The Donald Cooper February Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 2 - February 2005
Donald’s
“Quote of the Month”
“Customer relationships are
like bank accounts. When we delight and amaze our customers, we add to the
relationship account. When we mess up, we make a withdrawal.
But here’s the good news…if
we’ve built up a positive balance, we can make a little ‘withdrawal’ every once
in a while and still not be overdrawn.
But, remember, if we keep messing up, we will
eventually create a negative balance in the relationship account, then the
“account” will be closed and the customer will be gone.” |
Greetings ~firstname~,
Special of the month: Our most
requested presentation…
“Human Marketing…
How
to increase market share & profitability in the face of ever-stronger
competition!”
is now
available as a 3 CD Audio Seminar. Get
100’s of bottom-line insights on how to rethink, refeel reinvent and reenergize
your business while driving, walking or working out.
Clients
around the world line up to pay $7800 to hear this presentation
live. This 3 CD Audio pack, complete with downloadable
Implementation Guide, is regularly $60...but, until March 15th, you can
order it for just $40...plust any applicable taxes...and $6 shippping.
1. Are the people on the phone in your business helping or killing you?
(time to read this article is about 40 seconds)
For a printable version of this article, click here.
I can’t believe it! Just as I started to write this article, I got a call from someone at
Bell Canada that no one could have possibly understood. This lady not only had
a heavy Eastern European accent but she spoke so quickly that I wouldn’t have
been able to follow her if she had spoken plain English. I tried to figure out what she was calling
me about but I finally gave up, apologized, and hung up.
I’m not an elitist, a racist, or unwelcoming to
those who choose to become part of the Canadian fabric. I live in the world’s most cosmopolitan city
(according to the United Nations) and I love it …but for the love of God don’t
put people on your business phone who can’t communicate effectively...they're killing your business!
How could Bell Canada be so stupid? They practically invented the phone and they
can’t figure this stuff out? I’ve had
calls in the past month from at least 10 different businesses that were making
the same mistake. So, here’s the
thing…don’t do this!
While you’re at it, call your own business when
you’re out and listen carefully to how the phone is answered. Is it answered in no more than three
rings? That’s important. People expect a business phone to be
answered in three rings. When it’s not
answered by five rings, they typically hang up and assume that you’ve gone out of
business, which, if enough people assume that, you will.
Does the person who answers your phone say the name
of your business so quickly that you don’t recognize your own business
name? This is one happens a lot. Make them slow down. Or, do they sound so
bored that even you want to hang up? Chirp them up or move them to a back
office with no phone.
Answering and talking on the phone is an art…an art
that apparently very few businesses are teaching these days. But
every once in a while, you hit a
gem! I called the Bulk Barn store in
Orillia, Ontario four times last week
to interview the owner for an upcoming speech and Shellie answered
the phone each time. She was amazing…bright, cheerful,
understandable
and helpful…every time. Does your
business need a few “Shellies”?
2. Do you have a powerful product or service story that you're not telling?
(time to read this article is about 45 seconds)
For a printable version of this article, click here.
Last month I was
working with the owners of a Garden Center to help them refocus and reenergize
their business. What I discovered was that both the father and son are fully
qualified and experienced Landscape Architects and yet they don’t use and
promote that to clearly differentiate their business from 90% of their
competitors who have no such qualifications. They invested years to become accredited landscaping and gardening
professionals and they’re hiding this important information from their
customers. They have a powerful story
to use and to tell…and they’re not using it, or telling it. Here are a few thoughts that I shared with
them. Think about them in relation to
your business…
a) They use their expert knowledge to select only the
best plant, shrub and tree stock for their Garden Center, but don’t bother
to promote that fact. They go out to their suppliers in their rubber boots and
literally walk the fields looking for the very best stuff for their
customers. That’s a compelling value
story and a great visual image. I can
see the ad now!
b) In the winter months, when gardeners can only dream
and plan, as landscape Architects they could be offering free seminars on
“Three simple steps to planning, updating or redesigning your garden this
year.”…and they’re not doing that.
c) Based on their professional qualifications they could
write a monthly gardening column for their local newspaper and appear on local
radio and TV, giving seasonal advice and answering gardeners’ questions that
would create celebrity status for their Garden Center…and they’re not doing
that.
d) As gardening professionals they could cooperate with
a travel agent to organize and lead garden tour travel to the USA, England,
France, Italy and Japan…and they’re not doing that.
e) They could be promoting a very profitable garden
landscape design service in the off-season …and they’re not doing it.
f) They could add to their credibility and celebrity
status by sponsoring a competition, open to all businesses in the area, for the
best landscaping design, as part of a campaign to beautify the community…and
they’re not doing it.
Do you have a powerful advantage or a great story to tell
that you’re not using…or not telling? What ads could you create; how could you
use your knowledge to coach your customers, create special events or offer
special services that will add value and increase sales or margins?
So often we take our “wonderfulness” for
granted. We don’t even realize that we
are, or could be, a compelling story. A
story that, when properly developed and told, will clearly differentiate us
from our competitors.
3. Some shocking info about employee satisfaction and effectiveness!
(time to read this article is about 40 seconds)
For a printable version of this article, click here.
A recent survey of 3000
employees, conducted by international HR consultants Watson Wyatt & Co,
reveals the following shocking information…
a) Only 24% of people surveyed believed that “excellent”
performance was appropriately rewarded in their company.
b) 48% said that they had not received the training
required to do their job well.
c) Only 43%
rated their company as a good place to work.
If you own or manage a
business, how would your team rate you on these three key indicators of
employee satisfaction and effectiveness? Perhaps you should take
the leap and ask them. All it would take is some guts and one
sheet of paper in their
next pay envelope with three questions on it that employees can answer
and
return to you anonymously.
If you’re
an employee, what would your answers be? Is where you work a financially and
emotionally healthy place to be? Do
they appreciate you? Do they train and empower you to make a difference? And
then do they reward and acknowledge your contribution?
Are you
proud of what the business stands for and how people are treated? Do you share the values of the
business? Not the ones beautifully
framed on the wall in the lobby, but the ones that the business actually lives
by every day.
Is the
business truly committed to being a profitable and responsible market leader in
3 to 5 years? Is there a shared Vision and does anyone seem to have a clue as
to how we’re going to get there?
What do your answers to these simple questions
tell you about your chances of being effective, happy or successful where you
are? So, either you have a plan to fix
where you are, a plan to move on…or you enjoy being a victim. Hey, life is full of choices!
4. OK, now to cheer you up, here's a short quiz with a "valuable" prize!
(time to read this section is about 10 seconds)
For the
past few years I’ve been asked to speak at the huge International Pizza Expo in
Las Vegas. How big is the pizza
business, you ask? Pizza is sold in
every country in the world and in the USA alone, it’s a 32 billion dollar
business.
So, here’s the Quiz…“What
country has the highest per-capita consumption of pizza in the whole wide
world?”
The first person to email Sharen Skene, our
Director of Marketing at sharen@donaldcooper.com with the correct answer will
receive their choice of any of our excellent Video Seminars worth $60 to
$80. BONUS: If you can also name the unusual extra
topping that is a favorite in that country, you’ll get to pick two of our
wonderful Video Seminars.
5. "Bits & Pieces":
(time to read this section is about 40 seconds)
Item #1: Who’s winning and
who’s loosing? Toyota is
now the #2 car company in the world measured by number of vehicles sold. But, based on profitability, they are by
far the world leader.
Toyota’s profit is greater than that of GM,
Ford, Daimler Chrysler and Volkswagen all combined. Who’s winning and who’s loosing in your industry or
profession…and where do you fit in?
Item #2: Do we
appreciate and thank all the people who work weird hours to make our lives
easier? Do you ever
think of all the people who get up in the middle of the night to chirpily bring
you the morning news, weather and road reports, or to drive the train, bus or
taxi that gets you to work, or to make the coffee, fresh muffin or breakfast
that you pick up on the way to work?
What about the night shift doctors, nurses, police and
firemen who are there for you ”just in case”, or the folks who work all night
to get your courier package to Frankfurt by 9 AM? Hundreds of people work weird hours that we’d never work just to
make our lives easier. Let’s always
remember to acknowledge them and thank them for what they do. I bet they’d like to hear that...and I bet
they almost never do!
Item #3: Now
everyone can be a Canadian for just $24.95 (US): A company called T-Shirt King (t-shirtking.com) in Albuquerque,
New Mexico is selling a “Be a Canadian Kit” for Americans
traveling
abroad. The $24.95 (US dollars, of
course) kit includes a Canadian flag T-Shirt, a Canadian flag lapel
pin, a
Canadian flag patch for your luggage or backpack…and there's
also a quick reference guide “How to Speak Canadian, Eh?'' to help you answer questions about Canada.
The thing that ticks me off is
that, of course, it wasn’t even a Canadian who came up with the idea. I guess we were just all too busy being
nice!
Item #4: Before you
throw that soft drink or beer can away think of this… The production of raw aluminum
consumes a huge amount of electricity. The recycling of just one aluminum can saves enough power to run a TV
set for three hours.
Item #5: Planning a grand opening? Take a tip from IKEA! Over 6000 shoppers flocked to the midnight opening of new
IKEA store in London, England resulting in panic and personal injury. The store opened at 12:01 and by 12:30 had
to be closed until further notice in the interest of public safety!
Management decided to close
the doors after a fight over a sofa, between two women, resulted in one of the
women being badly stabbed. Last year,
at an IKEA store opening in Saudi Arabia, three people were killed on opening
day.
6. What needs fixing in your business? Use our simple one-page "Audit" to get to the truth!
(time to read this article is about 30 seconds)
With help from my friend Tom Stoyan, Canada’s Sales Coach
and the go-to guy when you want to become a true sales or sales management
professional (www.canadassalescoach.com), I’ve
created a simple one-page “Audit Tool” that is helping our clients to get in
touch with what really needs fixing in their business...and, in some cases, how
I can be most helpful to them.
To access your very own copy of this free “Audit Tool”, click here. Print it out, put an “X” in the box beside each item that
needs attention in your business…and then, if you’re the boss, get on with it.
If you’re not the boss, print it out anyway, then put an “X”
beside each item that you know needs fixing, come up with a few excellent
solutions and go to your boss with your suggestions. This could be just the career move that you’ve been looking for.
There are 15 simple questions in the Audit. Here’s how it works…
a) If you’ve
checked off one to 4 items that need fixing in your business, you’re in
much better shape than most….but you still need to address the checked
items.
b) If you’ve
checked off 5 to 8 items, you have serious challenges to the long-term
prosperity of your business.
c) If you
have 9 to 11 “X’s” on the page, you can still be rescued, but I wouldn’t
be planning any long vacations right now...you have work to do.
d) If 12
or more items have the big “X” beside them, it’s time for a major reality
check and intensive care.
If you wish to fax me 1+ (416) 252-3705 your completed form by April
30, with your contact info on it, I’ll select five of those returned and offer
an hour of “FREE” telephone coaching.
7. Four thoughts on how to increase sales and promote your business!
(time to read this article is about 60 seconds)
For a printable version of this article, click here.
Are you proactively promoting your business…or are you just sitting
there wondering why no one is coming to you? There are lots of creative and
effective ways to increase sales and promote your business. Here are four that
I’ve noticed lately. As you read them,
ask yourself, “How could some version of that idea work for us?”
1. To
promote their Charmin brand of toilet paper, the creative folks at Proctor
& Gamble came up with a brilliant idea.
For the
past three years their 18-wheel tractor-trailer called “Potty Palooza” has toured the
USA visiting 30 venues per season from the Super Bowl to the Arizona Balloon
Festival. The program reaches 5 million people a year, sampling Charmin’s key
attribute…softness. They also attract
huge media attention everywhere they go. “Potty Palooza” is a star!
The
27-bathroom trailer a shiny, clean oasis in the often unkempt world of fairs and sporting events…the perfect spot to build a
positive relationship with the Charmin experience. At one venue, 30,000 people
signed a petition to get the Charmin folks to return the next year!
A client
of mine in the Mortgage Brokerage business converted a large van into a
beautifully painted “Mortgagemobile”…a mobile office that allows her to go
right to her customers, while getting her noticed everywhere she goes. What special vehicle could you create to get you
noticed, provide a unique experience and promote your business?
2. Here’s great promotional
idea from Target Stores in the USA…the only retailers sharp enough to stand up
to the mighty Wal-Mart. In the United States, the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest
and most competitive shopping day of the year. Determined to “scoop” the
competition, Target offered free 6:00 AM wake-up calls so that people could get
to their local Target store early enough to take advantage of the opening
specials! To make it fun, they offered a choice of “wake up messages” ranging
from supermodel Heidi Klum to Darth Vader.
Of course, because this was such a simple, brilliant and bizarre idea,
the media picked up on it and talked about it …bringing Target tons of free
publicity! What could you do to
proactively remind your customers that it’s time to do business with you again?
3. The Little Inn at Bayfield, a lovely country
inn on the shores of Lake Huron, is typically a summer
destination but is very creative at promoting themselves to keep busy all year
round. For March Break they’re offing a
3 day Mother-Daughter or Grandmother-Granddaughter special package including
cooking classes with their executive chef that will provide a wonderful bonding
opportunity. This offering is so creative and so neat that it was picked up by
a major newspaper and featured in an article in their weekend travel section,
read by tens of thousands of Mothers and Grandmothers.
What special event or package could you come up with that would bring
back former customers, attract new business and get you written up?
4. A client of mine in western
Canada that sells a ton of fitness equipment throughout Alberta and
Saskatchewan has put a treadmill outside each of their locations with a
mechanical man endlessly running on it. The Flaman Fitness “Running Man” gets dressed up in appropriate clothing
for each season and at Christmas time he becomes a running Santa Claus.
Most of their stores are in low rent non-typical retail locations and
they needed to do something to let people know who they are and how to find
them easily. The “Running Man” gets them noticed, has helped make them famous…and
it sells treadmills!
So, there are four examples to jump-start your
creativity. What will you come up with to promote your business, get you
noticed, make you famous and sell more stuff?
8. "Chuckles & Hugs":
(time to read this section is about 10 seconds)
A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he
read her a bedtime story.
From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to
touch his wrinkled cheek. She would then stroke her own cheek, and then his again.
Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time
ago."
"Oh," she paused, "And Grandpa, did God make me
too?"
"Yes, indeed, honey," he said, "He made you just a little
while ago."
Feeling their respective faces again, she observed,
"God's getting better at it, isn't he?"
9.
That’s all for this month!
"Thanks" for all of your great feedback and suggestions! We especially love to hear of your successes using our insights.
Don't
forget to visit our Free Articles section on our website for lots more
valuable info on how to sell more, manage smarter and make more money
in your business.
Also, let us know what you'd like to hear more about...or less
about. And, do send us your stories and examples of great,
horrible or just plain bizarre businesss practices that you find in
your travels.
Finally, if
you know of others, anywhere in the world, who will find value in
this E-Newsletter, we'll appreciate your sending this along to them
and inviting them to sign up at www.donaldcooper.com.
Donald Cooper, MBA
Canadian Speaking Professional
Member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame
For information about booking Donald for your company or Association,
contact Sharen Skene our wonderful Director of Marketing at Sharen@donaldcooper.com.
If this Newsletter has been forwarded to you from a friend or business
colleague and you'd like to continue receiving our free business
Newsletter, please click here: subscribe.
To unsubscribe to this newsletter, simply click here: unsubscribe
Back Issues of our Newsletters are available on our website (along with
lots of other valuable articles and implementation tools). |
