A Few Great Reasons To Discount That You Can't Overdo

In a previous post, I mentioned I'd revisit the subject of slashing prices or discounting.

The best reason to discount is to enhance a client relationship - to make a client feel particularly special. If you discount frequently, you lose this opportunity. If you practice a little more discipline with your price-marketing strategies, you'll have a very powerful tool in the form of discounting. Here are some ideas for when to do it:

1. The anniversary of a purchase or first contact. When you make an offer specifically for the client to commemorate the beginning of a relationship, you bring back happy memories of that time.
2. The client's birthday. I don't recommend simply offering a discount - if you can, send a nice gift that's unrelated to your business - the more insightful, not necessarily the more expensive; the better. Send your offer in the form of a gift certificate along with a physical gift.
3. As a reward for interacting with you (or for doing so the quickest). There are plenty of good reasons to interact with your list, and particularly when you'd like to survey them for information, you can offer rewards for those who interact with you. Perhaps the first ___ responders will receive a coupon.

I also want to identify a suggestion by reader Javier Ramos (http://www.javierramosblog.com/) who reminds that discounting is also a good way to liquidate old inventory.

As far as I'm concerned - if a penny saved is a penny earned, then a penny discounted is a penny spent. The only good reason to "spend" in the form of discounting is to enhance your business, and that kind of currency is best used, and can really ONLY be used to pay for a happier client.

Why Frequent, Different Marketing Is Important - The REALLY Short Version

One of the basic premises in marketing (especially for small businesses) is that you shouldn't expect a person to stay motivated on a single benefit for the life of your business.

I teach people to relate their client relationships like social or even romantic relationships, and that thing that you do that she really likes isn't going to stay cute forever... and now you're talking about a relationship involving the exchange of money.

As they say "never underestimate human laziness."

The most exceptional entrepreneurs are frequently reminding their market (or giving them new and different good excuses) to use their service or product. Lest they go elsewhere because it's more convenient, or they discover a benefit you never pointed out with someone else!

It's not something every business owner is willing to do, but that's why they call it exceptional, right?

Told you this one would be short.

Three Ways To Offer A Great Deal Without Slashing Prices

Most small business owners think that the best way to get an advantage in their market is to offer competitive pricing. The rationale being "the less I charge the more people will want to buy from me."

What that really means, however, is that the less you charge the more people you have to find to reach certain margins of profit.

Because getting more people to find your business is more difficult, it also costs more money to do so - and if you attempt to charge the lowest price in town, that means you have the least money in town to advertise and attract more people with.

When these low price strategies fail, the business owner usually feels their prices are even still too high and they begin to permanently slash prices, or offer frequent discounts.

Margins get even smaller, but advertising needs remain the same. See the problem here?

Instead of thinking the only way to attract customers is to slash prices, you've got to offer a great deal.

How do you do that?

What your market is looking for is a solution - not an oil change, but longevity of their automobile investment; not a book, but the life changing information within it - you get the picture. When you slash your prices, you convey to the market that the only thing you understand is their desire to save money in the short term. You have not conveyed to them that you understand the nature of the problem they are looking to solve.

Instead of slashing prices, consider the following alternatives:

1. Beef up your offer with more of what your clients enjoy out of it - if you can do this without a significant increase in cost, don't change the price, but advertise the added value. In service businesses, this is relatively easy to do - just add more service, or more specialized service. If you offer a tangible product that you can't change - then offer a service that ensures long term enjoyment of the product with purchase, like warranties, guarantees, or training in proper use.
2. Offer a bundle of products that can more effectively solve a problem together than an individual product could alone - in this case you could discount, or you could beef up the offer the same way discussed in the previous tip - "for a limited time and for a limited number of fast-acting clients, if you purchase x AND y, you'll get z, absolutely free!" "Z" could be nothing more than a video of how you use x and y yourself to get the best result. Even better, make it a video of other clients successes with x and y.
3. Another price strategy that you could use is to announce that your pricing has gone up due to an increase in demand, but if your clients hurry, they can "get their hands" on your offer before the increase - in essence, you'd be offering a discount on a price increase that hasn't happened yet.

I won't tell you that slashing prices is a bad way to stimulate sales, but it is a bad way to grow your business. If you really want to be competitive in your market place, you've got to do something that your competition can't do - and everyone can slash prices here and there.

Personally, there's only one situation in which I'd offer discounts, and it's not because I'd want to stimulate more sales, there's a far better use for them than that. Look out for it in my next post!

The *Right* Customer Is Always Right

This post inspired by an article posted today in the Miami Herald:

Business owners go to extremes to keep clients happy

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/small-business/story/1151769.html

[The gist: Just like the title says... but it's NOT pretty!]

Don't get me wrong. I'm ALL FOR impressing your clients, but I have to say, if I had to give a one-line response for this article, it'd be this:

"If you'll bend over backwards for them, they'll only love you as far as you can entertain them."

What does it take to make my clients happy?

Actually, it's too early to ask that question. I want to get you thinking about something else first. Let me explain.

In this article, entrepreneurs are making major sacrifices to keep a client happy. In every case, they cite a single example of keeping a single client impressed.

If they've got more than one client, and they've got to go through ALL that with just one... they don't run a business; they've got a JOB!

Think. Why do entrepreneurs get into business?

It's different for all entrepreneurs when you get specific, but I can guarantee it isn't ever to put more stress and strain on themselves than a traditional job would - even if that's what happens to the typical entrepreneur.

But why would you ever want to be a typical entrepreneur?

Or get typical results?

To underlive or be overworked like a typical entrepreneur?

To get atypical results (i.e. great success) you've got to set goals. Doing that alone will put you well ahead of the rest, but to belong with the real elite entrepreneurial players, you've got to have VERY specific goals - in honesty, something I'm always challenging myself to do.

I enjoy EVERY victory, so rather than plan for one big one, I'm always extracting a bunch of small ones I can celebrate more frequently.

So to tie that back in with the topic we started with... You may have previously set a goal "to help out the folks you have the talent and ability to help and make a living at it" but if those people drive you to make sacrifices just to make them happy, it's NOT worth it.

Instead, the goal above needs to be expanded: "to help out the most qualified, conditioned, educated-on-how-to-work-on-your-terms folks you have the talent and ability to help and make a fantastic living at it and enjoy it!"

When you can determine who those people are and how to accomplish the expanded portions of the goal, then you can ask that question:

What does it take to make my clients happy?

Then you can make it happen while simultaneously making yourself happy.

I Am A Salesman [I Built America]

I really enjoy the essay I include at the end of this post, excerpted from Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale, and the contents of which are really telling of its age. Zig doesn't claim to have written this. I often tell people that I'm passionate about ETHICAL sales and marketing — which basically means I stand behind my business because I believe it will truly benefit those I'm providing to.

When you sell to someone ethically, you don't coerce him to do anything he doesn't want to do. You allow him to make an educated decision. What's he deciding on? He's deciding which is more valuable to him: the personal benefit he'll experience or the rectangular pieces of green paper he has to trade for it.

"You might be offended when I try to sell you on something, but I understand. That's because you're afraid I'm trying to take something from you - when in fact - I'm providing you the opportunity to exchange something you have for something that you'll soon discover is far more valuable to you anyway. What I offer may save you time, money, or deliver an experience you want and so richly deserve (even something as simple as peace of mind can be extremely valuable in our fast paced society). If you refuse to hear me out, I'm never offended - why? It's your loss, not mine. I only wish you'd understand why I'm so persistent... I REALLY believe you need what I offer!"

Ethical Marketing, then, is the process of duplicating who you are as an Ethical Salesperson (e.g. your empathy for your client, your trustworthiness, and your belief in the benefit of the offer to that client, etc.) using your choice of media. Marketing is most effective coming from a salesperson but most celebrated and appreciated coming from an Ethical Salesperson.

Just some food for thought.

Anyhoo, I'll end my contribution to this post by quoting Zig, since I found the essay below in his book, because I agree and firmly believe:

"You can have anything you want in life, if you'll just help enough other people get what they want."

~Zig Ziglar

So without further ado...

I Am A Salesman

I am proud to be a salesman, because more than any other man, I and millions of others like me, built America.

The man who builds a better mouse trap — or a better anything — would starve to death if he waited for people to beat a pathway to his door. Regardless of how good or how needed the product or service might be, it has to be sold.

Eli Whitney was laughed at when he showed his cotton gin. Edison had to install his electric light free of charge in an office building before anyone would even look at it. The first sewing machine was smashed to pieces by a Boston mob. People scoffed at the idea of railroads. They thought that traveling even thirty miles an hour would stop the circulation of the blood! McCormick strived for 14 years to get people to use his reaper. Westinghouse was considered a fool for stating he could stop a train with wind. Morse had to plead before 10 Congresses before they would even look at his telegraph.

The public didn't go around demanding these things; they had to be sold!!

They needed thousands of salesmen, trailblazers and pioneers - people who could persuade with the same effectiveness as the inventor could invent. Salesmen took these inventions, sold the public on what these products could do, taught customers how to use them, and then taught businessmen how to make a profit from them.

As a salesman, I've done more to make America what it is today than any other person you know. I was just as vital in your great-great-grandfather's day as I am in yours, and I will be just as vital in your great-great-grandson's day. I have educated more people, created more jobs, taken more drudgery from the laborer's work, given more profits to businessmen, and have given more people a fuller and richer life than anyone in history. I've dragged prices down, pushed quality up, and made it possible for you to enjoy the comforts and luxuries of automobiles, radios, electric refrigerators, televisions, and air conditioned homes and buildings. I've healed the sick, given security to the aged, and put thousands of young men and women through college. I've made it possible for inventors to invent, for factories to hum, and for ships to sail the seven seas.

How much money you find in your pay envelope next week, and whether in the future you will enjoy the luxuries of prefabricated homes, stratospheric flying of airplanes, and new world of jet propulsion and atomic power, depends on me. The loaf of bread you bought today was on a baker's shelf because I made sure that a farmer's wheat got to a mill, that the mill made wheat into flour, and that the flour was delivered to your baker.

Without me, the wheels of industry would come to a grinding halt. And with that, jobs, marriages, politics and freedom of thought would be a thing of the past. I AM A SALESMAN and I'm proud and grateful that as such, I serve my family, my fellow man and my country.

~Author Unknown

Three Critical Relationships You Must Build For A Happy, Healthy Business

Like a penny, "a client retained is a client earned."

However, since a client will always be worth more than a penny, it's logical to conclude that it should also take more to retain a client than it does a penny. What's worse is, unlike a penny, clients can get up, walk away, and leave you.

Ok, I'll put the penny down for a second.

Recently, at one of my favorite events each month, the Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle Miami Chapter meeting, our Advisor, Andrew J. Cass shared some wisdom that I'll now impart to you:

"Most people think that the purpose of a customer is to get a sale when in fact, the purpose of a sale is to get a customer."

In other words, most businesses treat transactions like one-night stands, gratifying the customer once, and forgetting the whole thing ever happened afterwards. It's cold and heartless... and... you just shouldn't treat someone that way! -=]

Then, when there are no customers around, the business owner figures "Oh boy! I better go find new customers!"

Alright, first off, I prefer the term "client" because I can accept the responsibilities that are associated with having clients. An even better term is "member" but that's a conversation for a whole other post.

The Purpose of a Sale is to Get a Customer Client!

Why? Because when you have something to sell again, you have someone to sell to!

How? By adding them to a list and continually following up with them?

This is Marketing 101, so to those of you who already have a grasp on these foundations, thanks for bearing with me. Here comes the meat of the post!

...What Do You Say To Them?

Well I've given this some thought, and I think that while you can use the term client, let's approach this as both a specific and "blanket" term.

To really successful entrepreneurs, the word Business is synonymous with Relationships. If you ask the question: "how's business?" to any such entrepreneur, they could very well answer "the relationship I have with my clients is fantastic!"

So how do you create a fantastic relationship with your clients? By treating them as more than customers. By treating them as:

• Clients - The folks who benefit from the products or services you offer.
• Friends - The folks who you like to keep informed about the great things happening in your life, and are equally interested in hearing back from.
  
• And eventually, as Colleagues - The folks whose opinions you respect enough to provide to others.

You can't sell them all the time, and you can't just be buddy-buddy with them either... not (in either case) if you want to stand any chance of thriving in business and profiting from your efforts. Just mix just these two aspects together into regular follow-up with your list, and you'll already have gone miles ahead of your competition in terms of forming and maintaining healthy relationships... a healthy business!

But that's just the "Client-Friend." Why and how would you treat a client as a colleague? Well, because eventually, loyal clients become something more than just clients... and they need to be recognized as such.

Imagine walking into a small hardware store and asking what the best tool would be to fix a leaky faucet, only to have the clerk at the counter turn the question over to Joe, who doesn't work there; he's just always around, and is really respected at that store. Not too farfetched, is it? But in as much time as Joe spends there, where do you think he shops if he needs to fix something?

So in marketing to your list, you could recognize "Joe" for something he shared; you could give others the opportunity to shine by asking your clients a question; or you could simply share a testimonial and help them add value to your business by sharing their great experience with everyone else!

Research psychologist Clayton Alderfer says that motivation generally comes from three sources:

1. Fulfillment of basic existence needs
2. Fulfillment of relationship needs
3. Fulfillment of personal growth needs

When you treat them as clients, you help them fulfill their basic existence needs. When you treat them as friends, you help them fulfill their relationship needs. When you treat them as colleagues, you allow them to feel as though (at least in your eyes as the business owner) they've become something more. Accomplish all that, treating them as "Client-Friend-Colleagues", and your clients will always be motivated to support your business when they need what you do to help themselves. Fail to do so, and they simply won't be.

Like I've always said - the only way to do well in business is to have fun! Maintaining relationships/business (whichever you prefer) in this manner can be a whole lot of fun!

Keeping Respect, Position, and Sanity In Your Personal And Professional Life

As an entrepreneur AND martial arts instructor, I am often asked about the line between socialization and maintaining professional distance, and what has to be done to maintain the successful positions they hold. "Familiarity breeds contempt," so they say...

Recently though, I've had this question come up almost every day for the last week within different circles of people.

I understand why this question exists, and here it is in plain and simple English: not everyone practices what they preach. The answer, therefore, is as simple as this: be congruent in who you are with who you present yourself to be.

Why give yourself the additional headache of trying to be someone else? It's exhausting! Ever seen Robin Williams' movie Mrs. Doubtfire? Then you know exactly what I mean. Not only is it exhausting, but it's not sustainable. Pick a side and stay there - quit jumping the fence!

I can't really say I have both a personal and professional life, just a life with private aspects that everyone should cherish and protect and that I know I have the right to keep to myself, but nothing at all I have to be ashamed of. I may have moments where I am *not myself,* but when that ever happens in front of someone who has never seen me in that light, I have the privilege with that person for them to say "oh, he must simply be having a bad day," simply dismissed because they know who I am.

As a result, whether I'm making a friend or meeting a potential client, I don't have to flip any switches or rehearse my demeanor... I comfortably enter any situation, regardless of the relationship, with very little stress, and never any regret.

If you're having this issue, consider congruency... it's very liberating.

There is a more specific question that is often asked though: "is it acceptable to *hang out* with my clients?"

If you aren't living personally and professionally congruent, then you have no choice but to say "no, can't ever happen." On the other hand, if you are living personally and professionally congruent, then you have a series of choices to make, because I believe that under those circumstances, it is possible for you to make your business relationships socially fun, if you make it very clear what you find acceptable. Always set clear standards and expectations for relationships of any kind and you can ensure they are positive, mutually beneficial (even synergystic!) and most importantly, long lasting.

"Don't Ever ______... It Doesn't Work" Oh Yeah? The Reality...

We like hearing that we're correct. Any day, any time, someone says "you know what, you were right!" and we eat it up! We all do.

That's why when we've given something a try and just found it didn't bring desirable results, we look for someone to agree. We look for folks to tell us what doesn't work. Because it validates our experience.

Now, before I go any further, I want to say that there are choices you can make in business that are better than others for a number of different reasons... and I say that because I may challenge what people think about certain methods that most people are already dismissing before they've even tried.

Here's an example: buying leads and cold calling.

I can feel some of you cringing. Gritting your teeth. No one's going to shove it down your throat. I'm not going to tell you that you ABSOLUTELY must give it a try. That's not the spirit of this post.

I can find tons of people willing to tell me that neither work. If I look hard enough though, I CAN find people who have made it work. Those who've been wildly successful with it. Who can prove it, too.

The reality is, before you can completely dismiss a business practice as unusable, consider the following:

1. Are there any similar practices I've tried with success, or have known to be successful for others?
2. Have I tested it properly?
3. Upon testing, have I made changes according to my results?

There's a lot more to be considered, but that's enough of a start to get anyone to see better results from every action they take.

Let's take cold calling for example:

1. For those of you on Facebook who are hoping to get a bite by requesting tons of friends, how is cold calling really any different?
2. Did I call the entire list as soon as I got my hands on it, or did I break it down into groups and test it?
3. What kinds of challenges did I encounter, and how can I solve them? In the case of cold calling, could it simply be that my script isn't as appealing as I thought it was? Perhaps a different script is in order...

If you dismiss cold calling after the first few calls altogether, you'll never know what kind of success there was to be had with it.

I'm sure, as in all lead generation advertising, that failures in cold calling fall into these three categories:

1. The message doesn't match the market. What are you saying to them? Why?
2. The offer isn't compelling enough. Why should they pay attention?
3. The goal of the call is to make a sale, not to begin a relationship, and it's obvious. Whose best interests are in consideration here?

Like I mentioned, there are some decisions that are more productive than others, but if you do take an action that shows less than favorable results, do the absolute best you can with it so it's not a total waste. You might even find with a slight tweak, that the activity becomes your best method of generating leads for your business!

Spreading the Wealth, The Right Way!

If the economy is going to get any better, it's not going to get that way by waiting it out. The state of the economy is the result of a series of decisions. If we're going to get ourselves out of trouble, we've got to decide our way out.

I'm sure a lot of people will be irked by this next statement, but open your mind, and just hear me out. A lot of folks think that if the government makes the upper class responsible for more of the tax burden, then it'll make things easier for the middle to lower class. Easier - this much is true, but when has it ever been ultimately good for the people to make things easier for them? Be honest! Think about making things too easy for your kids as you raise them! Or, if you already own a business, your employees if you make things too easy for them! The principles governing human nature and behavior are universal.

No matter what your opinion, the bigger picture is... it's still just waiting for the government to either decide or not decide in our favor...

So what do we do instead?

We take matters into our own hands.

We shape our own destinies.

We write our own paychecks by starting our own businesses.

And... we'll even have the choice to create the jobs to support our community.

If you feel for some reason that this is the WRONG time to open a business... or if you've got other negative feelings, just click here to read the previous post. (Will open in a new window, so you can come back.)

Anyway, if you'd personally like to "share" in the wealth in the nation, start a business that would be of service to the wealthy or position your current business in a way that is attractive to them. Dan Kennedy remarks that most people think "well, I can't sell to them... I'm not in their league!"

He further remarks "Well, how do you think you GET in their league, doofus? You get 10% of their money from 10 of them... now, you're in their league!"

If you're not satisfied with your current conditions, decide your way out of them. And if you're interested in learning more about how the wealthy (affluent) think so that you can more effectively sell to them, there's ONE book, and ONE book ALONE that exists on the subject... and having read it three times myself... that I HIGHLY recommend.

Here's a direct link to it: No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: The No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Getting Really Rich by Dan S. Kennedy

You decide.

Attention: Hopeless Over the Economy? - Some Borrowed Wisdom

If I were brash, I'd just say "go to the library or bookstore" and end this post right here.

But I won't.

Instead, I'll share a favorite poem from Napoleon Hill's The Law of Success. Mr. Hill himself didn't remember who wrote it but took no credit for it.

The Man Who Thinks He Can

If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don't;

If you like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost;

For out of the world, we find

Success begins with a fellow's will

It's all in the state of the mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are;

You've got to think high to rise;

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the better or stronger man

But soon or late, the man who wins,

Is the man who thinks he can.

Yes, this economy is rough, and it's taken hope away from the people. My last post, "Going Into Business Out Of Necessity Is A Double-Edged Sword" came from an article in the Miami Herald.

When I went back to check the comments, I saw folks posting comments like:

• "This is the worst time to open a business!"
• "The banks aren't lending so where are you supposed to get start-up capital??"
• Other negativity...

There's no money to be made in negativity, it's just really easy to be negative. Go ahead, argue against that... I'll wait.

I want to point out why this is actually the BEST time to open a business:

Recently, a Facebook acquaintance of mine posted this famous quote by Zig Ziglar: "You can have all you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want." I wish there was a way to convey his cool Southern accent when he says it.

To expound, the best and most sustainable way to thrive in business is to solve others' problems.

This quote, though I don't know whom to credit for it, was born in better economic times: "Walk up to any stranger in the street and say "I know about your problem." You know what he'll say? ... 'Who told you?'"

In this economy, with folks experiencing SO many challenges, if you can help them overcome those challenges, YOU WIN BIG!!! And you can feel good doing it too.

"Doing well, by doing good."

As for banks not lending and having no capital to start up your business... I really ought to write a whole other post on this, but why make you wait?

You can start a business today with very little capital. In this day and age, you may already have everything you need at home to start your home office. If you're challenged, get educated on how to solve it from lots of different sources until you find what works for you, or ultimately create some new solution. Oh, and I'm not talking about going through formal education again.

Just talk to a successful entrepreneur or two that you know, or...

Just go to the library or the bookstore. And never stop learning.

Going Into Business Out Of Necessity Is A Double Edged Sword

This post inspired by the article in the Miami Herald, found here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1110914.html

[The gist: About a year ago, a couple of newlyweds were laid off from their respective jobs and have decided to start their own graphic design firm. This trend is on the rise as the "jobless opt for entrepreneurship over job hunting."]

You've been pushed over the edge. Forced to leave your comfort zone. Entering a brave new world. What made it happen? NECESSITY.

For those who subscribe to the power of positive thinking, as I do, necessity is a blessing. We just have to be careful about how much of our activity is motivated by necessity, and in what ways.

I call necessity a double-edged sword because while it certainly gave you the push you needed to open your business, it will just as quickly close your doors. What do I mean? How convincing will you sound to a prospective client the moment he gives you an objection, and you say "c'mon, do me a favor; it'd really help me out, I need this to work..." Hmm?

It's just the wrong way to think about it. On the other hand, if you think in terms of why your prospective client really needs your business, you'll fare far better. And there's a caveat to that too - you can't assume everyone out there needs your business! You may have the greatest product, service, or offering in the world... but who needs it?

That's not meant to be a cynical statement, but a very insightful, instructive statement.

"Who is it that really needs me, right now?" is THE most important question you can ask. Figure that answer out and then go pursue their business. Oh, and if you think your product is for everyone, that's dangerous thinking too.

In the 7-step "Message Tuning Formula" I've created, I've outlined the proper way to approach this subject as step one, which is just ONE of my reasons I'm so excited to get it finished already! I know who'll benefit from it... but at the same time, as much as I'm anxious to bring the product to market because of how much others really need to gain that voice... I want to make sure that it's done right.

Twitter Pitches for Businesses?? I disagree!

In response to an article found on Business Week's website:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2009/sb20090616_017396.htm

I respect the spirit of the article, but I have to disagree.

[The gist: there's power in brevity. People don't want to hear your life story. Using Twitter's 140 character rule to create a pitch can help you form that ideally short message.]

He's absolutely right in saying that people don't have time to listen to your life story, but time - like money - can be invested correctly or incorrectly. They may not sit there and listen to yours... but ask them about their life story and watch what happens.

The more time you're willing to correctly invest in a prospect, the more time you can expect from them as a client, in the form of a sustained relationship based on mutual appreciation.

The problem with a Twitter pitch is that you can't very effectively communicate uniqueness or value in 140 characters or about 20 words as Carmine Gallo suggests in his article. If you're familiar with the concept of a "Unique Selling Proposition" (or USP) you really *only* have room to be clever or gimmicky to establish "uniqueness" and most folks are resistant to gimmicks alone, especially now in this economy; establishing trust is just the price of entry!

This blog is relatively new, but is syndicated to Facebook and announced through Twitter... so, for the most part, you'll know that I'm passionate about the subject because crafting well formed, 30-seconds-or-less elevator pitches is my specialty, along with how to inject it into your marketing in whole or part. I do it using my own 7-step "Message Tuning Formula," which is an evolution of the USP. I have a specific name for this evolution (complete with shiny, new acronym! haha) but I'll talk about that all in depth when I release my coming product.

Now, there's a use for a short and simple tagline, but it's not to sell yourself... It's got a different and far more useful purpose! Don't worry. I'll cover this concept as well later...

No, No... Don't Get A Second Job, Mr. Entrepreneur!

This note was inspired by this article on the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124510133735816437.html

In short, a few entrepreneurs have been showcased for taking on second jobs outside of their businesses.

The first problem is that these business owners think of themselves as commodities. What they ought to do is aggressively change their strategy and presentation of their services. They need to seek out people who RELY on their type of services, and then promise and deliver a better experience. For example, the gentleman who imports flowers from Chile could seek out a relationship with a wedding planner (preferably one who caters to more affluent families) so that the wedding planner could create a signature wedding experience available ONLY from that planner, and of course, with flowers available ONLY from that importer. Now you're not a commodity, you're the most sought after flower importer and wedding planner in the continental U.S. and can charge top dollar for your services.

A business' financials are a measure of how creatively its owners can solve problems, both its clients, and its own.

Lao Tzu, Robert Greenleaf, Dr. Stephen Covey, Oliver Bulfango, and I - on Leadership!

Special thanks to Oliver Bulfango for letting me post this thread.

Status Update: Oliver Bulfango “To lead people, walk beside them... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate... When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'” ~Lao Tzu
7:28am · Comment · Unlike
You like this.

Zak K. at 8:07am June 11
And what is your take on this saying?

Marc R. Enriquez at 8:18am June 11
Lao Tzu was one of Robert Greenleaf's inspirations for what he coined "Servant Leadership" and is the basis for the British Army Officer Motto "Serve to Lead"

He references this passage by Lao Tzu from the Tao Te Ching:

The greatest leader forgets himself
And attends to the development of others.
Good leaders support excellent workers.
Great leaders support the bottom ten percent.
Great leaders know that
The diamond in the rough
Is always found “in the rough.”

Oliver Bulfango at 10:46am June 11
Well said Marc. I've read this that passage before. Now you're making me want to look for my book. ;p

Zak: A true leader does not lead for fame or for the sake of commanding. This leader should be among the people, of which is believed to be his/her peers, and work with them towards achieving the goal while teaching them in any way possible. The Marine Corps teaches, lead by example. Never ask anyone to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. So, in sum, when the leader and the society is complete with the goal, it was not the leader who completed it him/herself, it was everyone together.

In sum, a leader should lead with the people and not just "the people" with the leader's own self-interest. This is what makes a true leader. in my opinion.

Marc R. Enriquez at 11:14am June 11
This has provoked another thought... If you're familiar with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey talks about the second habit, "Begin With The End In Mind" as the habit of Leadership... summarily, one should ensure that all actions he takes are in line with one's intended goal to be effective.

Really, this is more the concept of Personal Leadership, which one must master before they can lead others...

But when you tie in Lao Tzu, I imagine someone leading a group on an arduous journey up a mountain... but in keeping "the end in mind" he's not at the front... he's the one pushing the stragglers along.

An Employee's Salary Should Be An Investment For The Entrepreneur...

Thanks to Evelyn C. for allowing me to post this thread... I think it's a keeper. This one's for Thought Provoking Thursday. #thoughtProvokingThursday.

Status Update Evelyn C. doesn't know why people have to be so difficult and mean! HELLO PEOPLE IT'S YOUR JOB YOU GET PAID FOR IT, STOP ACTING LIKE YOU ARE DOING PEOPLE A FAVOR!!! 11:05am · Comment · Like

Giselle A. at 11:08am June 11
lol

Marc R. Enriquez at 11:23am June 11
Today's been a though provoking day, and excuse me for using your status as a place to rant... -=] Is this the employee's fault or the employer's? I'm not sure where you're talking about... but not everyone is meant for the jobs they play... and it's the employer's responsibility to spot the fakers or the outright misfits and let them go QUICKLY... they'd be doing that employee a favor because they'd probably be better off in a different type of work environment. That's my take as an entrepreneur.

Yasmine G. at 11:49am June 11
Ok wow. This is what I say. I get paid to advise you, if you don't like it then what can I do? I get paid to professionally help you with your assets and if ppl are rude I will too. I don't get paid by the customer I don't work for the customer I work with the customer. Point is = I work with you, not under you. So its not always employee's fault. Customers are asses too. What's going on with the world??

Evelyn C. at 11:57am June 11
to make it clear..i am not referring to MY PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT i am referring to all the customer service people in the world (ei: bank services, cell phone provider, etc) they should help ME!! My services pay their salaries..

Yasmine G. at 11:59am June 11
Ok. Not me. Yay!

Marc R. Enriquez at 12:12pm June 11
Again as an entrepreneur, who *has* to think about all possible opportunities to grow (especially in this emerging economy), it's those CSRs who are limiting that company's potential to grow, particularly from referrals... the NUMBER one greatest source of QUALITY clients.

I mean... you've just told the world how dissatisfied you are with someone's customer service - and they're lucky you haven't said who - which could limit any future new business. Mediocre customer service (just getting the job done) doesn't stimulate any referrals, because they're doing, as you said... what they were paid to do. But when a CSR is willing to go above and beyond what they're paid to do... they are part of the driving force that retains customers and stimulates referrals. I refer people to T-Mobile all the time, because they've never done anything less than impress me when I call. These are the folks who you pay even better to do the same job. It's an investment with a high return.

Steve C. at 3:07pm June 11
I could not agree more. Some people can really get on your nerves with that attitude and way of thinking. Fire the little ####ers. In todays ecomony there a handful of people who are capable and willing to do what it takes to do the job right and be nice about it.

Take Your Business And Go Home..?

Inspired by the Wall Street Journal article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124390186519374643.html

Article in a nutshell: Because of the emerging economy, companies have been losing market share and some have been forced to pack things up and operate out of their homes.

In an economy such as this, it's commodity businesses that seem to get tossed around like unpaired socks as people rush to find the lowest priced business to satisfy them, or fall out of market in favor of necessities. This is telling of one of the two requirements to survival (in fact, thriving) in the new emerging economy: stop being a commodity business, which I'm sure many people will take as me telling them "stop selling what products you sell and get into a business that isn't a commodity;" but that's not what I'm saying at all.

To make the shift from commodity business owner to thriving entrepreneur, one must take the position of preferred source of, not a product or service - but a solution.

We don't purchase pens, we purchase the ability to write, and in many cases, we purchase the ability to write while having that soft cushy feeling in between our fingers.

We don't purchase books, we purchase the information inside them which will help us solve a problem or satisfy a curiosity, and again in many cases, we'd rather get the leather-bound collectors' edition with the gold embossed logo.

In both examples, it is the preferences and wants of the customer that are taken into consideration far more than the basic need of the customer, though it's still a requirement.

Blogging, For Fun And Profit

This one was inspired after reading The Wall Street Journal Article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329313241952509.html

I didn't agree much with it...

Being a professional blogger can be EXTREMELY lucrative if done correctly. What you have to remember about blogs is that they are read because people care about what you say - and guaranteed, the number one way to get people interested in what you have to say is to talk about the very people you're trying to attract. If you can offer valuable information that will benefit your audience, and speak immediately in terms of your audience's benefit (re-read that part... it's the big concept), you'll build a large community of readers. Where most people believe the money is in blogging, then, is to build a huge readership and sell ad space; but most bloggers know that their readers are only there for good content and because of the relationship you've developed with them - and that for the most part, they avoid the ads... in fact, there have already been studies done that show not only do they avoid clicking, but their eyes don't even glance over them.

How then, do you monetize a blog? Build a following, maintain relationships based upon your valuable, beneficial information, and when you come across a product that would benefit your readers, become an affiliate of that product and post about it. If your readers trust you, they'll trust your recommendation, buy, and you'll make commissions. The larger your readership, the larger your potential commissions. Simple as that.

Getting Started, Starting Your Own Business

This was inspired after reading the following article on The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204475004574127134005990974.html

Starting a business without experience can be most difficult, particularly when any previous jobs you've held never fully gave you a grasp on the whole picture... all the responsibilities of ownership. It's fantastic that these folks got their start, but if they really want to do something different than having another "job in a business they just happen to own," they'll need to focus on ways of getting out of the business, or in other words, making it so that the business' success isn't reliant on their presence or direct input. Reading through this article I thought of quite a few ways that this is possible for each of the showcased businesses. Understanding this is just one of the core competencies that makes the difference between a business owner and a true entrepreneur.