Business rules of the road
While they vary from person to person, our values are the central driving force in our everyday lives. These values form the context of daily decision making that drives our behavior. Quite often,...
View ArticleFirst impressions: Driven by mastery
Most likely you’ve heard the saying “A poor artisan blames their tools.” Despite the ROI of blame being zero (at best), this situation goes well beyond blame. When you blame the tool, at least two...
View ArticleTourist season is coming – Are you ready?
Before you know it, the long winter will be a forgotten memory – except for the powder days. As it finally warms up for good (whatever that means this year), school will be out and tourists will be...
View ArticleChoose your market or craft it?
Sometimes you choose your market, and sometimes it chooses you. Today, we get a little of both. A discussion with some software business owners prompted this piece, but you should stick around even if...
View ArticleCreate a truly meaningful guarantee
Does your guarantee provide value and eliminate risk for the prospect, or does it simply give their money back? While giving their money back is often seen as an ideal guarantee, the fact is that while...
View ArticleEven black cats need a reason why
I didn’t do a Friday the 13th promo yesterday. Did you? In my case, I didn’t get a promo out despite a monthly reminder on my calendar. Yes, every month a week or so before the 13th, a recurring...
View ArticleEarning return business, part two
Last time, I shared a story about how Best Buy avoided losing my family’s phone business (and perhaps all our business) by bending the rules a little on an insurance claim that had gotten in the weeds...
View ArticleWhat are your compelling reasons?
This past week, I’ve had several conversations revolving around why people don’t buy, why people stop buying, how we can get them to use what they bought and how we can get them to switch to our...
View ArticleROI: Why they don’t take your call
These days, it isn’t about the shine; it’s about what happens when the shine wears off. Will your business owner clients think positively of you a year from now because of an investment you championed?...
View ArticleHas your client list heard from you lately?
As we head into retail’s peak shopping season, the big question is “Will my clientele buy…again?” Have you had any contact with them since last November or December? The people spending money are in...
View ArticleYour systems should focus on your clients
Do your systems serve your internal customers or all of them? By internal customers, I mean your accounting department, the staff on the shipping dock, customer service representatives, sales people...
View ArticleThe shortcut to easier sales
One of the more common questions I get is “How do we find a shortcut to easier sales?” The shortcut starts with a few questions… Who is the ideal person for your product/service and what is the...
View ArticleExhibiting at trade shows – Why do it?
“Should we go to every trade show every year? Some of these shows cost us well over $7000. The one show that we want to skip this year is part of an association. They have about 300 members. We know...
View ArticleDo you value your clientele?
Business demonstrate what they value through their behavior. Some businesses value what they do, those they work with and most of all, those they serve. They work hard for every lead. Every client....
View ArticleDesperate for business?
Recently, I drove past a local shop advertising everything they sell at 50% off. While I don’t like to assume, it’s hard not to wonder if such a radical price cut is anything else but a desperate move...
View ArticleThe hardest part of helping businesses
There are a lot of rewards that come with helping businesses improve beyond what they expected, or even simply going a step or two beyond an artificial boundary the business owner thought was in front...
View ArticleWhat your customers don’t know
One of the more dangerous things that can get stuck a writer’s head is the feeling (assumption) that everyone knows or has already read about what you’d like to write about. This usually happens...
View ArticleThe care and feeding of leads
Last weekend, we did a little shopping for a “large recreational purchase”. We hadn’t shopped in this market before, so you wouldn’t have been surprised that I would have my radar fully unfurled to...
View ArticleWhy do they want to disrupt your market?
The big word in the startup world is disruption, as in “We will disrupt the what-cha-ma-call-it market.” Thinking about last week’s discussion about buying a new vehicle, let’s talk about what...
View ArticleForest fire communication can burn you
Now that the Reynolds Creek fire is 65% contained, there are two myths to squash: “The fire is almost out.” Not true. Ask anyone close to the fire teams and they’ll likely tell you that only a...
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