Henry Block, Colonel Sanders, Dave Thomas, Joel Hyatt and Wolfgang Puck. Ad agencies have consistently visualized their services through their people.
Consider the leather binders that financial firms use to symbolize prosperity, the dark columns that many law firms use to symbolize tenure and longevity, or the padded shoulders in military uniforms… and colorful medals that the armed services use to symbolize strength and honor.
Prospects look for visual clues for a service, and if they have none… they tend to look to services that do provide clues. So, provide clues in all you say and do. Make sure people see who you are throughout all of your marketing and promotional efforts… as well as in the experience you provide. You must create these visual surroundings, from the parking lot to the last page of your proposals… that will enhance the client’s perception of your quality.
Watch and perfect the visual clues that you send.
KEEP IT CASUAL AND SEE CLIENTS FLOCK TO YOU
Listed below is in article I received in my AdAgeDaily newsletter. This article is written by Troy Dunn, President and Creative Director of a major ad agency based in Tampa, Florida. I thought you’d enjoy it.
Traditional networking is a bit out of my comfort zone. As a business owner, I know that networking is critical to business development. I appreciate the value of professional-association meetings, but I don’t believe attending such formal settings is the only successful approach to prospecting and obtaining new clients. Personally, I prefer to be less formal. Because I love what I do, this seems to be the purest way of delivering my message, and, as we advise our clients, we have to play to our strengths. READ FULL ARTICLE
PART 2: MICHAEL GERBER’S TOP 10 EXPECTATIONS FOR AN EFFECTIVE EXECUTIVE LEADER
As stated in the last post, I’m through Michael Gerber’s newly published book… Awakening The Entrepreneur Within.
In that post, I shared Michael Gerber’s top 10 principles for recruiting new talent to his team. Today’s post shares his top 10 expectations for a COO, or any effective executive leader. Enjoy.
MICHAEL GERBER’S TOP 10 STANDARDS FOR LEADERSHIP:
1. Learn how to produce results with little or no capital.
2. Learn how to produce results with little or no information.
3. Learn how to produce results with little or no experience.
4. Learn how to produce results with little or no likelihood of success.
5. Learn how to do the impossible.
6. Learn how to inspire people without money, motivation or options.
7. Learn how to manage people without making them wrong.
8. Learn how to communicate your dream, vision purpose and mission so that 90% of the people you share it with, will buy into it. Do not spend any time with the 10% that don’t.
9. Learn how to replicate your successes and rise above your failures.
10. Learn how to become a world-class leader you can be proud of.
IT TAKES LIFETIMES TO MOVE MOUNTAINS!
Tags: Business, endurance, Inspiration, Lance Armstrong, Leadership
I frequently find myself being frustrated and discouraged by what “seems” to be insufficient progress in the way of making a significant impact, or perhaps business growth… or even my own personal leadership efforts. My guess is that from time to time… you do too.
The following thoughts weren’t researched at all… but were rather two sources of inspiration that crossed my path within a 24 hour period of time. I thought I’d share them with you… as they were timely for me.
Lance Armstrong once said… “When we make incremental change, we are on our way to monumental change.”
Max Weber (pronounced maks vaybere); one of the founders of the modern study of sociology and public administration, once said… “Politics is the slow boring of hard boards, and anyone who seeks to do it must risk his own soul.”
Doesn’t life, leadership and business seem to take on that same challenge? In other words… change comes in excruciating increments to those that want it.
If you want to move mountains, it takes lifetimes.
PART 1: MICHAEL GERBER’S TOP 10 PRINCIPLES FOR RECRUITING
I’m nearly finished with Michael Gerber’s newly published book… Awakening The Entrepreneur Within. While there are several inspirations to draw from as it relates to your business, I thought you’d benefit from the following nugget.
Michael Gerber; who’d recently recruited a COO that didn’t pan out well for one of his companies, expounds upon the importance of not repeating that moment in history. About to hire yet another COO, he shares his top 10 principles for recruiting new talent to his team. I thought I’d share them with you. Enjoy.
MICHAEL GERBER’S TOP 10 STANDARDS FOR RECRUITING:
1. Lead with purpose, commit yourself to your mission.
2. Once committed, never alter your commitment until it’s achieved.
3. Create clear operating standards and live by them.
4. Create clear operating results and commit to them.
5. Surround yourself with people who believe in your mission.
6. Surround yourself with people who are committed to your mission.
7. Surround yourself with people who believe in your standards.
8. Surround yourself with people who are committed to your standards.
9. Surround yourself with people who are committed to your results.
10. Surround yourself with people who are faithful to their commitments.
BEING GREAT VERSUS BEING GOOD
I’ve met people in professional services, that are prone to think that the bigger they get, the better their business will be. But there is proven evidence that superior performance is not critical to success in the services industry.
In one particular survey, clients rated “track record” 9th out of 17 attributes, rating it BELOW a sincere desire for a long term relationship.
Typically, neither your prospects or ours buy how good you are at what you do… but rather they buy how good you are at who you are.
ROI IS NOT THE SINGLE MEASURE OF MARKETING SUCCESS
Everyone loves to talk about ROI. The benchmark has firmly planted itself in the soil of marketing doctrine, widely accepted as a measure that makes it simple to evaluate marketing programs and gauge spending levels. “Return On Investment” enables financial types to evaluate marketing initiatives with the same approach they use to evaluate capital expenditures and acquisitions.
There is a fundamental problem with overemphasizing ROI as the single measure of marketing success: It is often impossible to accurately quantify the impact. Although the world of marketing has come a long way in terms of analytic capabilities, applying financial numbers to the marketing equation is not always possible or preferable.
Take branding, for example. For many companies, brands are their most valuable assets. Determining the precise value of a brand at any given moment is nearly impossible. If the value of a brand cannot be precisely calculated, then it’s impossible to solely use ROI to evaluate the decisions that impact the brand.
Click Here to read this article in its entirety, written by Dr. Tim Calkins and Dr. Derek D. Rucker for AdAge.com. Dr. Tim Calkins and Dr. Derek D. Rucker are both professors of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management.
MARKETING ISN’T A DEPARTMENT
It simply doesn’t matter how much marketing and media you produce… If the clerk at the end of the line fails, everything fails.
The buyer [client] doesn’t return, and tells all of her friends about her experience. Marketing is EVERYBODY’S job. Review every step from how your receptionist answers the phone, to the message at the bottom of your invoices.
Every act is a marketing act! Every employee is a marketer for your company!
HOW TO CREATE YOUR POSITION STATEMENT
Do you know how to create your position statement? Do you even know what a “position statement” is?
Your “position” is a cold-hearted, no-nonsense statement of how you’re perceived in the eyes of your prospect. Your “position statement” is a statement of how you’d wish to be perceived. It is the core message you wish to communicate in every medium, to influence the perceptions of your service.
Utilize the following questionnaire to establish your positioning statement.
1. WHO: Who are you? What’s your style… your drive… your personality… your priorities?
2. WHAT: What business are you in?
3. FOR WHOM: What people to you serve?
4. WHAT NEED: What are the special needs of the people you serve?
5. AGAINST WHOM: With whom are you competing?
6. WHAT’S DIFFERENT: What makes you different from those competitors?
7. WHAT’S THE BENEFIT: What’s the unique benefit that a client derives from your service?
Have seven good, clear… and accurate answers. Make sure these answers are consistently embedded into the fabric of your website, print marketing collateral, email marketing & broadcast advertising.
WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS VALUE MOST?
An association recently commissioned a study of 300 clients by asking… “What do you value the most from your service provider?” You might assume that fees to be at the top of the list… but you’d be wrong. Fees ranked only 9th on the list. Technical skills and high-level certifications ranked only 8th. The 2nd highest priority for choosing a service provider was a sincere demonstration to establish and maintain a long-term relationship with the client.
What was 1st on the list? “The speed at which they return my phone calls.” That’s right! When questioned in greater detail… these 300 surveyed clients indicated that they weren’t expecting immediate answers… but simply a prompt response. These clients wanted to be treated as though they were important.
Making your clients feel important is a key ingredient to the success of your company and your brand. In spite of your busy schedule… make this your first priority.
VALUE IS NOT A POSITION
If your primary selling and branding position is “good value” — then you have no position. Value is what every service promises. The price of your service must fairly reflect its value to your prospective client or customer, or your business will fail.
In services, value is a given, and givens are not viable competitive positions. If good value is the first thing you communicate, you won’t be effective. If good value is your best position… IMPROVE YOUR SERVICE.
9 SUCCESS SECRETS TO BE A BUSINESS CHAMPION
Tags: Business, Inspiration, Leadership, Tiger Woods, winning
I am currently going through the book, “Tiger Traits” by Nate Booth. This book highlights 9 of Tiger’s traits that are essential to his personal, professional and business success.
As you may already know, Tiger Woods has already won over 54 PGA events. He’s the youngest player to win all 4 major pro tournaments, and the only golfer to be reigning champion in all four major tournaments at the same time. In 2006, Tiger earned nearly $100 million in prize money, appearance fees and endorsements.
Tiger’s success is no accident. While Tiger is certainly talented, he possesses at least 9 traits that have allowed him to express that talent in record-setting ways.
While Dr. Nate Booth’s book comprehensively expounds on these traits, I thought I’d share the basics with you, as you aspire to new heights in the success of your own business or organization. Enjoy.
TIGER TRAIT #1: Identify and develop natural talents
TIGER TRAIT #2: Create a clear and compelling dream
TIGER TRAIT #3: Select teachers, heroes and teammates who guide, inspire and support
TIGER TRAIT #4: Be confident
TIGER TRAIT #5: Manufacture magnificent mental models
TIGER TRAIT #6: Let actions do the talking
TIGER TRAIT #7: Constantly improve in good times and bad
TIGER TRAIT #8: Be likeable
TIGER TRAIT #9: Be grateful. Give back.
DON’T TOUT YOUR CREDENTIALS
You work hard for your achievements. You have reason to be proud, and to assume others will be too. They will… but far less than you’d suspect.
Consider the research that studied the effect of expert credentials on jurors. Do jurors place “more” faith in experts with the better credentials… higher degrees, or a longer list of articles in respected publications? They don’t. They place faith in the experts that communicate the most clearly.
I would encourage you to refrain from sounding immodest in your marketing efforts, which tends to repel people anyway. More importantly… always be answering the question your clients are thinking and asking… “What have you done for me lately?”
Your credentials are important, but they’re accomplishments of the past, and reveal little about your ability to satisfy the needs of your clients and prospects.