Understanding your options before you choose a path......

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

With the revolution going on all around us, there's so much on the technology/ marketing buffet, you're likely to just grab something convenient.

 From SEO, to Web Video, Facebook, Twitter and more, I would suggest that you look before you leap.

It is very important to UNDERSTAND how these tools work and set your expectations accordingly. There is no "magic bullet" and if you expect that, you will be frustrated. Read, research, ask, hire a professional, but understand how today's marketing strategies and tools work before you expect miracles.

Do you have the nerve to take a peek?

When the truth is just around the corner.....

Sometimes, we get close to finding out who we really are, what's the status of our situation, what's holding us back. When one of those conversations is going on, do you lean in, eager for more, or do you back off, afraid of what it will mean?

Do you go out of your way to learn about your habits, relationships and strengths? Or what's driving traffic to your website? Or why you didn't get that job?

When your organization has a chance to see itself as its customers do, do your leaders crowd around, trying to glean every insight they can about the story and your future, or do they prefer the status quo?

There are more mirrors available than ever. Sometimes, though, what's missing is the willingness to take a look.

Do you have the nerve to peek around that corner?

Choosing your path

Few paths are both easy and certain.

The lottery is great, because it's easy. Not certain, but easy. If you win, the belief goes, you're done.

Medical school is great because it's certain. Not easy, but certain. If you graduate, the belief goes, you're done.

Most people are searching for a path to success that is both easy and certain.

Most paths are neither.

"Don't take it personally"

This is tough advice. Sometimes it seems as though the only way to take it is personally. That customer who doesn't like your product (your best work) or that "best friend" who doesn't want to hang out with you any longer...

Here's the thing: it's never personal. It's never about you. How could it be? That person doesn't truly know you, understand what you want or hear the voices in your head. All they know is themselves.

When someone moves on, when she walks away or even badmouths you or your work, it's not personal about you. It's personal about her. Her agenda, her decisions, her story.

Do your work, the best way you know how. Is there any other option?

Stay true to what you love and the people who are supposed to be there will be.

Simple.

One day...everyone will love what I do.....

Why do you do what you do?

On that day, the day that everyone notices your work, approves and lets you know, then what will happen?

We spend an incredible amount of time and psychic energy planning and working for that day, but why? It will never arrive, and even if it does, it's not clear that anything special happens.

Perhaps the approval of every person in the entire world doesn't need to be the goal of your work.

Ask yourself, why do I do what I do? Is it for yourself, your dreams, your passion or is it based on others expectations of you?

The 2011 definition of a craftperson....?

There's always been a bright line around the craftsperson, someone who takes real care and produces work for the ages. Everyone else might be a hack, or a factory guy or a suit or a drone, but a craftsperson was someone we could respect.

A craftsman might be a blacksmith or a carpenter, a visual artist or even a dedicated teacher. Someone to look up to.

Perhaps we're entering a new age of craftsmanship, one where we can see craft in the way a new business is devised, a sale is made or a website is coded. A craftsperson might be particularly talented and connected in the way she deals with clients, or be able to meet deadlines with alacrity.

We're curious how many business owners or marketing directors in 2011,  take the time to treat their image and interactions with clients as an opportunity to create craftsmanship?

Maybe we should be trying to do better, not just more.

Just a thought.

Chris Revis
 
Thanks to Seth Godin for his continued inspiration!

“I can’t die, it would ruin my image.”

I wanted to share this story as it truly resonated with me...CR


Eight Lessons from the life and work of Jack LaLanne -- From Seth Godin

He bootstrapped himself. A scrawny little kid at 15, he decided to change who he was and how he was perceived, and then he did. The deciding was as important as the doing.

He went to the edges. He didn't merely open a small gym, a more pleasant version of a boxing gym, for instance. Instead, he created the entire idea of a health club, including the juice bar. He did this 70 years ago.

He started small. No venture money, no big media partners.
He understood the power of the media. If it weren't for TV, we never would have heard of Jack. Jack used access to the media to earn trust and to teach. And most of what Jack had to offer he offered for free. He understood the value of attention.

He was willing to avoid prime time. Jack never had a variety show on CBS. He was able to change the culture from the fringes of TV.

He owned the rights. 3,000 shows worth.

He stuck with the brand. He didn't worry about it getting stale or having to reinvent it into something fresh. Jack stood for something, which is rare, and he was smart enough to keep standing for it.
Jack lived the story. He followed his own regimen, even when no one was watching. In is words, “I can’t die, it would ruin my image.”

He died last week at 96. I don't think he has to worry about ruining his image, though.

Starting a business in today's economy? Are you crazy?

Some people believe that if you have a good job, you shouldn't start your own gig, because it's foolish to give up a job you can't easily replace.

And some people believe that if you don't have a great job, it's foolish to waste time (and the money you can ill afford to lose) starting something when you'd be a lot better off getting a great job or going to school until you do.

And both groups are missing the point.

The people who successfully start independent businesses, do it because we have no real choice in the matter. The voice in our heads won't shut up until we discover if we're right, if we can do it, if we can make something happen. This is an art, our art, and to leave it bottled up is a crime

What is your excuse?

There are more good ideas, right here, right now, for free, than ever before. More opportunities to connect and lead and make a difference and an impact and a living.

Fewer guarantees, sure, but more ideas.


 
It's your choice about whether or not you do anything with them, but please don't tell me you don't have any good ideas.

Stop making excuses and start making a difference. If you don't, who will?

Don't believe the hype......your vote does count.

This year, fewer than 40% of voting age Americans will actually vote.

That means that less than half of you reading this decide to not go flex your right to be "We the People".
 

If you don't vote because you're trying to teach politicians a lesson, you're tragically misguided in your strategy. The very politicians you're trying to send a message to don't want you to vote. Since 1960, voting turnouts in mid-term elections are down significantly, and there's one reason: because of TV advertising.

Political TV advertising is designed to do only one thing: suppress the turnout of the opponent's supporters. If the TV ads can turn you off enough not to vote ("they're all bums") then their strategy has succeeded.

The astonishing thing is that voters haven't figured this out. As the scumminess and nastiness of campaigning and governing has escalated and the flakiness of candidates appears to have escalated as well, we've largely abdicated the high ground and permitted selfish partisans on both sides to hijack the system.

Voting is free. It's fairly fast. It doesn't make you responsible for the outcome, but it sure has an impact on what we have to live with going forward. 

Even if you're disgusted, vote. Vote for your least favorite choice. But go vote.

Are you afraid of special requests?

Is your business organized for efficiency or something else?

If you fear special requests, if you staff with cogs, if you have to put it all in a manual, then the chances of amazing someone are really quite low.

These organizations have people who will try to patch problems over after the fact, instead of motivated people eager to delight on the spot.

The alternative, it seems, is to organize for joy.

These companies give their people the freedom (and yes, the expectation) that they will create, connect and surprise. These are the organizations that embrace someone who makes a difference, as opposed to searching for a clause in the employee handbook that was violated.

Wouldn't you rather be in the "joy" business?

Thanks to Seth Godin for his amazing outlook on today's business landscape.

Learning from lost sales.....

It's extremely difficult to figure out why people walk out of your store,
throw out your brochure, leave your site... but in fact, this is a great
opportunity for dramatically increasing sales.

"Is your brochure ending up here?"

You won't find what's broken if you don't look.
Ready to start looking?

Are you pushing to hard?

Are you pushing to hard to get your customers/subscribers/audience to love everything you do?

If you are, I'm sure your very frustrated.

That's the frustration of the marketer or the artist who hasn't figured out how to navigate critics and the marketplace.

If you need the validation and acceptance of everyone you meet, you'll get stuck, and soon.
Everyone isn't going to get it. Everyone isn't even going to get you, no matter what you sell or create.

Experienced marketers and artists and those that make change understand that the new is not for everyone. In fact, it's not even for most people. Pass them by. They can catch up later.

It's not a referendum, and you don't need a unanimous vote of to get started. You merely need enough to stay in business, to keep moving, to make a dent. Then your idea can spread.

If the kids in the back of the bus/audience/store don't get it (or don't get you) it's their loss. Focus on those that want to celebrate the work you do instead.

Sleeping funny and Monday morning struggles.

It's a Monday morning and I slept funny last night. I woke up tired and may feel cranky all day.

Can that feeling carry over to my work? Do you ever work funny?

 Ever have a day when none of the things you need to focus on materialize, when you struggle to come up with the ideas and flow that normally come naturally?

Most of us have come up with a strategy for days we're working funny--we do the busy work, we reply, react and occasionally respond. We show up at the meetings and we answer our email, and we go home feeling as though we accomplished at least a little something (though we didn't.) 

Basically, we go through the motions.

The danger is this: this working funny habit leaks into the days when we're on our game. When you're on a roll, you still find yourself going to meetings, answering email and working through someone else's to-do list. That is not how you should be spending your "on time".

Don't toss and turn if you don't have to. Get focused and get in the zone.

Don't talk to strangers?

It's so tempting to seek out more strangers (new customers).

More strangers (new customers) to pitch your business, your non-profit, your blog... More strangers (new customers) means exciting new folks about what you do. It means growth.

The problem is that strangers (new customers) are difficult to convert. And the other problem is that they're expensive to reach. And the hardest problem is that we're running out of strangers (new customers).

Consider this. One true fan is worth perhaps 10,000 times as much as a stranger (new customer). And yet if you're in search of strangers (new customers), odds are you're going to mistreat a true fan in order to seduce yet another stranger (new customers) who probably won't reward you much.

Let's say a marketer has $5,000 to spend. Is it better to acquire new customers at $1,000 each (advertising is expensive) or spend $10 a customer to absolutely delight and overwhelm 500 true fans?

If you can Identify, Excite, Educate and Empower these True Fans, chances are you will experience measured, long-term growth and have even more True Fans.

Are your True Fans part of your Marketing strategy?

No new customers?

What if something changed your market and it was suddenly impossible to get new customers, new readers, new supporters or new viewers?

How would that change how your spend your day or how you spend your money or how you measure your companies success?

What if you tried acting that way now?

Is your company a template? So why should your website be?

Chances are, if you are reading this you do not own a franchise.

You probably own or work for a small to medium size business that has worked very hard to carve out a niche and a reputation for excellence.

So when you decide to show the world your company and all that it has to offer, what are you going to show them?

A template website that 200 other companies are using with different content and maybe some color variation?


Are you being true to the vision of your company and what your customers have come to expect from it, by choosing the express checkout option for your web presence?

I understand that cost is a concern for today's small business. However, you need to balance cost with the effectiveness of the tool that your using.

Sure, you may have saved a buck or two, but is your website making a difference to your bottom line?

If not, you probably need to find a company that will design, deliver and promote a website that will.

Is it ok to FIRE a customer?

Many of the small business owners that we work with are confronted with a common problem:

Trying to please customers that will never be pleased.

We are often asked, "How do I stop selling to, or servicing this particular type of customer without them getting mad?"

The answer is simple: The customer is already mad, so what do you have to lose?

Now the customer may not be mad at you or your business, but their attitude or behavior is keeping you away from the 10 other customers a day that adore you and your business.

As a business owner, you only have so much time and so many resources.


Shouldn't that time and those resources be given to customers that will be CHAMPIONS for your business?

Starting today, tell those loyal, happy and motivated customers how much you appreciate them.

Starting today, begin asking the customers that are always upset and unsatisfied that they are on NOTICE.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery

In today's small business community, it takes a lot of courage, vision and faith to do things "out of the norm".

It is so easy to stay in your comfort zone, surrounding yourself with customers and employees that agree with everything you do.

The problem is, if your not growing, then your dying.

So to grow, you muster up the courage to try that new new product, go with a different distributor, change the recipe or entirely change how your customers see your company.

This decision not only takes courage, it also involves risk, time and money commitments and the potential for failure.

But you do it anyway.

And then, a few weeks or months later, you see your competitor doing exactly the same thing.

Maybe its a sad attempt to emulate what you've done or maybe its a better version.

My question to you is...."How does it make you feel, when a competitor of yours "copies" an idea or a product that you went out on a limb to create or deliver?"

I suggest that you not get upset, feel betrayed or angry.

What if no other car company had adopted the assembly line?

What if no other retailer had decided to increase CFL buld sales by 3000% in 1 year?

What if.....?

What if.....?

What if.....?

Your a leader. A trend setter. On the edge of the wave of your industry.

Don't fret when others copy you.

Just make sure your feathers are perfect, because everyone is watching the leader.

What can you do today to convert one "nonbeliever?"

As small business owners, we all have people that we come into contact with people who don't really believe in what were trying to accomplish.

Sometimes is because they don't understand your goals or your methods.

It could be because they've been misinformed or confused by others.

Or maybe you've just not taken the time to ask them, "Why aren't you a fan?"

Not everyone will be a believer in you or your business, but you'd be surprised how many out there would love to be, if you would just ask.

Have a wonderful and productive week.

CR