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What's in the July edition...

Invincibility Achieves and Maintains Success

Turn Your Phone into a Dollar Gusher

Reviving and improving your business fortunes

German Efficiency

Practice, Rehearsal and Drill Gets Results!

Award Winners

A Great Commercial

Thinking Outside the Square

Invincibility achieves and maintains success

In each of us there is a certain amount of invincibility that we need to bring out from time to time. Whether in the business world or in our personal lives, we need to be able to cope with tough times, learn by them and bounce back.

US military officer, Captain Gerald Coffey, who was incarcerated in solitary confinement for years in a dungeon like prison cell in Hanoi during the Vietnam conflict, expresses his view of the concept of invincibility in the following words…

“To me invincibility is not winning every battle. Invincibility really means how we bounce back from the defeats that we suffer, from those setbacks that we hadn’t anticipated, because we certainly cannot often win every battle. Invincibility means how we come back with what we’ve learned from that setback and how we apply those lessons for the future challenges in our business lives.”

Remember that we all suffer setbacks from time to time. The real test of character is how we move on and learn from those experiences. Back to top

Turning your phone into a dollar gusher

Colin Bockman has been a good mate of mine for years and I reckon that he ranks among the best when it comes to creating sales solutions that really work. (You can hear part of a recent interview I did with him here.) I've recommended him to a number of clients over the years and he's helped a lot of companies ratchet up their sales by converting more of their enquiries into sales.

One of the areas in which he is a real star is showing people how to get more sales from telephone enquiries... he really is fantastic and his methods are simple and work beautifully.

Anyway to cut a long story short he has just produced a sensational CD on the subject of handling customer enquiries over the telephone and if you want to improve your own, or your team's results, you've just got to get hold of a copy. Order your copy here... it's a measly 25 bucks plus postage... Back to top

Reviving and improving your business fortunes

A printer and was going through some hard business times. He had lost a major account which meant that his profit had almost evaporated. Because he had been so busy working for that major client and his other few regular clients he had he hadn’t devoted any time on a regular basis to building new clients. In fact, he’d never spent any time thinking about how to generate more. He’d become comfortable with his current group of clients. Suddenly there became a real need for him to get out and build more business. How he should go about doing this?

The solution was simple: there were two groups of people he needed to talk to… his team members and his existing clients.

As a general rule of thumb in business, it’s imperative to share what’s happening in your business with your team. If there’s not as much work around, for example, they will notice anyway and start to worry about losing their jobs.

So the printer decided to sit down with his team and explain that the loss of a major account had meant real problems. He then let them know what they could do about it, because building business isn’t only the job of the owner, it’s everybody’s business.

If they know what to look for most team members will be happy to go looking for business in the course of their normal activities. So, for your business, you need to explain to your team what an ideal client looks like... the sort of person you’d love to have walk through the door.

The printer told his team members that they probably had friends who were printers in other companies. If they kept their ears to the ground they might find out about some opportunities when they were talking to their mates.

Involving your team in the pursuit of new business is most important.

The printer then focused on the second group of people that he needed to talk to… his existing clients.

It is essential to constantly stay in touch with your clients, customers or patients. It’s a sad fact of life that, unless a really functional client care program is in place, existing clients tend to be ignored.

The printer invited his clients to breakfast in small groups and made them feel special. Just before the end of the breakfast he said, “By the way, I just wanted to thank you as my very special clients for your support in the past. We’ve noticed that much of our business comes from referrals and recommendations and I wondered if there was anybody you’d like to refer to us.”

Around a breakfast table, it’s amazing how many names will come forward. When you ask your clients in the right way, and give them a reason, they’re happy to help. The best source of business has been, is and always will be referral, recommendation and word of mouth.

So remember to revive or improve your business fortunes always involve your team and nurture your existing client base. Back to top

German Efficiency

Talk about German efficiency! The two photos below were taken at a new parking garage in Munich. The actual space that the facility occupies is approximately only 20% of a comparable facility with the traditional design that is used primarily in the US. Not only is the German structure less expensive to build, but vehicles are also "retrieved" in less time and without the potential of being damaged by an attendant.

Practice, Rehearsal and Drill Gets Results!

Practice makes perfect. We’ve all heard this old saying, but how true it is.

Testimonies to this theory are international stars Barbra Steisand and Michael Jordan.

When Barbra Steisand was in Melbourne on a concert tour some years ago it was reported that she spent 3 hours in the blazing hot Melbourne sun rehearsing her whole concert – from beginning to end in for the big event. Could the reason that she’s so good be because she always rehearses, always practises her performance? Many people think that Streisand has reached the top because of natural ability and that she doesn’t need to rehearse. But this is not the case. What makes perfection is the fact that she does the preparation and the preparation is the rehearsal. She replicates a perfect performance from perfect practice.

In an audio book called Rebound, The Odyssey of Michael Jordan by Bob Green, the author tells a story about Jordan arriving in town for a big match. Whilst all of the other team members were out being interviewed by the media, Jordan was spotted in his sweat suit, down on the basketball court, practising. Throwing a ball by himself. Perfect practice makes perfect play.

What is common about Streisand and Jordan who are both at the top of the tree? Practice, rehearsal and drill. By the time they’re ready to perform they’ve practiced, rehearsed and drilled it so well that perfection is bound to follow.

What’s the lesson for us? Simple: If we want to get good, we’ve got to practice. And practice means doing it and doing it again and again and again in private before you do it in public.

Practicing involves: Putting on the hard yards by role-playing by yourself and with your team members, with your family or whoever before you ever try it on a customer, client or patient.

Often many people have great words to say, but the first time they use them is when they meet a prospect, customer, client or patient. They then have to concentrate on remembering what it was they were supposed to say and they appear unnatural as the words do not flow freely.

Competence comes from confidence, and confidence comes from practice. Find the time to practice what you need to say to people so that you can say it confidently, without thinking, so that people believe you. It all comes from practice, rehearsal and drill. Take a leaf out of Streisand’s and Jordan’s book… put in the practice and that way you’ll be a hit in the big league!

(Forgotten Michael Jordan? Probably the greatest basketball player of all time… a phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire. He burst into the league as a rookie sensation scoring in droves with an unmatchable first step and acrobatic drives and dunks and concluded his career as a cultural icon.) Back to top

Award Winners

I’m not sure what awards these print advertisements won but whichever way you look at them they are very, very effective. They certainly capture your attention which is the first step in getting a message across!

Nike

Burger King

Levis

Jewellery

Pesticide

Mascara

Bread

A Great Commercial

Here's a great commercial that uses humour to get the message across very effectively. You see the benefits of the product and laugh as well. Too often the humour is great but unfortunately you just can't remember the name of the product or its benefits. (The video may take some seconds to load.)

Thinking Outside of the Square

It's amazing how with a little bit of thought you can find extra uses for your products or service, as this story about that classic product, WD40, demonstrates.

The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company.

Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40.

The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.

The workers were so pleased with the product, they began smuggling (also known as "shrinkage" or "stealing") it out to use at home. The executives decided there might be a consumer market for it and put it in aerosol cans.

The rest is history. It is a carefully guarded recipe known only to four people. Only one of them is the "brew master." There are about 2.5 million gallons of the stuff manufactured each year. It gets its distinctive smell from a fragrance that is added to the brew.

Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.

When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle!

Try it on your stovetop... Voila! It's shinier and you’ll be amazed.

Here are some of the other uses for WD-40:

Protects silver from tarnishing.
Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
Keeps flies off cows.
Restores and cleans chalkboards.
Removes lipstick stains.
Loosens stubborn zippers.
Untangles jewelry chains.
Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
Removes tomato stains from clothing.
Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
Keeps scissors working smoothly.
Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on ride on mowers.
Rids kids’ rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
Keeps rust from forming on saws, saw blades, and other tools.
Removes splattered grease on stove.
Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
Removes all traces of duct tape.
Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
Favourite use in Florida's is to clean and remove bugs from grills and bumpers."
The favorite use in the state of New York--WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.
Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor!
Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!

P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL Back to top