Hope or Fear?

I was having a conversation with my friend, Don Kardux, about the reasons prospects might choose him to help them be more successful. Don owns Business Navigators, a long time, very successful, business consulting company. Don is not your usual stuffy type of consultant, in fact, he couldn't be any farther away from the word stuffy. He also uses a system he developed called Reverse Flow, where business owners listen to what their employees think are the best ways to "makes things better."

Don told me that he thinks business owners choose him because he represents hope. Now, I do think that might be part of the reason, but I do think underlying the hope is a big dose of FEAR!

Don is an expert in the Heating, Cooling and Ventilation industry segment and many of those businesses are family-owned. So here's my theory.

If the first generation is still at the helm, he's afraid that the business won't survive for the next generation.

If the second generation is now in charge, he's (or she's) afraid that he or she will take the business down and then what will everyone think???

Yes, Don does provide hope with his system, but really, fear is what fuels the decision to work with Business Navigators. At least that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it.

Part of a functioning word-of-mouth marketing plan is knowing what it is that makes your prospects choose you. Do you know what it is?

Are you sure?

'Toonly Different

I read a great post from Tom Fishburne this morning. You can read the whole article here, but basically Tom wrote about how some cartoonists draw for just a narrow audience, giving an example of one who draws cartoons that would only make sense to people who are Unix programmers. Now I gotta' tell you, the only reason I even know the word Unix is because I have a son in that world of funny computer words. (He is also a blogger in the networking world and I guess that could make him unique in that he is a computer guy and can form and maintain relationships, too!)

Tom went on to tell that he in fact saw a Unix flavored cartoon when someone stood up at one of his presentations and had the 'toon printed on his t-shirt.

Of course my thoughts took a jump at that point. A foundation of the course I teach is helping my students to figure out what is unique about them; what sets them aside from the rest of the pack. Recently several of my students were asked what cereal box or magazine cover they might appear on and WHY. But even better, I think, would be, "What about you or what you do would be worthy of a t-shirt?"

Any answers? Remember it's got to be different.

Let's Get This Motor Rev'ed!

Whew! I guess I've had a vacation from blogging!

Well, not so much. Just busy.

Some thoughts to get me going again.

A couple weeks ago I met with a business owner, with whom I had previously briefly chatted. I wanted to learn more about her business. At the appointment, instead of learning more, so I could better understand, she spent the whole appointment selling to me.

Now you gotta' know that I am not her target market. She knows that, too. I kept trying to steer the conversation back on track, but there seemed to be rut that took us off track.

I left the appointment fairly frustrated. I spent an hour not finding out much more that when I arrived. This is not usual for me!

Does Your Message Stick?

Within the last couple days I had to buy some bandaids. Since my kids are all grown I haven't had to restock in some time.

Wow!

What I thought was going to be an easy purchase, turned mind-boggling.

Bandaids just aren't bandaids anymore.

I would hazard a guess that there are fourteen or fifteen different varieties of these little patches.

Do you want cloth, breathable, antibiotic infused, waterproof, shaped to surround, non-stickable, round, small, large, etc. And this doesn't take into consideration the "kids" bandaids with the most favored cartoon or movie character emblazoned on them.

I have to tell you that at first I tried to figure out which was the best version for me, but then my mind went on overload. I ended up buying the store generic brand (the cheapest) of a flexible variety.

As I walked out of the store after paying for my purchase, it occurred to me that none of the brands stood out. Each one was copying the other. And as a result my purchase became motivated by what was cheapest.

Do you stand out enough so that when a referral source talks about you and your uniqueness to a possible prospect, the immediate response is, "Yep, get'em in here. It sounds like she has just what we have been looking for."

If you were a bandaid, what would make you different from the rest?

Being Memorable

Did you go to a networking meeting today?


If so, which person do you remember most?


What makes them so memorable?

Fred Schmits, is the owner and founder of Mobil Lube, a "come to you" oil change business in Findlay, Ohio. He is also a member of the Findlay BNI chapter. Several weeks ago they had a visitor day, where the goal was to invite lots of guests to attend.

The picture shows how memorable Fred made himself that day.


After all when you hear the words "oil change tech" what do you envision?

Certainly not the tuxedoed butler, complete with blue rubber gloves.

I'm guessin' that both visitors and member still have a picture of Fred in their head as he was dressed that day. It probably just won't go away.



What are some vivid examples of marketing that you have cemented in your brain?