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Archive for category Innovation and Creativity

The ideal monkey

Sep 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, The Sales Dept | No Comments

No this is not about Homer Simpson getting a helper monkey! it’s about the ideal clients we all want to chase, but hey there are issues about going for gold, its time, money and often our attitude.

Firstly the ideal customer “monkey” is at the top of the tree, try to climb it too fast you might scare the monkey (not good!) Those that have wooed the monkey in the past know that once they are off the ground and climbing, they have to entice the monkeey (influence it if you will) with the right food, if you have things right the monkey may even come to you!

Secondly you have to be aware that the non ideal monkeys don’t like to work so hard to get to the top of the tree, and therefore they stay to the lower branches and on the ground, they are lazy and want you to go to them, enticement or not, they cost time and money in the long run, but they help to pay the bills. These monkeys create a hard bond to break.

Okay, so it would be good if you could climb the tree quickly and quietly and be back in time to look after the monkeys on the ground, but the top monkey wants to be courted on their terms, not on yours, so what to do?

In an ideal world your sales rep could be trained to court the monkey in the right way while you keep the lower end monkeys happy, but until that happens not much can happen, and note how the lwer level monkeys keep you too busy and not earning enough to hire a sales rep?

Its an age old conundrum, if you take the slow path, costs can overrun you, but once the top monkey is in the giving mood you can then free yourself up to look after more of them and jump readily from tree to tree as the other top monkeys can see you coming at their level and are often more welcoming.

To get to the top monkey takes a strategy, and an action plan to ensure you have the steps in place to get to the right monkey at the right time. This is called a sales process, its a step by step method of research, sending info, and building up to the final presentation. Then and only then if they are happy with what your offer, will they give a little.

Some monkeys are a pest, but a top monkey can be a sought after leader in the pecking order of business, If you want to get the “monkey of your back” you have to find ways to get to the top monkey.

Post Cards As An Effective Trade Show Giveaway

Sep 8

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 10 Comments

Tired of handing out pens and other junk at trade shows that don’t give you any return on your investment? Consider the benefit of a 4″ x 6″ postcard.

A postcard is a great trade show handout …. IF, it is backed by an effective idea. Many describe a great postcard handout as little more than a giant business card. While a postcard may be better than a business card, it’s still a yawner — unless it contains something of value or potential value to the prospect.

Lets explore some examples. Let’s say you own a high end women’s clothing store. In that case your postcard could offer the prospect a “Private In-Home Showing”. High-end buyers like to be catered to. A private clothing showing in the prospect’s home or place of business speaks to that desire. The card asks the prospect to call to make arrangements. Over the phone you get her preferences, likes, dislikes and sizes. Then you make the appointment and take a fine selection of clothing to her. This also allows you to gauge your Return On Investment (ROI). Best of all, it allows you to develop a personal relationship with the prospect.

Lots of marketers, eager to cast a big net like to offer discounts and freebies on their postcards. By and large, I detest dollar-off coupons, discounts and freebies to build a loyal, money-spending client base. Mostly they attract “bottom-feeders” with whom you are establishing a relationship based on price. If your goal is to make money, then a relationship based on price works in the prospect’s favor — not yours.

If you insist giving away the store to get new clients or prospects … at least make it a buy one get one, a buy one get the second for 1/2 off or a dollar amount off with a specified dollar amount in purchases.

A more effective approach to rewarding prospects and getting your name spread around is to offer an imprinted promotional item or gift with purchase. This can really help drive trade show traffic to your retail location. This way, you are only giving promotional products away if they actually take the time to visit your location and spend money. For instance, a restaurant could offer a free steak knife with purchase of two dinners. Combine this with a punch card program and give customers the opportunity to collect a complete set though subsequent meal purchases.

Another way to use a postcard is to make it a ticket to a special after hours store event. You can give the highlights of your product or service at the trade show. Those who seem genuinely interested, receive the “ticket” for a more in depth demonstration, product review or test drive at the special event. In this case, you only give the postcard to those who express a desire for your product or service. Those who show up for the event are genuinely interested. And genuinely interested prospects and are YOUR golden ticket.

If any of the product lines you sell has a co-op program, check to see if the post card can qualify for one or more of your suppliers co-op programs. This will help you lower the cost of the entire program.

Use of the tactics described above can also help drive traffic to your website. In cases where the postcard is used as a ticket, you can give people the option of reserving their place at the event via phone or through your website.

By and large, a postcard that’s little more than a glorified business card is a waste of your time, energy and money. However, if you marry the postcard with an effective idea … then you may have promotional marketing trade show gold.

My 3 favourite articles…

Sep 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

 Okay world, here are my 3 favourite articles for the period Sept 2006 – 2007 our first year of www.freebusinesstips.com.au

Jenny Stilwell  3 pillars… Because at the time it knocked me flat! I loved the depth yet a simplstic approach that ANYONE in business could follow. I love most of Jenny’s work and so the link is her name, but this one article grabbed me, and to think that its available free for all to use WOW!

Business profiling a 3 tiered approach  Because it has the potential to make waves, waves of understanding, there is still more to come to add to this but time will tell. I am very proud of this one, and yes its mine… It came about because of freebusinesstips.com.au and my involvement in it, it was like shuffling through so many options and possibilities and then it hit me, it had to be done.

My third choice is a culimination of the many “Cries for help” that have echoed across the forum posts, some are loud, some are probably caught between the lines as pockets of distant hope, pockets loaded to the hilt with grief, drama and pangs of guilt. To those with the strength to put up their hand I salute you, to those that put in to the whole web page experience here at free business tips, then I say a HUGE thanks for assisting us to make this all possible.

“From the dirt and moisture comes a sprout, a tiny green organism pointing skyward, its roots grabbing tight to the ground its potential unknown. It may be a weed, a strangling vine or a mightly tree that lasts for a few hundred years. Either way it makes its imression on us, lets hope that impression is highly valuable.” 

Tear it down then rebuild it.

Sep 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Take a business or division of a business that is doing okay, (note… not doing exceptional, just okay…) take a good hard look, is it doing what you want, chances are no, you would prefer an exceptionally performing team right? So what to do?

You could do a review, and implement some extra training… chances are though the resultant change and upward jump in productivity will be short lived, a few months at best.

You could sack a few workers and try some new blood… destabalise it a little and see what happens… Chances are the changes will force a few to leave out of fear, and a few to perfom poorly due to the fear and a few to become more pushy as they try to handle the added stress of not knowing what’s next (if anything.)

Or.. You could walk in, and address the issue head on, It probably will not need a lot of ranting and raving. It probably won’t need a lot of cash injection either. Here’s a possible strategy that may get some lasting change.

  1. Get the whole team in and show the stat’s, facts and figures speak volumes.
  2. Outline what was expected and note the gap… Call it gap analysis if you like.
  3. Break the team into smaller groups (min 3 max 5) and then ask them to jot down the issues as they see it. do it in 90 secs or less, but don’t tell them how long they have.
  4. Collate the info on to a white board, and ask them to prioritise it. (60 secs)
  5. Mix up the groups, now get them to specifically come to conclusions as to what has to happen and how it can be done. Jot down these ideas in 90 secs or less. Create Key Performance Indicators for each conclusion.
  6. Create a 3 month action plan to implement it (or less if you can).
    Invite people to become leaders to oversee each part of the plan and keep a tab on the Key Performance Indicators.
  7. Set dates to review the process and make sure each review is short sharp and to the point.

Now set them free to make it happen.

My views… It needs to be fast, it needs to happen without warning, it needs to put them on the spot but without finger pointing and attributing blame, it needs to be an exciting plan to be a part of, finally it needs to be accountable.

Then sit back and provide the resources to make it happen, cut out any red tape, just get what is required (within reason) to make it happen.

At the end of the process your team will have either risen to the occasion or maybe failed dismally. If its the latter then you need to evaluate your coaching style (or lack of it) as a leader and find ways to alter it to suit.

Have fun – Play hard – Get results!

Your magic business…

Aug 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Finance, Growth, Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Today you are doing what SPECIFICALLY…

- to make your business more profitable?

- to cause the staff to LOVE you?

- to cause the customers to LOVE you and your team?

- to cause your suppliers to jump through hoops to give you great deals (and LOVE you)?

- to ensure your workplace is the best place to work, form both a safety and aesthetic perspective?

- to cut down on red tape?

- to create more elegant systems?

- to ensure your business is growing well?

The list can be as long as you like, with out this kind of input your business can stagnate and fade, in short it can shrivel up and die… So do something today to make it thrive.

Caring leads to loving… yes loving!

Aug 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

Caring for your staff can lead to respect, the word caring means showing positive and real interest towards each other. I am suggesting we take a caring approach to build the love we have so we can avoid, bullying in the workplace, foster greater connection with our customers and staff.

This article mixes well with “Your staff and service made easy” and should probably be seen as the next step on from it.

Of course there are various levels of love and I am sure you will appreciate and respect peoples personal boundaries and expectations in this regard, the aim is not to get into “hot water” but rather prevent hostilities!

In the beginning love needs to come from people who appreciate love and indeed have love for themselves (I’m not talking about egocentric over the top love here…) so on the list of “lovers” it would probably look like this.

1. They love themselves – then they know what its like and can lo ve others.

2. They love others, their close personal team – family then friends and workmates.

3. They love the customers - without them you are not in buisness so give them some love too!

4. Love being in business – no point in doing something you hate…

5. Love your offerings - are you selling great products and services or???

6. Love you business environment – take a look around, is it a gret place to work? really? get witht he progra and sort out some of the details so you can make thing humm!

7. Love the work teams - you may not be able to have much input into how they work together but if you love the team principles you can have a more productive and fun work place.

8. Love their communications – go on foster some great communications, break down some barriers and watch the teams flourish.

9. Develop a love for leadership skills – and instil these in everyone, make them all leaders (of their own projects.)

Okay so how would you do all of this?

1. Get great at coaching – mentoring – supporting and leading. Find out what you can do to be good at these and you will become a powerful support device to cause your business to fourish.

2. Create systems and methods to create closeness – then watch how the individuals and teams work to make the most of the situation.

Your aim in doing all of this is to create a work culture that supports, cares, holds people in high regard… in short it builds the love.

Your staff and great service – EASY!

Aug 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Your staff and great service – EASY!

When it comes to service, practically all organisations I come across say they aim to have great service and if they don’t have it they will work on it. Problem is not many know how to make their service great, let alone good. Lets check out a bunch of points and shed some light on this always, topical issue.

Firstly there are a few things we need to get our head around, each business has people at the front line, they then have an environment (virtual and actual) and these coupled with human interaction create a culture. I put these in simple terms I call PEC’s (People – Environment – Culture). When these are coupled with Marketing, Operations and Management you have the nucleus or foundation structure of business.

Most people in business recognise this but are at a loss (often due to being too involved in the business to see it clearly) to be able to do anything about it. One feature of businesses that can improvise, overcome and adapt to situations are able to innovate and find creative ways to instigate the changes required to make things happen.

Lets put together some points to assist in the development of a customer excellence strategy.

  1. Why should they? – Chat to the staff about why good service is of value to them, the WIIFM or ‘what’s in it for me?’ try working the job security angle, or how it will make them feel giving great service.
  2. Train them – Ask them ‘Coach them – Model it’ By raising these issues and finding ways to create better service and setting the example yourself, you will be leading by example and acting as their service coach.
  3. Variety - Develop with the staff a range of ways they can respond to customers so they have to think more about the interaction  move from ‘Can I help you?’ through a range of other responses to make the relationship develop further than just a buyer and seller one. Give them the chance to build some depth with the customer.
  4. Do it in doses - Break up long customer service face-to-face and phone contact so that staff, don’t burn out.
  5. Put them in the customers shoes – Change the role around and let them critique the service exchange you could do it as a role play in a training session or simply send them to a few stores to buy things and report back on what’s working and what’s not.
  6. Develop great communication skills – “Ask lots of questions” use please and thank yous and explore building rapport which helps to build stronger relationships.
  7. Talk about caring - You cannot pay people to care (long term) but you (as the leader) can learn to push their buttons so they can learn more. Caring for each other builds trust and that equals easier sales processes.  if you can figure out the staffs buttons, they will be able to learn customers buttons as well. Here’s a clue its all about their motivation

There is more, lots more but for now that should give you and your team a great start to building a great service skill set and a culture of service excellence.

Working a crowded web market…

Aug 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

Every man and his dog seems to be creating web pages, so the question for those serious about things “webological” would be to say “how do I make an offering that can set my business apart fromt he rest?” Well thanks for asking… Here is an outline to get the ball rolling. sure it can be adapted to other products and or services but the web is a competitive starting point.

In the main people put their service offerings on their own web page and hope for the best, often its price based, the challenge with that is it gets very competitive at that end of the market. The other big thing here is not everyone wants to buy on price… they want qaulity instead… so they may tend to breeze into the site and then out again just as quickly. So here is my two cents worth on a systematic way around some of those challenges.

Let’s use an example in another crowded industry, telcos, mobile ones in particular, note how they have cheap package deals to get you started and the expensive “other side…” if you go over a certain limit BINGO more $$ and the fine print… YOWSER! It’s a mine field! It’s like signing your life away. Okay I am not saying to specifically follow them, but lets pull apart some of the “why do they do that stuff…

Package deals, give people choices…add to that multiple phone types and models… Rolling Eyes and then the accessories… Shocked

Confused yet! most people just buy and deal with it later. Ok they use confusion, choice, cheaper entrance $$ but pick up on the other side (the dark side.)

All of that is important, now if you start a web site development service and want to go for a usp (Unique Selling Point) it would seem logical to make it easier for the customers by having a simple price and feature structure. But then what happens? it doesn’t work… why? Because people look at it, understand it and go looking elsewhere, its over and done with. Where as if the package is useful they read and get immersed in your offering.

Immersion, cause that to happen and you have a chance… Get them to think more about what they want.

Example two fast food outlets side by side, I park at one and go in, too busy, over to the next… (I’m not sure what I want but hey I have a choice). The next one is a bit quieter and I look at the menu… packages… hmmm lets see… err.. before I can think too much the person behind the counter has called me over to take my order (I usually stand well back to read the menu stuff). That’s it I’m sold (have not even really selected anything yet.) I am engaged in the process deeply now (immersed).

On the net people can breeze in and breeze out, they ‘glance and go’ What if they got immersed really quickly and you got them immersed in a process?

Here’s my process ‘de resistance’… Just for you guys…

1. Glance – Get them intrigued (short audio they can stop may work here) that INVITES them to look at x… X happens to be a click away and is a short sharp grab of useful things to note when geting a web site.

2. They read – view – listen – look at x… – You invite them to call you, or send in for a free pdf booklet on “7 steps to brilliant websites…” They sign up, and you have a member.

3. Communicate! – Send the member the PDF, then a special add on PDF or video file 1 hr later (here are more great points on why you need us or similar).

4. Build the relationship – Call them on the phone AFTER they have the second doc (which was sent 1 Hr after the first…) and do a survey to assess some of their needs, but don’t sell them anything! – Now send them the results of various surveys (including their info to get specific about their needs).

5. Qualify them - If your survey was good (or great) you know if they fit your IDEAL CLIENT status… then you want to proceed further.

6. Send them a gift – Yes via snail mail… and yes a real gift (not a 2c bookmark made of tin) remember these are targeted IDEAL CLIENTS! They will be worth their weight in GOLD to you (clients not customers). Send a note with the gift saying, thanks for doing the survey and becoming a member, I hope the journey thus far has been good.

7. Build the relationship further - By now you should have a person interested (immersed to some degree) in what you MAY have to offer… So… now is the time to evaluate their needs and present an offering. Email… “Hi X. I have assessed your needs carefully and can provide you with a solid solution. Yes we have std packages (and one of them may suit) but at this stage can I catch up with you to discuss the details…”

8. Present your offering – Get one on one and present what you think they need, keep the tech stuff low and the solutions high. Focus on- Ease of use – Ease of admin – Results! Leave it with them to consider and return as often as necessary to clarify details – send them a thank you note for the meeting. Remember its stillearly days yet so keep on building yoru relationship with them.

9+. Build raving fans – If you got the job using this process you have probably wowed them, keep in touch, send personalised greetings, hints, tips and ideas, perhaps its just a link to a new bit of info on your site… GREAT! but keep in touch… send them a card on their birthday, Christmas and every other chance you can, cause them to love you… For your service, your web skills, your ability to keep them informed, your care for their needs, your ability to refer other top professionals to them that might just be able to assist them.

That is how you COULD build a web business that stands out, stands up and will stand the test of time.

Reflect now, you might not get the chance later.

Aug 7

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

Ask the 2 big questions in your buisness, What’s working and what’s not.

Jot down a list of each, perhaps a coloumn each or a sheet of paper each. Take a solid look at the list and ask what can I do about the things that need to be better, and what can I learn about the things that are working.

This form of reality check is vital to be able to develop bigger plans, better business sustainbility and work towads realising your dreams.

Want to take it further? With the things that are working, how many of them actively bring $$ into your company… Sure your OHS kit might be great and the conference was a big hit.. but what about the sales, the $$ in? Is it time to push the list around to make MORE Direct sales show up on the list… (chances are YES!) So remember to add that to the list of things NOT working!

Complex Simplicity

Aug 6

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development | No Comments

Lets take something simple and make it complex… WHY? because it seemed like the way to go at the time.

Seriously though many simple tasks can become buried in red tape, and often its our own red tape. Now that is tragic!

I recall being asked to create a checklist of a procedure of a commonly repeated process within an organistion. It started off as about 14 steps and then quickly went to 30 – 35! Finally it got up to 60 steps in the process! ARRGH!

The point being three fold, to be able to fully explore the process undertaken, then to evaluate how to simplify it and finally to be able to track where the process was up to for a project should a staff member be absent and someone had to take over.

So what can we take from this? well simple things can be complex (often for a reason) and sometimes the complexity can reveal new ways to simplify that which was simple.

Next time you want to pull a complex thing apart, or make a simple thing complex consider setting out the aims for the project so you can focus more clearly on getting things right. There that was simple….

30 Day Challenge 2007

Aug 2

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

Have you heard of the 30 Day Challenge yet?

Judging by how slow the servers have been for the last 24 hours I guess a lot of you have!

The 30 Day Challenge is a great concept by Ed Dale (and a couple of other guys whose names escape me right this second). The guys are offering their substantial expertise to train (over 30 days) people like me and you how to make money online.

It started yesterday (August 1st 2007) and I am signed up along with Ross & Steve (thats our team so far)

The goal this year is to create an online product and sell at least 1 x $10 sale in the first month, all without spending a single cent, thats right, nothing.

To be honest I am still a little vague about how it is going to work and what will be required of me in the next month (as if I need more to do!), however from what I have seen so far I think I am going to learn some very valuable lessons on online marketing, which can only help my other sites like this one and Black Dog Promotions.

Ed keeps telling me that it will be very easy, and so far it has. We have downloaded several tools for Firefox (all free) that will help us in the challenge, and just those tools alone are pretty nifty and worth checking out.

This is apparently the 3rd annual challenge, and previous entrants have had great success.

Like anything else, one of the main requirements is time. You will need the time to dedicate to the challenge, that in itself is a challenge for me! I see some late nights ahead :-)

I listened to the Day 1 Podcast and video and i am about to listen to Day 2. I will write a journal for the challenge as I go along, I won’t post everyday, but I think once a week will do.

Wish me luck!

Work Backwards

Aug 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Seems silly to say that, but reverse goal setting can work a treat to make things work.

Another way of putting it is to begin with the end in mind. Create the visual outcome in your minds eye, then step backwards bit by bit until you get to the present time, and you will then know how to get the goal.

Too simple? Of course it is. BUT the thing is many simple things are often the best. Often we do this naturally, just on a smaller scale. Example; your kids might say lets go to the beach, what comes up? A picture in your head of the kids on the beach… then your brain makes a quick list of what’s required, towels, swimwear, car, petrol… you get the idea, and it happened in the blink of an eye.

On bigger pojects it may not happen in a blink, but if the goal is really doable then it may not take too long.

I urge you to try it and get ready to achieve many things once you get the ball rolling. Oh and remember a project management plan can be a great way to set the ball in motion.

Marketing Lessons From A Grade-School Lunch Box

Aug 1

Posted by Michael Crooks in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Remember when you were a kid? Lunch time held a certain magic. What did mom pack? The anticipation … the apprehension … the delight — and sometimes the disappointment at finding your stupid apple had crushed your snack cake.

If you’ve been using the same approach with your customers and clients for very long … it’s sorta like getting peanut butter and jelly in your lunch for 37 days in a row. It’s boring, predictable and memorable … for all the wrong reasons.

Lesson Learned: Keep your main offer fresh.

In today’s market, a fresh new approach can mean the difference between clients eating up what you have to offer … and getting your snack cakes crushed.

For example, I remember the day I opened my insulated bottle to pour my milk and out came CHOCOLATE milk! Mom had my attention. Yeah, making sure I had milk to drink showed she cared. And for a 9 year old that’s all well and good. But chocolate milk? Well that just moves mom up on the list of “stuff that’s swell”. And from that day on, there was a little twinge of excitement when I opened my lunch drink. Problem was … it never happened again. After a while, the slight twinge of excitement that came with opening my drink … disappeared.

Lesson Learned: Every now and then, you have to change it up to keep the excitement alive. Putting a different type of juice or chocolate milk in my lunch one day every three weeks would have done it.

By the same token, if you’ve been sending the same old postcard announcing the “Sale of the Month” … next month try sending the card in an envelope instead. Better yet, send it along in an envelope with a 25 sheet sticky notepad with your logo, name and number imprinted on it.

Think about that for a minute from the receiver’s standpoint. You’ve been getting a postcard from LMNOP for 2 years. SUDDENLY, you get an envelope from LMNOP. You’ll open it with renewed interest. Why? Because you don’t know what’s inside. Something unexpected and out of the ordinary happened. But because the same old postcard in an envelope could be anti-climactic, you want to include a little “excitement enhancer” with an inexpensive sticky notepad.

Mom’s lunches weren’t all bad, though. Part of effectively changing your approach is understanding that while an apple, an orange and a banana are all fruits … they are different fruits. Mom added variety to my lunchbox fruit course by constantly changing the fruit. She did the same with the veggies, alternating carrots, celery, sweet peppers, radishes and pickles. Similarly, a postcard, an envelope and a package are all direct mail, but they’re different. The same way a pen, a note pad and a refrigerator magnet are all promotional products — yet different. Even with postcards, you can change the design while maintaining the integrity of your corporate identification.

And now the main course — the offer! Mom knew I would be ok with ketchup on bologna even though I preferred mayo. Mustard is fine on pork/ham. PB &J was fine. Egg salad would fly like a lead balloon, sandwich spread was great and I’d eat anything with cheese on it …. except PB&J, hold the cheese, please.

Lesson Learned: Want to keep your target relatively happy and interested? Get to know them, keep changing the main offer and give them what they like.

What do you know about your clients and prospects? Do you know what they like, how much they buy or how often they buy? For small retailers it can be as easy as utilizing a punch card program. Swipe type cards coupled with the right computer program can allow you to capture a lot of useful data. But even the smallest retailer can send/give a survey and reward respondents with a low-cost, high perceived value promotional item. This is an excellent way to start or expand a database.

Change the main offer. Even if all you sell are chairs. Change the featured chair. Tell why it’s a great chair – features and benefits. Tell them something they don’t know. Give them something they can sink their teeth into.

Finally, the treat! Whether it was a piece of candy, a snack cake or a fruit pie, I always looked forward to the treat!

Lesson Learned: Treat your clients, customers and prospects. Treat them to a mint (regular and sugar free) at the cash register, have fresh coffee and hot water for tea available, have stickers or waterless tattoos available for the kids. Train your staff to treat customers and prospects like they are welcome. Treat them … like your business depends on them.

Using Promotional Products As Retail Babysitters

Jul 30

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

I almost laughed out loud. A clerk tried to explain the features and benefits of a hair dyer to a woman who had a small child with her. The clerk’s sales attempt was interrupted every 20 seconds with, “Mommy, look at this!”, followed by mommy’s horrified look as she foresaw three possible outcomes: 1) Junior was about to maim himself; 2) Junior was about to maim someone else; 3) Mommy was about to spend way more than she intended on something that she didn’t want — that was about to be broken into at least 5 pieces.

Since it wasn’t my kid, I found it hilarious. The salesperson was exasperated. And mommy? Well, mommy finally said, “hell with it”, took Devil Child by the arm and exited the store after a carefully stacked display of towels suddenly became un-stacked — because Junior wanted the towel on the bottom.

When children hinder the sales process, salespeople can’t effectively do their job and profits suffer. Smarter retailers know they MUST occupy the children if they want mommy and daddy’s attention. That’s where Retail Babysitters come in.

For a promotional item to serve as an effective Retail Babysitter it should meet the following criteria:

1) Be age appropriate;
2) Be clean and mess free;
3) Consume children’s time.

A fourth criteria that, while not mandatory to keep kids from sabotaging your sales efforts, is VITAL if you want to get the best R.O.I.:

4) Whenever possible, Retail Babysitters should contain a tangible component to aid in the continuing promotion of your business or service off-premise.

Logoed items that meet the above criteria include stickers, sticker sheets, waterless tattoos, coloring books, crayons, your letterhead and custom activity sheets.

Businesses such as flooring showrooms, vehicle dealerships and furniture stores where children remain visible, can create a children’s area with carpet, a table and chairs. Suggesting to small children that they make a card or picture for mommy and daddy can work wonders. You can provide your letterhead, 8 1.2″ x 11″ sheets of construction paper, logoed boxes of crayons and logoed stickers or sticker sheets.

Waterless temporary tattoos can also be used in this way as they transfer well to paper products as well as the skin. Themed coloring books with your imprint on them along with the crayons are another good option.

For older children, create custom activity sheets. For instance, the sheet for a flooring store could contain a word search where kids search for words such as flooring, carpet, vinyl, etc.; a word jumble; a maze and other activities.

If you can’t create a Kid’s Corner, placing a coloring book & crayons with some stickers and waterless tattoos in a logoed paper lunch bag can fill the bill. Many kids will sit on the floor next to the parents, look through the bag and begin to apply stickers, waterless tattoos, use the coloring books or decorate the paper bag.

To aid in off-premise promotion of your business, offer a monthly coloring contest. The kids either finish a coloring book picture while at the establishment or finish it at home. The parents can drop the finished picture off later. (This gets them back in the store). Pictures are displayed and once a month, one or more winners is chosen and goes up on the winner’s wall. Each child who turns in a drawing gets an entry prize of some sort with the monthly winners getting larger prizes. (Monthly winners must come in to claim their prize.)

To provide the most benefit to your establishment, all prizes (water bottles, plastic flyers, knit caps) carry your logo and contact information. You can also get lot’s of play out of featuring selected children’s drawings in your monthly newspaper/print ads and on your website. You can also use the drawings to create a custom business calendar.

If you work with a competent promotional products consultant, they can be on the lookout for and bring select items to your attention that are on closeout or are seasonal specials. This will also serve to keep your prize selection fresh and seasonally appropriate.

Children can be a salesperson’s worst nightmare. But with a little thought and the right promotional products to serve as Retail Babysitters, children can actually become an asset as you use them to leverage favor — and sales with the parents.

Sketchcasting, a new way of blogging?

Jul 25

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity | 3 Comments

I was getting my daily dose of Darren Rowse today and saw a very interesting new concept.

This has enormous potential, especially for those of us who can convey thoughts and concepts much better standing at a white board than we can with the written word.

I love it! I can’t wait to learn how to do this and give it a go.

A great idea from Richard Ziade @ Sketch Basement

They say its true… 600 jobs gone…

Jul 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

The news today is saying they will drop 600 jobs at Ford in Geelong in the casting plant, as they can get the engines cheaper o/s. That might be true but what about the carnage… not just the jobs, the investment.

The Victorian Government has put in over 60million dollars investing in the car maker to keep it here, keep it viable and so forth, but now has that money gone down the drain? Probably.. Will the Detroit big guns be swayed by a delegation from down under… nah probably too late… Will we as tax payers see the millions back in our coffers… “Sorry boys we spent it already.

Someone has made some cash out of the whole thing.

One thing is for sure even ten mil could have provided for those 600 by providing jobs in other areas in the region. A think tank on how to use 10 mill to make a highly sustainable range of businesses so that jobs and enterprise could be secured would have been useful.

But instead the people in power have had their arms twisted to give away a lot more and get little back. Lets see if anything good comes of the situation as the Detroit big guns throw their hands in the air and say “Hey there’s nothing we can do!”

Welcome to the clever country peoples!

Trade show ideas to sit up and take notice of.

Jul 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 18 Comments

Trade shows and expos are the bane of many business peoples life that has to contend with them, from the organising, the results required, to staffing the stall, then the logistics, the giveaways, the data base and so on.

And what if you get asked to do a talk? Ohh it can all get too hard.

The aim of the event should be rock solidly clear, perhaps it’s to gather details of people who qualify to be prospected to. Maybe its to generally spread the word about a new product or service and you want them to go to your website to find out more. Either way have an aim…

Well here are a few pointers to give things the edge, (in no particular order) Remember a trade show is all about presenting the company in a good way (PR) and getting leads (preferably QUALIFIED leads).

  1. Be open - Chatting to people in an open and friendly way. Hi how are you instead of “Want to see what we can offer?” Often the good guys stack questions to get you started and then can’t stop. Make it easy for people to interact with you, don’t sell them, chat to them with the aim of building the relationship.
  2. A give away prize of a really decent bottle of red wine… over $45 value. “ People give away cheap stuff all the time, but a good red can be a great winner for those that enjoy a red, for those that don’t, offer an alternative”. I also suggest you avoid giving away your product, after all you want the chance to sell that. Remember it’s all about selling so you can make a profit. But entice people with a decent give away. The aim is to cause them to take interest.
  3. A non stop talking ‘brochure’ – Female/male, model material, “sex sells…” There can be a video of the product in the background and they are the eye candy and mouth piece all rolled into one. Sorry but it works… Some will say this is sexist, yet I still see it at trade shows all over the place, some do it better than others.

    Think about it, your target market may well want to chat to a young lady or guy that looks stunning rather than a stuffy suited CEO or some Sales Team sent to “prop things up” or because the “CEO wants to look good…” It’s about the company’s image not the CEO’s. Then use this relationship builder to  get information from the prospect, test to see if they are interested in what you offer and then go the next step in the process and getting more data of value for a follow up, or not…

  4. Give these out freely-ish – Qualify the prospect first hough… A bright cap with a message and your logo, a brightly coloured lanyard with a story on a card fitted to the end (story and logo on the card).  Make the card numbered for a prize every half hour or so…  It causes them to want to come to your site and get one.

    Swap a business card or their contact details to get any of the freebies (If they are in the market for what you provide). This builds your presence at the event for more than just a display, people see hats, lanyards, etc all over the place. Note some items you might want to give away might be passe’ (some bags, and brochures can do that!) so make it stand out, after all you want to be remembered, RIGHT?

  5. Think about the message you want them to remember – Perhaps the trade show is a starting point or even a midway point if you can send them info before hand (knowing that you have a niche market), “See you at the show”. It’s all about the relationship that is being built, so build it well, from start to finish.
  6. Create a buzz - As Seth Godin says, “Create a Buzz but have it lead somewhere…” If there is a funny or memorable thing that happened at the event that people will remember, play on that afterwards in a follow up mail, (You are going to follow up on the leads yeah?)

    Want to create a techno aware buzz. use QR codes printed out on a sign, a promo gift or whatever, so when the people come by your stand you have a great way for them to link to an online demo of your product or services, or even just your website. This can make it easy fro them to keep in touch with you.

  7. Think “What if…” – You add a section to your web site so they can log in when they get home to discover more ways you can assist them (7 key points I did not tell you at the trade show…) they need to use a login that they can only get at the trade show and its on the lanyard. Make it valid only for 10 days on from the trade show and that’s it, so it has a sense of urgency to it, you read the stats and see how it went.
    - What if those that do not go to the show but are in this niche were to see a short sharp video or power-point to get a feel for what they missed out on.
    - What if they could get some other key points with another login to another section so the Co could see which one generated more leads…
    - What if you offered (even those that weren’t there) a life changing opportunity if they use your services (it’s a top secret educational holiday for 10 people on a tropical Isle with a guest speaker on communication and personal development skills training, or info on shares or investing or whatever your business offers.) Obviously for big-ticket items… land, buildings etc.

Oh and what should be in the display? How about a deck chair with a sign that says gone fishing! Some of us are too busy enjoying life to be here right now, want more info ask me how, then dress the sales team in Hawaiian shirts and have them wander the place giving out freebies in exchange for their business cards. (They can ask a simple qualifying question or three to make this work well).

So take the stress out of the situation and have fun, be seen as the one to make the event a breeze, enjoyable and exciting while letting all the others stress about the situation. Be creative, be open and think about getting results not just sore feet.

Ford to dump workers…

Jul 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

Ford may dump workers at its Geelong (Aust) plant in a chance to rebound from a slump in sales of its larger engines produced at the plant. This has people from all sectors of Government and industry bodies jumping to try and stem the flow on effect this may have IF it happens. My view, lets see what happens first and not jump in too hastily.

Okay companies have dumped workers before (Geelong Cement threw out 150 workers, closed up and walked away) and despite claims of many ill effects, generally little happens due to a range of paramaters that kick in. Some take early retirement, some redploy readily (some happily), some will move out of the area to seek a new start,  some may even start a business, so they can be their own boss… and so on.

In the case of Geelong Cement many of these kicked in and the leftovers took a little while to find their place but generally the kicking and screaming was VERY minimal.

I guess there will be some that struggle if the company closes part of its facility but things are far diferent now that a few years back when Australia was in the throes of recession and much higher unemployment.

My point… Times change, people move on, (some struggle, some find it easy, some may even say its the best thing for them to be pushed into something new.)

In business things change, and life charges on. Goverments can throw a lifeline if they wish, but perhaps they should use caution and watch proceedings develop first rather than be part of the “sky is falling” mob.

Business changes are bought about through various changes in what the market wants… Typewriter sales went out the window with computers coming in… Things change and we have to addapt to that.

Sure jobs are important, but in a climate of low unemployment, skills shortages in a range of industries, perhaps Ford’s “dumping of staff” will assist other businesses to flourish and not cause nearly as much devastation as the protagonists would have us think.

Blogs Are Roads; Intersections

Jul 7

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

I feel we have a fairly unique product here at Free Business Tips.

One of the reasons the blog and the rest of the site is unique is because, well, to be honest we had no idea what a blog ‘should be’ and what it ‘should do’ and what they features ‘should have’.

This means that we just told our web designer what we wanted, simple right?

Yes and no.

Our lack of “blogging savvy” means we have set things up a little differently to other blogs (and unique is cool), but it also meant we have been a little slow on the uptake on what makes a blog popular and how to get love from Google, Technorati, Alexa, Bloglines etc etc.

Lately I have been surfing around, madly reading blogs and researching what makes a good (popular) blog.

I was having a read at Darren Rowse’s Problogger site and Darren had linked back to a blog post Blogs Are Roads; Intersections by Steve Remington at Skinny Moose Media (cool name)

Steve points out that you shouldn’t be scared to share some “link love” from your blog,

The first biggest mistake most business blogs make is not linking out to external blogs. Some people are afraid it will drive traffic away to potential competitors.

He uses the analogy that you need to place your blog in a position to gain traffic from other blogs, like other fast food restaurants position themselves on the same intersections as McDonalds,

Look at Burger King and McDonald’s. You will always find them across the street from each other, or at least on the same strip of road in any given city. Burger King may lose some business to McDonald’s but in the long run they would actually be losing more business by moving out on a back road somewhere hoping people will come to them.

See how this is working already? Steve writes a great article for people new to blogging, Darren links back to him, I read Steve’s blog because I value Darren’s opinion, I am impressed by the article so I write one of my own and link back to Steve as well. I read the comments on Steve’s article and follow some of the links to the sites of commenters who might have said something particularly sensible, my track back will appear in Steve’s blog as a comment, and potentially we will get some traffic from Steve’s site………

See how the link love works!

Ok, so all you experienced bloggers will say, “Duh, we have known this for ages” I know, I know, bear with me while I catch up!

Have a read of Steve’s post On Skinny Moose Media (it is a cool name, I love it), it’s well worth it if like me you are a little green on the blog thing.

As for us at Free Business Tips, we will be working very hard to increase the traffic, and ranking of the site.

In the near future we will be changing the way we post in the blog a little. We will still have our own unique blogging format (articles written by our very smart contributors) but we will also be blogging in a more traditional way, more topical posts by myself and Steve Gray , more reviews of other blogs and business sites (to get the link love going!), we might even do some competitions, Speed linking (see an example of Speed linking on Problogger) and some other methods.

We are also looking at a layout change.

So, any suggestions are more than welcome, and please drop me a line if you see something on the web that you think deserves a little ‘link love’ from us at FBT

Grab and hold on…

Jul 6

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity | No Comments

Its back to the basics… I see all sorts of wonderful things in the modern age, from ipods and iphones to lap tops that do wireless broadband and lots on between, but any one can tell in this hustle and bustle age that many of the basics are missing, good service (any one can tell you bad service stroies even a kid!).

So in getting back to square one, wouldn’t it be useful to grab a hold of each customer and hold on (gently and elegantly of course) so that you can develop a customer for life? Ok there are those you grab and want to let go of really fast I appreciate that, but the ones that are gems, the ones that have value, the ones that you can see will be of value in the long haul, they’re the ones to hold on to.

Even for a retail business such as a bakery, give customers the chance to leave their details so you can build a deeper relationship with them over time. Perhaps its mailing out specials and info that might make their day a little brighter, if its just specials all the time they will tire of it. Perhaps its ways to do things more effectively so they can make less of an impact on the environment… Perhaps its about what the community is doing in the area.

It could be lots of things… The thing is to build interest in your business, and keep that interest there. Grab them and hold on, gently!

Best Business Links on the Web

Jul 5

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

I was checking out our Technorati rank today and saw that Adam Brucker; Founder and Managing Director of Criterion Advisors, a training and consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado has named our site in his list of 143 Of The Best Business Links On The Web.

I thought that was fanatasic (of course) and headed over to have a look at the list. To my great delight we were amongst company the caliber of Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Trump, Copyblogger and 138 other great resources!

Very flattered and humbled, thanks Adam.

While I was there I had a look around Adam’s blog;The Tough Questions Blog. A great resource and worth a look.

The tough questions are:

Is what you are working on:
1) …Audience Centric?
2) …as Simple as it could be?
3) …Valuable enough for all?
4) …Real, Authentic & Genuine?
5) …of high enough Quality?
6) …Remarkable in any way?

The tough Questions Blog is full of real examples of great answers to those questions. Real case studies and sometimes just Adam’s point of veiw.

Adam is also working on a book due for publication in 2008, he actually asks for submissions for it, maybe your business can answer the tough questions well enough to be featured in print?

Thanks again for your vote of confidence Adam, for everyone else, check out Adam’s blog and ask the tough questions!

What can Madonna and Martha Teach You About Writing Copy?

Jul 3

Posted by Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t argue that pop queen Madonna and domestic doyenne Martha Stewart are two master marketers.  One is a calculated maverick who’s stayed at what has to be the world’s toughest and most fickle business for nearly a quarter century.  The other turned an at-home catering business into a multimedia empire that even a prison term couldn’t derail.

What lessons can we draw from these power players?

Madonna:  You know your business best.
Madonna runs a giant organization, but everything she does is based on her own vision.  She knows she’s the one who cares the most about her own success, and acts accordingly, which empowers her business.  The same holds true for you when you write your own copy.  You know your business strengths better than anyone, and, when you master this very learnable skill, you empower your business.

Madonna:  Pick what you like and make it your own.
Although she is known as the Queen of Reinvention, Madonna knows no idea is completely new.  She gets ideas from an amazing range of sources, from Marilyn Monroe movies to geisha stories to Broadway musicals to what the kids in a Tokyo neighborhood are wearing this week – then she gives it her own spin.

Build swipe files (a collection of great copy clipped from all around you) from magazines, direct mail, and even tabloids.  Capture great copy you see in daily life, whether it’s a billboard or a picket sign.  (I keep a spiral-bound deck of index cards handy to jot down these nuggets.)  Even if the ad or letter seems way outside your target market, parts of it may be just the kick in the pants your copy needs.

Madonna: Embrace your passions wholeheartedly and without apology.
Madonna would understand your desire to shuck off your current identity and dive into something completely different. Nude centerfold to nursery rhyme writer, boy toy to the reincarnation of Queen Esther: she’s leapt even further and thrived just fine. It could be argued that without her continual reinvention, Madonna would be just another ‘Where Are They Now?’ 80′s Pop Tart.

Martha: You are the sole CEO and brand manager of your own life.
Not your boss, your company, your friends, or the people who tell you you can’t do it. Madonna runs her empire modeled after her own vision and values, no matter what those happen to look like this season.

Martha:  Publicity is powerful.
Successful entrepreneurs like Martha not only score publicity at crucial moments, they use that attention to get more attention, unleashing a domino effect of business-boosting buzz.  She started with a book and put herself out there as an expert on entertaining, which led to appearances on TV, radio…you know the rest of the story.

Think of the area where you’re the expert, and start offering to share the (knowledge) wealth with local media.  Don’t put off writing that press release a minute longer. With so many publications, e-zines, blogs, sites, podcasts, satellite radio shows out there, the media needs fresh content like never before.  They’re all dying to talk about something interesting – so be snappy and interesting!

Martha:  Learn something new every day.
Martha closes out all her interviews and shows with this motto, embracing skills too numerous to mention and maintaining curiosity about everything from the names of birds to the best wax to use on your car.  Take a look at any of her magazines, and you’ll find yourself drawn into something you never dreamed could be fascinating, thanks to the great copy and stunning design.

To build your own business, make it a point to soak in something every day:  subscribe to e-zines, browse the bookstore, take a teleseminar or an e-course. When you make the commitment to never stop learning, you put yourself far above the pack.

Madonna AND Martha: When emulating role models, you don’t have to buy the whole package. Both have qualities you can cherry-pick from. Take what you like and leave the rest. Make yourself into the “you” you want to be.

Applying the Genius of Humor

Jun 29

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development | No Comments

The genius of humor obviously pertains to communication, but humor is not just a secondary form of genius. Humor is vital. However, there is a wrong way and a right way to use it.

Here are my suggestions for improving your sense of humor: First, find out what your strong suit is, humor-wise. Ask a friend who will be honest with you. Second, know who you are talking with. Not everybody thinks the same things are funny — and there are a few people who do not think anything is funny, or at least nothing that has been discovered yet. Third, work on your timing. Try out your best lines on your family and your friends — and test bad puns on your enemies! Finally, remember that the best target for humor is yourself. A little self-deprecating humor can go a long way toward making people feel at ease with you.

In short, humor is much more than an icebreaker. When things are good, it can keep egos from becoming inflated. Moreover, when the going is tough, it can be an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of your faith in ultimate success.

The Adventure of Creative Problem-Solving

Jun 29

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 2 Comments

I racked a fresh shell of 00 Buck into the chamber of my 12-gauge shotgun and drew the weapon to my shoulder. As I took careful aim at the dead tree branch about 30 feet above and 10 feet down range of me, my friend asked, “What are you doing?”

“Creative problem-solving,” I answered.

The smooth squeeze of the trigger was followed by a bellowing thunder, followed by the thud of the branch hitting the ground.

“Problem solved,” I said.

The problem I just solved wasn’t a saw problem. No, I had chainsaws and regular saws. What I didn’t have was a ladder tall enough to reach the branch. If I couldn’t get up there, what could I send up there instead? I thought of creating a bolo where I’d duct tape a couple of rocks to either end of a short rope, tie a longer line in the middle and throw it up there in hopes the line would wrap itself around the branch and I could pull like crazy and break the branch off.

I remembered reading that back in the pirate days they’d shoot bolos out of a cannon to tear down the enemy’s sails and rigging and disable the ship. That’s when it hit me … using buckshot and my shotgun as a cutting tool.

Sometimes, creative problem-solving involves looking at an item differently than you normally look at it. The best example of this type of thinking was the old tv show McGyver, who with little more than a ball point pen, a disposable butane lighter and a paper clip could create a rocket capable of taking down a small airplane. In the real world of promotional marketing, employing creative problem-solving may not be quite that exciting but, nevertheless, is just as effective.

For instance, using imprinted plastic flying disks (upside down) as paper plate holders or snack trays. Why spend the money on expensive traffic cones for your bike rally when less expensive, imprinted 7″ orange megaphones will do the trick? How about using coffee mugs as handled flower pots?

A few of our clients keep a supply of their imprinted coffee mugs at the local florist. When they need to send a get-well, sympathy or celebratory flower arrangement, they have the florist create and deliver the arrangement in my client’s mug. The mug remains long after the flowers wither, reminding the recipient of my client’s thoughtfulness. And because there is sentiment involved, the mug is more highly regarded.

You’ve employed creative problem-solving if you’ve ever cut three holes in a 33 gallon trash bag to use as an emergency poncho, or used a piece of cardboard as a dustpan or rolled a piece of paper into a makeshift funnel. I’ve used my pocket comb as an ice scraper, a kazoo (wrap a piece of tissue paper around it), a letter opener and to hold a small nail to keep from whacking my fingers.

Another approach to creative problem-solving is to question why something is done the way it is. I once met with a new client about her annual membership directory. The book had always been saddle stitched, meaning two staples in the middle held the thing together. But this new lady-in-charge didn’t like the fact that the book wouldn’t lay flat when you opened it. She wanted to bind it using comb binding. But that would cost more and they didn’t have the budget.

I asked one simple question that made all the difference. “Does the directory have to be the size that it is?” She thought for a moment and said no. I resized the book to use less pages, which meant less paper, less signatures, less plates, less plate changes, less gathering and collating. The savings went into the more expensive comb binding and we were able to deliver a membership directory that laid flat when you opened it … for the same price as the year before.

My final example of creative problem-solving was used by the criminal element when they went on a wheel-stealing rampage in the parking lot of my father’s auto repair facility. They had a wrench but no jack. So they loosened the lug nuts, took rocks from around the building and blocked up the undercarriage of the cars. Then they simply let the air out of the tires.

Children are some of the best creative problem-solvers in the world, because they don’t know “how things are supposed to be.” They question … they ask why and they ponder. For most people, that ability is taught out of them by the end of grade school through such statements as, “Do as you’re told,” “Follow the rules” and “Color inside the lines”.

The adventure of creative problem-solving is still within you. You just need to let your mind think like a kid again. If you have trouble … go find a little kid to play with.

Socrates – Philosophical Genius

Jun 27

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development | 6 Comments

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.” In addition, if you keep doing what you have always done when conditions radically change, you will get a lot less than you have always gotten. How much can you accomplish when you really see things as they are – not with your eyes, but with all your heart and your soul?

The Athenian Greek philosopher Socrates, who lived in the fifth century BC, was able to accomplish his genius by opening his perception to the truth – and you can do the same.

Not much is known about Socrates’ early life, but he seems to have been quite an interesting fellow – interesting, but not exactly likable to the majority of people. He enjoyed calling people’s ideas into question. He enjoyed poking holes in their assumptions. He liked to make waves – and in the end, he paid for it with his life.

After Socrates served in the war between Athens and the rival city-state of Sparta, Socrates worked as a stonemason. He had also inherited a modest fortune from his father, from which he gained freedom to wander the city getting into discussions and arguments.

One of the formative events in Socrates’ life as a philosopher was his visit to the sacred oracle at the city of Delphi. The oracle was actually a priestess of the god Apollo. For a slight fee, the oracle would give advice and answer questions on any topic or problem. The only trouble was, like most fortune-tellers, the oracle would never give a straight yes or no answer. Often the questioner was more confused after consulting with the oracle than before, because of the riddles that the oracle passed of as answers.

In any case, there came a day when Socrates visited the oracle at Delphi. Maybe he paused a moment to look up at the motto that was carved above the door of the oracle’s temple: it read, “Know thyself.” This was certainly the basis of Socrates’ philosophy – and it may even have been the basis of the question that he addressed to the oracle that day. Maybe he said something like, “I want to know myself – but who am I, anyway?”

The exact question that Socrates put to the oracle is not known, but the oracle’s answer to him is very famous. Socrates himself was very shocked to hear it – because the oracle told him, “You are the wisest man in Athens.”

Socrates’ reaction to this is very interesting, and it was really the basis of his method as a philosopher. When the oracle told him he was the wisest man in Athens, Socrates simply did not believe it. Not only was he in disbelief about being the wisest man, but he did not even really believe he knew anything. He saw himself as a kind of blank slate, someone who had a lot of questions, but no real answers.

On the other hand, the oracle was the oracle. This was a god speaking, and when it said something – especially when it said something that seemed fairly straightforward for once – some attention should be paid. Therefore, Socrates decided to take action. He thought about the oracle’s pronouncement in a logical way. He realized that if he was not the wisest man, it must be because there were wiser men than him. So he started thinking of who some of these people might be, and he started dropping in on some of them and getting into some thought-provoking discussions.

On one occasion, for example, Socrates was talking with a very important and successful citizen of Athens, a man renowned for his good deeds and his responsible behavior in all areas of life. So Socrates said to him, “I’m trying to understand what it really means to be a good person, and I thought you might be able to help me out. Do you by any chance consider yourself a good person?” And the man said, “Yes, as a matter of fact I do.” So Socrates said, “Well, why exactly do you think that? What is it that makes you a good person?”

At this point, the man hesitated for a second – because he was not really used to answering these very direct questions about his virtue. So he thought for a minute, and then he said, “Well, I served in the army, and I pay my taxes.”

When Socrates heard this, he was completely stunned. He could not believe what he was hearing. This man was saying that he was a good person because he had been in the army and he paid his taxes – and this person was supposed to be one of the most accomplished citizens of Athens. His heart could be filled with hatred, he could be sneaking around at night setting fires or looking into peoples windows – yet he said he was a good person because he was in the army and he paid his taxes. Obviously, this was someone who had not given much thought to the meaning of good, or maybe even to the meaning of person. However, he seemed quite confident in what he said. He gave the impression that he knew what he was talking about. Yet it was clear to Socrates that he did not know anything. Even more importantly, he did not know that he did not know.

This was the kind of experience that Socrates had repeatedly as he talked to people about important questions and ideas. Repeatedly he found that supposedly smart people were actually quite ignorant – and they were ignorant without even realizing it. And gradually, as if by default, Socrates began to wonder if maybe he really was the wisest man in Athens after all – not because he had a lot of wisdom, which he did not, but because he was at least aware of his ignorance.

Socrates was always quick to question people’s assumptions and to reveal the “sacred cows” in their thinking. He kept this up to the point that the rulers of the city of Athens viewed him as a threat. Eventually he was brought to trial on some trumped up charges and was sentenced to death. Socrates accepted this judgment with complete calm. After all, the rulers were just doing what they usually did, just like he was. As it was written at the temple of Delphi, Socrates knew himself – even if nobody else could honestly say the same.

Let me play the role of Socrates with you for a moment. First, let me play the role of the Delphic oracle. Suppose I was to tell you that you have much, much greater capabilities than you think you have. What would be your response? Would it be genuine disbelief like Socrates? Alternatively, would it be denial – maybe in order to not get out of your comfort zone? You need to move past your assumptions and your inhibitions and maybe you will re-think your own limitations. You have created them yourself, you know – or at least that is what Socrates would tell you.

It’s A Banner. What’s To Think About?

Jun 27

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept | No Comments

I couldn’t help myself. It just sort of slipped out. “Well, Shelly … you’re gonna have to either get a shorter banner or taller kindergarteners.”

A brief moment of silence was broken by her laughter letting me know I hadn’t “blown it” and that she had a sense of humor — something I really like in a client.

“Oh yeah, right,” she said. “If the banner is four feet high the kids will have to hold it above their heads for the whole parade.”

Like most things in life, there are few things to think about when ordering a banner for an event. For starters, if the banner will be carried in a parade, how tall the carriers are in relationship to the height of the banner needs some thought.

How the banner will be used and for how long will dictate the substrate or, the material, of which the banner is made. If the banner is for one-time use such as an indoor press conference or other short-term indoor use a lighter, banner paper that is less expensive is fine. However, if the banner will be used in multiple parades and/or hung up for long-term viewing after use, then you have other things to consider as well.

A heavier, more durable substrate such as a 13oz vinyl banner material is recommended for multiple uses to withstand foldings/rollings and “trunk abuse”. If the banner will be hung in a window, an Ultraviolet (UV) laminate should be considered to prevent fading of the colors.

When a banner is to be used for a parade, we generally engineer horizontal “pole pockets” across the top and bottom. A pole that is roughly two feet longer than the banner is wide is inserted, making a comfortable carrying handle. We recommend PVC pipe as it’s lightweight and inexpensive yet strong enough to offer the support you want.

Sometimes people ask for vertical pole pockets at each end with an opening at the bottom and the pocket sewn shut at the top. The problem with this is that the banner carriers must remain a specific distance apart to keep the banner tight through the whole parade. It’s harder to do than it sounds and can make an otherwise enjoyable parade walk, miserable. The horizontal pockets are much easier to deal with.

The reason for the bottom horizontal pocket is to prevent the wind from blowing the banner either forward or back rendering it unreadable. We’ve found that a length of PCV pipe, that measures the width of the banner, with a couple end caps works great. You fill the pipe with sand, cap the ends and insert it into the bottom pole pocket giving it enough weight to remain stationary even if the wind blows.

If the banner will be hung after a parade, you’ll also want to have it manufactured with grommets that will give you more hanging options. We usually place grommets every two to three feet depending on the banner size. Anything over three feet high we usually put a grommet in the middle of each side as well.

For storage, rolling a banner is preferred to folding when your substrate is vinyl or paper. In cases where you have a digitally printed image on fabric, then folding is fine.

Once again, make sure the banner is short enough that the people carrying it in the parade can hold it about chest high without the bottom of the banner touching the ground.

Giving a little thought to your application, use and duration of use can produce a functional banner that looks great!

How to create raving fans of your business, in 5 easy steps!

Jun 20

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Ok, I admit it. I am a raving fan of one of my suppliers.

I tell my friends and colleagues about them.

I have referred dozens of people to them.

I have used them several times, and plan to use them again.

Ashop Commerce is a leading provider of hosted shopping cart software. They offer a complete solution for merchants to sell online.

I ordered my first Ashop after taking advantage of the 10 day free trial (enough time to set up a fully functioning ecommerce site), shortly after I ordered my second, third, and recently the fourth.

So how has Ashop made such a raving fan of me, and what can we learn from them?

1. AFFORDABILITY – Ashop’s shopping cart software is affordable. They charge enough to make a profit, but they know their market place, and where they fit. They know that although you can get free open source shopping carts, some of us are willing to pay for quality.

Lesson – know your market, and what makes an affordable price. Make a good profit, but offer value to make your product affordable

2. EASE OF USE - Anyone can set up an Ashop shopping cart. A quick look at the testimonial page on Ashop’s site is proof of that.

Lesson – Make it mind numbingly simple to deal with you!

3. CUSTOMER SERVICE Ashop bent over backwards to help me succeed. It’s not just ecommerce software, it’s the full service. The last time you contacted your ISP, did you talk to an answering machine, or a real human?

I have never had a business say to me, “Our customer service is pretty bad” Everyone says they offer great service, but how many actually do?

Lesson – Offer genuine great service. Don’t just pay lip service in a contrived mission statement.

4. BE AN EXPERT - I found Ashop by searching for “Shopping cart software” in Google. Guess who was #1 position in the world?

If I want to create an ecommerce website, I want to be shown how to do it by an SEO expert, right?

Lesson – Your customers want solutions to their problems. An expert will get more business than the amateur, and they charge more!

5. OFFER THE TOTAL SOLUTION - Ashop offer a total package. The shopping cart software is just the start.

Lesson – You can’t be all things to all people, but is there any reason you can’t be all things to your niche?

So, yes I am a raving fan of Ashop Commerce.

What business are you a fan of, and why?

What lessons can you learn from them?

Affordable Ecommerce
Comprehensive web based system
Level the playing field online!
www.ashop.com.au

Nurturing creativity…..

Jun 10

Posted by Bren Ryan in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Well, I guess not much got done that afternoon, but I bet there is never any bad ideas there…. Read the rest of this entry »

Better Idea Generation Look Beyond The First Right Idea

Jun 3

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 3 Comments

I walked into the office of my Chiropractor/Acupuncturist and signed in. There on the desk were three pens. One looked like a syringe, another was a crooked pen and the third looked like a bone.

“What are these,” I asked, knowing full well they were pens.

“They’re pens,” the doctor replied. ” I’m trying to decide which one to promote my practice with. What do you think?

It took me a minute to respond. I was dismayed that someone was trying to sell him such cliché’ ideas. Who ever this someone was, had little understanding of the good doctor or his practice. I was also a little irritated that he hadn’t called me in the first place.

“Let me guess,” I said, holding up the syringe pen. “Our patients love it when we needle them.”

“Yeah,” he blurted out in amazement.

I held up the crooked pen and said, “We’ll get you back on the straight and narrow.”

“Well, yeah,” he exclaimed.

I picked up the bone-shaped pen and said, “The imprint involves the phrase no bones about it.”

The doctor came to the sudden realization that the ideas he thought were so clever only moments before, were neither clever or original.

“You’re always talking about blood flow, energy flow and balance, that’s your message.” I said. “So when it comes to your promotional marketing, why is your message suddenly bones, needles and crookedness?”

I told him if he wanted ideas that supported his message and what he was really about, we’d have to look beyond the obvious.

Too often people stop after the first idea they develop when searching for creative ideas to promote their business, event or brand. And while the first idea may indeed make sense, these ideas are usually cliché and tired. But by digging deeper, better promotional marketing ideas can be discovered. The key in this case is to focus not on the “tools of the trade” such as needles and bones, but to focus on the philosophy of the doctor: balance and flow.

Several promotional marketing ideas came to mind. Imprinted mugs and imprinted packets of tea with multiple tea bags inside. Patients could think of the doctor numerous times when they enjoy the tea. And, he can always offer them more tea bags on return visits, reminding patients to share with a friend.

Mugs make great sense for doctors and other medical professionals. They serve as a nice handout to first-time patients. But often their real promotional marketing value becomes evident when a few mugs are stored at the local florist. When the doctor learns of a patient illness, an arrangement is created and delivered in the doctor’s imprinted mug. This also works great for congratulatory events.

As far as pens go, there are pens that contain a liquid with a custom float inside. As the liquid flows back and forth, the logo or some other icon flows back and forth as well. A blood flow or energy flow message is now appropriate.

Stretching is also an important part of a Chiropractic therapy regime. So an exercise band might fill the bill.

Then I thought of bandannas. Bandannas are being used creatively in a broad range of venues. Festivals, communities and businesses are printing maps, schedules and take out menus on them. Along that line, a Chiropractor or Acupuncturist can imprint a map of the body on a bandanna. The map could show how and where an imbalance creates pain. Or I could show acupuncture points and to what part of the body those points relate.

Thinking creatively is something that can be learned.

There are two books I discovered early in my career that have been especially helpful in generating new and better ideas for my clients. The books, both by Roger von Oech, are, “A Whack On The Side Of The Head” and “A Kick In The Seat of The Pants”.

As for the Chiropractor? We co-branded a body-map themed bandanna with other businesses such as a fitness center, a drug store and a massage therapist to offset the higher cost of the item.

Perfect! Creative, relevant, useful and affordable promotional marketing.

Artistic Genius – Leonardo daVinci

May 30

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development | No Comments

Our society is moving toward a view of artistic genius that is both new and old. It is new in the sense that truly incredible tools and technologies are now available for creative work. It is old because our present view of the artist’s place in society has much more in common with the Middle Ages or the Renaissance than with the 19th or early 20th centuries.

To make this clear, and to help you connect with the creative elements in your own character , which you may or may not have recognized in the past , our focus in this session is on a true genius who really exemplified the times in which he lived. Leonardo da Vinci, along with Michelangelo, is generally recognized as the quintessential artist of the Renaissance.

Here at the start of the 21st century, we are getting rid of the idea that a creative person is someone who wears a beret and lives in a garret. The model of the isolated artist will not work anymore. In this sense, Leonardo is probably much more relevant to the circumstance of your life than you might think.

Leonardo was born in the small Italian town of Vinci, in the year 1452. He began life with certain obvious advantages, and some disadvantages. His father was a rather wealthy country gentleman. His mother, however, was a servant girl whom his father had no intention of marrying. In later life, he would describe himself as a “man with no education.”

When he was about 14 years old, Leonardo was sent to Florence to become an apprentice in the studio of a prominent artist. The artist’s name was Andrea del Verrocchio, and he was both a painter and a sculptor. Leonardo learned a lot from this first master. And around 1470, after being with Verrocchio for about four years, Leonardo got a big break. He was assigned to paint an angel in the corner of one of Verrocchio’s major commissioned works. According to legend, when Verrocchio saw the angel he realized it was infinitely better than the rest of the painting. In fact, it was so much better than anything Verrocchio had ever done that he gave up painting forever, right then and there. This legend may or may not be true, but the young artist from the countryside was definitely on his way.

Right now, as the most basic element of modeling artistic genius, I would like you to recognize exactly what artistic genius is. It is simply taking a picture that is in your heart and using some medium to move it into the hearts of other people. It does not matter what that picture is, and — at least initially — it does not matter how technically adept you are with the medium you have chosen.

Leonardo had incredible technical skill. His ability for drawing and sculpture was truly superhuman, and he was extremely adept at the mechanical and engineering tasks demanded by large-scale creative work.

Your artistic genius does not have to be in the fields of drawing of sculpting; it does not even have to be technical. Your skill is in whatever attracts you, whatever moves you to express your creativity, even if it is just another form of personal expression that you do not intend to show anyone else.

From business to BUSINESS! See it and believe.

May 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | 2 Comments

Here’s a thought – Imagine two years down the track (visualise clearly now) that you have a business that is running itself, and people call you saying how brilliant the staff are, the range of services is to die for and they love the level of service they get! You drop in to the office every now and then and tele commute. Your income is worth the effort you took to build the business.

Now ask yourself,

  • What do the clients look like?
  • How much will they spend with you per year?
  • How many of them are needed to take the business to this level?
  • How do you beat the competition hands down every time with exceptional ease?
  • What sorts of exceptional people have you poached, and recruited (attitudes, personality, looks etc…?)
  • What sort of office or work set up is everyone working in that sets the standard and then some!?
  • How come the systems they use are so elegant?
  • How is it that your business attracts all the right attention and is seen as a ‘darling’ by the media, in fact they chase you for stories!?
  • Why is it that prospects become customers with such ease and then on to clients and raving fans about the business in no time at all?
  • How is it that your business rewards the staff so handsomely they do not want to leave, they in fact are head hunted and refuse to leave.
  • What is it about the way your team market the companies services that they have no challenges recruiting new prospects and influencing them to becomes customers…?
  • What personality, attitudinal and energy changes would you need to alter to ensure all of the above can come to fruition?

What does all of this look like… REALLY, imagine it, visualise it, develop a plan, a five year strategy perhaps based on the above… Then break it into achievable chunks.

Are there other questions you can add to the list to make the picture clearer, stronger, brighter, bolder, better….

Dare to dream, dare to live, dare to strive for the highest, dare to step outside of your comfort zones, dare to be the best, and then better that, dare to set bold goals, dare to be the one that makes powerful differences in the lives of those around you by setting incredible standards.

Don’t just sit there, Grab a pen and some paper create a plan and make the world yours, consider it like a bud about to bloom, and when that ones is finished there is another and another just coming into bloom! and watch as bees come and take the pollen and your flowers become the pick of the crop for the bees…

The business of business can be a tricky road to traverse, but with the right attitude, mindset, skills and ability you too can make it a golden one.

So, are you a dream builder?

May 25

Posted by Bren Ryan in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 3 Comments

Businesses help to build a $1 Million dream…

A 22 year old entrepreneur aims to make $1 Million whilst bed bound with a dislocated hip and small businesses are helping out. Richard Stratton came up with the theonebigad.com business web site whilst bed bound with a dislocated hip. He plans to use the money to promote his start up company and to provide one other company with the ultimate advertising budget of $250,000.

Free Business Tips.com.au has decided to come to his aid. I found the entrepreneur while surfing the net for business information. I saw Richard’s plight and thought why not help out and see what was possible?

Richard, who is funding his company himself, by working part time jobs, says he didn’t want to borrow more on top of his university debts.

While in bed with a dislocated hip, he decided to teach himself web design. Richard set out to create a site he had been thinking about for a while and to ultimately generate some money which would pay for his living expenses and help his business venture for which he could do little else due to his dislocation.

Richard explained the concept of theonebigad.com, “advertisers submit a banner for $10. Once 100,000 banner places have been sold one business is selected at random to receive The One Big Ad, the ultimate advertising budget of $250,000.” providing the potential for a television advert on a major network, not to mention all the press attention that would go with it.

To encourage initial sales the first 500 banner entrants will have their banners displayed on a page on theonebigad.com site.

Asked what he will do with the money raised, Richard said, “I hope to make my company as successful as possible, it’s something I have dreamt about for years and I will do anything to make it a reality. Although my dislocated hip seemed like a major setback, maybe thanks to theonebigad.com it will actually end up being a bonus in a somewhat painful disguise!”

Frankly, I don’t expect to make a lot of sales from our ads on Richard’s site, but that’s not the point. The point is he has come up with a good idea, and he has put it out there to have a go. I like that.

And if I can contribute a small amount to help build a dream? Why not?

Great Service Is Its Own Reward

May 23

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, The Customer Service Dept | 1 Comment

Some times it’s too Easy to see the bad stuff in customer service, so now lets use this as motivation to get really good at customer service.

Ask…

  • What does our team do at the first greeting of a prospect? (imagine a retail environment).
  • What do they do BEFORE the first greeting (customer is looking in the window, about to walk in…) do your people appear friendly from a distance, through the window, as they approach the prospect?
  • How do they build the professional relationship with the prospect, and then the customer. What do they do to thrill the customer with readily repeatable service standards.
  • How do they go with capturing info for a mail out from every customer (and how does your business handle that too?)
  • How effective are they at portraying a radiant positive glow that is elegantly and fantastically infectious (YES INFECTIOUS!!!!) so that customers are UPLIFTED as they depart the store.

Some call it Blow Them Away Facilitation BTAF, the thought is they should be bown away with the level of excellence in service they got, and even more blown away that it is repeatable.

I was in a training situation for a franchise 18 months ago and found although the company put forward the impression they were big on service they did not include any customer service info in the weeks long training… so it became a thing the franchisees had to develop themselves.

So how is your service, and the team that serves, what’s in writing, what do you expect and what do they deliver. If you ask old hands in the business for feedback on this one they will say we do okay, then ask “Compared to what, or who?” while they are stumped give them a kick in the shins, just as a wake up call…

Now, make your service brilliant. Then be prepared for the hoardes of fabulous customers that will follow!

Nimble Business

May 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

There’s talk from time to time about business being too top heavy, too greedy, too much aimed at getting bigger, too much emphasis on global markets. All of that happens and a range of studies and anecdotal evidence shows that bigger is often not better, in fact it can be like a person with too much weight, they can not move fast enough to be of much concern to anyone that wants to rush by them to get to new markets, develop new products and get scores on the board more readily.It seems there is a critical mass that takes a business to the next level and onwards, to me the idea would be to create businesses that can identify that level, get to it and use solid business principles to make it sustainable and nimble.

It also seems that with the pace of change businesses that thrived 30 years ago, seem unable to embrace change and move with the times, if a manufacturing business started in this country 30 years back, but has now moved off shore to cheaper labour based countries and organisations then so be it.

So what’s the answer, business is changing, things are moving faster and the old-fashioned sustainability model of a business lasting 30+ years is fading fast. Take a look at business today, someone starts up a business, they create some marketing, figure out the compliance and legal issues, arrange finance and away they go. The thing is people are doing that over and over each day there are a million businesses that set up the same things (or very close to it). What if we were able to reproduce a core business structure that could handle the main similar functions of a business then run the main part of the business off that core?

Its basically called outsourcing, some business incubators do it, where they offer a business (usually a small one person show) a serviced office arrangement, phones answered, copying done, IT infrastructure etc. So what if it was done on a larger scale to ensure sustainability and then each business could get on with the task of doing what they do best. Then unlike some incubators that throw the business out to run on their own, what if they remained with that business to assist in its growth to critical mass.

Seeing drawbacks? Of course! It would not suit every business and in fact most businesses would probably prefer to do it their way (a sense of power and control) however the challenge with that is too many businesses fail in the first 12 months. And more don’t make it in the next five years and so on.

The idea is no doubt fraught with challenges, however if the model could prevent business failures, provide core strength, allow fast operational changes on the run, provide the skills and ability to get to critical mass earlier then that would surely be a saving, no, in fact it would probably

Hats Off to a Great Aussie Entrepreneur – Dick Smith

May 7

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

I Just watched a very compelling and inded  inspiring  interview on TV, (Talking Heads ABC TV May 7th) with the legendary Australian entrepreneur and businessman Dick Smith. At age 62 he has achieved more than many would consider doing in two lifetimes, let alone one.

For those overseas (and those locals who may have forgotten.) Dick and his wife Pip have set up a range of enterprises and done some amazing adventures, here are just a few…

  • Helicopter and fixed wing pilot
  • Publisher of Australian Geographic
  • Created Dick Smith Foods – Dick Smith Electronics (now turning over $1billion per year – started out with $610!)
  • Has been ballooning
  • Raced a solar car
  • Flew around the world in his helicopter – flew around Mt Everest and soon to do K2 (the second highest peak in the world)
  • Generally an all round champion of good causes, able to give generously to charities etc.

A few of the things he said that could be useful to other business people.

  • “Pull great ideas together and make them work” – Seek out great things and copy them, improvise adapt and overcome to make them better where you can.
  • “A fair go is probably the most important ethos we can have as Australians” – Giving and creating fairer opportunities for others and ourselves.
  • “Always have a head for adventure” – Dick was a boy scout and often went ‘walkabout’ finding lizards etc in the bush, on business he says this helped him develop goals and the desire for goals.

Dick is a great Australian and has certainly achieved a great deal in his 62 years on the planet, and hopefully some of his adventurous vigour will rub off onto others so they explore powerful positive goals, what about you?

3 Tragic Mistakes of Green Marketing

Apr 28

Posted by Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero in Innovation and Creativity, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

When I say “green” I am talking about the environmentally conscious consumer, also called “Cultural Creatives” or the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) market which includes about 50 million people. If you are trying to reach them, ya gotta go green. They are all about a better lifestyle for the planet over the long haul. They are interested in the environment, personal development, health, alternative therapies, and a sustainable economy. This growing market is relatively untapped. But like Marie Antoinette many marketers rush in and lose their heads. While there are many errors committed make when trying to reach that sector, these are the three worst mistakes made.

Mistake #1: Dull, boring headlines.
It’s hard to keep awake long enough to read the copy in those boring magazines and websites. Headlines like: “Make an impression and you can change the world” “Healthy. Happy. For Real” or “A Natural Partnership”…yawn.
Look – The job of the headline is to cut through the clutter and grab your attention. We are exposed to more advertising in one day than our grandparents use to get in an entire year. You’ve got your work cut out for you if you want to address anybody, and it starts with the headline. Stick with the tried and true attention-grabbing formulas. (Need help? Check out this cool software at www.redhotcopy.com/instantheadlines.com)

Mistake #2: Ignoring long copy.
I know you like to “think” the LOHAS market is just too smart for all that long copy. After all they are made up of wealthy CEOs and soccer moms. Don’t be ridiculous. They are a very educated segment of the population which means they make informed decisions. Just like anybody, when it comes down to making a buying decision, LOHAS want all the facts. Long copy continues to prevail because it WORKS. Now long copy for the sake of being long is plain stupid. You want copy that overcomes objections, makes a solid case, and answers all the questions in the prospect’s mind.

Mistake #3: Not capitalizing on celebrity endorsement.
Ed Begley Jr. is a fixture in Studio City where I live. He has been known to ride his bike to work way before it was cool to look at alternative fuel options. Now he has launched his own environmentally safe cleaning products called Begley’s Best. Ed’s endorsement means something. If you tie a celebrity to a green product, it means instant credibility so you have a much better chance of succeeding in the LOHAS market.
Remember, you can market to the green folks, using many of the same marketing principles you would use for the regular Joe. Come from an authentic position and be respectful. Soon they’ll be showing you the green.

Be Street Smart Every Day

Apr 25

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development | No Comments

Because street smarts are so important to every part of your life, here is a quick review of the major elements that go into street smarts. Print this list out and keep it with you, for a regular reminder to be street smart every day.

I. Heightened Awareness

A. Trust your intuition
B. Develop perceptiveness and ability to anticipate
C. Size up people quickly and accurately
D. See the big picture

II. Confidence

A. Fake it till you make it
B. Use chutzpa when necessary
C. Believe in yourself – Be confident

III. Healthy Skepticism

A. Don’t believe everything you see and hear
B. Be hard to take advantage of
C. Use your “mental categories” and generalizations to keep you on guard
D. Give people the time and rope to either hang themselves or prove their integrity/sincerity

IV. Resourcefulness

A. Think quickly on your feet
B. Be persistent
C. Be prepared
D. Be flexible
E. Change your surroundings or adapt
F. Surround yourself with experts & contacts

V. Risk-taking

A. Be willing to take risks
B. Minimize the possible down side
C. Cut your losses and get out if you’re wrong
D. Learn by your mistakes

Creating A Value-Focused Company

Apr 10

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

Our primary focus is to work with our clients to grow the value of their businesses. It is the value of the business which ultimately delivers wealth and returns to business owners and shareholders.

From a business valuation perspective, there are a number of factors which will influence the value of your business, some of those being:

  • Earnings track record – that is, the ability to deliver sustained financial performance
  • Industry growth
  • Competitive marketplace & your share of the market
  • Customer value, acquisition and retention
  • Product/service attractiveness
  • Ease of operation of your business – inbuilt procedures and systems
  • People – employees, owners, managers
  • Location
  • Assets

It will be far easier to start focusing on those influencers of business value now, than further down the track when you are thinking of selling your business, or a share of it to an investor.

Outside of the financial drivers, there are 3 key drivers of business value which can have pretty much an 80/20 impact on the value of your business. That is, if you focus on these drivers they will create 80% of the value in your business, and the other factors will take care of the remaining 20%.

The 3 drivers which will really build the value of your company are:

  1. Real growth potential
  2. A team that delivers
  3. An enduring competitive advantage

If you take the 80/20 approach again, you will get 80% of your results if you focus on a few key components of each of these value drivers:

Real Growth Potential
The creation of real market growth potential can come when you:

  • Get in early to a growing market
    eg: mortgage choice brokers
  • Take market share from incumbent suppliers
    eg: B2B (Dell), B2C (Pepsi)
  • Duplicate your business model
    eg: Franchise, license, new markets
  • Find & own a niche
    eg: Apple Mac – schools, designers, iPods
  • Develop demonstrable growth paths for customers/clients
    eg: Banks – cards, savings accounts, business accounts, mortgages, loans, overdrafts, second cards, etc etc.
  • Expand your market (scope)
  • Market diversification (eg: alcoholic drinks into soft drinks)

A team that delivers

  • A team that delivers is one that can execute the business strategy and take the company closer to its vision.
  • There are many models of leadership, team empowerment and motivation, and creating high performance teams.
  • The 3C model is one which advocates that leaders need to Challenge their team, build Confidence, and Coach them.
  • Building a Culture which attracts the right sort of people to your organisation is also important.
  • Attracting, inspiring, challenging and mentoring also have their roots in the vision a company has for its future, its purpose and its values.

These are all fundamental foundations in building a team that can deliver results and build value into the organisation.

An enduring competitive advantage

  • Common references are to ‘sustainable’ competitive advantage, but you can’t ‘set and forget’ your competitive advantage. In order for your market competitiveness to endure, it needs to be based on innovation, adherence to the discipline of adding value to customers, and understanding market dynamics.
  • Some of the ways to create exciting growth potential, outlined above, also result in enduring competitive advantage. Think of the most enduring competitive advantage example of all: McDonalds.

Focus on how to create real growth potential for your organisation, how to build a team that delivers, and how to create an enduring competitive advantage, and you will have created a highly competitive value-focused company.

Can thoughts really create your future?

Apr 2

Posted by Debbie Carr in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

You bet! Can I create a million dollars by sitting on my backside and meditating each day? No way!

With all the hype about The Secret and the Laws of Attraction, there have been many people jumping on the bandwagon to make a quick buck. All of a sudden there are experts in abundance thinking appearing everywhere. I like to consider myself as one of those people except I am not foolish enough to talk about something I have not experienced results with – and I am talking about in the real world, not some massive internet marketing expert.

In 1987 my late brother told me about affirmations “everything you think becomes your reality” he said. I noticed at the time that when I concentrated my thoughts on happy positive things, I was happy and people smiled at me constantly. I have also experienced the Law of Attraction working its magic in the reverse i.e. whenever I have had doubts about myself and worried, I got more of the things I worried about. If you were to sit back and think about this with regards to your own life, I am sure you would find the same thing.

Let me explain how the Law of Attraction really works. Firstly, words alone won’t change things for you but they will help you feel better, if you constantly think happier and more positive thoughts. Feeling happy is what attracts more into your life of what you want. Feeling bad attracts into your life what you don’t want. Put simply if you concentrate on your doubts, insecurities and your problems you will FEEL terrible, hence you will get more of what you don’t want because that is where your thoughts are focused. Like attracts Like.

Try this experiment for just two weeks. Every time you worry about your business or something that you are not happy about, concentrate on something you would like. Erase all doubts and worry from your mind just concentrate on something you would really like. It’s not easy to do this, you have to make a commitment to yourself and believe in yourself. Whenever you start to feel a doubt you have to erase it immediately and think and visualize of what it feels like to be in the place you really want to be.

What happens when you apply these laws of attraction is; that you start to meet the right people, you start to have creative ideas, you are in the right place at the right time and hence you start to grow your business, your career improves or some other great positive change happens.

I have been to the edge of despair and back many times. Firstly with my brother committing suicide, my marriage failing, being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, finding out one of my other brother’s baby isn’t really his and struggling to build my business which was far harder than I had ever anticipated. There were times I just wanted to walk away from it, when I didn’t want to wake up in the morning, but once I really started using the laws of attraction, things changed dramatically.

I will put this to you in a nutshell. What you worry about makes you feel bad, the bad vibrations attract more of what you don’t want. If you are worrying try and change your thoughts to feeling what it would be like to experience your desire. Maybe you are in business and want it to take off. How does it feel when it has taken off? What do you see? Where are you? How many staff do you employ? Who do you meet with? How many customers do you have?

Please do not be fooled into thinking that you will win the lottery or some miracle will just appear. If you really use these laws, things will happen to you and at first you will think it is coincidence, but you will soon learn that the things are happening because of your own positive mental attitude. This is not some New Age waffle either, it is a proven science.

Some tips to help you stay in an abundance way of thinking:

(1) Write out I AM statements. This is very powerful. For example, I am driving my brand new Peugeot 207cc, green in colour with a black leather interior. I feel the sun’s rays on my face as I drive with the top down. I AM feeling exhilarated and happy, feeling and hearing the wind rush by as I drive up the coastal road, on my way for a week-end in the vineyards . Statements like this are descriptive, and you can FEEL what it is like in your vision.
(2) Have a vision board – get a board and stick pictures of all the things you want and look at it whenever you can. Every time you look, make sure you feel like you already have it.
(3) Jump at opportunity. Once you start using these laws opportunities will be given to you all the time – seize and act on them.
(4) You still have to work at it – $1,000,000 isn’t going to magically appear whilst you are sipping cocktails in the hammock.
(5) Read! Every day, read everything you can on these laws. Try this free e-book to start with As A Man Thinketh
(6) Don’t give up! It’s hard going to keep your thoughts on what you want when the chips are down. Don’t stop.

If you would like to learn more about these laws of attraction visit www.coyote.com.au and go to the motivational products page.

How do I know these Laws work? Here is just one example how it has worked for me. How much do you value your health? If you were diagnosed with a debilitating, incurable disease what would you do? Would you say to yourself “Oh woe is me, I am sick, I can’t work any more, I have an incurable disease”. Or would you, like I did, say “Oh, well I will keep really fit and that disease won’t bother me”. Now you can see how powerful the law of attraction is. I chose the first option.

Creating Employers of Choice.

Apr 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 1 Comment

With a shrinking job market and an aging workforce there are higher levels of competition for workers in the western world than probably at any time in our history.

How then will employers handle this situation and create workplaces, which employees will love to work in, be delighted by the work they do and generally be passionate about their job choice?

It’s easy to be in the outside looking in and offer possibilities to the employer, but in reality tight budgets, limited resources and often seemingly inflexible management practices make this process a challenge to be reckoned with.

Firstly lets take a look at some of the possibilities and then discuss how they might be implemented. Remember that a shrinking workforce means less people to do more of the work, so finding people to tackle these tasks may well be a solid challenge and one that needs dealing with now and not later.

  1. Formal and informal training – From on the job informal training that takes place on a daily basis to formal classroom training, make it useful to the business first up but in time it may be useful to offer the team other personal training that they can focus on without thinking about a job related outcome e.g. personal development training. From the induction program and beyond the aim may be to build a positive sense of belonging in the organisation.
  2. Flexible work hours – Many mature aged workers may not want to work a full time slot, but look to be involved in a workplace on a part time basis so they can enjoy a greater work life balance. With a shrinking workforce, remember they will be looking for the employers that suit them, not the other way around, so the focus then becomes one of lifestyle choice, rather than job choice.
  3. Great Conditions  - After all who wants to work on a place where the toilets need an overhaul, the lunch rooms microwave has formed a biological growth that has not yet been classified and the office is as inviting as a prison cell. It’s simple, and need not be expensive if you can clearly demonstrate that it is a work on progress then you will have a better chance of keeping them on board. Also work on the psychological conditions to ensure they are healthy, inclusive and team oriented to ensure the right people are leading more of the right people to create a legacy of excellence.
  4. Community Minded – At the top end this is could be a company offering staff for free, while they pay them, or a big donation to a community group. On a smaller scale it could be supporting a community venture by al putting in small donations and measuring the results. This sense of connectedness indicates a caring approach to the wider community and not just a profit-taking grab by management. Often staff look for a sustainable approach being taken by your business so they can feel their normal job is making a positive impact on the community.
  5. Clear Values – All organisations have values (things they care about) some know them intimately and publish them; others have them but don’t know it. Discover the things that are important and find ways to explore them with the team and bring them to fruition in a way that counts for the team.
  6. Develop a Sense of Ownership – Involve the team in discussions on how the organisation is going, what should be in the business and or strategic plan. Consider 360-degree feedback loops to develop things further. When they are “Co-owners” they are less likely to walk away. Other possibilities can include surveys and focus groups, peer support, buddy systems and the like.
  7. Rewarding Work – Probably the most obvious point of the lot. It can be easy to give a person a job and walk away, but if you take a coaching or mentoring role with the person you can assist them to have input into developing the role so they can have a solid sense of fulfillment.

So that’s the list, NOTE I have not listed wage rises as an incentive device for staff. Researchers have often found that productivity goes up for a while and the effect often fades in time. Also this is not a definitive list, but intended as a starting point for your organisation to build from. With the above points, may I suggest you take the headings and jot down bullet point ideas on how you might develop each of these to suit your business situation. Of course you will have involved the team in this process, so getting ideas on how to implement them should be just as easy as involving them.

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