The Donald Cooper January Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 1 - January 2005
Donald’s “Quote of
the Month”
"Most of my
clients think that figuring out what their customers really
want is a hugely complicated exercise. But, if you think about
it, we are all human beings selling something to other human
beings...how damn complicated should that actually
be?" |
Greetings ~firstname~,
1. Five important business lessons from the birdfeeder:
(time to read this article is about 75 seconds)
For a printable version of this article, click
here.
At the end of every year we retreat to our country place on
Sparrow Lake for three wonderful and peaceful weeks to reflect,
refresh and relax. Although it's only two hours north of
Toronto, it feels like a million miles from anything
'city'...especially in winter! But, even here, one learns
important business lessons.
As soon as we arrived this year, I hung a bird feeder right
outside our kitchen window. Think of this as a new business
start-up with a great product (ok, so peanuts from Bulk Barn), no
customers, but great potential in the form of a nearby forest full
of hungry birds. This new venture had 'success' written all
over it!
But how, I wondered, do I promote my 'grand opening'?
First, I thought of advertising but birds don't read newspapers,
don't listen to the radio or watch TV. Then, I thought that
maybe I should create a 'grand opening special' by lowering my
price...but hell, I was giving my peanuts away. How much lower
could I go than that? I even considered sampling, but didn't
fancy myself standing outside, under the feeder, at minus 35 degrees
celsius, holding out a handful of peanuts.
Day #1...no customers. Not one single
bird. Our new business was a failure!
Day #2...things are looking up! We are
visited by one chickadee, who apparently loves free, imported
Spanish peanuts. He stays to shop the entire day.
Day #3... things are really looking up. We
have dozens of chickadees and two kinds of nuthatches.
Apparently birds tell other birds.
Day #4... We have dozens more chickadees,
endless nuthatches and two kinds of woodpeckers, both males and
females. Apparently, peanuts are a one-size-fits-all item.
Our 'grand opening' is officially declared to be a huge
success! We now have line-ups.
By the end of the day we're running out of peanuts and make a
special trip to town to replenish our inventory and purchase two
additional feeders to improve our customer service.
Day #5...we expand our customer base even
more with the addition of one blue jay and a red squirrel. He
doesn't fit our demographic, but we welcome him anyway, as long as
he doesn't frighten away our customer base.
So, here are five important business lessons from the bird
feeder...
- You can't build a business in one day. Be in it for the long
haul.
- Word-of-mouth works! One delighted customer can profoundly
affect your success.
- Don't run out of what your customers want.
- Expand your business only when you have lineups. Too much
inventory or too much overhead can kill you.
- You may get customers that you didn't expect. Welcome
them! They create a whole new possibility to grow your
business.
2. Who says that there are no new business ideas?
(time to read this section is about 45 seconds)
Here are two
great examples of new business ideas that prove that there are still
lots of new possibilities out there. How could these examples
get your creative juices going?
1) Ski Lift Season's Pass Insurance:
For skiers who spend most of their weekends on the slopes, a season
ski pass can save a bundle. But what happens if you break your leg
early in the season? Traditionally, you're out an entire
season's worth of lift tickets. And on the other side of the ticket
counter, if you're a ski-resort owner or operator, you're
likely to be confronted by an annoyed customer on crutches,
demanding a refund.
So, two years ago, entrepreneur Ron Iverson started SkierGuard
insurance. For about $60 a year the SkierGuard policy
covers season's pass holders three ways...
- In the case of a season-ending injury, they are reimbursed on
a pro-rated basis.
- If the injury requires that they be evacuated off the
mountain, the cost is covered up to $15,000.
- There is a maximum payout of $10,000 for accidental death or
dismemberment.
Ron advertises in ski magazines but by far his most successful
marketing has been offering ski resorts a 12% commission to sell his
SkierGuard insurance at their ticket offices and on their Web
sites.
2) Eternal reefs...a new way to say
"goodbye": Back in 1990 Don Brawley, an avid scuba
diver, helped start an artificial-reef making company to help
rebuild some of the natural reefs he had seen destroyed over time.
Eight
years later, his father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and raised
the idea of having his ashes mixed into one of the concrete
structures that the company produced...and thus a new business,
Eternal Reefs, was born in the town of Decatur,
Georgia.
From between $1,000 to $5,000, families can now mix the ashes
of their loved ones into a reef ball... a large gumdrop-shaped
concrete structure that will later become part of a large
reef-building project commissioned by a state or county
government.
Picture this...hundreds of people have paid $1000 to $5000 to
throw a loved one's ashes into a cement mixer. Or, for a
mere $495, you can have your deceased pet entombed in a similar
concrete structure to be included in a reef-building project.
So, there you go...two new money-making business ideas that you
didn't think of. What could you come up with?
3. Here's our new fees...effective immediately!
(time to read this section is about 30 seconds)
We haven't had a fee increase in over five years...and it's
time! Our fees have fallen way behind other world-class
speakers and what we're being told is that we're actually losing
business because conference planners believe that, given
the low fees I’ve been charging, I must not be good enough for their
event.
Effective immediately, our fee goes to $7800 for a Keynote or
1/2 Day...and to $ 9,800 for a Full Day. This is still a bit
below the "market" considering the research and tailoring that I do
and the bottom-line value that we deliver.
My new
work focuses on helping owners, leaders and management teams of
businesses, large and small, to rethink, "refeel" and reinvent
themselves to create compelling customer-owning value and long-term
profitability...and we give you "tools" and processes to make it
happen. This is transformational stuff!
One more thing!
Here's how, together, we can help victims of the world's
worst-ever natural disaster. For the
first company or Association that calls to book me at these new
rates, in response to this notice, I'll donate the full fee, in
their name, to the International Red Cross for their Tsunami Relief
Fund.
4. Here's an "ass-backwards" idea that could transform
your business!
(time to read this article is about 30 seconds)
For a printable version of this article, click
here.
Most businesses create a new product or service and then try to
write some sort of advertising to sell it. Just for once, try
my "ass-backwards" approach to creating amazing, customer-owning
products, services or experiences.
First, sit down and write an ad for a product, a service, a
customer experience, a guarantee or a payment plan that would be
absolutely compelling to your target customers. What would
really "grab" them? What would put you so far ahead of your
competitors that they'd cry "unfair competition"? What
would be so amazing that it would make you "famous"?
Sit down with a few of the best minds and hearts in your
business and get creative. Think and feel like a customer.
Write the ad. No whining! The ad doesn't have to look
fancy. You don't need beautiful graphics...it's about the
idea!
Step two is to figure out how you're going to create and
consistently deliver whatever it is that you came up with...and how
you're going to do that profitably. You won't be a commodity
any more, so price won't be the biggest issue for your
customers.
When
Westin Hotels developed their wonderful "Heavenly Sleep Package" by
replacing 52,000 beds in their 83 hotels around the world with
incredibly luxurious mattresses and top-of-the-line sheets and
pillows it was done to delight customers, clearly differentiate the
Westin Brand...and to get more money for their rooms. Westin guests
now have the best night's sleep of their life and when they check
out, hundreds of them want to buy the mattress. So, Westin has
a whole new profit center selling people a "heavenly Sleep" at
home.
On the USA Presidential campaign
trail in 2004, candidate John Kerry would go up to 30 miles out of
his way to sleep in a Westin hotel and Vice-President Dick Cheney
has purchased a heavenly bed for he and his wife. Lots of
media have picked up on this and helped make Westin’s heavenly sleep
promise “famous”.
So, try
the "ass-backwards" approach in your business. First,
write an incredibly powerful ad… and then get busy and make it
happen. Let me know how it works out!
5. "Bits & Pieces":
(time to read this section is about 40 seconds)
Item #1:
One more
clue as to why our health care system isn’t
working! I
read recently that the average North American Medical School spends
only 7 hours teaching the subject of nutrition. That’s 7 hours
out of a total of 7 years of education when obesity is the #1 health
problem in our society today!
Item #2: Creating
business out of adversity: Because of the NHL strike
(or lockout...who can remember) there are millions of Canadians
suffering from major hockey withdrawal. While everyone
"bitches" about the situation, the very cleaver folks at Seven Seas
Travel and Cruise in Vancouver ( http://www.sevenseas.ca/)
have actually done something about it.
They've
organized a six-day "Hockey Night in Prague" tour to
Czechoslovakia that includes airfare, hotel, tickets to three games
of world-class hockey and a city tour for only $1500 per person.
When you figure that decent tickets to an NHL game go for over $250
each, this is a heck of a deal. This package is so different,
so in harmony with the Canadian psyche that it immediately received
tons of free media exposure...and it's selling like crazy.
But, if you’re interested, there’s still some space on the Jan 31
and Feb 23 departures, call 1-(888)
861-8001.
When adversity hits your business or your customers, your
nation or the world, will you just "bitch"... or will get creative
and do something wonderful!
Item #3:
Here’s a
family that eats out...a lot!
NBA basketball star Latrell Sprewell, complaining to the media about
his $14.6 million dollar (US) salary said, "I've got a family to
feed!"
Item
#4:
Anybody
else ticked off by those loud TV commercials?
Do you hate the fact that TV commercials are always a lot louder
than the program? The worst is when you're watching TV in bed,
your spouse is asleep and all of a sudden a bloody commercial comes
blaring out of the set as you dive for the clicker to turn down the
volume. Then, the program comes back on and you can't hear a
thing they're saying...so it's back to the clicker again. And,
of course, the room is dark so you can’t find the right
buttons.
Item #5: The
importance of clear communications! While looking for
stocking stuffers just before Christmas, I came across a packaged
set of plastic 'glow-in-the-dark' alphabet letters, made in China.
The purpose of the letters appears to be to help children learn
English, but you may be a bit skeptical when you read these
instructions that are printed on the back of the package...
|
Child intelligence development
toy. This product has to learn characters, and the game
is in the integral whole. Can let the child know English
from the game, and can the freedom constitute arbitrarily
single phrase. This product has the night light the
result, and can glue to stick to be used as the decorations,
is a the style gather the game, amusement to an ideal toy for,
promoting the child study English.
|
6. Chuckles & Hugs!
(time to read this section is about 20 seconds)
Do you know what it takes to get where you
want to go? Here's an interesting and cute
perspective:
A Sunday School teacher asked her class, "If I sold my house
and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the
church, would that get me into heaven?"
"NO!" replied the children.
"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept
everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?"
Again the answer was, "NO!"
"Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the
children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?"
Once more they all answered, "NO!"
"Well," I continued, thinking they were a good bit more
theologically sophisticated than I had given them credit for, "then
how can I get into heaven?"
A five-year-old boy shouted out, "YOU GOTTA BE
DEAD!"
7. 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.
Our very best wishes for health, love, joy and prosperity in
2005...and beyond!
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 http://www.donaldcooper.com/.
Donald Cooper, MBA
Canadian Speaking Professional
Member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of
Fame
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). |
