Lost Opportunities

I walked into a large used furniture store recently looking for an antique bureau. I had never heard of this store and just happened to drive by. A man in his 50's, who appeared to be the owner, was doing work on his computer and briefly glanced up. I looked around the store for a few minutes and left shaking my head. There was nobody else in the store and part of the reason was obvious. The service was terrible and the store was boring and dull. There wasn't any music playing and the walls were bare.

This man lost a multitude of business opportunities by being complacent. A passionate business owner with powerful marketing skills would run this business different. Here is what a masterful marketer, like your self, would do:

• Get out of your seat and greet customers with warm smiles.
• Offer coffee and a doughnut, pastry, Glacier Ice Cream, etc.
• Try to strike up conversations with the intention of discovering commonalities.
  
• Ask customers if they are looking for anything specific. If they aren't, keep an eye on them and tell them to feel free to ask any questions.
• Offer to call a competitor for items you do not stock. A network of used furniture stores that cooperate can be very effective. New furniture stores are also competition to used furniture stores. I wound up buying a new bureau.
• Offer a $20 off your next visit coupon in exchange for the customers email information. Keep a database of items customers are looking for and send out periodic offers through email newsletters.
• Have music and wall decorations in the store. You should also sell everything displayed on the walls.
  
• Give your customers coupons for a 10%-20% premium when they sell use furniture to the store.
  
• Market heavily at and around the local university that has over 10,000 students move in and out each year. (None of the over ten used furniture stores in Boulder do this)
• Do fusion marketing with other used item businesses like clothing stores, bicycle stores, and home furnishing stores. You can network, offer coupons, and put small displays in co-operating businesses.
• Establish relationships with local landlords and property management companies.
• Put furniture displays outside your store on sunny days.
• When your customers are completely satisfied with everything you offer, hand out special offer coupons to give their friends. You can even make it more beneficial for customers. Offer $100 in free merchandise for each $500 in business that the coupons generate.

You have control of your destiny. Ignorance is not an excuse. Struggling entrepreneurs can either wallow in their misery or do something about it. There is an endless source of free marketing information on the web or you can hire a professional marketing consultant to help you regain your dream. This is your moment. Create a profitable business that is the perfect reflection of you.

Playing With Reality

It is human nature to question everything. Sometimes life is like driving a car: always adjusting to stay on the road. As a small business owner, you need to step back and occasionally evaluate the direction you are heading.

It is extremely important that you remain emotionally detached when you analyze your own business and solicit feedback. This can be very difficult. Small business owners can be a proud and cocky bunch.

Here are some suggestions for getting solid unbiased opinions about what people really think about your business and the way you run it:

• Ask your customers for advice on how you can better satisfy them and how you can enhance what you offer.
• Ask your employees how you can improve your business. Let them speak openly and encourage negative feedback.
• Give a small gift to customers that fill out a customer survey. Ask open ended questions on the survey and allow anonymous comments.
• Ask friends and relatives what they would do different if they owned the business. You will receive more honest feedback with this approach because it is an impersonal approach.
  
• Form a leads group or mastermind group of outstanding business people in your community. Successful business owners will be more likely to give and less likely to be offended by constructive criticism.
• Offer a comment box on your website and in your store.

A positive attitude is mandatory when you evaluate the feedback you receive. Suck it up, roll up your sleeves, and get to work on improving your livelihood.

"A smart businessperson is one who makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes it again. A wise businessperson is one who finds a smart businessperson and learns from him how to avoid the mistakes he made". Jim Abrams

Ben Franklin on Driving

"Drive thy business or it will drive thee”. Ben Franklin

Wisdom is timeless. Ben Franklin touches upon an enormous problem many small business owners face: being a slave to your business.

I am a firm believer in spending as much time as humanly possible in your business during the first year of operation. But don’t fall into the trap of taking on all your business’ tasks because you feel that you do the job best. This situation is like entrepreneurial quicksand. The harder you work, the harder it is to get out.


It is imperative that you outsource and train employees to take over any task that is not of major importance. This will help accelerate the growth of your business. Once you’ve become established, you can then grow your business by doing tasks that increase existing sales and bring in new customers. Below is a list of suggestions to help you outsource and delegate more tasks to employees:

• Train your employees thoroughly using a training guide.
• Make checklists for your workers to fill out during their shifts. Individuals on shifts with multiple employees should initial checklists instead of just checking off tasks. This forces your employees to take personal responsibility for incomplete tasks.
• Do extremely important tasks yourself. Delegate and check on moderately important tasks. Delegate menial jobs.
• Keep a suggestion and complaint box in stores. Your customers will let you know quickly if your employees are not doing a good job.
• Hire a bookkeeper and accountant if you can afford to.
• Screen sales calls and have your employees take detailed messages.
• Give your most reliable employees management roles.
• Hire trustworthy and personable employees.
• Give out your cell phone number to potential and important customers. This allows you to be away from your business and still receive important calls.
• Use email and text communication for trivial issues.
• Use your website as a resource and sales tool. Answer frequently asked questions.

Take personal responsibility for growing your own business. Analyze your business on a regular basis. Can you develop more outside sales? Do you network in your community? Are you developing relationships that can lead to future sales? Is your web site up to date? Business success starts with you taking control of your own destiny. Do something extraordinary today.

Fusion Marketing

We small-business owners are usually hard working, independent people. Unfortunately, that mindset often prevents us from asking for, as the Beatles said, "a little help from our friends.”

One of the most powerful small business marketing techniques is called ‘Fusion Marketing’. Fusion marketing is cooperative marketing with non-competing businesses that share similar types of customers. Each business markets its products or services with its partners.

For example, Glacier Ice Cream in Boulder, Colorado has made fusion marketing arrangements with two local pizza shops. Glacier sells wholesale pints of ice cream to Sun Deli and Skinny Jays. The pizza restaurants put Glacier coupons on pizza boxes. In return, Sun Deli and Skinny Jays display their menus in Glacier’s stores.

Write down a list of businesses that have the same type of customers as your business. Brainstorm ideas on how your businesses can work together to attract each other’s customers. Some businesses are natural fits to work with each other. Here are a couple of ideas:

• Business coaches- Marketers, bankers, accountants, bookkeepers, and advertisers.
  
• Caterers- Photographers, florists, musicians, and event centers.
  
• Real estate agents- Builders, bankers, handymen, painters, plumbers, and mortgage brokers.
• Personal trainers-Message therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, yoga instructors, and martial arts studios.
• Furniture stores-Real estate agents, builders, movers, and carpet stores.

The idea behind fusion marketing is for independent business owners to work together to help each other out with marketing and referrals. You can take it a step further and hold regular meetings to discuss new ideas and co-marketing opportunities. Join your local chamber of commerce to network with fellow local business owners. Make the synergy of local businesses working together a powerful force in your community.

Information Overload Part 2

Judging by yesterday's responses, it seems as though many of you also have issues with easily accessing information you have read or filed. And, unless you have a photographic memory, it is important to organize a workable retrieval system for that information. I have been working on a system that is very time consuming, but will be an incredible resource once I am finished.

I have an extensive library of business, marketing, and persuasion books, as well as a file of relevant magazine and newspaper articles. I have always underlined key points and made notes in all of my books and I never sell a good book.

For the last year, I have spent hundreds of hours putting my notes in an electronic format using a couple of software programs; Stickies and Microsoft Word. Stickies is an electronic version of Post It Notes that exists on your computer desktop. I cut and paste relevant Internet information and put the source at the end of a numbered point. I also add my underlined book and magazine notes to the files. I then back up the files on an Internet storage site.

Once I finish summarizing the book points and my paper files, I will pay an assistant to break down the points even further into subcategories. I am doing this because I might have an idea under two or more categories. The beauty of this is that I will have my own easily accessible electronic files for articles, blogs, newsletters, books, etc.

You are fooling yourself if you think you can easily recall everything that you have learned in your reading and research. We are in a revolutionary period where an almost infinite amount of information is available with the press of a button. Those of us that can summarize valuable information and put it in an easy to use format will own an information goldmine. Combine this with excellent copy writing and solid business practices and you will be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.

P.S Feel free to offer suggestions for simplifying my system. There are numerous people that responded that have a similar need to save valuable information. JC had a great idea to create a software program to help organize different categories of information. I really think a program like that can be a huge seller.

Information Overload

Our brains are suffering from information overload. It is like a 24/7 carnival of electronic stimulation. Don’t let the valuable information pass you by. Start an electronic file system that keeps track of all of your most important information and ideas.

I currently keep electronic files on marketing ideas, persuasion techniques, valuable websites, quotes, negotiating tips, business ideas, and more. In six months' time, I have referenced over 3,000 pieces of information from close to 20 years of files and books. This information will be invaluable once it is indexed in a more accessible manner. I encourage you to start doing the same.

“The object of education isn't knowledge, it’s action” Thomas Kempis

Making a sale without selling

ser⋅en⋅dip⋅i⋅ty

Making a desirable discovery by accident.

I just had an epiphany after reading an informative article from kevinhogan.com. The article was about dealing with people’s preconceived notions when making sales. This was where my serendipity occurred. Two days earlier, I had picked up two wholesale accounts by doing one simple thing.

I was emailed by a potential wholesale client from Denver who had found out about us from a web search. Instead of calling him back, I told him to check out our Yelp reviews and gave him my phone number.

One hour later, his girlfriend called me on the phone. She asked me a couple of basic questions. I started to tell her about our products but she interrupted.

 “Don’t bother, we want to use you,” she said.

She said her boyfriend had checked Yelp and was so impressed with the reviews that he immediately knew we were the right company for him.

I was thrilled about the account, but my brain must have been on autopilot. I had a Homer Simpson moment – the reason for my sale did not occur to me until I read the Kevin Hogan article. It was serendipity. My current customers had helped create a future sale.

Most of you would say that it is common sense to use references, testimonials, reviews, etc. The problem is, knowledge is worthless unless we utilize it. Twenty-four out of 27 of my Yelp reviews are five stars, but I have never utilized this for marketing.

Ask your best customers for testimonials. Check online comments or reviews of your products or services. Use this information to pre-sell what you offer. Put it in your marketing materials, website, and advertisements.  The buzz created by your current customers will send a powerful message to future ones.

 

 

 

Don’t read this post if you are easily offended

The potential for persuasion can be lost at the drop of a word. Mention a controversial issue and many people become so offended that they can’t focus on the overall message, whatever it may be. This is very common in politics. It drives people to vote based on a candidate’s stand on single issues like abortion, taxation, or the death penalty.

I have an opinion that is so controversial in my community, I will not talk about it in my ice cream stores. I will share it with you at the end of the post because I fear that if I tell you now, my overall message may be lost.

Building a rapport with your customers is important, yet there are some things you shouldn’t discuss. Religion is one of them. For instance, if you were a salesperson, this joke would probably be a bad idea. But for our purposes, it’s worth the laugh.

Warning: If anyone is offended by the following, feel free to substitute Rabbi, Imam, Father, Tom Cruise, or whoever for the role of priest.

One beautiful sunny day, a priest and his church’s web designer, John, go out for a round of golf for the very first time.

John tees up on the first hole and takes a huge swing. Whiff.

“%%@ damn it, I missed,” screams John.

The priest looks at the web designer and says, “I am a man of the cloth, please don’t talk that way.”

John apologizes profusely.

John slowly approaches the ball, takes another huge swing, and misses.

“%%@ damn it,” he screams.

The priest lowers his head and says, “You cannot take the lord’s name in vain. If you say that one more time, there will be a problem.”

The web designer shakes his head and approaches the ball for the third time. He takes a slow, deliberate swing and misses again. He holds his breath and starts to turn red. Finally, he can’t take it anymore and screams.

“%%@ damn it.”

The priest immediately drops to his knees and starts to pray. Dark clouds roll in. The previously sunny sky turns grey. Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt flashes from the sky and turns the priest to ashes.

From the sky comes a booming voice.

“%%@ damn it, I missed.”

I have a bad habit of sometimes talking without thinking. I also have a good habit of analyzing impartially what I have said, what I read, and life in general. I woke up this morning thinking of a blog I read last night. My Internet friend, Duane, wrote a very entertaining and informative blog about hype.

What I remembered most about the blog was Duane’s opinion that sushi is dangerous. I looked back over the blog and found some great points. The problem in my frail human mind was that Duane made what I felt was an incorrect statement that I could not get out of my head. It clouded my memory of the post.

For the record, health codes in the U.S require sushi to be frozen at extremely low temperatures to destroy harmful organisms. I respect all opinions and do not get offended by different points of view. The problem is, my brain’s initial reaction isn’t always so fair.

You must consider how customers react to the statements we make about controversial issues. I do not consider sushi controversial. Abortion, politics, and global warming can be.

Now I will share with you the viewpoint that I cannot utter within 100 yards of any of my stores.

I do not believe that mankind caused global warming. I do believe in almost all of the steps being taken to reduce global warming, but I feel that the planet has more immediate problems, namely those resulting from the overpopulation that has accompanied the massive economic growth in previously poor countries like China and India.

People actually get angry with me when I state my global warming opinion. “How can you believe that?” they ask.

You cannot change a person’s beliefs. You can offer good arguments and back them up with statistics and facts. The fact remains that people need to change their beliefs by themselves. All of us in marketing are in the persuasion business. Taylor your messages to your prospect’s needs and desires. Try to avoid putting our primitive human minds in the negative mode.

How to Market to 10,000 Stoned College Students

Yesterday, a huge cloud formed over the University of Colorado. It did not come from a fire or from smog. It was a huge cloud of marijuana smoke created by 10,000 people lighting up in unison. Yesterday was 4/20.

For all the pot smokers of the world, 4/20 is the ultimate party holiday. At 4:20 on April 20th, celebrants ritually smoke marijuana. The students at the University of Colorado in Boulder take it to another level. They congregate in a field at the center of campus to smoke in unison.

The Crowd at 4:19 pm on 4/20/ 2009

The smoke cloud at 4:21 pm

Personally, I am against smoking anything. I have never even tried a cigarette, something that is probably due to watching two of my grandparents die from lung cancer. But the fact remains that each year on this day there are thousands of stoned students, hungry as a horde of locusts. and my ice cream shop just happens to be in the path of the swarm.

In the past, we never used to market to the participants of this holiday. Our totals in the early years were about 30% higher then a normal day. That changed three years ago. We now actively market to the post event zombies. This year, our sales were 500% higher than a normal day. That is not a typo. In the last 2 years, we have done five times what we normally do in a day.

Glacier Ice Cream on the Hill’s top secret stoner holiday plan

• Make hundreds of fresh baked waffle cones starting at 12:00 pm. People can smell them within a four block area.
  
• Pass out thousands of 4:20 special deal coupons all over campus starting the week before the event.
  
• Staff three times the normal amount of people to handle the crowds.
  
• Mention our 4/20 special to every customer.
  
• Pray for great weather.
  
• Play Reggae Music all day long.

The line outside Glacier at 4:30 on 4/20/2009

Dealing with over 1,000 stoned students in one day is quite an experience. Orders have to be repeated multiple times. People forget what they order, forget to pay, and often leave belongings. I never marketed for the 4/20 gathering in the past because I did not want to condone smoking pot. Yet, I have come to realize that I am not in the judgment business. If people want to smoke pot, who am I to deny them their ice cream cravings? 

Give and You Shall Receive

Everyone in business receives requests for donations, especially in this economic climate. But I challenge you to look at requests for donations in a different way.

What if you could actually help organizations and build your business at the same time? It’d be the classic win-win situation. Well, it is possible. It is a regular part of our business at Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato.

Not only do we have the best ice cream in the world, but we are a local business that gives to our community. We are asked to donate to various organizations an average of five times a week. Obviously, we cannot accommodate all of the requests. We have, however, instituted a system that is workable and fair.

Here are our donation guidelines:

• We only donate to children’s organizations and University of Colorado groups (one of our stores is next to the university).
• We donate (4) $5 gift cards for silent auctions.
• We donate free kid’s coupons for school non-profit events.
• All requests have to go through our website. No phone calls, letters, or dropped-off information.
• We will sometimes donate ice cream to events at the beginning of the school year and at the start of the spring season.
• We refuse all donations that don’t fit our guidelines with a personal and polite explanation.
• We donate free coloring books to schools. The coloring books feature our Glacier Bear doing activities at different glaciers around the world.

It is important to give back to the community that supports you. Not only will people appreciate it, but they will stay loyal to your business as long as you also continue to provide quality products.

There can be business benefits to your charitable donations as well. Below are the business benefits for the Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato donation program:

• Donations are a tax deduction.
• People form an emotional attachment with your company when they see you giving to the community.
• The organizations we donate to usually put Glacier’s name in print and mention us in advertisements. We benefit from free advertising.
• The coloring books we donate create awareness of the Glacier brand.
• When donation recipients pass out coupons for us, it becomes a great low cost marketing strategy.
• Children come in with their families to redeem their free ice cream coupon.
• Our coupons and gift cards expose new customers to our stores and our brand.
• The busy company president does not have to deal with constant phone calls and mailed letters. Our policies are clear and our employees know our guidelines and communicate them to donation solicitors.

A clear and generous donation program is a fantastic way to distinguish your company from your competition. Implement one, and you will discover the immense benefits of combining charitable donations with creative marketing.

Speak Your Customer’s Language

I needed help. My web building skills were seriously lacking. I couldn’t build the website I wanted. It was time for a Boulder Craigslist ad. I put up an ad describing what I wanted, and asked for samples of web designer’s work.

Next time, I will be clearer when placing the ad. I was looking for a local designer, but I received more responses from India than Boulder. Yet the actual responses to the ad were what really shocked me. Freelance web designers and even people who own website design companies generally have no clue how to sell their products. I wasn’t contacted by any local web-design companies. If I were in the business, I would be scanning Craigslist daily. It’s a free source to obtain work.

I consider myself to be of at least average intelligence. I am good at some things and hopeless at others. I am a terrible student of subjects I have no interest in. I used to read business books and magazines while my high school and college teachers were lecturing. I cannot build anything and have limited technical skills. I could probably be diagnosed with severe ADD. On the other hand, I am excellent in mental math, can remember any article I have read, and can speak Spanish very well and Mandarin fairly well. The point is, we all have things we are good at and can understand easily. We all also have things we are not so good at and do not understand well. For these things, I call in an expert.

I reviewed previous work from the web designers I contacted. I found a bunch of decent sites with introductions and pages full of flash that took too long to load. Customers are not looking for a Hollywood production. They want information and they want it fast.

I like to find an expert that can at least speak some of my language. I have found a serious disconnect between my language and the language of web designers. I checked xcitepro software. Looks great, but who builds it, and how do you build it? I tried to work with gatorhost and godaddy. Again, I am clueless. I currently have my retail businesses on an easy to use click and build site. I do not try to sell much on the site but it serves its purpose. I need more to run an Internet business, and I need help.

Back to Craigslist. I left my phone number with three web designers yesterday. One emailed back and requested the specs of the website before he would return my call. If I knew the damn specs, I would not need help in the first place. Any questions could have been answered by a phone call. Delete. I have two more prospects left. Neither one called back in a reasonable amount of time. Delete, delete. Back to square one.

The point of this is not to talk about my personal frustration. The point is, we must be reminded to talk to our own customers in the language they understand and can comprehend. This is not common sense advice. Too often, we assume people understand us when they do not.

And if anyone has advice for this special needs web wannabee, my computer is always on…

Expectations

I recently became snared in the Costco trap. I went to Costco recently to purchase razor blades. They did not have the blades I normally use so I bought a new brand razor with four blades in the cartridge instead of my normal three. I had no idea what the benefit of the fourth blade was. I decided to purchase the new razor pack with 20 extra cartridges. The 20 extra cartridges is the Costco trap. Purchasing inexpensive products in bulk that can take years to consume.

During my next shaving experience, I immediately found out the danger of the fourth blade. It's there to disfigure your face. While attempting to control the bleeding, I decided I was going back to my old three blade brand. My previous razor gave a much smoother shave and was easier to use.

The following shaving experience with my trusty three blade brand went flawlessly. I remember thinking how superior this razor was compared to the one that hacked my face. As I reached down to put the razor away, I was shocked I had used the wrong one, my weapon of facial destruction, the Costco razor.

I was surprised how easily my mind was deceived by this trivial incident. My expectations completely changed my perceptions. There is a marketing lesson to be learned from this experience.

Positive expectations increase the chances of a positive experience.
Negative expectations increase the chances of a negative experience.

This simple lesson explains how branding creates loyalty. You are loyal to brands because you expect the same positive experience, time and again. Using a trusted brand relieves you of the stress of having to make a choice every time you purchase (you wouldn’t normally switch unless you found a product that greatly exceeded the expectations of the old brand). A slight improvement is not enough.

Because we’re inclined to stick with our favorite brands, we often don’t try other products for comparison’s sake. One very powerful method to obtain new customers that are using a competitor is to simply give your product away. Show people who think they’re happy with a product that yours is superior.

Naturally, your brand has to continually provide customers with a quality product or service. Never give them a reason to consider switching to a competitor. Happy customers are usually loyal customers. Loyal customers tell other people about the positive experiences they’ve had, and thus create positive expectations for future customers.

" A very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. The simple process of focusing on things normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity"
– Edward de Bono

The Reasons We Buy

Recent research has confirmed that people often do not know why they buy. The psychology behind consumer choices can best be explained by people like Kevin Hogan or Philip Graves. Below is a list of 36 reasons why people might buy your product or service. The list can be a powerful reference source when you are developing your marketing plan.

1. They need what you are selling
2. Recommendation from a friend
3. They like you
4. You are attractive
5. They heard about you or your product from the media
6. They have no clue, but your product fills a deep psychological need
7. They have purchased from you before
8. You are an independent business
9. You support a cause they believe in
10. You have a great reputation
11. Price
12. You have confused or manipulated them (this is not recommended and it will eventually destroy your reputation)
13. You offer a strong guarantee
14. They have sampled your product
15. They are drawn to the smell of your product
16. Your product is unique and they are curious
17. Status
18. You can provide the product or service quickly
19. You are a friend or relative
20. Color
21. Your packaging
22. Convenience
23. Your product has a beautiful design
24. To feel better
25. To solve a problem
26. Great taste
27. Social Proof
28. To resell
29. To save time
30. To look more attractive
31. To relax
32. To relieve pain
33. To make work easier
34. To protect themselves or their family
35. Social Pressure
36. To increase knowledge

I have purposely left off additional reasons customers buy. Put your marketing and sales skills to the test. Let's see if you can add a few more to the list.

Sell Your Customers What They Want

Sales are slow. You can blame the economy, or the fact that your location stinks. But maybe the real problem is that you are not selling what people want.

You can enormously increase your profits by doing one simple thing: sell more of what customers want to buy. It is a simple concept, but for it to work, you have to have a system to track sales. Mass-merchants like Wal-Mart and Target have made phenomenal profits by implementing systems that integrate sales and inventory. Let's say a Target store receives a shipment of 24 shirts in the following colors:

Six red
Six blue
Six green
Six white

At the end of one week, the store sells six green shirts, four red shirts, one blue shirt, and one white shirt. An automatic restocking order is then generated for the following:

10 green shirts
2 red shirts
0 blue shirts
0 white shirts

Most stores would only replace what is sold. Target's system increases the par level for hot products, and reduces the par level for slow sellers. It doesn't hurt that they have amazing software that re-orders automatically.

Very few small-business people can afford to implement a system similar to Target’s. However, you can still track what people are buying. Systemize your inventory and purchasing system. Eliminate your slow selling products and increase the fast moving ones.

Customers often have no clue why they make purchases, but even the smallest nuance in a product can result in a sale. Analyze your sales. You may have a line of products that amounts to 20% of your inventory but accounts for 40% of your sales. Increase that line and decrease a slower selling line.

Ten years ago, a local business owner started selling pipes, bongs, novelties, and a small line of T-shirts. The T-shirts were unique and sold very well. She kept increasing the clothing line and decreasing the main line of products she started with. Today, this store is extremely profitable and 90% of the products sold are clothing and shoes. She recently opened a second store with only the clothing and shoes.

Start reaping the benefits of selling what people want. The easiest sale you can make is when a customer chooses a product simply because he desires it. Satisfy your customers' desires and watch your profits skyrocket.

"We don't like to be sold, we love to buy."
Jeffrey Gitomer

Plant Your Seeds

The seeds of many great businesses grow during tough economic times. Today, more than ever, we control our own destinies. You no longer have to have the traditional college degree to succeed. You must, however, know how to access and act on information, information that is available at the touch of a button.

Gone are the days of guaranteed, life-long jobs; changes are happening too fast. You can take your future into your own hands by starting your own business. Most people have the desire, but not the courage, to work for themselves. Here's a simple formula for building the backbone of your business:

Desire + intent = Courage
Courage +knowledge = Plan
Plan +hard work = The birth of your business
Your new business + smart marketing = A profitable business
A profitable business + systemization and continued monitoring and adapting =
A very profitable business

Personally, I believe that the world's economies will continue to decline. I live in Boulder, Colorado, the most educated town in America. There aren't many visible signs of a decession here (it's hard to call it a recession or a depression). The average household income is about $80,000. But today in the business section I noticed today that bankruptcies have at least quadrupled from last year. In my little world, that is a sign.

Our economic base is cracking. The government cannot fix the problem by spending massive amounts of money. Big bloated corporations groveling at the feet of shareholders is not the solution either. Corporations have to stop making short term decisions to meet quarterly expectations. It will be innovation, powered by the entrepreneurs of the new economy, which will rescue us before the walls come crashing down.

Control your own destiny!

The Money Value Of Time

“Time value of money' is a common financial term. Basically, it represents how much a dollar will be worth in x number of years. A simple way to calculate this would be to use a guaranteed yearly interest rate and subtract expected inflation.

The 'money value of time' is different. This concept calculates what your time is worth.

The first step in analyzing what your time is worth is dividing your income by your hours worked over a set period. This is simple if you have a salaried job and work a set amount of hours per week. To be as accurate as possible, use the bottom line figure after taxes. Then add the value of any paid insurance, stock options, benefits, etc.

If you are self-employed, the money value of time can be much more complicated. Small-business owners calculate their hourly time the same as salaried workers. But there’s a twist you have to consider: the amount of extra money your company makes when you are working compared to an employee doing the same task. Leads on new business opportunities, wholesale accounts, and additional sales often come from your interaction with customers. New business owners need to develop a system to receive customer leads, even when they are not working.

In the beginning:
It is vital that that as a new business owner to spend as much time as possible talking to customers and learning every aspect of your business. During this period it is extremely important to establish training checklists, guidelines, and manuals, which will all help make things run more efficiently and make it easier to train employees.

Delegate if possible:
Do a task yourself if it is extremely important.
Delegate a moderately important task and verify that the task was finished.
Delegate a minor task to a trusted employee.

Incorporate the money value of time:
For salaried workers, if you’re contemplating getting another job or starting your own business, it’s important to know how much your bottom line hourly rate is.

Small business owners should delegate moderate and simple tasks to employees.
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is working in their business instead of working on their business. Is it really good use of your time if you’re doing non-essential tasks that your employees can do? You need to grow your business by marketing, developing new business opportunities, and doing the essential tasks that only you can do.

Let’s summarize by looking at the big picture:
* Calculate your bottom line per-hour wages.
* Make a list of all the non-essential tasks you do. Remove the non-essential tasks you enjoy doing from that list. Cook if you like to cook. Clean if you enjoy cleaning.
* Hire experts to do non-essential tasks. If you make $100 an hour, why would you spend four hours a week cleaning and doing laundry when you can hire someone to do it for $15 an hour?
* Think about the money value of time when doing any time-consuming task. Take a taxi or shuttle instead of driving a four hour round trip to the airport.
* Consider hiring a personal or virtual assistant.
* Hire a bookkeeper for payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable.
* Hire a cook or order more take out if you have a high hourly wage.
* Use college interns or hire contract workers to handle short-term projects like web development, editing, marketing, etc.
* Use commission only based salespeople. Hourly wages no longer become an issue.
* Purchase more products from the Internet. Shopping is time consuming. Buy items online if possible.
* Hire couriers and pick up and delivery services.
* Delegate more work tasks to employees.

The faster your business grows, the more important it is to delegate appropriate tasks. Whoever said 'You can't buy time' is wrong. You can buy time.

"Change your thoughts and you change your world". Norman Vincent Peale

The One Minute Pitch Part 2

In the last post we talked about 'The one minute pitch' when cold calling. Cold calling is the most difficult task in sales. You have to have thick skin and a positive attitude to be a successful cold caller. The key to successful cold calling is to convey the major benefit of your product to the right person in a short period of time.

The basic concept behind the one minute pitch is to have your prospect allow you one minute of his time to get your message heard. Most of the time, you have to go through a gatekeeper before you can talk to the decision maker. The gatekeeper can be an employee, personal assistant, or a secretary.

Tips for reaching your prospect through the gatekeeper:

1. Research who is the decision maker for buying your product. Do a google search. Talk to contacts you have in the industry. Find out as much information as possible about the company. ask for your prospect by name.
   
2. Be polite. Make the gatekeeper want to help you.
3. If you do not know your prospects name, ask the employee, "who is responsible for purchasing your product?" Call back later if you are given contact information. You do not want the employee telling your contact that there is a salesperson on the phone. Salespeople are an annoyance in most people's minds.
4. If your prospect is not available, call back your prospect early in the day or at a time he would not be expected to be busy. You would not want to call a restaurant owner in the middle of a lunch rush.
   
5. Call another time of the day or another day if the employee refuses to give you any information.
   
6. If you absolutely cannot reach your target by phone or in person, try to at least get an email or mailing address.
7. As a last resort, give the major benefit of your 'one minute sales pitch' to the employee and stress that you want only one minute of your prospect's time. Ask to set up a one minute meeting at any time, any place.

Studies have shown that it takes seven contacts before the average sale is made. There is no need to be average. Make the sale on the first couple contacts. Sell your prospect on the major benefit of your product in the first contact. If you don't make the sale initially, try to set up a meeting to give your full sales pitch.

Once you reach the decision maker, it is vital that your message resonates with him or her. Emotionally connect with your prospect. Being enthusiastic will multiply your chances for a successful sale.


Tips for a successful one minute pitch:

1. Immediately share the main benefit of the product. Let him know how your other clients like him have used it successfully.
2. Appeal to emotions and back up your pitch with logic.
3. Time your pitch. When one minute is up, ask if he or she would like for you to continue. This shows credibility. You kept your end of the bargain. Your prospect should let you continue if your pitch is strong.
4. Make it as easy as possible to switch products or services. If possible, offer a first free shipment or free samples of your product or service.
5. Set up a subsequent meeting and supply references of satisfied clients with contact information beforehand.
6. Always ask if it is a good time to talk. The last situation you want to is to catch your prospect in a stressful mood. Reschedule an exact time to call back.
   
7. Offer to take him or her to lunch or dinner at a quality restaurant.
8. Get people to imagine how your product is the best solution to their needs.
9. Find common ground or beliefs. This is where your prior research can pay off.
10. Once you make your short pitch, let your prospect talk and listen to his or her needs and concerns. Great salespeople listen much more than they talk.
11. Guarantee what you are selling.
    
12. Offer a free trial period.
13. Only ask questions that you already know the answer. Each question should lead you toward your goal of a sale or subsequent meeting.
14. Write down a one minute, five minute, and 15 minute sales pitch beforehand. Write down possible questions and take notes of the conversation for later use.

It is important to tailor your 'one minute pitch' to your product and each individual clients needs. The reality is, if you have a strong marketing campaign, you should rarely have to cold call. The one minute pitch is quite versatile. You can pitch during casual conversations with strangers, at social events, etc. As always, Practice makes perfect.

"There is only one way to get anybody to do anything...And that is by making the other person want to do it." Dale Carnegie

The One Minute Pitch

Cold calling is the most difficult way to sell anything. Your potential customer does not know either you or the service or product you are selling. The majority of salespeople do not sell the benefits of their products. Who cares what you have to sell? How can you get your message across to someone who has no idea who you are. I am going to show you how to get your message across using the 'One Minute Pitch'

I've been in retail for over 20 years. I owned a small chain of four video stores and a coffee house in Ohio. For the last eight years,I've have owned 3 ice cream & gelato stores in Colorado . In the last 20 years, our various stores have received an estimated 10,000 phone calls (about 200 per store per year) from telemarketers and unknown sales people. I would guess that I have actually considered buying something from less than ten of these people. That means I have listened to a pitch from only every 1 out of 1,000 cold calling salespeople. (My employees are trained well in the art of phone screening)

Here is how you can dramatically increase your odds of delivering your message. Use the following two sentences that can increases the odds of your pitch being heard by up to
1,000 percent. The sentences are:

'Could I please have exactly one minute of your time because I can (save you, make you) up to (dollar amount) on your (product or service you sell), guaranteed. You can time me."

If there's hesitation, try this third sentence:
"(A person in his industry or acquaintance if you were given a lead) uses this (product or service you sell) and (saves, makes) (amount per time period)".

In my 20 years of experience, I've never heard that pitch. Most cold callers will immediately start talking about their great product or service. Some will ask "How is your day going", which pisses me off. Why would a complete stranger care how my day is going? I've also heard sales people ask to schedule a meeting or ask for 15 minutes of my time. I always say no. My time is too valuable to give 15 minutes to someone I don't know. I will give him one minute to explain how he can benefit me. He just never asks.

Of Course, there are variations to this theme that you can use for your individual needs. For example,you could ask for a longer time period and use the one minute pitch as a concession. The basic point is that you are asking for an acceptable amount of time to get across your point. The pitch works just as well for a personal sales call.

The psychology behind the One Minute Pitch;

1. The time factor-Most people are very busy and don't have time for a stranger. One minute is a very reasonable amount of time to give to anyone that asks.
2. The word please-Politeness gets you everywhere.
3. The word exactly-Let's face it, many people don't trust sales people. People tend to think that when someone asks for one minute, it really means ten. The word exactly helps relieve that concern.
4. The word because. (One of Kevin Hogan's favorite words) People are more likely to comply with a request when the word because is used.
5. You are showing the benefits of your pitch to the customer.
6. You are monetizing the benefits.
7. The word guaranteed. Guarantees increase the likelihood someone will purchase your product.
8. The phrase, 'You can time me'. This puts your listener in control of the situation. He is more likely to comply when he is in control.
9. The use of the third sentence increases your credibility because someone he knows or someone in his industry uses your product. Give him a contact number or email if he asks.
   

The biggest obstacle to delivering the one minute pitch is talking to the decision maker. Employees usually answer phone calls and it can be challenging getting your message to the decision maker. Also, the content of your pitch is just as important as gaining the one minute of time from your prospect. We will save these two issues for tomorrow's post.

Glacier Ice Cream

Building Profit Centers

You want to make more money. Doesn't everyone? It is not hard to do if you have quality products or services. It is important to define the benefit of each distinct product or service you have.

I am going to show you how we have created multiple streams of income at Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato. I will then relate it to my new internet friend Sonya's business that sells 'vintage inspired rhinestone costume jewelry' Any type of business can profit from this comparison.

Glacier retail stores are our brand's base. The stores are where we developed our reputation for the highest quality ice cream & gelato. This has given us credibility and recognition locally and nationally.

Benefit #1; Great ice cream & gelato

Additional profit centers:

• Wholesale restaurant sales-We sell to upscale restaurants that are consistent with our brand image.
• Ice cream catering-Glacier provides on site ice cream catering for groups of 50 or more. This includes corporations, weddings, parties, bar mitzvahs, etc. We service the Denver and Boulder markets.
• Ice cream cart-We run an ice cream cart on a very busy pedestrian mall on Pearl St in Boulder, Colorado.
• Gelato sales to coffee shops-We supply instead of compete against the newest coffee shop trend. Carrying gelato in coffee shops.
• Scoop shops-We sell to scoop shops in Colorado that do not make their own product.
• Pint sales-We sell to locally owned independent video stores, pizza parlors, small grocery stores. We do not sell to large grocery stores because that is a different business. Selling to these stores would put us in the distribution business. No thanks.
• Festivals and concerts-We set up carts or tents at high attendance festival and concerts.
  

Benefit #2; Credibility for running successful ice cream stores with high quality products

Additional profit centers:

• Franchising-We currently have franchised stores but have discontinued our franchising program due to the complexity of our program.
• Consulting-I currently consult ice cream and gelato stores on product and concept development.
• Licensing-Glacier has licensed the use of our concept in China and Dubai.

Many readers of this blog are now using multiple income concepts. Kevin Hogan is the obvious example with his publishing success, speaking career, and all the different products he offers for sale. Steve Chambers is another example with his new 'The Eye of the Storm' program in addition to his Sales Eagle consulting site.
Back to Sonya. I only know of Sonya's business through her web posts. She sells very good looking jewelry that appeals to women. Sonya might be using many of these income streams right now. I personally only know of only 1 benefit to Sonya's jewelry. I am sure she has more, but we will use that.

Benefit: Makes women look better at an affordable price

Actual & potential additional income streams:

• Wholesale sales-Sonya already offers wholesale prices to resellers of her jewelry.
• Festivals and concerts-Her products are perfect to sell at large events.
• Upscale consignment clothing stores-She can leave some her products on consignment or sell wholesale.
• Portable cart on a busy pedestrian mall-Sonya's sunglasses and less expensive pieces could be huge sellers.
• Tupperware type parties-Sonya can give a portion of sales to the party hosts.
• The internet-After taking the Kevin Hogan course, Sonya will be blowing out her products through internet sales.
• Seasonal mall sales-Her products could sell great at a temporary mall location during the Christmas season.
• Temporary stores-Sign a short term seasonal lease at a vacant retail location.
• Sales people-Commissioned sales ladies can be a great source of additional income.

Bringing in a new lower priced and higher priced line of jewelry-Offers more choices for people that cannot afford her jewelry and for people that can afford to pay more. This could also increase sales of the original product line due to an increase in the overall customer base.
Displays in other stores-Sonya can set up a little store within a store or a temporary display. This would work well in a business that has the same type of customers as Sonya's target market.
A big benefit of creating multiple streams of income is that you can cross market with all your income streams. You should also capture the contact information of all these new customers for future marketing efforts.


There are many people who have become very wealthy by incorporating a different type of business's methods into their existing business. You can be one of them. Think outside the store.

Glacier Ice Cream

What Makes Your Business Special?

I did a phone interview for a local magazine last week and was asked the question, “What makes Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato special?" That's an easy question for me, and I answer the same pretty much every time. Our stores are special because:

Our stores carry the highest quality ice cream & gelato available.

We have great customer service.

We have a large selection of flavors. Up to 80 per store.

Our stores have a fun atmosphere.



The reality is, people come into Glacier for an experience. Each feature of our store helps to create a unique customer experience. Omitting one would be like leaving out the most important ingredient in a recipe. Like any great recipe, ours has a few secrets:

• The smell of waffle cones and hot fudge.
• Quality music.
• A money back guarantee on all products. If you buy a milkshake and drop it outside, we’ll give you another at no charge. Employees are empowered to give up to a $25 gift certificate to solve a customer issue.
• Free samples of any ice cream or gelato. No limits. We’ll occasionally give groups of people a free cup of fresh ice cream right out of the machine as well.
  
• Interesting displays. We have cool things on the walls like vintage Hot Wheels and Matchbox collections, an original Marilyn Monroe picture, the first issue of Mad magazine from the ‘50s, funky oil paintings, and other vintage toys.
• Credibility. Customers from around the country rave about Glacier products in Yelp and on other food-review sites.

We try to lay the groundwork for a great customer experience. Do customers solely come into our store for ice cream and gelato? No. Ice cream and gelato are simply commodities. According to Dairy Foods Magazine, scoop shops sell only 25% of the ice cream in the United States. Grocery stores sell over 50%, and convenience stores sell another 7%.

You can’t open a successful business without creating a great experience for you customers. You’ve got to separate your store from the competition. A great product is just the cost of entry into the market, and that goes for just about any product or service. You can have the greatest ice cream in the country and fail miserably because you don’t run your store properly, have miserable employees, a grouchy owner, etc. Think about why customers patronize your business. What kind of experience are you creating?

Successful businesses need people to want to return. They need to build reputations via word-of-mouth. To do so, you’ve got to know what attracts your customers. It’s important to talk to your current customers, take surveys, and even check out your competition. We’ve found that people come into our stores for the following reasons:

They want to celebrate. Our stores are a popular destination after sports events, concerts, etc.

They want to feel better. Ice cream is the number one comfort food for men and women. People often come in after doctor visits, tough days, and even have after chemotherapy treatments.

They appreciate the high quality of the products. Some of our customers will only eat Glacier ice cream. That’s about 20%-25% of our customers - a very high number for the industry.

To have an inexpensive family experience.

For a date.

To give themselves a special treat.

To be in a relaxing third place. We serve coffee, espresso, and great frozen desserts.

To bring in their out of town guests. People like to show their special places to friends and relatives.

Many people reading this are not in the ice cream business and don’t even have a retail store. It doesn’t matter. Why do people use your product or service? How can you improve your customers’ experience with yourself or your product. You have to analyze why people patronize your business, and why people patronize your competition’s. Build the foundation for future growth. Be special.

Glacier Ice Cream

Be Like Forrest

We can all learn from the classic movie Forrest Gump. Forrest would have been considered mentally handicapped. Despite this, he led an amazing life in which he excelled at everything he did. Forrest’s lessons can serve us well, both in our businesses, and in our lives.

Overcome hardship- Forrest was never bothered by the fact that he had to wear leg braces at a young age. Kids would tease him but he would just live his life in a positive manner. He embraced his physical handicap, eventually overcoming it and running off (literally) with a college football scholarship


Treat all people with respect- Forrest treated everyone equally, no matter what color or social status.

Put your family first- Forrest would do anything for his mother. He dropped everything to be at her side when she became ill, as he did for the love of his life, Jenny.

Face adversity head-on- Forrest was a war hero who rescued many in his platoon during a dangerous battle. He could have run away but chose to risk his own safety and save his friends.

Have a strong work ethic- Forrest worked hard at everything he did. He excelled in the military. He focused on what he had to and worked hard doing all his tasks.

Become an expert through practice- After Forrest was wounded, he obsessively took up ping-pong . He became so good that he won a world championship.

Be Loyal- Forrest always stuck by his true love Jenny, even when he knew she was doing the wrong thing.

Be trustworthy- Forrest promised his friend Bubba he would run a shrimp boat with him. He even kept his promise after Bubba died and gave Bubba’s family his share of the profits.

Set Goals- Forrest had the goal to be a shrimp boat Captain and he did everything he can to reach that goal.

Be modest- Forrest was a very modest person. He never bragged about his accomplishments or wealth.

Be friendly and likable- Everyone Forrest met liked him. He was just a nice guy.

Be a great parent- Forrest adored Forrest Jr and was a fantastic father.

Volunteer- Forrest did volunteer work in the community when he became wealthy.

We all have our problems. Sometimes we just get caught up in the whirlwind of daily life. Why not live with focus and enthusiasm? Do the right thing. Be like Forrest.

“A fool with a plan can outsmart a genius with no plan” T. Boone Pickens

Glacier Ice Cream

Being Buzzworthy

The easiest and most effective way to sell is to get people to talk about you. Create buzz. To create buzz you have to have a unique product or a unique way of doing things. What makes your product or service special?

We started Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato in Boulder, Colorado, eight years ago. The idea was simple: make the best frozen desserts possible, offer a great selection (up to 80 flavors per store at a time), have a fun environment, and give our customers a great experience. We now have three Boulder stores, a cart on a busy pedestrian mall, two franchised stores outside Boulder, and licensing deals in China and Dubai. We were recently named one of the best ice cream stores in America by forbestraveler.com. We’ve accomplished this through hard work, smart marketing, personable employees, and by creating buzz in the community.

So how do you get your customers talking?

Offer a quality product or service. Be the best at what you do.

Be enthusiastic about what you do and hire employees that believe in your business. Passionate employees and owners create devoted customers.

Help people. Every contact with a person does not have to result in a sale. I’ve subscribed to Kevin Hogan’s weekly email letter for over a year, and have learned immensely from him. I trust Kevin because he never pushed a sale on me. As a result, I recently invested in his online course. At the other end of spectrum, I’ve subscribed to other weekly email letters and cancelled them fairly quickly because they were trying to oversell products without first earning my trust.


Offer an unusual product or way of doing things. Uniqueness can easily create free publicity. Print and online news sources are always looking for stories. Create something that people want to know about. When Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato signed a licensing deal to open a store in China two years ago, it was featured on the front page of the Boulder Daily Camera. The story was subsequently picked up by four or five major newspapers and numerous online sources. We received tens of thousands of dollars worth of free publicity because of a simple headline: ‘Local ice cream shop to open stores in China.’

Keep your products and services fresh. . Offer a new twist on what you are doing. Add new products, redecorate your store, provide new services. Give your customers a reason to tell their friends about what you do. People want to feel like experts, or be the first ones to try new products. Talkers will always tell other people about great experiences they’ve had.

Become a part of your community. Donate products or services to non-profits or charities when asked. You can’t donate to everybody, so it’s a good idea choose a specific types of charity. Our stores donate to all children’s organizations in Boulder. People are more likely to patronize your business if they know you care about the community. For instance, we’ll sometimes ask organizations to pass out ‘buy one, get one free’ coupons when we donate ice cream to schools or university organizations. There’s no reason not to combine marketing with charity – it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

It will be the entrepreneurs, not the large corporations, who will create the products and services that will get us out of the economic mess were in. Consumers are tired of the same products, the same stores, the same crap you see in every big-city mall and regional shopping center. Create something unique that people really want. The public will go out of its way to support the little guy who’s selling a product that’s different. Create an experience. Make a difference in peoples lives.